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

Issue 52                                                     9 December, 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: (Please note new Stormking's address)
http://www.koth.org/                            ;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 unreachable, you can download pMARS at:
Terry's web page--http://www.infi.net/~wtnewton/corewar/
Planar ftp site--ftp://ftp.inria.fr/INRIA/Projects/para/doligez/cw/pmars
Fechter ftp site--ftp://members.aol.com/ofechner/corewar

A collection of Bezzi's hints in the first issues is available at:
ftp://ftp.volftp.vol.it/pub/pc/msdos/games/solutions/bbhints.zip

Beppe Bezzi web page - http://www.aspide.it/freeweb/Bezzi
______________________________________________________________________________
Greetings.

There were a lot of significant losses to the '94 hill since last issue. The
hill is now much younger.

A reminder: Pizza's '94x hill now has the following specs:
         coresize: 800
   max. processes: 800
         duration: after 8000 cycles, a tie is declared.
max. entry length: 20
 minimum distance: 20
    rounds fought: 200
  instruction set: ICWS '94 Draft

--Anton Marsden
______________________________________________________________________________
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

The current ICWS '94 Draft hill:
 #   %W /  %L /  %T                       Name               Author Score  Age
 1  36.5/ 24.2/ 39.3           unrequited love                kafka 148.8  244
 2  31.2/ 16.3/ 52.5      Return Of The Jedimp             John K W 146.2  146
 3  32.3/ 19.4/ 48.2                 Trident^2             John K W 145.3   76
 4  42.4/ 40.0/ 17.6                  Oblivion           Ian Sutton 144.9   11
 5  36.1/ 28.4/ 35.5                    Gigolo   Core Warrior staff 143.9  200
 6  41.3/ 40.0/ 18.7               The Machine        Anton Marsden 142.6   52
 7  41.5/ 41.8/ 16.7                    Blur 2        Anton Marsden 141.2  323
 8  40.1/ 40.1/ 19.8          Silver Talon 1.2                Edgar 140.2   33
 9  36.4/ 32.6/ 31.0            Nine Seven Six           M R Bremer 140.2   10
10  43.1/ 46.1/ 10.9                  Memories               Beppe  140.1   60
11  43.6/ 47.3/  9.1                  Tim Tack              P.Kline 140.0    2
12  40.5/ 42.5/ 17.0                     Probe        Anton Marsden 138.5  324
13  38.2/ 40.9/ 20.9       Damage Incorporated        Anton Marsden 135.5  187
14  35.6/ 37.5/ 26.9              Tiberius 3.1                Franz 133.8   63
15  33.8/ 33.8/ 32.4            Fast Fast Fast                Franz 133.7    3
16  34.8/ 36.1/ 29.0                   Test ft          Ian Oversby 133.5    7
17  35.8/ 39.0/ 25.2                CC Paper 2                Franz 132.6   35
18  27.8/ 23.3/ 48.9               Impish v0.2          Ian Oversby 132.3  185
19  33.8/ 35.6/ 30.6                   No Vice          Ian Oversby 132.0   13
20  37.2/ 42.8/ 20.1                 vamp 0.2b       bjoern guenzel 131.5   23
21  38.4/ 45.5/ 16.2                     AK-47                Franz 131.2   38
22  35.5/ 41.3/ 23.2            Scanitator 2.4    Christian Schmidt 129.6   17
23  32.3/ 35.6/ 32.1               Falcon v0.3          Ian Oversby 129.0  229
24  36.7/ 45.1/ 18.2             Frontwards v2       Steven Morrell 128.4    6
25  31.8/ 38.0/ 30.2                    scTest              P.Kline 125.6    1

Weekly age: 22 this week ( 11 last issue, 5 the issue before )
New warriors: 9  Turnover/age rate 41%
Average age: 91 ( 145 last issue, 146 the issue before )
Average score: 137 ( 137 last issue, 143 the issue before )
The top 25 warriors are represented by 14 independent authors: Franz, Marsden
and Oversby with 4; JKW and Kline with 2; everyone else with one.
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's New ( or this week:  the uplook )

