Issue 2 24/11/05
This is the second issue of the The Core Explorer. The brand new newsletter
to promote the game CoreWar among new players. We will start from scratch
and explain a lot of different strategies, tips and tricks on how to become
more skilled in the game. We're sorry for the delay. The CoreExplorer will
be posted to rec.games.corewar more frequently, but most of us had spent
a lot of time coding for CSEC2005 (Corewar Single Elimination Cup 2005)
organized by Christian Schmidt, so we didn't find the time to write these
articles. Of course, we're looking forward to all contributions to this
newsletter and some more feedback from the readers. If there is something
that you want to be clarified in the next issues, or require a tip on a
specific topic, you should send us an email and say what is it that you want.
We hope that you'll find the topics in this issue to be interesting.
Enjoy!
_____________________________________________________________________________
___ Roy's Top 10 Resources: _________________________________________________
For new players its proven to be very hard to find good resources, here is
our top 10 list of resources and tutorials:
- The beginners guide to
Redcode.........http://vyznev.net/corewar/guide.html
- Steve Bailey's
Guides..........................http://corewar.co.uk/sgb.zip
- Phillip
Kendall.......http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~pak21/corewar/resource.html
- The Core
Warrior........http://www.corewar.info/corewarrior/corewarrior.htm
- Steve
Morrell........................http://www.koth.org/info/chapter1.html
- Corewar
Lexion..............................http://www.corewar.info/lexicon
- Fizmo's CoreWar
site................................http://www.corewar.info
- John Metcalfs
Library......................http://corewar.co.uk/library.htm
- KOTH.org (Info
Section).......................http://www.koth.org/info.html
- rec.games.corewar
(+FAQ)...http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.corewar
Last but not least, join us on IRC!
Server: irc.koth.org:6667
Channel: #corewars
Did we forget good resources? Mail us!
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______exploring stones - the basics_________________________________________
If you are a beginner and have read at least some of the introductory
texts designed to explain the basics of the game, you've probably stumbled
across a warrior called Dwarf. Dwarf is a simple warrior and not very
effective by modern standards, so you won't be using it to attack the hills.
However, it is an example of a larger group of warriors called stones.
So, what are stones? How do we define a stone? Well, a warrior is said to be
a stone if it attacks by copying some instructions through the core, hoping
to hit the opponent, and NOT caring if the opponents code is at the place
where the desired instructions are copied. Warriors that use the more
intelligent approach to first look for the place where they think their enemy
is, and then attack that place extensively are called scanners, and we will
talk about them more in the next issues.
The instructions that are copied by the stone to attack the enemy with are
called "bombs" and we'll call them that, too, from now on. We'll also say
that a stone "throws" those bombs throughout the core instead of the term
"copy". We'll do so because those are the terms that are more frequently
used among other redcoders and are also more intuitive. The bombs that are
most often used in stones are DAT bombs, because they instantly kill the
process that executes them (in other words, they remove that thread from the
queue of execution). Some stones use other bombs, but we'll talk about
that later. Let us first have a look at Dwarf, to remind ourselves how it
works. Here it is (at least one version - I'm not sure how the original
warrior looked like - there are many similar ways to write it):
step equ 4
org dwarf
dwarf add.ab # step, bomb
mov.i bomb, @ bomb
jmp -2, 0
bomb dat 0, 0
end
So, how does it work? It does the following: it increases the Bfield of the
DAT located at the bomb label, and then it moves that DAT to where its Bfield
points. Then it jumps right back to the beginning and repeats the cycle. How
much does it increase the Bfield of the bomb? In this case by 4. We'll call
that increment a "step" of the stone. So, it does the following:
dwarf add.ab # step, bomb ;this was just executed
mov.i bomb, @ bomb ;the next instruction for execution is here
jmp -2, 0
bomb dat 0, step
and then:
dwarf add.ab # step, bomb
mov.i bomb, @ bomb ;the bombs has just been thrown by this
;instruction
jmp -2, 0
bomb dat 0, step
dat 0, 0 ;(step-1) times DAT 0, 0
dat 0, 0 ;..
dat 0, 0 ;..
dat 0, step ;the bomb thrown step cells away
3 cycles later...
dwarf add.ab # step, bomb
mov.i bomb, @ bomb ;the bombs has just been thrown by this
;instruction
jmp -2, 0
bomb dat 0, 2*step
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, step ;the bomb thrown step cells away
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 2*step ;the bomb thrown 2*step cells away
It is quite simple, really. Now you're probably asking yourself: does dwarf
ever kill itself (when CORESIZE==8000)? Well, if you try it in Corewin in
melee mode, you'll see that it never does. Why? Because of its step.
