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> Home > The Corewar Newsletters > Core Warrior > Issue #1

Issue 13                                                      January 22, 1996
______________________________________________________________________________
Core_Warrior_ is a weekly newsletter promoting the game of corewar.  Emphasis
is placed on the most active hills--currently the '94 draft hill and the
beginner hill.  Coverage will follow where ever the action is.  If you have
no clue what I'm talking about then check out these five-star internet locals
for more information:

FAQs are available by anonymous FTP from rtfm.mit.edu as
pub/usenet/news.answers/games/corewar-faq.Z
FTP site is: ftp.csua.berkeley.edu /pub/corewar
Web pages are at:
http://www.stormking.com/~koth                  ;Stormking
http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~pizza/koth        ;Pizza
http://pauillac.inria.fr/~doligez/corewar/      ;Planar
______________________________________________________________________________
Greetings.
Guessing from the lot of mail I got in last week end, Pizza's problem has
been solved, as Thos told us some time ago, good.
 
At Stormking Tuc is working on new hill scripts, with a lot of new features
like password and newredcode. Everybody is invited to help development
mailing to kothtest@stormking.com with ;help for menu, and submitting their
warrior to the -94x test hill. 
It's good for beginners too, the rules are the same as those of 94 but the
coresize is bigger.
We are invited to try crashing the hill, yes we can do it, to see if there
is some bug hidden in the script, have fun.

Everybody is waiting the Corewar hall of fame, with gifs of last tournament
winners; Stefan asked for help, should someone have an .htm page good for
including names and faces, please mail it to <stst@idnsun.gpct.Vanderbilt.Edu>

I have been very busy at work this week and Myer too. So we invite everybody
to join the staff and make his own number of Corewarrior as did Maurizio
during Xmas holydays.
______________________________________________________________________________
Current Status of the Internet Pizza Server ICWS '94 Draft Hill:

Hill Specs:
	 coresize: 8000
   max. processes: 8000
	 duration: after 80,000 cycles, a tie is declared.
max. entry length: 100
 minimum distance: 100
    rounds fought: 200
  instruction set: ICWS '94 Draft

 #  %W/ %L/ %T                      Name               Author   Score     Age
 1  37/ 29/ 34           Jack in the box          Beppe Bezzi     145     811
 2  35/ 25/ 40                  La Bomba          Beppe Bezzi     144     439
 3  31/ 18/ 52            Impfinity v4g1               Planar     144     244
 4  40/ 39/ 21                  testnorm    Maurizio Vittuari     142      27
 5  32/ 23/ 46          juliet and paper M R Bremer, B. Bezzi     141     440
 6  41/ 41/ 18                      quiz              Schitzo     140     444
 7  24/  8/ 68               Night Train           Karl Lewin     140     331
 8  22/  6/ 71              Evol Cap 6.6       John Wilkinson     139      59
 9  40/ 42/ 17             Frontwards v2       Steven Morrell     139     297
10  39/ 41/ 20                    Wraith          Kurt Franke     137       3
11  29/ 22/ 48                  Hector 2          Kurt Franke     137     359
12  38/ 41/ 21                Boombastic    Maurizio Vittuari     136     179
13  36/ 36/ 29               Thermite II        Robert Macrae     135      45
14  35/ 34/ 31                 Mason 2.0        Robert Macrae     135     180
15  33/ 31/ 36               Blue Funk 5       Steven Morrell     134      80
16  34/ 35/ 31             Tornado 2.3 a          Beppe Bezzi     133      43
17  33/ 33/ 34                 Torch t18              P.Kline     132     823
18  34/ 38/ 27           Time Lapse v0.1         David Boeren     131      15
19  37/ 45/ 18                   Harmony              P.Kline     130       8
20  34/ 39/ 27                     jtest                Kafka     129       1
21  26/ 23/ 51      Hazy Shade Of Winter             John K W     129      34
22  36/ 44/ 19                Mirage 1.3        Anton Marsden     129       6
23  38/ 47/ 15             Provascan 3.0          Beppe Bezzi     128     194
24  35/ 44/ 20                    Wraith          Kurt Franke     126       5
25  34/ 42/ 24               Persistence          Kurt Franke     126       2

One is always happy to write a report of such an hill :-)

The hill has aged 56 this week.  Average scores jumped up to 135 (120 last
week and 128 the week before)  19 points separate number 1 from number 25.
The average age is 203 (182 last week).

