Status: Coursework project for Tel Aviv University's Advanced Programming course. Not maintained — provided as-is for reference.

💥 Tank Battle Game 💥

Overview

A tank battle simulation framework supporting 2 players with modular architecture. The system uses shared libraries for algorithms and game managers, enabling dynamic strategy loading and comparison. Player assignment follows modulo 2 logic (odd players = Basic/Defensive, even players = Offensive).

Key Features:

• 2-player tank battles
• Dynamic algorithm loading via shared libraries
• Web-based UI for game configuration and execution
• Real-time visualization with step-by-step replay

Project Architecture

Directory Structure

📁 c-Game_Board/
├── 📁 Algorithm/              # Player algorithm implementations (shared library)
├── 📁 GameManager/           # Game logic and management (shared library)  
├── 📁 Simulator/             # Main simulation engine and entry point
├── 📁 UserCommon/           # Shared utilities and game objects
│   ├── 📁 objects/          # Game entities (Tank, Shell, etc.)
│   ├── 📁 utils/            # Utility classes (Point, Direction, etc.)
│   └── 📁 bonus/            # Bonus features
│       ├── 📁 ui_server/    # Web-based UI server
│       └── 📁 visualization/ # Game visualization system
└── 📁 common/               # Interface definitions and contracts

Shared Libraries System

The project uses modular shared libraries (.so files) for algorithms and game management, enabling dynamic loading of different player strategies and game rules.

Execution Modes

1. Basic Mode: Single game between two algorithms using one game manager
2. Comparative Mode: Test two algorithms across multiple game managers
3. Competition Mode: Tournament between algorithms across multiple maps

Input File Format

Specifies board layout:

• First five lines (header):
  1. Map name/description (string)
  2. MaxSteps =
  3. NumShells =
  4. Rows =
  5. Cols =
• Subsequent lines: board content (#: Wall (2 hits), 1/2: Player tanks, @: Mine, : Empty).
• In order to start the game the file must include all header lines.

Example Board Files

2-Player Battle:

Complex Battle Arena
MaxSteps = 1000
NumShells = 15
Rows = 15
Cols = 15
  #    #@       
  #  2             
          #  #   
   ## #           
 1 @ @#@    #    
   @     @   2     
            # @ 
       1@ @      
 @@@ @#   @   #
  @    @#@      
   @ #        #
    @      #  #  
 1     @@#  @#  
       #          
      # 2      

Output Format

The game generates output files in the same directory as the input file:

1. output_<input_file>.txt - Complete game log with player moves and final results
2. output_<input_file>_visualization.html - Interactive game replay (if visualization enabled)
3. input_errors.txt - Error handling log (if input errors occur)

Building the Project

Build Options

The project supports multiple build configurations using CMake options:

# Standard build (basic functionality only)
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make

# Full build with all features enabled
cmake -DENABLE_TESTING=ON -DENABLE_VISUALIZATION=ON -DENABLE_UI=ON ..
make

Available Build Options:

• DENABLE_TESTING=ON: Builds unit tests using Google Test framework
• DENABLE_VISUALIZATION=ON: Enables HTML visualization generation
• DENABLE_UI=ON: Builds the web-based UI server

Running the Game

The simulator supports three execution modes, each with specific command-line arguments and output formats:

1. Basic Mode

Single game between two algorithms using one game manager.

Command:

../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -basic \
  game_map=<input_file.txt> \
  game_manager=<path_to_game_manager.so> \
  algorithm1=<path_to_first_algorithm.so> \
  algorithm2=<path_to_second_algorithm.so> \
  [-verbose]

Example:

../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -basic game_map=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/game_maps/input_a.txt game_manager=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/game_managers/RealGameManager_318835816_211314471.so algorithm1=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/algorithms/TestAlgorithm_098765432_123456789.so algorithm2=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/algorithms/RealAlgorithm_318835816_211314471.so

Output: Game results printed to console, full game log if verbose flag is set.

2. Comparative Mode

Compare multiple game managers with the same algorithms on a single map.