 #   %W /  %L /  %T                       Name               Author Score  Age
11  36.9/ 37.1/ 26.0            Scanitator 2.4    Christian Schmidt 136.6    1
22  32.8/ 36.7/ 30.4                   No Vice          Ian Oversby 128.9    1
 2  44.7/ 38.7/ 16.7                  Oblivion           Ian Sutton 150.6    1
 7  36.2/ 31.1/ 32.7            Nine Seven Six           M R Bremer 141.3    1
20  32.3/ 36.4/ 31.2                   Test ft          Ian Oversby 128.3    1
14  38.5/ 43.6/ 17.9             Frontwards v2       Steven Morrell 133.4    1
16  34.3/ 33.9/ 31.7            Fast Fast Fast                Franz 134.8    1
 9  43.9/ 47.4/  8.7                  Tim Tack              P.Kline 140.5    1
25  31.8/ 38.0/ 30.2                    scTest              P.Kline 125.6    1

Ian Sutton makes it onto the hill in style - 2nd place for his new warrior
Oblivion. Kline is back in business with Tim Tack.
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's No More ( or this week:  the outlook )

 #   %W /  %L /  %T                       Name               Author Score  Age
26  36.2/ 45.8/ 18.0                 Goldfinch              P.Kline 126.6  244
26  36.6/ 46.0/ 17.4                Dr. Gate Q                Franz 127.2    9
26  38.0/ 48.3/ 13.6            Flamberge 13.4        Matt Lewinski 127.7    6
26  36.9/ 47.5/ 15.6          Goothmonger v1.3           Ian Sutton 126.3    2
26  33.7/ 54.1/ 12.2                  Hologram       Philip Kendall 113.2    2
26  36.4/ 50.2/ 13.4            Golden Gate v4                Franz 122.6    5
26  16.8/ 17.0/ 66.2                  U-lat II           Zul Nadzri 116.7    2
26  37.2/ 46.5/ 16.4          Goothmonger v1.4           Ian Sutton 127.8    4
26  39.0/ 51.2/  9.8                  Q^2 Miro         Anders Ivner 126.8  366
26  36.0/ 49.2/ 14.8            Scankiller 0.1    Christian Schmidt 122.9    2
26  28.8/ 31.0/ 40.1            delay 0.02b 50       bjoern guenzel 126.6   22
26  27.6/ 27.4/ 45.0                   Rosebud                Beppe 127.7  993
26  38.1/ 47.8/ 14.1      Mostly Harmless v1.1           Justin Kao 128.5   18
26  35.3/ 44.0/ 20.7          Instant Wolf 3.4                Edgar 126.7  205

Rosebud finally kicks the bucket, much to Beppe's dismay. Other significant
losses were Goldfinch, Q^2 Miro and Instant Wolf.
______________________________________________________________________________
94 - What's Old ( or this week:  the grey look )

 #   %W /  %L /  %T                       Name               Author Score  Age
12  40.5/ 42.5/ 17.0                     Probe        Anton Marsden 138.5  324
 7  41.5/ 41.8/ 16.7                    Blur 2        Anton Marsden 141.2  323
 1  36.5/ 24.2/ 39.3           unrequited love                kafka 148.8  244
23  32.3/ 35.6/ 32.1               Falcon v0.3          Ian Oversby 129.0  229
 5  36.1/ 28.4/ 35.5                    Gigolo   Core Warrior staff 143.9  200

A lot of old warriors disappeared this week. Gigolo is a new entry.
______________________________________________________________________________
HALL OF FAME
* means the warrior is still active.

