Issue 28 May 6, 1996
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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
Newbies should check the stormking page for the FAQ, language specification,
guides, and tutorials. Post questions to rec.games.corewar. All new players
are infinitely welcome!
If ftp.csua.berkeley.edu is still out of service, you can download pMARS at:
Terry's web page--http://www.infi.net/~wtnewton/corewar/
Planar fpt site--ftp://ftp.inria.fr/INRIA/Projects/para/doligez/cw/pmars
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Greetings.
There has been much discussion in the newsgroup about the multi-warrior hill.
However, maybe the core war community should make some decisions on previous
issues first. Should we eliminate self fights? How can we prevent rampart
testing from artificially inflating warrior ages? These are two questions
I'd like to see decided one way or the other. Maybe an ambitious soul could
set up a forms web page that would let players vote yes or no and add
comments, then display the results as they arrive. Then undecided players
could review each author's vote and opinion, and add their own. Of course
the ultimate power of decision lies with Thos and Tuc, but I'm sure they will
conform to whatever the community as a whole decides.
--M R Bremer
______________________________________________________________________________
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 48/ 41/ 11 Wind-up Toy v1.2c Ian Oversby 155 4
2 45/ 40/ 15 Scanny Boy David van Dam 149 382
3 42/ 35/ 23 Thermite II Robert Macrae 149 1552
4 43/ 37/ 21 The Core Clear V1.3 David van Dam 149 67
5 42/ 36/ 22 testb1> Maurizio Vittuari 148 1
6 41/ 36/ 24 T.N.T. pro Maurizio Vittuari 145 17
7 40/ 36/ 24 testb1<< Maurizio Vittuari 145 2
8 29/ 14/ 57 Hazy Shade II John K W 143 511
9 41/ 38/ 21 Grilled Octopus v0.5 David Boeren 143 768
10 32/ 20/ 48 Impfinity v4g1 Planar 143 1751
11 43/ 43/ 14 Stepping Stone Kurt Franke 143 365
12 39/ 35/ 27 La Bomba 1.3 Beppe Bezzi 143 123
13 34/ 24/ 42 Walk Like An Egyptian John K W 143 110
14 40/ 38/ 22 Chameleon M R Bremer 142 1023
15 40/ 38/ 21 Blanket Party J E Long 142 276
16 27/ 11/ 62 EvolCap XI John Wilkinson 142 261
17 40/ 38/ 22 Gem of the Ocean P.Kline 142 421
18 40/ 38/ 22 Flimsy v0.4a Ian Oversby 141 65
19 32/ 25/ 42 test P.Kline 140 7
20 42/ 45/ 13 Solomon v0.3 Ian Oversby 139 164
21 39/ 40/ 21 Test Anton Marsden 139 8
22 37/ 34/ 29 Tornado 3.0 Beppe 139 1353
23 40/ 41/ 20 Mirage 2 Anton Marsden 138 318
24 35/ 33/ 32 Flurry Anton Marsden 138 513
25 34/ 48/ 18 gtest P.Kline 121 6
Weekly age: 78 ( 53 last week )
New warriors 9 Turnover/age rate 12%
Average age: 403 ( 464 last week, 424 the week before )
Average score: 142 ( 142 last week, 141 the week before )
The top 25 warriors are represented by 13 authors, JKW, Oversby, Vittuari,
and Kline all with 3, van Dam, Bezzi, and Marsden with 2.
Newcomers Boeren, than van Dam, and now Oversby decide to take the hill by
force as Ian's Wind-up Toy vXXX has had its share of the top position. But
Ian gets a slap on the wrist for having three versions of Flimsy on the hill
earlier this week pushing off Morrell's lone warrior Blue Funk 5. Speaking
of push offs, the 94 hill has lost venerable T.N.T. at the grand age of 1204.
Scanny Boy is still strong, often sharing the king position. It usually
moves around in the top 3, only rarely dipping below that. Thermite II is
also stronger than ever, never falling below tenth place and more often in
fifth or so. Other 1000+ warriors have been having troubles--Chameleon
bounces around a lot, but is proving to be rather resilient. Tornado, on the
other hand, has seen its share of rough times lately, dropping as low as 24th
in the rankings.