Because 8000 is divisable by 4. In other words, the dwarf will bomb 8000/4
places in the core, at regular intervals:
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, n*step
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, (n+1)*step
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, (n+2)*step
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
dat 0, (n+3)*step
...
...
Since the bomb is located just below the jmp -2, 0 instruction, the jmp, mov,
and add instructions won't be hit if the dwarf uses this step. What about
other steps? Well, every other step that produces the same pattern can be
safely used. It is even better to use some other step here. Why? Evenn though,
let's say, 3044 produces the same pattern (try it!) (because 4 =
gcd(8000, 3044)) - using it instead of 4 is better in general. At this point
you're probably not familiar with the optima program for evaluating stone
steps or any other algorithm to do that, right? We won't be doing some tedious
analysis here, just try to explain it in simple terms. Our goal is to defeat
our opponent. We don't know where it is. Our warrior simply throws the bombs
around and hopes for a lucky hit. However, the step is very significant. Not
every step has the same probability of hitting the target in the desired time.
Let us think about this a little. 4 and 3044 eventually produce the same
pattern - so, everything that can be killed by first step should be killed
by the second one, and vice versa. Also, they are used in the same warrior and
thrown at same speed. So, where is the difference? Before we continue, we'll
have to learn some more expressions:
- a space between two consecutive places in the core that were hit by bombs
is called a gap.
- if gcd(STEP, CORESIZE) = k, then we say that value STEP is mod-k in core
of size CORESIZE.
You have probably guessed how we're going to evaluate our steps. If the
greatest gap in the core at a time t is m, then no warrior with main body
of size greater than m could've survived until then. So, the smaller the gap,
better chances for eliminating our opponent. We'll also observe the change
of average gap in time and the standard deviation on the set of all gaps in
the core, etc.
If you like, you can design an algorithm of your own to calculate these
evaluations for stone steps. You can use your own formula. But let's get back
to the point. The greatest gap when using 4 is MUCH larger than when using
3044. So, 3044 is better by that measure. We've probably said enough about
optimizing steps for now. We should focus on making some warriors first. :)
Let's look at some better stones now.
First, we need to think a little. What should we change in Dwarf? What is it
that we want to accomplish? We want to increase the speed (if the size isn't
drastically increased by this, it is usually a good idea). We want to give
some extra processes to the stone, to make it more resistant to paper attacks
(more about it in the following part of this text). We also want to make it
enter what is called a "coreclear phase" - to copy DATs over the entire core,
striking a final blow to the opponent. In the next Core Explorer issues, we'll
also discuss other bombs, and some advanced tricks. But this is enough for
now.
So, why making a stone with more than 1 process in the bombing loop? Why will
it have some sort of resistance to paper attacks. Well, we're going to
explain some strategic ideas later on, but let's just say for now, without
explanation (if you're that eager to hear it, you can always skip some lines
and find it later in the text) that ost stones get easily beaten by papers
(replicators). So, by giving the stone some sort of resistance to papers, we
want to make it lose less when it's confronted by papers, which is necessary
if we want to have any success with it. Now, remember what we were talking
about in the previous issue. How do silk-style papers work? If you don't
remember, look at it once again. It's important to know that. Observe what
happens when a paper copy overwrites a stone (or some other enemy). When
will the enemy survive such an event? The answer is very simple: if it has
enough processes in it to use that paper copy for its further attack. So,
if a 6 process silk-style paper is used, the stone has to have at least 6
processes at some place if it wants to be able to survive overwriting by a
paper copy. We'll see later on that multiprocessing is important in some
other cases, as well, and not only when fighting papers. For now, just
memorize that it's generally a good idea to have many processes in the loop,
if they cooperate well - not to disrupt the functioning of the stone.
