btsk23.txt

Title    : Bot Skeleton v0.23
Filenames: btsk23.zip

Version  : 0.23 
Date     : July 22, 1997
Author   : Roscoe A. Sincero
Email    : legion@keg.zymurgy.org 

           legion@nether.net address is difficult for me to use since
           the nether.net system goes down from time to time.  To ensure
           that I receive your message please send the e-mail to
           legion@keg.zymurgy.org and *NOT* to legion@nether.net.

           As of the last week of June, nether.net lost one of its major
           hard-drives.  It is still down.

           legion@gaianet.net will no longer be working starting
           June 15th--the account will be deactivated.  My own connection
           to the internet is quite flaky (just like nether.net's) but
           even if I'm not connected, zymurgy.org will *STILL* receive
           your e-mail.  It just may take some time before I read them.
           I believe I lost some e-mail on my nether.net account since that
           system goes down for whatever reason.  The zymurgy account is
           more stable and reliable.


Moniker  : "I Cause Lags!"
Credits  : ID for making Quake, although they need to
           improve on the language QuakeC greatly.
         
           Cameron Newham of the Eliminator Bot v1.4
           Jonathan E. Wright of Cujobot v1.4 and Zeus v2.05
           Punisher for BGBot v1.6
           Alan Kivlin of QCBot for his detailed instructions on how
               to get the bots on the rankings and his accompanying
               source code to add bots to rankings.  His code to
               count max number of clients as well as remove bots
               from game were also used.  The notion to set .watertype
               equal to zero at StartFrame function was also his.
           Andrew B. Davidson for New CTF Bot v1.2
           Dark_Skye of Darkbot v0.11d and ghost of Femplayer v2.5
               for the female sounds.
           Steven Polge for Reaperbot v0.81 (for rpbot0.dem)

Misc     : This package contains the source code for a skeleton code
           to help you make your own bot.  The only thing missing
           from the code is its own AI.  However, this is a working
           skeleton code.  I inserted a portion of BGBot's AI into
           the code.  (The bot will NOT search for items.)  It is
           assumed that you will add in your own AI and remove BGBot.
           Or if you wish, you can add the remaining portions of 
           BGBot's AI so it can search for items.  Just because it
           can't search for items like health or armor, don't assume
           it can't pick these items up by accident or that they
           can't fight very well.  (See attack.dem)

           
============
Type of Mod
============

Quake C  : yes, of course.
Sound    : no
MDL      : no


==================
Format of Quake C
==================

unified diff  : yes, no, maybe.  I would tell you if I knew what this was.
context diff  : yes, no, maybe.  I would tell you if I knew what this was.
.qc files     : yes
progs.dat     : no
progs.dat size: n/a, you will need to compile it.

==========================
What's New v0.22 --> v0.23
==========================
   - added minor trap avoidance code.  Bot will attempt to avoid traps
     that shoot from ceiling.  (See bge1m5.dem)
   - completely reworked jump ai.
      - it will even predict whether or not the bot (or player) can
        make a jump.  Prediction is upto 32 frames ahead.  Prediction
        does take into account gravity.  (See traj1.dem for a sample.)
   - major modifications for walking/running with waterlevel 1 or less
      - walking on steps is now smoother
   - removed splashing sounds (See bgstart.dem, bge1m2, bge1m5.dem)
   - showed more strafing examples (See bgstart.dem, bge1m1.dem)
   - added lag simulation for players only.
      - impulse 40 decrease ping, impulse 41 increase ping
      - simulation is not perfect
         - upward velocity while swimming in water is not lagged
         - shooting is not lagged although AIMING is
      - simulation is for those of you who wish to practice deathmatch
        against a LPB (low ping bot)

===============================
Description of the Modification
===============================
This package contains the latest copy of my norse_movetogoal function.
The version number is v0.32.  The instructions to use this new movement
is contained in the botmove.qc file.  Please read the file.

The skeleton package (minus the AI, of course) will allow your bot to:
   a) move on broken ground, swim, jump over gaps, etc.  (See demos).
   b) male and female bots are supported as well as male and female
      skins.  The female sounds are included in the package.  You will
      need to supply your own skins.  Read the source for more important
      information regarding skins.
   c) your bot will move while attacking.
   d) random names for bots.  Real names are used, not like Reaper7skill3
      or something like that.  
   e) classes are supported.  Currently, two classes are in use.  You will
      need to create more if you want.  Fighters and Original Quake
      soldiers are the two classes.
   f) Thud reduction code.  The bot is far less likely to make the thud
      sounds now.  Zeus bot requires you to have a new demon wav sound
      file to remove the thuds.  This package will allow you to have a
      bot that is unlikely to make thud sounds.  However, the faster the
      bot moves, the more likely the sound will occur, especially if
      bot was shot straight up into the air from a rocket blast.  This
      is all done using QuakeC, so no new wav file is needed.
   g) circle strafing without using walkmove is used as well as normal
      strafing (again without using walkmove).
      - you will need to modify values for constant in strafing code
        if you want the bot to fight better.  In addition, you will
        need to add code so that the bot can avoid grenades, rockets,
        and other such things.
   h) bots use all eight weapons well including the axe
   i) backpacks contain *ALL* the weapons the deceased had.
   j) a message of the day is included.
   k) Deathmatch settings are supported.  Deathmatch variable is a bit
      variable.
         1 - normal Quake rules
         2 - items don't respawn
         4 - axe only DM
         8 - Fighters only DM
         16 - health in backpacks
         64 - humans vs. bots (well, bots won't attack each other)