While Maurizio may be mourning the loss of T.N.T., he has been busy with
T.N.T. pro ( kind of like the Pentium and the Pentium Pro ). The cluster of
MV tests surrounding T.N.T. pro suggests some slight variations on the base
design.
Mirage 2 has been in both 1st and 25th place this week. When The Core Clear
V1.3 was introduced, Mirage fell from 2nd to 11th place. Jumping up or down
9 spots seems common for Marsden's program lately.
Although there were 78 successful challenges this week, 44 of them were test
warriors.
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's New
# %W/ %L/ %T Name Author Score Age
2 40/ 38/ 22 The Core Clear V1.3 David van Dam 143 1
7 38/ 37/ 26 Flimsy v0.4a Ian Oversby 139 1
2 40/ 36/ 24 T.N.T. pro Maurizio Vittuari 144 1
21 38/ 43/ 19 Test Anton Marsden 134 1
15 31/ 25/ 44 test P.Kline 138 1
24 33/ 48/ 19 gtest P.Kline 119 1
1 49/ 41/ 11 Wind-up Toy v1.2c Ian Oversby 156 1
5 39/ 37/ 24 testb1<< Maurizio Vittuari 141 1
5 42/ 36/ 22 testb1> Maurizio Vittuari 148 1
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's No More
# %W/ %L/ %T Name Author Score Age
26 2/ 2/ 1 coal 3.1 bjoern guenzel 5 5
26 28/ 36/ 35 silkworm v3.2 Brian Haskin 121 4
26 34/ 40/ 25 T.N.T. Maurizio Vittuari 128 1204
26 29/ 33/ 37 Blue Funk 5 Steven Morrell 125 624
26 2/ 2/ 0 The Core Clear V1.2 David van Dam 6 27
26 1/ 2/ 0 Wind-up Toy v0.7 Ian Oversby 4 174
26 2/ 1/ 1 prova Maurizio Vittuari 7 475
26 32/ 33/ 35 Lithium John K Wilkinson 130 523
26 37/ 46/ 17 Naked dancer Beppe Bezzi 129 72
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's Old
# %W/ %L/ %T Name Author Score Age
13 31/ 21/ 48 Impfinity v4g1 Planar 140 1754
2 42/ 35/ 23 Thermite II Robert Macrae 149 1555
22 36/ 35/ 29 Tornado 3.0 Beppe 137 1356
7 41/ 38/ 21 Chameleon M R Bremer 144 1026
8 41/ 38/ 21 Grilled Octopus v0.5 David Boeren 144 771
23 35/ 34/ 32 Flurry Anton Marsden 135 516
10 29/ 15/ 56 Hazy Shade II John K W 142 514
20 38/ 40/ 22 Gem of the Ocean P.Kline 137 424
3 45/ 41/ 15 Scanny Boy David van Dam 149 385
9 43/ 43/ 14 Stepping Stone Kurt Franke 143 368
16 40/ 40/ 20 Mirage 2 Anton Marsden 140 321
Two new entries in the over 300: Stepping Stone and Mirage 2
______________________________________________________________________________
HALL OF FAME
* means the warrior is still active.
