Interestingly, the idea of using computers in games of conflict is a very old one and it is the sort of game that almost anyone can join in. Not only is the software version of robot wars easier to get involved in it is also more deserving of the name. Instead of concentrating on the mechanics of a radio-controlled vehicle, you can concentrate on truly autonomous agents.
Two robots meet in a playing field and have to
track each other down and destroy each other by
firing weapons. When you run the game you
actually see two
[PICTURE]
A robot is created quite easily using a very simple
programming language that resembles old-
fashioned Basic rather than assembler. The block
shaped robot has four equipment pods that you can
fill either with guns or eyes. A robot starts off with
an energy level of 5 and this changes throughout
the game. A single missile hit decreases the energy
by one. The energy can be increased by charging
from one of the nuclear reactors scattered around
the playing field. This means that a robot isn't
killed on a first hit and you can build in strategies
of attack and retreat. The barriers that make the
playing field can also be fired at and they
disintegrate if hit more than five times. A robot can
fire any gun and if it hits a missile box or a reactor
there is a bigger explosion, which reduces the
energy of any robot that is close enough.
So much for attack, but you need to work out what
to attack and this is where the eye comes in. The
eye tells the robot the type of thing that is straight
ahead and its distance. If the thing straight ahead is
a robot it also reveals the energy level of the robot
and if it is a missile, its direction. Finally every
robot has a radar which costs one energy level to
use and tells the robot the relative co-ordinates of
any specified object.
That's all there is to Robot Warfare and all you
have to do is to use the programming language to
create a robot that will first beat the built-in robot
and then beat other designer robots. For example,
the simple robot that is included as a demo is
defined as -
[PICTURE]
As well as the Robot Warfare simulation program,
you can also download an editor and a compiler for
the RW1 language. All of these take the form of
freeware except for the simulation itself which is
unregistered shareware and if you register ($7) you
get an improved version of the program which lets
you play any robot against any robot. The web site,
where you can download all of the programs
mentioned, is at
http://attend.to/robots
Another site
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/1315/robots/
also runs competitions every month and you can
submit your robot code and have it battle it out
with others. The winner gets into a hall of fame
along with his robot of course! Robot Warfare is a
Russian invention, along with vodka and Tetris,
and some of the English on the web site is slightly
strange but how far would you get in Russian! A
Windows 95/98 version is under construction so
keep returning to the website to see if it is ready.
[PICTURE]
The moment when one robot blows up another!
% ================= WSIMPLE.RW1 ==================
% Example of simple robot
% with an eye
% and a gun.
% Run: RW1_DUEL.EXE WSIMPLE.RW1
ROBOT "WinSimple Robot"
COLOR FFD010
FRONT EYE
LEFT GUN
START:
ACT FRONT % Look in front
if N!=6 : L1 % If there is a robot there then
RIGHT
ACT LEFT % shoot
LEFT
GOTO START
L1:
if N!=3 : L3 % If there is a box with missiles then
STEP % go ahead
GOTO START
L3: % If there is neither box nor robot then
% it means that there is a barrier in the direction
if D==1 : L4 % If the distance from it is greater then 1 then
STEP % make a step
GOTO START
L4:
RIGHT % If the barrier is in the next cell
GOTO START % turn to right
END
If you read through this very simple robot program
you will probably discover most of what you need
to know about the language and the sort of things
you can do. You will also now be in a better
position to watch and understand the interaction
between this robot and the built in robot and
understand why the simple robot tends to get
zapped. The urge to try and do better is
overwhelming to most observers and very like the
experience of watching Robot Wars on TV you
are sure you really could do better. Of course what
you quickly discover is that doing better isn't quite
as easy and you end up shouting at your robot
because it isn't as clever as you thought it was.
This is a great education and it looks like a game it
should be part of every school computer course
throw away the boring turtles and logo and try
Robot Warfare!
Don't miss this web site!
The soon to be released Windows version of Robot Warfare.
Conclusion
If you want something to get you started then
Robot Warfare has a lot to recommend it. It is easy
to use, easy to understand and very rewarding. As a
school or educational tool it is ideal. If you want to
move on to something more challenging then AI
Wars is the next obvious choice being great fun
and suitable as an end of term project in a number
of different subjects. Perhaps the ultimate game is
RoboCup because it qualifies as real research into
robotics. But of course for the purists there is
nothing quite like Core Wars
This text was receved from Sam James on January 9th 2000
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