Enough talking. Time for our next example!
;redcode
;name CE_example_stone_1
;assert CORESIZE == 8000
step equ 3039
val1 equ step
val2 equ val1+step
org stone
stone spl # 2*step,> 2*step
mov } val1, val2
add.f stone, -1
dstr djn.f -2, < -2200
end
This stone is faster. Why? Well, it also has 3 working instructions in the
bombing loop (we don't count spl, because it doesn't affect the speed much),
and we attack two places at once, instead of just one. We attack one by
using "}" Afield postincrement mode, and hit the other place with whatever
the Afield of the first place is pointing to. How do we know that it'sa
DAT field that has been thrown. We don't. But in most cases, it will be,
at least in the early phase, when the core isn't filled with enemy code
and various decoys. So, if we denote by "c" the speed where in n cycles,
we attack n places (like the speed of light in corewar), then dwarf
operates in 0,33c and this stone in 0,66c and even a little faster. Why
faster? Well, it also has what is called a djn stream. Look at what
dstr instruction does when it is executed. Try it! It decrements the fields
of neighbour instructions and continues doing that until this stone
is stopped when it hits itself. It doesn't die, however, because it
has the SPL instruction at the top. If you're wondering how that SPL
works, here is the explanation:
# - the immediate addressing mode is interpreted as location '0' in
execution. So, spl #x, y works the same way as spl 0, 0. It constantly
creates new processes and keeps one process on itself for further
process creation.
You may ask now why did we use ">" in the SPL Bfield. We didn't have to.
But it can damage the opponent, and we lose nothing by incorporating
it in our stone.
3039 is a mod-1 step. And not only that. It is THE best mod-1 step
according to optima score. So, if you are searching for good steps,
here is one that is very good. It doesn't mean, however, that it will
work best in your warrior. You need to test several before you make
the final version to submit to the hill.
The only true disadvantage of the previous example is that it doesn't
coreclear. We're going to have a look a stone with a coreclear phase.
Stay tuned!
;redcode
;name CE_example_stone_2
;assert CORESIZE==8000
step equ 3351
ini equ (2*step+1)
ds equ 3800
org stone
stone spl # 2*step, < 2*step
mov ini, ini+step
mov sbomb, * -1
add.f stone, @ -1 ;will be hit with its bomb
djn.f @ -2, < ds ;later to begin coreclear
sbomb dat > -1, > 1
end
Before we begin the analysis of this warrior, first try to notice something
important. Try this warrior in Corewin. Set the speed to some of the lower
values. Observe carefully. What is the order in which the instructions are
executed. The opposite of what you expected, right? bottom -> up. That's
what happens when you have a SPL at the top. I won't attempt to reason
why it is so, but I'm sure that once you try it out and see for yourself,
you'll understand how it works.
Now, we're going to analyze this instruction by instruction.
spl #2*step, <2*step
We've already seen how this works, so no need to waste time here. Let's
continue. Now we're going to go through the rest of the warrior from
bottom to top.
djn.f @-2, <ds
The bottom loop instruction. It makes a djn stream. If you look at the
stone closely, you'll see where it jumps. It jumps at the instruction
just below the SPL. Why didn't we write djn.f -3, <ds? Well, we could
have :). Try it like that and see if there's any difference.
add.f stone, @-1
Not much to explain here. increases the attack instructions values by
a desired number.
mov sbomb, *-1
First attack. This way, both places are attacked by a real DAT bomb,
unlike the previous example where we've only damaged the first place
with a postincrement. It also means that we'll definitely throw a
DAT at the next place.
mov ini, ini+step
Another attack instruction. At where its Afield points to is already
a copy of our sbomb. So, we throw it again STEP places away from the
first place. That's why we later increment by 2*STEP.
Now, have a look at the bomb. It looks a little strange, doesn't it?
Well, we haven't been discussing coreclears yet, so I can't explain
it completely. For now, just memorize that it is a good bomb to use
and that it's able to inflict great damage to coreclears - most
likely kill them.
