This site Copyright (c) RiEvEr 1999 | |
ReDeMpTiOn for your SiN |
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32nd march 1999dedicated server supportOk - tested it out properly and it seems pretty solid in the next version. I understand some people use this to run a server and client on the same machine. I guess they have more memory than sense because mine grinds to a halt with 64MB if I do that. Hell, just think, about 2 years ago 16MB was a big machine! I guess it's upgrade time again [sigh]. node system runningI've got the bot memory node system working internally now, and I have been directing the bots to items using it. I now need to write some real AI to let the bots choose when to use the nodes and when to use their eyes. On an unrelated note, Lin bought Baldur's Gate for me today [yippee!] and I played that for a couple of hours at teatime. Wuff it's hard! I'm used to easy hack'n'slash fare like Diablo. I must remember to pause the game during combat next time :) Anyone else noticed that March seems to be dragging on a bit this year? 31st march 1999all work and no play...I've altered the way the b_number command works to allow it to operate in a dedicated console. I have given it a brief test over the LAN but nothing exhaustive so feel free to try it out. I still don't understand why anyone wants to run a dedicated server with bots!? :) I've also just added a "motd.ini" file in the ReDeMpTiOn directory. If it is present, its contents will be displayed to each player after they connect. For those not used to running servers, it's a Message Of The Day file and can be a handy way of notifying people of upcoming events, or telling them how to contact the administrator if there's a problem. In response to complaints about the sv_maplist stuff not working (it bl**dy well does, they're just not doing it right!) I've implemented a maplist in the ReDeMpTiOn directory. It's called (Surprise, surprise!) "maplist.txt" and is just a list of the maps you want to run and the order you want to run them in. If I've got it right, it will cycle back to the first map once it drops off the end - more flaming docs to write [harumph!]. I must figure out how to write good doc files, or get someone else to do it for me! where's mart?No update on the USA site by Mart yet so I've dropped in to fix that discussion link and do a little news update that was already on the UK site :) I'm still working on the route files, drop into the discussion forum and tell me what you want! I think we need to get a definitive wishlist sorted out so I know what to crack on with over the next few weeks. Hopefully the CTF source will wind its way to me as soon as the ritual guys think it's stable enough. To everyone who keeps asking about WoS support - use the discussion forum, not e-mails! I keep having to explain the same thing over and over again [grin]. Basically, unless I get the WoS source code it is a no go area, BUT some of the guys know how to make WoS maps work with the bots - go ask them how! 29th march 1999new discussion forumJust saw on BE that we have a new discussion forum for SiN only - drop in and let me know what you want (for the bots - ok!). [NUKE]RugbyMart returns...Mart is supposed to be back today so I'll leave the main site in his capable hands. He's been pretty creative in the past so things will progress well over there now. I may run this site down soon since all the USA stuff seems to be working fine - any opinions anyone? working, working, workingThe node system is working better now but still has a long way to go [grin]. I can read and write routefiles, as well as create them, but I need to work on the reverse link propogation. There is no real optimisation of the links but since it is all precalculated it runs bl**dy fast! I have had 1500 nodes in a table and no slowdown is visible when the bots are using it. The next job is to teach the bots to navigate to items via node routes but I may have a day off tomorrow since it is Linjo's birthday and I should probably spend some time with her [hehe]. The bots continue to add links and nodes as the game progresses so they eventually find their way round the whole map. 28th march 1999working on AI improvementsI've just added ladder code. The bots will now climb ladders on demand. I've also just taught them to jump off buildings (very handy for SiNCity!) and ledges safely when they are roaming around. We don't want them just running around in circles when they're high up now do we? I've made item use instant for the bots, as a temporary fix since some people don't enable instant items in deathmatch flags. I will be modifying this later but it will be part of the bot personality code, not general AI. I also tweaked the death and bodyqueue handling code, there should be less deaths hanging around in mid-air now. The node system is a fairly high priority at the moment along with the "arena" style mod code. Other requests have been:
Keep the requests coming - I'd hate to run out of things to do. 27th march 1999new beta realease todayI decided to release 0.4 beta today. There are no major AI improvements in this version, except maybe a bit of a strafe fix. There are a lot of gameplay and configurability improvements though. Please READ the docs, and make sure you replace your botnames.cfg, or update it, since a new stat has been added to it (accuracy). I am continuing to work on the node system so the route files will put in an appearance soon. As usual, go to the discussion link to the Bot Epidemic forum where we all talk about ReDeMpTiOn if you want to ask me anything, or make suggestions. Please mention SiN or ReDeMpTiOn in the message title since that area is a general bot discussion one even though we're the only guys using it :) Maybe they'll give us a SiN forum if enough of you pester the moderator? new SiNcest version availableWilka mailed me that his new SiNCest version with 0.4beta ReDeMpTiOn support is already up on the SinCest site, so go grab it! 26th march 1999un-spawn botsI've put a new console command in, "botkill", so you can remove the last bot spawned any time you like in case you spawned too many. Edwin Spil mentioned this idea today and I thought it was worth including. Obviously, set b_number lower first or it will just respawn (duh!) Keep the wishlists coming. 25th march 1999opponents that don't go awayYet another new command appears : "b_number". This takes a number as its argument and will spawn that number of bots in the game, and then respawn them at each new level start. Yes, the bots now know how to reconnect when you are map cycling. It's a CVAR again so will work from the command line with "+set b_number N". dynamic bot skill modificationI've just added a new cvar, "b_autoskill", that allows the bots to increase their skill as you get better against them. It's a simple formula based on you being 5 kills ahead of the nearest player on the server. Each time this happens (after a further five kills obviously) the b_skill value is increased by 1. So - see how high you can go :) To use it, just set it to 1, eg.: "+set b_autoskill 1". This setting will override the accuracy settings in your botnames.cfg and set the bot accuracy equal to the current bot skill level, giving you a gradually increasing level of opponents. I get to level two and get stuck there at the moment, after starting at b_skill 0. You still set the starting b_skill level, it just increases as you get better. Try starting at 0 and see how high you can take it! It wouldn't be too difficult to add an Arena type deathmatch mod to this code, now I've seen how easy this was, so you could face bots of increasing difficulty on each new level and work your way through a list of levels/bots until meeting the nasties on the last level. Just a thought... 24th march 1999bot accuracy modificationAfter numerous complaints from people feeling "challenged" by the bots' accuracy, I've done even more about it. I have now added an extra stat to the botnames.cfg file :- accuracy! This is set for each individual bot and ranges from 0 to 5. If it is set to "-1", or you are not using botnames.cfg then the individual bot accuracy defaults to the b_skill setting. The new formula is that bots will fire a scatter shot (100 - accuracy*20)% of the time, so level 5 don't miss and level 0 pepper the wall. The scatter shot will aim at an area that misses the middle 32*32 square of your body and varies by up to 32 units around that. Yes, they can still hit you but are at a very low chance of doing so. So, if ZiM isn't happy now, maybe I need to make the bots aim at the floor instead? [grin] The next version will, obviously, incorporate this change. When you download it, please be sure to alter or replace your botnames.cfg! 23rd march 1999BotBoard SiN bot discussion areaMany of you may not be aware of "forums" or "message areas" on the web, so for those of you who aren't follow the discussion link to the Bot Epidemic forum where we all talk about ReDeMpTiOn. A forum is like a newsgroup on UseNet but without the spam! I get in there and answer questions, discuss features, etc. whenever I'm able and there are several experienced ReDeMpTiOn and SiN users in there who can help out if you get stuck :) The forum is the best place to request new features and discuss ideas for the future development of the bot since we have a wider audience there than in e-mail and ideas can be bounced around a bit and improved upon. coding progressI have the base BotNode class working now and can run round dropping nodes to my heart's content [grin]. I now need to set up the save and load functions, then start linking the nodes to form routefiles for the bots. If anyone has any nice ideas for things to implement as part of the node system to help the bot AI become more player-like, then feel free to post in the forum. I always try to implement wishlists in the bot and we need to start getting a definitive list together of what all the SiN deathmatchers out there want to see the bot be capable of! Maybe we should inaugurate a voting system for the top feature requests so I know which one to work on next? 20th march 1999SinCest ReDeMpTiOn supportYou all know what SinCest is, don't you? If not - go get it! Wilka has built in native support for the ReDeMpTiOn bots - starting a deathmatch has never been easier! I will keep Wilka informed in advance of any new option switches I am adding to ReDeMpTiOn so he can update it at his leisure. Beta 0.3 released todayThis is not a major AI update or anything like