Pos    Name                  Author          Age     Strategy
 1  Thermite II            Robert Macrae     2262    Qscan -> bomber
 2  Impfinity v4g1         Planar            1993    Stone/ imp
 3  Jack in the box        Beppe Bezzi       1620    P-warrior
 4  Tornado 3.0            Beppe Bezzi       1567    Bomber
 5  Torch t18              P.Kline           1539    Bomber
 6  Chameleon              Myer R Bremer     1437    P-warrior
 7  Frontwards v2          Steven Morrell    1420    One shot scanner
 8  Evol Cap 6.6           John Wilkinson    1299    Imp / stone
 9  quiz                   Schitzo           1262    Scanner/ bomber
10  T.N.T.                 Maurizio Vittuari 1204    Bomber
11  Grilled Octopus v0.5   David Boeren      1154    P-warrior
12  Hazy Shade II          John Wilkinson    1102    P-warrior
13  Stepping Stone         Kurt Franke       1049    Qscan -> Vampire
14  Rosebud                Beppe Bezzi        993    Stone/ imp
15  Iron Gate 1.5          Wayne Sheppard     926    CMP scanner
16  T.N.T. pro             Maurizio Vittuari  925    Bomber
17  Agony II               Stefan Strack      912    CMP scanner
18  Barrage                Anton Marsden      876    Qscan -> replicator
19  Blue Funk              Steven Morrell     869    Stone/ imp
20  Flurry                 Anton Marsden      835    Qscan -> pwarrior
21  Thermite 1.0           Robert Macrae      802    Qscan -> bomber
22  Blue Funk 3            Steven Morrell     766    Stone/ imp
23  Night Train            Karl Lewin         755    Replicator
24  Mirage 1.5             Anton Marsden      736    Scanner/ bomber
25  Blizzard               Anton Marsden      713    Qscan -> replicator

Rosebud stops getting older and now there are no active warriors in the HOF.
Probe and Blur 2 will be the next warriors to enter the HOF, assuming they
survive long enough.
______________________________________________________________________________
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  50.9/ 33.9/ 15.2          Silver Talon 1.1                Edgar 167.9   73
 2  50.8/ 40.0/  9.3          Goothmonger v1.2           Ian Sutton 161.6   17
 3  47.2/ 38.2/ 14.5                 Pentagram            J.A.Denny 156.3    1
 4  48.1/ 42.7/  9.2            Scankiller 0.1    Christian Schmidt 153.5    4
 5  46.5/ 40.9/ 12.6            Flamberge 13.4        Matt Lewinski 152.2   42
 6  41.8/ 33.8/ 24.3            Scanitator 2.4    Christian Schmidt 149.8   16
 7  47.1/ 44.6/  8.3   The Stainless Steel Rat    Christian Schmidt 149.5   15
 8  43.8/ 39.7/ 16.5      Microsoft Office '96           Justin Kao 147.9   69
 9  44.2/ 44.2/ 11.6      Mostly Harmless v1.1           Justin Kao 144.2   23
10  39.6/ 36.4/ 24.0           Versatility 1.7   Ross Morgan-Linial 142.8   20
11  42.6/ 43.1/ 14.3            Cruise Missile       Philip Kendall 142.2   38
12  40.9/ 42.8/ 16.3                  HAL 9000           Justin Kao 139.0   85
13  29.4/ 20.0/ 50.6                DemonSpawn            J.A.Denny 138.9    2
14  39.9/ 41.4/ 18.7       Vivid Radiation 2.0        Matt Lewinski 138.4   41
15  42.4/ 46.8/ 10.8                  Hologram       Philip Kendall 138.1   13
16  40.6/ 43.2/ 16.2         Bash the Rat V1.4           Ian Sutton 138.0   34
17  35.6/ 34.3/ 30.1                Dust 0.7.5           Justin Kao 137.0   19
18  35.0/ 33.9/ 31.0            Hammermill 4.0        Matt Lewinski 136.1   79
19  39.3/ 43.0/ 17.7                       MI6       Philip Kendall 135.7   66
20  38.0/ 40.9/ 21.0          Sandstorm Q/0.6c       Ilmari Karonen 135.1   64
21  34.7/ 35.8/ 29.5                Apocalypse        Matt Lewinski 133.7   50
22  32.5/ 34.3/ 33.2              Escargot 0.5           Justin Kao 130.8   39
23  33.6/ 38.8/ 27.7                Fusion 0.5           Justin Kao 128.3   11
24  28.6/ 30.7/ 40.8                   Paper V         D. D. Randel 126.4    3
25  33.5/ 43.1/ 23.4        Daemon of Zteentch    Christian Schmidt 124.0   97

Top 25 Averages:
    40.3/ 38.7/ 21.1                                                141.9   36
______________________________________________________________________________
The Hint
Dclears by Paul Kline

Last issue Myer revealed the bomber form he is using in his Nine Seven Six
fighter, which is quite interesting.  In order to make other use of
the SPL's b-operand he is using the DJN line for the bombing increment.
This alternative can be used in a scanner or other bombers as well.