And now we're going to look at how this stone coreclears. Once again,
I advise you to try this warrior in CoreWin and look at the display,
use a single step mode after you see that it started coreclearing,
and you'll be able to grasp the concept in no time. If you don't
use CoreWin or simply don't want to do this, we'll also try to
explain it here. After some time, the stone hits itself with its bomb.
It looks like this at that time:
t = t0
spl # 6702, < 6702
mov 4651, 2
mov 3, * -1
dat > -1, > 1
djn.f @ -2, < 3800
dat > -1, > 1
1 cycle after t0 :
spl #6702, < 6702
mov 4651, 2
mov 3, * -1
dat > -1, > 1
djn.f @ -2, < 3800
dat > -1, > 1
the djn was executed, and decremented one place far away
in the code in front of us, there were no changes
2 cycles after t0 :
spl # 6702, < 6702
mov 4651, 2
mov 3, *0
dat > -1, > 1
djn.f @ -2, < 3801
dat > -1, > 1
3, 4, 5 cycles after t0, nothing changes - mov 3, *0
doesn't really do anything, and mov 4651, 2 either.
The same goes for djn instruction. After that, it's time
for another execution of dat >-1, >1.
6 cycles after t0 :
spl # 6702, < 6702
mov 4651, 2
mov 3, * 1
dat > -1, > 1
djn.f @ -2, < 3801
dat > -1, > 1
the mov 3, *1 will overwrite itself with a dat >-1, >1 now:
7 cycles after t0 :
spl # 6702, < 6702
mov 4651, 2
dat > -1, > 1
dat > -1, > 1
djn.f @ -2, < 3801
dat > -1, > 1
Now everything is set for the coreclear to begin. We only need to look
at the first 3 instructions now:
spl # 6702, < 6702
mov 4651, 2
dat > -1, > 1
The top SPL constantly produces new processes, so our warrior won't die yet.
After a process executes the MOV, it falls through to the DAT, and increments
the Bfield of MOV instruction. Therefore, the MOV instruction will throw a
bomb one cell further away each time, until it overwrites the entire core
with it. Of course, it will kill itself eventually, but we're hoping
that it will kill the opponent before that happens. If the opponent is
also a stone or a scanner, that will surely happen. Papers are a problem.
Of course, we could've been wrong in some places in this text. You shouldn't
trust us. :) You need to test everything by yourself. You won't be able to
learn corewar well simply by reading texts and tutorials. You have to try
making your own warriors. So, start Corewin and experiment. The hill is
waiting! Before we end this article, I'd like to give you some test results
of the example warriors in this issue - obtained through 400 rounds fights
and also by sending them to 94b for test. Look at this:
Example_stone_1 vs Dwarf3044 W% 61.5 L% 5.8 T% 32.8
Example_stone_2 vs Dwarf3044 W% 60.5 L% 10.0 T% 29.5
Example_stone_2 vs Example_stone_1 W% 44.0 L% 23.3 T% 32.8
If this hasn't convinced you that we were right, then nothing will :).
Scores at 94b hill:
Dwarf4 51,8 W% 12.9 L% 74.0 T% 13.1
Dwarf3044 72,7 W% 19.7 L% 66.7 T% 13.6
Example1 102,0 W% 23.2 L% 44.4 T% 32.4
Example2 104,6 W% 31.8 L% 58.9 T% 9.4
It looks like we've made a gigantic leap forward. We started with that
weak little Dwarf, and now we have those good stones. We'll use one of them
for our hint warrior in this issue.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______some strategic advices________________________________________________
You've probably heard about stone/paper/scissor analogy in corewar. I'll try
to explain it a little here. At least when it comes to paper vs stone fight,
since those are the warriors that we explained a little so far. Like the
original game says, paper beats stone, stone beats scissors, and scissors
beat papers. So, papers (replicators) beat stones. Why? Well, it's not that
complicated, actually. Papers make many copies of themselves quickly. Stones
that use DAT ammunition simply can't kill all those paper copies fast enough.