Pos Name Author Age Strategy
1 Impfinity v4g1 Planar 1754 * Stone/ imp
2 Jack in the box Beppe Bezzi 1620 P-warrior
3 Thermite II Robert Macrae 1555 * Qscan -> bomber
4 Torch t18 P.Kline 1539 Bomber
5 Frontwards v2 Steven Morrell 1420 One shot scanner
6 Tornado 3.0 Beppe Bezzi 1356 * Bomber
7 Evol Cap 6.6 John Wilkinson 1299 Imp / stone
8 quiz Schitzo 1262 Scanner/ bomber
9 T.N.T. Maurizio Vittuari 1204 Bomber
10 Chameleon Myer R Bremer 1026 * P-warrior
11 Iron Gate 1.5 Wayne Sheppard 926 CMP scanner
12 Agony II Stefan Strack 912 CMP scanner
13 Barrage Anton Marsden 876 Qscan -> replicator
14 Blue Funk Steven Morrell 869 Stone/ imp
15 Thermite 1.0 Robert Macrae 802 Qscan -> bomber
16 Grilled Octopus v0.5 David Boeren 771 * P-warrior
17 Blue Funk 3 Steven Morrell 766 Stone/ imp
18 Night Train Karl Lewin 755 Replicator
19 Mirage 1.5 Anton Marsden 736 Scanner/ bomber
20 Blizzard Anton Marsden 713 Qscan -> replicator
21 HeremScimitar A.Ivner,P.Kline 666 Bomber
22 La Bomba Beppe Bezzi 650 Qscan -> replicator
23 myVamp v3.7 Paulsson 643 Vampire
24 Blue Funk 5 Steven Morrell 624 Stone/ imp
25 Hazy Shade Of Winter John Wilkinson 616 P-warrior
No new entries into the hall, but two warrior, T.N.T and Blue Funk 5, were
pushed off the hill this week thus locking in their place in the hall of
fame. Flurry would be the next warrior to enter currently at 516.
______________________________________________________________________________
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 57/ 30/ 13 Violent Micro v0.4 basehead 183 30
2 52/ 31/ 17 coal 3.22b bjoern guenzel 173 13
3 52/ 34/ 14 Extreme Prejudice Scott Manley 171 7
4 44/ 26/ 30 Reluctance Andy Nevermind 162 63
5 49/ 39/ 12 frogskin 4 bjoern guenzel 159 41
6 48/ 37/ 15 why bjoern guenzel 159 88
7 42/ 25/ 33 Fork v0.1-10p Christoph C. Birk 159 10
8 47/ 37/ 16 x-frog 2 bjoern guenzel 158 57
9 47/ 39/ 14 Bloodhound Andrew Fabbro 155 55
10 45/ 38/ 17 magic ruby 0.1k bjoern guenzel 151 1
11 42/ 34/ 23 Toxin III Edgar 151 24
12 41/ 31/ 28 Toxin III Edgar 150 25
13 37/ 28/ 35 So Long Hyakutake Scott Manley 147 9
14 34/ 24/ 42 Toxin Edgar 144 54
15 39/ 41/ 20 bScan test Iain Hogg 138 8
16 39/ 41/ 20 Bye Bye Badman v1.1 Iain Hogg 136 67
17 30/ 24/ 47 waves bjoern guenzel 136 27
18 33/ 30/ 37 Toxin II Edgar 136 53
19 37/ 45/ 18 pScan test Iain Hogg 130 6
20 33/ 40/ 27 test 0.01 Christoph C. Birk 125 3
21 32/ 39/ 29 C Seagal II v 2.0 Test jShelton 124 62
22 35/ 51/ 14 Centurion XIV Edgar 120 26
23 37/ 58/ 5 SideWinder Julian 116 40
24 31/ 47/ 22 Forked Lite Ning 4.1 Ansel Greenwood Serm 114 82
25 30/ 49/ 21 Killer Ian Oversby 111 60
Just 16 challenges! And only 28 last week, which is understandable as many
universities had semester exams the last few weeks. Some of the new traffic
include a couple of warriors by Scott Manley and bjoern guenzel. Both
authors, in addition to Christopher Birk, were seen on the 94 hill briefly.
Hopefully, everyone who has finished with college for the year will have net
access and plenty a free time in the summer to code.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Hint
The Bomber Killer by M R Bremer
There was a day long ago where paper actually beat stone, even beat stone-imp
combos to some extent. Check out these paper scores against classic stones.
Both paper are designed to kill bomber-imps. Match Stick is an '88 warrior
by c w blue. Silk Warrior is, you got it, where the term 'silk' comes from
written by J. Pohjalainen. ( He also created the TimeScape replicating
engine. )
juliet storm ImpsAreMyFriend
Match Stick 35/ 4/61 (166) 54/17/29 (191)
Silk Warrior 35/ 1/64 (169) 64/ 4/32 (224)
Against modern bombers, neither stands a chance.