Torch had very bad times this week, going to just one step from being pushed
off; Jack in the box is having a second jouth, performing better than ever
against the new wave of warriors, and climbing to the top of the hill.

After many weeks quiz loses the hilltop, it has already happened in past
weeks but never on monday :-) 
Many warriors alternated in King position this week: Thermite II, Harmony,
Evol cap 6.6, SETI, Jack in the box, juliet and paper, Impfinity and
testnorm. Near to incredible SETI's performance, entering at king position
to be pushed off at age 37, a real comet; the cause of this behaviour is,
with most chances, that it toke most of its points from warrior that have
been pushed off shortly after.

______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's New

 2  41/ 39/ 20                  testnorm    Maurizio Vittuari     143       1
 9  40/ 40/ 20                    Wraith          Kurt Franke     139       1
 4  31/ 33/ 36               Thermite II        Robert Macrae     129       1
10  29/ 32/ 38             Tornado 2.3 a          Beppe Bezzi     126       1
14  35/ 37/ 28           Time Lapse v0.1         David Boeren     133       1
19  27/ 27/ 46      Hazy Shade Of Winter             John K W     128       1
22  36/ 43/ 21                Mirage 1.3        Anton Marsden     129       1
18  37/ 43/ 19                   Harmony              P.Kline     131       1
 7  39/ 40/ 22                  odysseus                Kafka     137       1
 6  39/ 40/ 21                    Wraith          Kurt Franke     139       1
25  34/ 42/ 24               Persistence          Kurt Franke     126       1

Some interesting new entries this week caused another revolution with eleven
new entries and standings changed a lot. Worth mention testnorm, Wraith,
Thermite II, odysseus, and new Tornado, all them entering in the top ten.
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's No More.

26  16/ 11/ 73              DoorMat v0.1              K Lewin     121     257
26  21/ 18/ 61                Cheap Hack           M R Bremer     125     126
26  34/ 42/ 24     Koolaid II: WoGG v2.2         David Boeren     126      51
26   1/  2/  1                      Test        Robert Macrae       4      40
26   1/  2/  0                  testnorm    Maurizio Vittuari       5      37
26   1/  2/  1                   Harmony              P.Kline       5      36
26  16/ 10/ 74            .2 Evolve VIII       John Wilkinson     122      31
26   0/  0/  4           Evol Cap VII .3       John Wilkinson       4      30
26   2/  0/  6             Evol Cap 6.2a       John Wilkinson      11      26
26  29/ 40/ 31                     paris                Kafka     119      11
26   8/  0/ 92               Evolve VIII       John Wilkinson     115       2

Main losses are DoorMat at 257 age and Cheap Hack. Nothing else over 100 age
______________________________________________________________________________
What's Old

17  33/ 33/ 34                 Torch t18              P.Kline     132     823
 1  37/ 29/ 34           Jack in the box          Beppe Bezzi     145     811
 6  41/ 41/ 18                      quiz              Schitzo     140     444
 5  32/ 23/ 46          juliet and paper M R Bremer, B. Bezzi     141     440
 2  35/ 25/ 40                  La Bomba          Beppe Bezzi     144     439
11  29/ 22/ 48                  Hector 2          Kurt Franke     137     359
 7  24/  8/ 68               Night Train           Karl Lewin     140     331
 9  40/ 42/ 17             Frontwards v2       Steven Morrell     139     297
 3  31/ 18/ 52            Impfinity v4g1               Planar     144     244

A new entry in the over 200 club, Planar's Impfinity, and one loss, Lewin's
DoorMat v01
______________________________________________________________________________
HALL OF FAME
* means the warrior is still running.

