WaveShark

Bot Name

WaveShark

Author

Kev

History

• 0.3, rated ?
  • Shrunk code size.
  • Removed rolling, some distancing code, and energy management.
  • Now uses WeekendObsession's gun.
• 0.2, rated 1894, ranked 6 (8 PL)
  • Shrunk code size.
  • Uses a random/linear gun similar to Splinter's.
  • Doesn't adjust enemy energy when hit.
  • Removed acceleration segments.
  • Fires full power against rammers.
• 0.1, rated 1798, ranked 19 (20 PL)
  • Initial release.

Extends

AdvancedRobot.

What's special about it?

It fits decent WaveSurfing in a micro bot.

Great, I want to try it. Where can I download it?

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/pclark/kc.micro.WaveShark_0.3.jar

How competitive is it?

It looks pretty strong, but not top level. I wish micros were allowed to be 100 bytes bigger, then it would be scary.

How does it move?

Very shrunk WaveSurfing, segmented on velocity.

How does it fire?

A pattern matching gun lifted from WeekendObsession.

How does it dodge bullets?

Surfing.

How does the melee strategy differ from one-on-one strategy?

It freaks out and dies in melee.

What does it save between rounds and matches?

Surfing data between rounds, nothing between matches.

Where did you get the name?

It (sort of) surfs like WaveSerpent, hence WaveShark.

Can I use your code?

Sure, it's released under the terms of the RWPCL.

What's next for your robot?

Shrink the code size, and use the space to add energy management and full power shooting vs. ram bots.

Does it have any WhiteWhales?

RamBots are a huge problem.

What other robot(s) is it based on?

WeekendObsession

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Comments, questions, feedback:

I read somewhere on here that people have tried WaveSurfing in micros with little luck - it's a very expensive thing to do. But with enough persistence and codesize tricks, I still wonder if it could revolutionize the micro field ... I may take a look at your source sometime & see if I get any great ideas :). (unless, of course, you break 2000, at which point I will definitely look and steal ... er ... get ideas) -- Simonton

Keep in mind that the surfing of GresSuffurd, a 2k-bot, is segmented on velocity only, so I think that improving the gun does pay of even in the micro-field. Anxious to see how it will do. -- GrubbmGait

I'd lose the segmentation all together, it might give you enough room to put a nano pattern matcher in there. -- Skilgannon

I think you have a point there. Having acceleration segments did better than having a good gun in my test, but those were against top micros like Thorn, which are harder to hit and better at shooting than most other bots. Also, if I got rid of segmentation, energy management, changing the enemy's energy from onHitByBullet?, rolling averages, and some other minor details, a nano pattern matcher would fit in WaveShark (although that might not be worth it). I guess those will be my next two releases in the micro rumble... -- Kev

I should stop giving advice to anyone that will beat me afterwards . . . Congrats with the best microsurfer! -- GrubbmGait

OOooo, fun change with version 0.3!! -- Simonton

Yep =). And it seems like I've sparked a ton of new updates in the micro rumble too. -- Kev

Waylander was packaged and waiting from about a month ago....sparked is the right word =) -- Skilgannon