How Grobots Players Share Sides and Join Tournaments

Updated

Grobots players share self-made sides by sending them to the project's mailing list or posting them on the wiki, and they enter tournaments the same way: the site announces tournaments in its News section and asks players to submit sides through the list or wiki. The site names the mailing list as the main discussion forum, so it is the central place for both feedback and competition entries. Note that the site describes the authors as potentially slow to respond, and maintenance from the original authors as sporadic.

Where to share a side

The site gives two channels for showing a new side to other users or entering it in tournaments:

  • Mailing list — described as the main discussion forum. Send your side there to share it or submit it to a tournament.
  • Wiki — the site is moving its documentation to a wiki, and you can also post sides there. The same wiki is where you can help improve the poor documentation.

There is no separate upload portal or submission form described on the page.

How tournaments work

Tournaments are announced in the News section rather than on a dedicated tournament page. One example from the site: a news item dated 20120804 announced a tournament on August 13 and asked players to send in their sides or post them on the wiki.

Results are published for browsing — the site points to "tournament results to ponder" and names ISI as the current champion at the time of writing. Treat that champion note as a snapshot, not a live ranking; check the News and results pages for the current state.

What you need before submitting

A side is a program written in a simple dialect of Forth that controls a team of robots for foraging, reproduction, and fighting. The site is direct about the difficulty: "The learning curve is steep, and the documentation is, unfortunately, poor." Before entering a tournament, expect to:

  1. Write and test a side against the existing sides that ship with the game.
  2. Compare behavior against known results — the Java port is described as compatible with the C++ version, running existing sides with essentially the same results.
  3. Submit through the mailing list or wiki when a tournament is announced.

Practical caveats

  • Response times: the authors "like to hear from users, but can be very slow to respond." Don't plan a tournament entry around a quick reply.
  • Maintenance: upkeep from the original authors is sporadic, though the site notes you can download source and binaries and maintain things yourself.
  • Platforms: builds exist for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, and a Java port (announced 20140724) extends this to more platforms, including Unixes and probably some phones. The Java port's simulation is complete and fast, but some GUI windows — notably the minimap — are not yet implemented.

For the current tournament schedule, champion, and submission deadlines, check the News section and the results pages on the site directly, since the page content reflects specific past announcements.