that. Aldie got me the 1.03 source code this morning so I have ported ReDeMpTiOn across to it and recompiled. I have made a slight alteration to the way the bots spawn internally to help LAN/net players have less problems but that's all :) If you are using the 1.03 patch then I suggest you download this version. This is STILL beta, so keep a close eye on it and send me those bug reports and feature requests. If there is ever a major bug I will release an update as soon as I can find the fix so don't worry about waiting a week for an update [grin]. The next version will have improved bot AI and - hopefully - routefile support. I still want to use the built in node system if it will work fast enough for the bots. It is basically a non-greedy pathsearch algorithm calculated on the fly for each path request, whereas my system is greedy and pre-calculated. Anyone who is into routing algorithms will know what I'm talking about. Jim Dose' has put a lot of work into his system and is definately not a dull boy (read the source if you don't understand that comment). 18th march 1999beta 0.2 released todayThis version includes deliberate bot weapon and item collection and a few AI tweaks. I also found a possible SZ_Overflow bug and removed it. Keep the bug reports and feature requests coming. future featuresThere have been general community requests for a method of allowing the bots to automatically respawn after a level time or frag limit is hit. I did this for the DroneBots (Q2) so I can easily implement it here too. Map cycling has been mentioned - it is already in SiN :) Whatever method it is that allows SiN to cycle maps at level change will still work with ReDeMpTiOn. You can set up the maplist in the Multiplayer Options section of the SiN internal menu. I suspect the SiNcest author may know some way of doing it from outside SiN, but I don't at the moment. Some sort of routefile support needs to be the next big improvement. I have not managed to understand the built in pathnode system yet so I will probably just write my own. The Ritual pathing system looks very good and is used by the enemies in the game to get around the map but without someone to explain the system to me I will take too long to figure it out! 17th march 1999support codeI have had requests to write some utility to allow people to set up bots painlessly in their botnames.cfg file. I do not have time to do this at the moment. I have made available the source code to the part of ReDeMpTiOn that reads in the botnames.cfg and included a couple of bits inside comments that will check the file exists and write the contents to screen. This is really trivial stuff but needs someone to put a nice GUI and the reverse code to write the file in so it can work a bit like the QuickStart (Eraser Bot Wizard) program. It should probably check what models/skins you have available and let you choose from them in a drop down listbox, etc. I will continue to make this code segment available as I extend the use of this file in the future, so if any authors feel like having a go - be my guest! (I intend to add fields for bot accuracy, aggression, tactics, etc.) The code for the str class is in the Ritual SiN source code, which most of you will already have. Yes, I could do it - but I have a lot of work to do on ReDeMpTiOn to make it the best bot ever and don't want to slow down development by keeping two projects running at once. minor coding tweaksI have been just tweaking the code in readiness for the next stage of development
16th march 1999item collection fixedI found the buglet that was interfering with the item collection, so it all runs smoothly now. The bots now collect whatever they see closest to them. I am going to add a little more intelligence to their item selection as I improve the AI in general. 0.1 beta stabilityI have had some people reporting that the latest version of ReDeMpTiOn is stable across LAN play, so go for it guys! Keep the bug reports and wishlists coming too. 15th march 1999today's improvementsI started to implement item collection today. The storage system in SiN is completely different from Q2 so again this is all new code. I've got the bots collecting weapons, armor, ammo and health but am still having problems getting the engine to allow them to collect an item after it has respawned :) Very weird! 14th march 19990.1 beta released todayI decided not to hang off any longer before fixing the SZ errors, talk bugs, TimeLimit and fraglimit problems. This should be stable enough to run on a LAN server for testing purposes. If someone can try it out I'd appreciate it! If it is stable after an hours play on LAN then I'd say try it out on the net if you feel the urge. I'm only mentioning this because a few guys have asked when it will be stable enough for them to run on the net. bot epidemic site is upThe new OFFICIAL site is now up at http://www.botepidemic.com/redemption/ and is being maintained by [NUKE]RugbyMart. Please change your main bookmarks to point there as once I am happy it is all working ok I will be using it instead of this site. today's bug menuFixed today: ([nnnnn] = who reported the bug)
13th march 1999it's a bug's lifeThanks for the bug reports (sobbing)... I've started fixing them :) Keep them coming guys.
