Tech Tantra Thursday - Bill Eberle

Challenge Question
- Imagine you're the Machine bot. What circumstances trigger you to play your best pod?

Jefferson Krogh: Are the bot decisions at all random, or will they always repeat the same decision given the same circumstances each and every time? Seems to me it's the latter, but it's possible I just run into streaks of luck. For example, bots opposing Machine will always play an N unless it would give Machine the game. That makes it pretty easy for me to decide which side to ally on...

Bill Eberle: in circumstances where I judged would not be seen as critical, I allow some randomness which I judged . . . one golden rule was: try to not have the bots do things that would be seen as stupid; the code does some global kinds of assessment . . . how much does what I do here matter; if not as much, some random factor is allowed

Jefferson Krogh: Cool, thanks!!

Bill Eberle: you're welcome . . . I should have also said that I don't think the bot decisions are ever "totally" random; they're random within a given context, e.g. they may or may not play their best or 2nd best pod on defense if it is not a critical defense . . . etc.

Jefferson Krogh: Which of the aliens has been the most difficult to code AI for, or against?

Bill Eberle: I'd have to say Loser . . . especially if you're up against the Loser; hard to play against with a human brain too! That possible case (playing against the Loser) is peppered through the bot code for a number of bot decision. Then there's p...laying against Sorcerer . . . I'll have to go back and see what I did there . . . if anything. Thinking about it now, I know what I would do if I was coding it today (it will be interesting to see if I actually did that or anything that I still think is worthwhile today).

Sarah Ryan: Bill which alien would you love to get your hands into purely from a programming point of view, in terms of a nice technical challenge for you, next?

Bill Eberle: Good question. I'm afraid to learn the answer to that one, because then I'd have to do it! Becaue that's how I am. But I will say my favorite thing is to invent a new alien that no one has ever thought of that is, once you've thought of it, basic and obvious . . . one that really belongs to the Cosmic troop and then program that new alien.