      NOTE: Fighters in Fighters-ONLY DM games are different from
            normal fighters.  The range for the axe as well as the
            maximum damage from the axe have been reduced to add
            some balance to the game.  Axe from fighters are DIFFERENT
            from normal axe used by Quake soldiers.

   l) weapons modified so that shootable doors, etc. don't bleed
   m) skill levels for bot's yaw speed, aiming, movement speed (if you
      don't specify the speed yourself), strafing abilities and pain
      frame use.  Skills range from zero to three.  Yes, this means that
      skill 1 bots can miss with their shotguns from close range but
      don't expect the bot to miss often.  I suggest that you MOVE around
      to make it more likely that the bot will miss.
   o) bot suffers from weapon hit momentum like real players so you
      can bounce them around now with your rocket launchers
   p) bot's pitch is +/- 45 degrees.  So players can see the bot looking
      up or down.  However, it's AIMING pitch is +/- 80 degrees.  The
      bot's yaw and aiming yaw are identical.  This is roughly the same
      as real players.  Maybe 45 degrees is too high.  It could be 35
      degrees, I don't know.  Play around with the value until you get
      a more realistic view of the bot's body.  Since a real player can
      not shoot straight up or down, the aiming pitch can not be +/-
      90 degrees, it is more like +/- 80 degrees.
   q) And thanks to Alan K., the bots show up on rankings.
  

=====
Demos
=====
There are 8 demos showing off the new movement and reduction of thud sounds.
In addition, four demos of Zeus bot is also provided.  The final demo is a
demo showing the reaperbot on START map.  It is basically a "demo fodder"
showing the bot's dislike for walking on broken ground.  The zeus demos and
the reaperbot demo were all taken from btmv31.zip.  All the demos were
recorded on a 100MHz Sager laptop.  So the quality of animation may not be
as good as a demo recorded on a P200 machine.

Attack demos are demos of BGBot in action attacking me.  I had to cheat a few
times to allow you to see what the bot can do when you (the target) don't
move too much and are basically stationary.

The demos speak for themselves.  Zeus bot movement is not as good as
a bot using norse_movetogoal.  The reaperbot can't even be considered.
It is worthy to note that the Zeus bot is able to obtain the super nailgun
by jumping out of the water on E1M2.  Apparently, Zeus bot is bionic.
Unfortunately for Zeus, his bionics failed him when he tried to jump from
one ledge to another on the same map.  Moreover, Zeus moves like Jesus--he
can jump up and down while on top of water!

The demos are played in a specific order.  You will see the zeus demos first
followed by BGBot with the new movement code.  You will see the improvements
made from Zeus (Jan '97) to BGBot (July '97).

Only a maximum of 8 demos can be in the demo loop.  So you'll need to type
"playdemo bge1m8", "playdemo rpbot0", "playdemo attack", "playdemo attack1"
and "playdemo attack2" at the console to play the last five demos.

The zeus demos require that the *.spr files be placed in the progs
subdirectory containing this patch.  Visit http://www.planetquake.com
for instructions on how to install patches if you:
   a) do not know what a subdirectory is
   b) do not know what it means when one says to unzip the patch into
      its own directory in the Quake directory
   c) do not know how to create any directories or even go into one
   d) do not know how to use the pkunzip program so that all the
      files are placed in the proper subdirectories
   e) do not know where to unzip the patch

I only included enough files to play the Zeus demos.  You will see error
messages telling you that certain sound files were not loaded.  Ignore
them and watch the Zeus bot lose the war on movement.  You should hear the
excessive splashing sounds made by Zeus and the thud sounds.  All the *.spr
files are actually bubbles, these are not the original *.spr for Zeus.

I should note that you can not bounce the Zeus bot around like you can
with real players.  See bgstart.dem for an example of a bot being bounced
around with a RL.

================
Impulse commands
================
If you wish to compile the program right away to test out the skeleton code
with the partial BGBot AI, then the following impulse commands will be
useful to you:

   impulse 20  Spawn a male bot
   impulse 21  Spawn a female bot

================
General Comments
================
You are encouraged to add your AI into the code.  Please name your bot
package to something OTHER than Doombot or Norsebot.  Major portions
of the message of the day should not be modified.  Simply follow the
instructions provided in the source.  You will need to compile the included
source if you wish to try out the package right away.