Pos    Name                  Author          Age     Strategy
 1  Iron Gate 1.5          Wayne Sheppard    926    CMP scanner
 2  Agony II               Stefan Strack     912    CMP scanner
 3  Blue Funk              Steven Morrell    869    Stone/ imp
 4  Torch t18              P.Kline           823 *  Bomber
 5  Jack in the box        Beppe Bezzi       811 *  P-warrior
 6  Thermite 1.0           Robert Macrae     802    Qscan -> bomber
 7  Blue Funk 3            Steven Morrell    766    Stone/ imp
 8  HeremScimitar          A.Ivner,P.Kline   666    Bomber
 9  myVamp v3.7            Paulsson          643    Vampire
10  Armory - A5            Wilkinson         609    P-warrior
11  Phq                    Maurizio Vittuari 589    Qscan -> replicator
12  B-Panama X             Steven Morrell    518    Stone/ replicator
13  quiz                   Schitzo           444 *  scanner/ bomber
14  juliet and paper       Bremer & Bezzi    440 *  P-warrior
15  La Bomba               Beppe Bezzi       439 *  Qscan -> replicator
16  NC 94                  Wayne Sheppard    387    Stone/ imp
17  Cannonade              P.Kline           382    Stone/ imp
18  Torch t17              P.Kline           378    Bomber
19  Hector 2               Kurt Franke       359 *  Qscan -> replicator
20  Lucky 3                Stefan Strack     355    Stone/ imp
21  Derision               M R Bremer        351    Scanner
22  Request v2.0           Brant D. Thomsen  347    Qvamp -> vampire
23  Dragon Spear           c w blue          346    CMP scanner
24  Leprechaun on speed    Anders Ivner      344    Qscan -> scanner/bomber

The hall of fame will be expanded to 25 slots with next entry.
The 'twins', Torch and Jack in the box, passed 800 milestone and Thermite;
now they are near Blue Funk and the all time podium positions.
The other trio is quickly climbing the standings while Hector makes its
entry in 19th position.
______________________________________________________________________________
Current Status of the Internet Pizza Server Beginner's Hill:

Hill Specs:
	 coresize: 8000
   max. processes: 8000
	 duration: after 80,000 cycles, a tie is declared.
max. entry length: 100
 minimum distance: 100
      maximum age: At age 100, warriors are retired.
    rounds fought: 200
  instruction set: ICWS '94 Draft

 #  %W/ %L/ %T                      Name               Author   Score     Age
 1  52/ 32/ 17 Koolaid II: The Wrath of          David Boeren     171      67
 2  36/  8/ 57             RingWorm_v2.5           Calvin Loh     164      56
 3  47/ 34/ 18                Mirage 1.0        Anton Marsden     160      17
 4  35/ 14/ 51                    Papery          Ian Oversby     156      25
 5  28/  9/ 64             RingWorm_v2.6           Calvin Loh     147      26
 6  42/ 38/ 20               Our Vamp v3 R Bartolome & JS Pul     145       1
 7  33/ 22/ 45             Spacehead 1.3     Warpi & Philemon     144      23
 8  38/ 31/ 31                  Qwiksand       Wayne Sheppard     144      11
 9  42/ 41/ 18                Mary Janes           J. E. Long     142      12
10  40/ 39/ 21              Assassin XII       Andy Nevermind     142      49
11  28/ 17/ 55             Thunder V 1.0       Andy Nevermind     140      63
12  37/ 41/ 22                   Monitor           M R Bremer     134      45
13  37/ 42/ 21          White Rose v0.14         Tomasz Radon     132      15
14  35/ 47/ 18                 Equalizer     Matthias Wollnik     124      20
15  32/ 41/ 27                RedPixel.2           John Lewis     124      64
16  20/ 20/ 59              Spiral Again           Calvin Loh     121      55
17  18/ 16/ 66               SpiralTest2           Calvin Loh     120      66
18  20/ 20/ 60              Spiral Again           Calvin Loh     120      57
19  31/ 43/ 27          Three Core Monty        Andrew Fabbro     119       9
20  12/  5/ 82              Evol Cap 6.1       John Wilkinson     119      46
21  23/ 29/ 49                  live 0.2             Philemon     117      24
22  24/ 40/ 36              Inherit v0.9             Philemon     108      14
23  28/ 48/ 24             Test Stone #1         David Boeren     107      83
24  21/ 40/ 39                Veeble Jr.         T. H. Davies     103       2
25  23/ 43/ 34 EveryoneMustGetStoned 2.5       Nathan Summers     102      74

Koolaid hold top position, followed by RingWorm and Mirage 01. None of those
warriors is in the 94 hill, even if Boeren and Marsden have others.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Hint 
Spiral and Stargate