11th march 1999 - eveningSiN 1.04 source code will be released "soon"Aldie just ICQ'd me that the 1.03 code will not be released since the 1.04 (CTF) source is so close to completion, don't touch that dial :) alpha 0.2 released tonight!I had planned to release this tomorrow - what can I say? I finished it early :) The file is up on the downloads page. BE haven't set me up with hosting yet so maybe I need to look elsewhere? I don't have a lot of space on this site so I need something bigger guys. In this release, I feel the level 1 bots may be a little too hard for some newcomers. If any new players are using this mod, please mail me and let me know what you think. I can always stop them strafing, or make them less accurate. I can still beat them, but it takes a little effort. Level 3 on the other hand - ouch! sincest supports bots alreadySiNCest (THE SiN starter) already supports user mods such as bots. It also lets you set up the deathmatch flags for teamplay - see below for why that's useful :). got a bot epidemic websiteJust heard from Zeo - I got the site - yippee! Just got to figure out how to use it now (hehe) teamplay inSince we now have user defined models and skins for the bots, I thought it would be a good idea to teach them teamplay. Use standard dmflags settings Teamplay by Model, or Teamplay by Skin. Ideal for practising those clan deathmatches - get your opponents skin, put it on the bots, get your clan to join the server, kill, kill, kill. Much better than a pep talk! user defined skin support is inThe alpha 0.2 release has user defined skins available for the ReDeMpTiOn bots. There is a new file to put in the redemption directory. I'll provide a sample file and details of how to make your own - it's very simple though (just read the docs). Currently it will load in the bots in the order you put them in that file. I may go for random loading, but people might prefer an external program to choose the bots and make that file for them, I've seen other bots do this and it seemed popular. Any thoughts on this are welcome :) 11th march 1999special request from ZenManThe ZenMan dude has asked for custom skin support, as have some others, so I'm going to try to get that into this weekend's release. As soon as that is done I think I'll launch the second alpha version on you all :) I can't go beta until I fix the SZ problems, preferably in the 1.03 source code. On another happy note, I got this message yesterday: Yes we will be releasing the SinCTF Source Code soon... (Eric "Teufel" Schnetzer) sooooo... bots in CTF almost as soon as I get it! further bot improvements for next release
10th march 1999Mailed Zeo to see if BE are still gonna give me some webspace - well, they did say 4 days and, even if they don't count weekends, that time is up... No reply in today's mail yet. Maybe I should ask Ritualistic... any launcher authors reading this?A couple of people have asked for a launcher to simplify startup, if anyone is interested in writing one please just do it! I'll happily provide future file structures to any launcher authors for setting up bots etc., but for now it just needs to find the SiN installation and launch it with the right command line so that the non-technical out there can get the bots going painlessly (deathmatch 1, maxclients NN, set game redemption, etc..). Yes, I could do it myself, but I want to concentrate on the actual bot AI for a while to make it a worthy opponent. SiNCest could be used for this with very minor alterations, I expect. next version this weekendI'm still chugging away ready for another release this weekend. Yesterday's improvements:
9th march 1999 - general news and commentsI've been reading the forums on BE, Ritualistic and SiNPost and it seems that a lot of people are happily running the bot on the 1.03 update patch. So, it looks like it works on 1.03 guys (grin). Thanks to everyone who's giving me feedback, here's what I did yesterday:
I'll release a new version this weekend. I don't want to go beta until the SZ bugs are fixed and I really want the 1.03 source code for that. Still no webspace from Bot Epidemic. Zeo did say 4 days, I wonder if they count weekends? 7th march 1999 - bored waiting for bot epidemicI am using a private site for the bot until BE get their site sorted out for me. In the meantime my email there won't work so use my PQ address of riever@planetquake.com for bug reports and feature requests. You can also drop a message into the new Bot Epidemic botboard for "other games" and I'll catch it in there. The bot package is on http://www.netcentral.co.uk/~connorc/RedAlpha01.zip 5th march 1999 - client emulation fixedWell, after a lot of studying I figured out how to do client emulation in the SiN code! I now have the bots appearing on the scoreboard and registering frags just like the real players. Still up for a release this weekend as soon as Bot Epidemic give me a site. 3rd march 1999 - ReDeMpTiOn bot exists!The first version of this new SiN bot will be available this coming weekend. I'm trying to get hosted by Bot Epidemic and if it all comes through I'll be able to offer regular updates to the bot for downloading. If this page looks weird, try using IE5. I tested it on Netscape and it looks awful. Maybe Netscape doesn't support HTML4 tables, or someone changed the standard and forgot to tell me? If anyone doesn't know what a bot is, ask Cube [hehe]. If anyone doesn't know who I am, I coded the AI on the DroneBot for Quake2. It could do with more work but no-one seems overly worried about that so I'm going to continue my AI development using the SiN engine instead. I can always port my new ideas back to Q2 if necessary. For any coders reading this, the SiN source is laid out in pure C++ and is a dream to work with once you get the hang of it. I'm finding new stuff it can do every day. I have written the whole bot in one source file with a header and only had to add one function to SiN to enable users to spawn the bots - no other source changes needed! If there is any interest I'll post the source to a version of the bot that only spawns, dies, respawns, feels pain and walks around so someone else can start a bit of development too. I regularly check the coding forum on the Ritual site, so feel free to post in there and I'll reply when I can. And - yes, I know this page is rubbish! I code bots, not HTML :) Every hour I waste writing HTML is an hour that could be making ReDeMpTiOn better! I also hate writing docs, so don't be surprised if they suck too... |