That's why stones are seldomly used alone, more often they are only used as
a component in a bigger and more complex warrior. If they are used alone,
then they have to use some smarter bombs, and implement some advanced tricks
and be very well optimized, etc. You probably won't get good scores as a
beginner if you try to use a stone without any protection to increase its
survival rate against papers and warriors that use papers as components. One
way to achieve that is to make a stone + paper. We'll do that as a hint
warrior in this issue. Stone/papers have scored well on the hills lately. The
stones help papers against scissor-type warriors, and papers help stones
survive and score good against other stones.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______Core Explorer Warrior #2______________________________________________
As mentioned above, we'll make a simple stone/paper here. Good stone/papers
also use some advanced warrior parts, such as quickscans, but we won't use
them since we're still far away from explaining them here. For all those
advanced beginners - you can find the quickscan tutorial at Jens Gutzeit's
webpage.
We'll use the paper from the previous issue and add a stone from this issue.
It should work better now :).
Since you already know how that paper works and how this stone works, we
won't be explaining it here once again. There is no need to. We'll just give
you the code of what we'll send to 94b hill with some short explanations.
;redcode-94b
;name CoreExplorerWarrior #2
;author Core Explorer staff
;assert CORESIZE==8000
;strategy an example of a stone/paper
;strategy boot, no qscan
;strategy paper from the previous issue
pStep1 equ 2341
pStep2 equ 2421
pStep3 equ 3241
bStep equ 100
step equ 3351
ini equ (2*step+1)
ds equ 3800
sbd equ 2831
pbd equ 873
org boot
for 56
dat 0, 0
rof
boot spl 1, {-522
spl 1, {-811
spl 1, {-938
mov <sgo, {sgo
sgo spl sbomb+1+sbd, sbomb+1
spl *sgo, {-1133
mov <pgo, {pgo
pgo jmp bomb+1+pbd, bomb+1
for 10
dat 0, 0
rof
fsilk1 spl @0, }pStep1
mov.i }fsilk1, >fsilk1
fsilk2 spl @0, >pStep2
mov.i }fsilk2, >fsilk2
mov.i bomb, <bStep
mov.i {fsilk2, {bsilk1
bsilk1 jmp pStep3, 0
bomb dat.f < 1, {1
for 10
dat 0, 0
rof
stone spl #2*step, <2*step
mov ini, ini+step
mov sbomb, *-1
add.f stone, @-1
djn.f @-2, <ds
dat 0, 0
dat 0, 0
sbomb dat >-1, >1
end
Notice that the paper is slightly changed. We've added some extra attack by
changing SPL's in the paper. How does this work? Well, only one thing is
different now. Before the paper copies itself over a location where it
sends its processes to wait, it damages that place by decrements/increments.
This will increase the score a little.
We've also moved the sbomb a little away from the stone itself. Why? Well,
if someone is looking for us, we are less visible this way. This won't help
the score much, because we've moved the sbomb only 2 places away. However,
you should note that this is usually done in good warriors.
One thing is important. Why do we split twice to the stone before going to
the paper? Well, if we didn't, paper would've slowed down the stone too much,
and we would achieve less wins. If your goal is durability rather than W%,
then you could split only once. But it will probably have a negative impact
on the score. The alternative is to use a stone that has two SPL's at the top
to increase the speed in which the stone creates new processes. Both tricks
were used in good warriors, so it's hard to say which is better. The first
one is more frequently used these days.
It is always tricky to do a good balancing of stone/paper's processes. This
warrior is not optimized. It could probably score even better if it were.
Why did we copy our code away from the starting place (called: "booting")?
Well, just in case that enemy is looking for our code, we leave the original
code as a decoy and use a booted copy. It is also a bad idea to have a paper
close to the stone in the beginning. Why? If some warrior coreclears or
attacks close locations in the core, it could kill both of our components
that way, and we don't want that to happen. So, we separate them to be
far apart, and if we lose one of them, the other will probably survive :)
Now look at the boot part of the warrior once again. Why do we have those {x
Bfields. It's simple. We could damage the opponent, and it doesn't cost us
anything. We could've used 0 Bfields instead, but what's the point of that?
This way, we can hope for an occasional lucky hit and maybe some extra points.