It's not Science Fiction, it's still corewar; Spiral is an imp spiral and
Stargate is my nickname for the clear:

gate    dat     stun,   100
...
stun    spl     #kill-gate, 100
clr     mov     *gate,      >gate
        djn     clr,        {nnn
kill    dat     kill-gate,  100

this come from the instuction mov *gate,>gate; being 'asterisk' too long, I
like to call it 'star'
This clear is simple and very good against silk, with his djn.f stream; I
always considered it good against imps too, but I had to change my mind.
Forward running clears are usually good against spirals because, when an imp
instryction overwrites gate it transfers the attack to the next process, it
works with imp instructions like Blue Funk's one

        mov.i   #3044,  2667

but if we use an instruction of the form:

        mov.i   #-5,    2667    ;any small negative value is good

the clear will copy an imp instruction over the next imp instruction, and
this is not the best way to kill a spiral.:-)

To be effective we have to use this other clear I used in my last Tornado.

gate1

...
   
gate	dat     -25,    last-gate1+3
bombs   spl     #-step, step
...
jump    spl     #nn,    #nn
clr     mov     @djmp,  >gate1
djmp    djn.b   clr,    {bombs
last

Being sure to have some space beetween gate1 and our code. In this way we
are sure to move a dat instruction over the next process and avoid the
spiral crashing our gate.

The increase in performances is real, against Impfinity for example:

Tornado 2.0 h1 wins: 25 ;uses Stargate clear
Impfinity v4g1 wins: 91
Ties: 84

Tornado 2.3 wins: 75    ;uses new clear
Impfinity v4g1 wins: 61
Ties: 64

It right to say that the clear used by Tornado 2.3 is the same used by
Torch, another code snippet I have stolen from Paul, and that the
improvement against Impfinity is not all thanks the clear, new code is
stronger, more decrement resistant, and one line shorter; I'll post it but
not today. ;-)

The drawback, there is always a drawback, is that the djn.b is less
effective against silk and, if we use djn.f instead we'll end jumping to our
spl, and this will reduce the anti imp effectiveness having some delays
beetween executions of the mov that the imp can use to slip through.

Again the last hint is: test this one and the other one against some
published warrior, looking when one is better and when the other one. 
Stepping while the imp is overwriting the clear is a good exercise, you can
use sk 500 till the spiral is near, then use sk 1 to position in the leading
process of the spiral and ctrl-t to advance the spiral step by step.

As usual, if you have problems, mail me <bezzi@iol.it>
______________________________________________________________________________
Planar's Corner

These are the solutions to exercise 6 from part 2 of the tutorial.
I'm short of time, so this is all untested code.  The problem was:

>6. [hard] The inner loop fails to stop if the self-bombing doesn't
>   occur on the SPL.  How do you make it work in all cases ?

The first solution is to stop Fahrenheit each time it is about to bomb
some core location, and check whether this location is within
Fahrenheit itself.  Borrowing from Jurgen's code, I get the following:

tilt=@ca c=999~!!m prep~m inn~@m next~!8
prep=@ca c=c+1,d=0~@ed1~mov.i<100,<c~@t1,2~@ca x=0
inn=!!~@ca d=d+1~@s~if1==pc~m _inn1~if2==pc~m _inn2~if0==x~!
_inn1=@1~@+b~@+b-1~if.<5~@ca x=1
_inn2=@2~@+b~@+a~if.<5~@ca x=1

When we stop at the first MOV, check the location before the location
pointed by the b-field of the location pointed by the b-field of
the first MOV.  When we stop at the second MOV, etc.


The second solution uses Stefan's "check" macro.  We'll run the
program with "check" and, if it has changed, look at the last
instruction executed to see if it's the ADD.  This one will stop when
the DJN stream overruns Fahrenheit, the previous one didn't.

tilt=@ca c=999~@ca x=0,y=4~!!m prep~m inn~@m next~!8
prep=@ca c=c+1,d=0~@ed1~mov.i<100,<c
inn=!!~@ca d=d+1~@m check~@ps~@$~@ps of~if .==4~!

Unfortunately, I had to use the "pspace" command, that I have not
explained yet.  And I just noticed that the "d" counter is not updated
properly.  Hmmm.  Maybe it would work with a hacked version of
"check".

-- Planar
______________________________________________________________________________
Questions?  Concerns?  Comments?  Complaints?  Mail them to people who care:
Beppe Bezzi <bezzi@iol.it>, Myer R Bremer <bremermr@ecn.purdue.edu> or
Maurizio Vittuari <pan0178@iperbole.bologna.it>
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