The movecode has been "tweaked" for doombot.  For your bot, you will need
to modify some of the values used in botmove.qc to make your bot move
as smoothly as possible.  

Yes, I am misusing the word "skeleton".  This package contains too many
things to be called a "skeleton".  However, I could not think up a better
name.

Now some of you may be wondering why am I picking on Zeus?  Well, Zeusbot is
rated by the QuakeC Archives as 10/10 while the Reaper is rated 7/10 below
the CTFBot (9/10) and Karnagbot (8/10).  In addition, the Zeusbot is the ONLY
bot (besides Doombot) that uses its own movement code.  Nobody has heard
about Doombot so it would be silly to show demos of Doombot.  According to
Quake Domain (http://www.gameaholic.com), Zeus gets roughly 22 downloads per
day.  This means that 22 new people are trying out the Zeusbot.  I am lucky
to get 20 people TOTAL to try out the Doombot.  Zeusbot is THE most popular
bot that features its own movement code.  Reaperbot is the most popular bot
(as well as being the best bot) when you want to discuss AI but when it comes
to movement, the Zeus is #1 in that category.  (Alan Kivlin's QCBot which
also has its own movement code has not been released.  The demos show that
the movement is MUCH smoother than ANY BOT out there.  However, like I said,
the bot is not released.)  Thus, the smart thing to do is to compare this new
package containing the new move code with the best bot that is currently out
there--Zeus.


==========
Disclaimer
==========
The author, Roscoe A. Sincero, is not responsible for any damages whether
real or imaginary, temporary or permanent that may have been caused by the
direct or indirect use of this package.  The author shall not be held
responsible for any actions taken by any individuals which concerns the
use of this bot skeleton package.  For instance, this author will not be
held liable for any damages if a third-party decided to decompile the reaper
or zeus bot and add the AI for these bot into the package.  The third-pary
(which means you) take sole responsibility for these actions.  By using this
package whether in part or as a whole, you agree with these statements.  If
you don't agree, don't use the package.

=============
Availability
=============

You can find this patch at the following URLs:

a) ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/quake/quakec/bots

b) <on my homepage when I get a new ISP>

================
About the Author
================

Quake enthusiast who hasn't played a deathmatch game in months.  Graduate
of University of Maryland at College Park with a degree in Chemical
Engineering.  What else do you want to know?  Oh, I'm male, heterosexual;
5 feet 8.5 inches, weigh about 165 to 170 pounds (depends on whether or
not I just took a dump); likes women; does not like Pat Robertson/
Pat Buchanan/Newt Gingrich/fundamentalist/"fundamentalist friendly" clones;
despise censors especially censors who claim not to be against free speech or
who are for "responsible" speech; should start working out again (stopped
working out April 1993); drives a Blue dodge omni with over 100,000 miles on
it and a left, rear-wheel that almost fell off just a couple of weeks ago;
gets a haircut about twice a year; changes socks every leap year and brushes
teeth [tooth] almost as often.

"You don't REALLY need toilet paper for that; just use your hands and scrape
it off."

"You shouldn't camp with a rocket launcher aimed at your back."

"Why do you camp in the middle of a large room?"

"Why do you try to camp in the shadows when you have the Quad?"

"I have a rocket launcher with 15 rockets; 140+ health; 150 armor, Quad, and
Invulnerability.  You have 100 health, 25 shells and a shotgun.  Why
do you insist on attacking me?  Is it really possible for me to get all this
on E1M1 while camping?"

"I play Quake using my instincts.  Yes, I am born being able to use a
rocket launcher and a lightning gun while simultaneously hooking another
poor soul with my grappling hook."

"Bots are 100% accurate using the shotguns.  They could be even more accurate
if they didn't miss sometimes."

=========================
Copyright and Permissions
=========================

Authors MAY use this modification as a basis for other PUBLICALLY
available work on the condition that the work is *FREE* to all who
wish to use it.  If you add this modification to your work, for
instance in a compilation, make sure you provide credit where credit
is due and that you work is offered *FREE* to all who wish to use it.

You may distribute this modification in any format except via CD-ROM
as long as all accompanying files including this text file are unmodified
and remain intact.

Program source code is copyrighted 1997 by Roscoe A. Sincero.  Portions of
code is copyrighted by their respected owners (see credits above).

If you use this package, include THIS text with your package.  This text
should not be modified in any way.

Please read source for additional restrictions and permissions.  See
botmove.qc.

For commercial use, you will not only need to ask the individuals listed in
the credits for botmove.qc but you will also need to ask permission from
ID Software.  It is unlikely you will obtain all the permissions necessary
for commercial use so don't even bother thinking about it.