One of the main problems for beginners is that they have the ideas, but
lack the experience to write good warriors, because they don't know these
tricks, which are commonly used in warriors on the hills. In the very
beginning everyone wishes only for their warriors to work. Later on you'll
become greedy and want to score well on the hill, as well. It's only natural.
This section of Core Explorer is designed to introduce to you all these
tricks. It is not as introductory as the above part. Here you may stumble
accross things that won't be perfectly clear right away. But you can always
come back later on and have another peek at this code. It's not so
complicated. It probably is, if you are an absolute beginner. But, if you
have some experience, and have tried some warriors at 94b already - you'll
probably find these sections useful. If you have any suggestions, you can
always mail us. :) And should, if you want something to be done differently.
Now, let's submit this thing to 94b... And the score is... :
26.CoreExplorerWarrior #2 125,0 W% 22.2 L% 19.4 T% 58.3
That is not so bad. The 25th warrior has a score of 126,1. So, you may take
this warrior and play with the boot distances and paper steps, try to improve
it. If you manage to improve it just a little you'll be on the hill. :)
Notice that it scored much better than the paper did last time, and much
better than the stone did this time. Stone/papers really are a nice
combination. The reason for it not entering the hill is a large number of
ties against other papers.
We still lose some possible points because we lack a qscan. This warrior
could easily score +8 points on the hill. So, there is even more potential
in this piece of code :).
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______94b hill report_______________________________________________________
The hill hasn't aged much sine the last time - only 8 successfull challenges.
And it is more than a month since the last issue now. You need to try harder!
So, the situation hasn't changed much and most of what was said the last time
is still true and can be applied to the current hill, as well. Now that you've
seen how to make a stone/paper, you could try making those. Stone/imps can do
well, if you know how to make them. The hill is perhaps a little more diverse
than the last time, so I guess that most strategies could do well, if
carefully implemented. Try anything that has your attention now. Experiment.
Look at the code of some of the warriors currently on the hill. Some of them
are published and you can find them at Koenigstuhl infinite hill. Look at
Svarog. Look at Yatima. Look at Blur2. In the end, it is your decision what
you want to make. If you're discouraged by the strength of the current hill,
don't be. It'll change soon. By the end of this year, age limit will be
introduced to 94b hill. So, all of the old warriors will automatically be
removed from the hill, making space for new submissions. However, I think
that you should take your chances now, too. It is more challenging :).
Current hill status:
# %W/ %L/ %T Name Author Score Age
1 33.5/ 24.8/ 41.7 Yatima v2.0.5 Jens Gutzeit 142.2 80
2 41.4/ 41.7/ 16.9 Svarog Nenad Tomasev 141.1 112
3 40.7/ 43.1/ 16.2 test Andreas Scholta 138.4 11
4 28.8/ 19.2/ 52.0 D'n'B [v0.3] inversed 138.4 16
5 40.0/ 42.1/ 17.9 Dragonfly S.Fernandes 138.0 9
6 39.5/ 41.0/ 19.5 QSCAN!!! Daniel Rivas 138.0 2
7 29.4/ 21.4/ 49.2 Kompaktor inversed 137.3 3
8 26.0/ 15.4/ 58.6 Snare_Rush_v0.7 Inversed 136.6 17
9 39.3/ 42.7/ 18.0 Xenocitrum_v0.8 inversed 136.0 24
10 41.3/ 47.4/ 11.3 Star Sascha Zapf 135.1 243
11 28.8/ 23.4/ 47.8 Blotter inversed 134.2 13
12 39.1/ 44.1/ 16.8 Unknown Neo 134.2 198
13 27.4/ 21.9/ 50.7 stealthbomb Fizmo and Neutrino 132.8 111
14 30.6/ 28.6/ 40.8 3[sm]md v0.2 inversed 132.7 10
15 30.3/ 28.5/ 41.1 The Silent Death Anonymous 132.1 94
16 37.9/ 44.7/ 17.4 Blur 2 Anton Marsden 131.0 8
17 36.0/ 41.5/ 22.5 Planter datagram 130.5 1
18 25.1/ 19.9/ 55.0 Biomass_v0.8 inversed 130.2 27
19 25.8/ 22.5/ 51.8 Barkosta[v0.3] inversed 129.0 26
20 29.1/ 29.3/ 41.6 ptest Sascha Zapf 128.8 4
21 27.6/ 27.9/ 44.5 Tom David Moore 127.2 226
22 36.7/ 46.5/ 16.9 dx42e inversed 126.9 20
23 36.8/ 47.1/ 16.0 think twice v.2 el kauka 126.6 53
24 21.8/ 17.3/ 60.9 Everybody must getmadjester 126.3 148
25 36.8/ 47.5/ 15.7 Blindfolded Miz b 126.1 22
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______EXTRA EXTRA: Interview with datagram__________________________________
> Q1: Please, tell the readers something about yourself. What is your name,
> where do you live, how did you learn about corewar, etc.