Actually any line in the source can be used as the increment, and
leads to the possibility of changing the increment on the fly.
Planar's Impfinity uses the ADD line itself:

        add.f   #istep+1, ptr&i

Myer created a 'perfect dclear gate' something like this:

        spl     #0    ,>gate
        mov     wipe  ,>gate
        djn.f   -1    ,>gate
wipe    dat     <2667 ,2-gate

This will certainly stop an imp which tries to overrun the gate, but
does suffer from an occasional self-destruct.  If either the
MOV or the DJN changes gate to zero and the SPL executes next
then it will self-wipe.  This will happen rarely but can be
prevented by using this form:

        spl     #0
        mov     wipe  ,>gate
        djn.f   -1    ,>gate
wipe    dat     <2667 ,2-gate

This second form suffers somewhat in that an imp can pass if it
tries when the SPL is executed.  But if the gate is far enough
back then it should be wiped anyway before it can reach the
SPL.  If the gate is near, this may be a problem.  So there is
one way to tell which form to use - if the gate can be positioned
well back use form #2, else use form #1.  However if you have other
uses for the SPL operands then that may determine your form.

Now for the exciting part!

A while back I serendipitously discovered that <5335 is MUCH
better than <2667 against paper-based or continuously-launched
imps, and just got around to trying some more variations.
I created two versions of Die Hard using these imp forms:

    mov.i   #2667,*0
    mov.i   #100 ,2667

and ran against a dclear continuous wiper with combinations of predec/
postinc using imp and near-imp numbers.  Here are the resulting win/loss/tie
results:

 wiper    2667 ,*0      #100,2667
------    --------      --------
<2667     00/25/75      00/21/79
>2667     00/28/72      00/22/78
{2667     00/22/78      00/21/79
}2667     00/21/79      00/22/78
<2668     00/24/76      00/26/74
>2668     00/26/74      00/27/73
{2668     00/23/77      00/24/76
}2668     00/27/73      00/25/75
<5334     00/21/79      00/22/78
>5334     00/21/79      00/28/72
{5334     00/17/83      00/19/81
}5334     00/18/82      00/20/80
<5335     36/20/44      57/18/25
>5335     55/20/25      52/21/27
{5335     54/19/27      00/19/81
}5335     55/18/27      00/19/81
<5336     00/19/81      00/19/81
>5336     00/18/82      00/22/78
{5336     00/18/82      00/18/82
}5336     00/18/82      00/19/81
<1        00/16/84      00/18/82
>1        00/19/81      00/21/79
{1        00/18/82      00/19/81
}1        00/21/79      00/20/80

Most of them have that moribund loser look, but wow! those 5335 numbers
are very interesting.  From this I recommend using this Dclear form:

        spl     #0
        mov     wipe  ,>gate
        djn.f   -1    ,>gate
wipe    dat     >5335 ,2-gate

Paul Kline
pk6811s@acad.drake.edu
______________________________________________________________________________
Extra Extra
Blur '88 by Anton Marsden

I wanted to see how "advanced" the '88 warriors were so I wrote Blur '88 to
test a modern technique against them. As it turns out, Blur '88 did quite
well.

This warrior is somewhat resistant to DAT ?a,?0 bombs - if some of the code is
hit, the jmn line will fall through if the lines 'scan' or 'a' are hit.
The one thing I was frustrated with was the coreclear. I can't seem to improve
it much. Any ideas?

;redcode
;name Blur '88
;author Anton Marsden
;strategy Carpet goes backwards
;assert CORESIZE==8000

step EQU 70

top:  mov bomb,<ptr
a:    add inc,scan
scan: cmp -3*step+5,-3*step
      mov scan,@-3
      jmn top,@-3
bomb: spl 0,<1-step
      mov inc,<bomb-2
      djn -1,@-1-step
inc:  dat <-step,<-step
ptr:  dat #0,#-2*step

END scan
______________________________________________________________________________
Questions?  Concerns?  Comments?  Complaints?  Mail them to people who care.
authors: Beppe Bezzi <bezzi@nemo.it> or Myer Bremer <bremermr@ecn.purdue.edu>
or Anton Marsden <amarsden@etherspace.gen.nz>
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