T.N.T. CIA Thermite 1.0 Torch t18
Match Stick 23/68/ 9 ( 78) 15/85/ 0 ( 45) 2/79/19 ( 25) 9/79/12 ( 39)
Silk Warrior 28/40/32 (116) 26/49/25 (103) 26/51/23 (101) 18/60/22 ( 76)
How to deal with these petulent creatures? The bomb dodger of course. Scan
for an opponent's bomb, copy yourself around that location and pray that the
rest of the bombing pattern falls around you, and voila--the bomb dodger.
Extracting the bomb dodger from Gem of the Ocean gives this:
Clisson sne {watch1,{watch1 ; Clisson to beat fast bombers
jmz.f -1,@(datone+40)
add.a #3,watch1
mov <watch1,{watch1
djn -1,#5
add.a #1,watch1
watch1 jmp -200,qb+5
qb dat #1 ,-3 ; Clisson's killer
q1 spl #0 ,#0
mov qb ,<q4
q4 djn -1 ,#qb
for 4
dat 0,0
rof
datone dat 1,1
Basically, it just scans for the enemy's bomb and centers the 'killer' module
on the colored location. Then it clears core. Here are the results taken
from the tournament scheduler:
Rank Name Author %W %L %T Score
___________________________________________________________________________
1 Clisson ~P.Kline 42 51 7 800
2 juliet storm M R Bremer 95 1 4 289
3 ImpsAreMyFriend J.Layland 74 8 18 240
4 Thermite 1.0 Robert Macrae 63 35 2 191
5 T.N.T. Maurizio Vittuari 31 67 2 95
6 Torch t18 P.Kline 31 67 2 95
7 C I A Anders Ivner 12 75 13 49
As you can see, the imps in the imp-stone combos overwrite Clisson yielding
a loss for the dodger. Thermite also does well due to its bombing pattern
and Clisson's slow sequential wipe.
How about using a full bomber + coreclear instead? Let's try Blue Funk 3's
stone ( which is Emerald's stone ) in this bomb dodger.
step equ 3044
jmz.f 0, <t
add.ab #4, t
mov.i {t, <t
djn.b -1, #6
jmp @t
emerald spl #-step,<step
stone mov >-step,step+1 ;hit
add emerald,stone
cnt djn.f stone,<emerald-50
dat 0, 0
cc dat 0, -7 ;hit
t dat 0, -100
As you can see in the scores, this dodger trades its losses to ties when
battling the stone-imps. It also scores well against Thermite becuase the
pattern is so much better. The only real trade-off lies with Torch t18. The
second dodger has five instructions that it needs, with the fifth instruction
not adjacent to the main executing loop. Torch t18 often bombs this line and
prevents Dodger #2 from getting the win, but overall it is much superior.
Rank Name Author %W %L %T Score
___________________________________________________________________________
1 Dodger #2 M R Bremer 40 33 27 888
2 juliet storm M R Bremer 63 10 27 216
3 ImpsAreMyFriend J.Layland 30 3 67 157
4 Torch t18 P.Kline 37 33 30 141
5 T.N.T. Maurizio Vittuari 34 51 15 117
6 Thermite 1.0 Robert Macrae 25 65 10 85
7 C I A Anders Ivner 7 80 13 34
Since dodgers are usually used in p-space warriors, it is very easy to use
the bomber as both a dodger and scanner killer. You could even keep the
small, slow boot routine.
Things to consider:
------------------
A linear scan is easy to do with
jmz.f 0, <scan
but this code will scan faster (although not pinpoint the bomb as precisely).
sne.f <scan, <scan
jmz.f -1, <scan
or you cold use it to scan different streams by
sne.f <scan1, <scan2
jmz.f <scan1
of course you would have to test both stream to see which found the bomb.
Imps are a problem, so how about using an imp killing stone like Imprimis.
This stone (while suicidal) runs a decrement stream at 0, 2667, and 2667*2
forward through core. Something like
spl #2667, <3044
add -1, 1
mov <1000, 1
djn.f -2, <stream
Good luck trying to knock off Impfinity though!
____________________________________________________________________________
Questions? Concerns? Comments? Complaints? Mail them to people who care.
authors: Beppe Bezzi <bezzi@nemo.it> or Myer Bremer <bremermr@ecn.purdue.edu>
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