My name is datagram, and I live on the west coast of the USA. I
learned about Corewar because I have played games like roothack...a
few links later and I found Fizmo's page ( http://corewar.info ).
> Q2: What is your current skill level in corewar? For how long do you play?
I consider myself a beginner in the game; I have only been playing
since late August-September 2005.
> Q3: Do you have any favourite strategies at this point? Favourite warriors?
Yes and no. Most people know what my favorite strategy is, but in the
tournament I played all the different strategies. As for warriors...I
don't have enough warriors for there to be a favorite. Simon is on 94m
and has stayed there for a while, but nothing particularly special. He
was my first warrior and I am glad that he has done OK on that
hill...but that hill is pure chaos. Planter got onto 94b, but did not
place very high. I think as more stones come to flush out the scanners
on that hill that his position might improve (he has a paper component
in his p-switcher that is anti stone/imp).
> Q4: You took part at CSEC2005 tournament and have been successful, right?
> You must be happy about it. Was it hard? Would you recommend it to other
> unexperienced players, as well?
I got 7th overall, I believe. Not bad for a newbie who only wrote one
warrior before the tournament? I think I mised quite a bit of the
tournament, and I think Jens got the bracket that I was supposed to
get (apologies!). It was hard because I had only played on standard
core sizes without crazy restrictions. I'd recommend it, even if you
get out the first round.
> Q5: Was CSEC2005 a useful experience? Did you learn something in the
> process of making warriors for different challenges there?
Yes, I think anyone who plays expands their warrior writing skills
because you have to adapt to different conditions and your favorite
type of warrior won't work in all rounds; you have to write all types
of warriors, and learn to write them all well.
> Q6: Will you take part in the tournament next year? Do you plan on
> participating in the future rounds of Redcoders Frenzy tournament, as well?
Yes, of course. I told Fizmo that I'd host a tournament once so that
he could participate in it instead. He just might take me up on that
offer for CSEC2006! I wanted to participate in RCF24, but I had only
just learned to Redcode when the deadline was nearing, so I did not
create a warrior for that. Upcoming RCF tournaments I should be able
to participate in, though.
> Q7: Do you feel that the gap between beginners and more experienced players
> is big or small?
I think it's fairly small, but it depends on where you want to gauge
it. The tournaments offer a good way for beginners to have a generally
level playing ground because of unexplored and crazy core settings
which take away people's favored strategies and make people come up
with new ideas and techniques. But the hills are a different story. It
will still probably take me a while to get onto 94 draft because those
are all good players with well optimized, well written warriors.
> Q8: What are your first impressions about Core Explorer?
I like CE, I am more advanced than pure beginner now, so all the
articles I might already understand, but it is very nice to see
current corewar information. I think most players notice the pre 2000
dates on most of the Corewar pages, and they think this game is dead
;).
> Q9: What is, in your opinion, the most significant source of information
> for beginners while they are learning how to make good warriors? What
> would you recommend?
Corewar.info has many great links, and The Introduction to Redcode v
1.21 is also very good. Those coupled with the open source Koenigstuhl
hills and any beginner should be able to understand strategy and
coding tricks and shortcuts.
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Authors: Nenad <tomasev at nspoint.net>, Roy <roy_van_rijn at gmail>
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