Command:

../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -comparative \
  game_map=<input_file.txt> \
  game_managers_folder=<path_to_gm_folder> \
  algorithm1=<algorithm1.so> \
  algorithm2=<algorithm2.so> \
  [num_threads=<num>] [-verbose]

Example:

../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -comparative game_map=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/game_maps/input_a.txt game_managers_folder=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/game_managers algorithm1=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/algorithms/TestAlgorithm_098765432_123456789.so algorithm2=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/algorithms/RealAlgorithm_318835816_211314471.so num_threads=4

Output: comparative_results_<timestamp>.txt in the game managers folder, containing:

• Input parameters (map, algorithms)
• Results grouped by identical outcomes
• Final game state for each result group

3. Competition Mode

Tournament between multiple algorithms across multiple maps.

Command:

../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -competition \
  game_maps_folder=<maps_folder> \
  game_manager=<game_manager.so> \
  algorithms_folder=<algorithms_folder> \
  [num_threads=<num>] [-verbose]

Example:

../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -competition game_maps_folder=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/game_maps game_manager=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/game_managers/RealGameManager_318835816_211314471.so algorithms_folder=../UserCommon/bonus/ui_server/examples/algorithms num_threads=4

Output: competition_<timestamp>.txt in the algorithms folder, containing:

• Tournament configuration
• Final leaderboard sorted by score (3 pts/win, 1 pt/tie, 0 pts/loss)

Web UI Usage

# Start web server
./tank_simulator_ui

# Open browser to http://localhost:8080
# Configure and run any mode through the web interface

Bonus Features

The project includes several advanced features beyond the basic requirements. For complete technical details, see bonus.txt.

1. Web-Based UI Server 🌐

A complete browser-based interface for game configuration, execution, and monitoring.

Features:

• Multi-Mode Support: Basic, Comparative, and Competition game modes
• Real-Time Execution: Live console output streaming and process monitoring
• Interactive Configuration: Dynamic forms with file path validation
• Professional Results Display: Parsed results with leaderboards and visualizations
• RESTful API: Backend provides endpoints for simulation control and result retrieval

Usage:

# Build with UI enabled
cmake -DENABLE_UI=ON ..
make tank_simulator_ui

# Start the web server
./tank_simulator_ui

# Open browser to: http://localhost:8080

Architecture:

• Backend: C++ HTTP server using cpp-httplib
• Frontend: Modern HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript with responsive design
• Process Management: Real-time command execution with output capture

2. Interactive Visualization System

HTML-based game visualization with step-by-step replay capabilities.

Features:

• Step-by-Step Replay: Interactive controls for game progression
• 2-Player Display: Visual identifiers for both players
• Rich Game State: Tank positions, directions, shells, mines, walls, and health status
• Player Statistics: Remaining ammunition and active/destroyed tank status
• Action Descriptions: Detailed explanations of each player's chosen actions

Compilation Requirements:

# Build with visualization enabled
cmake -DENABLE_VISUALIZATION=ON ..
make

Usage:

# Command-line usage (requires -verbose flag for visualization generation)
# Game manager should be compiled with -DENABLE_VISUALIZATION=ON
../Simulator/simulator_318835816_211314471 -basic \
  game_map=<input_file.txt> \
  game_manager=<game_manager.so> \  
  algorithm1=<algorithm1.so> \
  algorithm2=<algorithm2.so> \
  -verbose

# Open the generated visualization file in browser
# File: output_<input_file>_visualization.html

Important Notes:

• Verbose Mode Required: Visualization is only generated when the -verbose flag is used or verbose mode is enabled in the web UI
• Compilation Dependency: Visualization features require DENABLE_VISUALIZATION=ON during build

3. Comprehensive Testing Framework

Unit testing using Google Test with extensive coverage:

• Component Tests: GameBoard, Tank, Shell, Algorithms, Collision mechanics
• Edge Case Testing: Board wrapping, collision detection, game rules validation
• Mock Objects: Isolated testing of algorithmic behavior
• Test Fixtures: Complex scenario testing with reproducible conditions

Usage:

# Build with testing enabled
cmake -DENABLE_TESTING=ON ..
make

# Run all tests (from build directory)
./tests/usercommon_tests        # UserCommon library tests
./tests/algorithm_tests         # Algorithm implementation tests  
./tests/GameManager_tests       # Game manager tests
./tests/Simulator_tests         # Simulator engine tests