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        Arimaa >> Events >> 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
        
(Message started by: omar on Oct 31^st, 2007, 9:04am)

Title: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by omar on Oct 31^st, 2007, 9:04am

Hi Everyone,

Info on the upcoming computer championship and challenge match are posted here:

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wcc/2008/

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/challenge/2008/

Please feel free to provide any feedback you have. Thanks.

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by Fritzlein on Oct 31^st, 2007, 4:06pm

I see a possible issue. The schedule reads "Challenge games: Mar 9th 2008 to Mar 29rd 2008". However, this will probably overlap with the finals of the World Championship. People who are already worried about fitting in one long, serious game per week may have hesitations about volunteering for a second as a Challenge defender.

Of course, we are so far ahead of the computers that it doesn't require much effort from anyone likely to be in the World Championship finals to beat the top bot every time, so it isn't a huge extra burden. Alternatively, we could easily have all of the defenders come from outside the top ranks. But even if I were the #15 player, I would have hesitations about volunteering to be a defender (which must be done before January 12, and thus before the Swiss qualifier) on the chance that I might it to make the finals of the World Championship and have my hands full during March.

Furthermore, we should have some hesitation about having the Challenge happen at the same time as the finals of the World Championship simply on the principle that spectator events should be spread out a little for viewing pleasure, rather than crammed together. True, the Challenge is less exciting than the World Championship at the moment, but that may not always be true. If the Challenge is even a little bit competitive, then it shouldn't overlap the World Championship at all. It seems a bad precedent to set.

For all these reasons, it makes more sense to me to have the Challenge start in April, perhaps concurrently with the start of the Postal Tournament. The computer qualifying period could be delayed accordingly, or it could be extended so that players have a full month to test themselves against the top two bots, hopefully generating more community participation.

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by Fritzlein on Jan 7^th, 2008, 12:39pm

How many developers have registered so far? It looks like the registration deadline is the end of this month.

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by arimaa_master on Jan 11^th, 2008, 5:04am

on 01/07/08 at 12:39:54, Fritzlein wrote:

How many developers have registered so far? It looks like the registration deadline is the end of this month.

I am curious too.

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by IdahoEv on Jan 11^th, 2008, 8:07pm

I haven't registered Zombie yet, but I plan to.

Sadly, no major improvements since last year; I suffered a bad work experience in the fall that put me severely in debt and I've been trying to dig myself out since then. No time for fun projects like Arimaa development. :-(

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by omar on Jan 12^th, 2008, 4:57pm

There is a link now on the computer championship page now to show who is registered. Currently only Bomb is registered, but others have indicated to me that they will be registering also.

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wcc/2008/

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by Fritzlein on Jan 13^th, 2008, 12:21pm

Thanks for adding the link, Omar. Looks like the field is wide open. :-)

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by Fritzlein on Jan 26^th, 2008, 8:36am

on 01/11/08 at 20:07:51, IdahoEv wrote:

I'm sorry to hear that, IdahoEv. Money worries are no fun at all, and they tend to sap the fun out of every other activity even when you do take time out from work to try to relax.

Even without Zombie I'm surprised only four bots are registered with only five days of registration left. Last year's participants Aami-ra and Gnobot are also absent, as are newcomer OpFor, university project bot_4th_year, and two or three other new bots registered in the past few months. Perhaps developers are demoralized by being unable to beat Bomb? Or is the obstacle the new $15 registration fee? I guess if you don't expect your bot to win two games before losing three, the entry fee now outweighs the prize fee. That would certainly be the case with my bot, if I had one. :)

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by Janzert on Jan 26^th, 2008, 2:04pm

Yeah, I won't at all be surprised at not recovering the entry fee with OpFor. But I do plan to enter though, mostly just procrastination so far. Along with a minor worry about getting it working under linux, but I expect that to be surmountable.

Janzert

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by Fritzlein on Jan 27^th, 2008, 9:43pm

Excellent, Janzert, I'm glad that you plan to participate. OpFor just might do better than you think. 8)

Title: Re: 2008 Computer Championship and Challenge Match
Post by IdahoEv on Jan 29^th, 2008, 1:29pm

on 01/26/08 at 08:36:56, Fritzlein wrote:

I'm sorry to hear that, IdahoEv. Money worries are no fun at all, and they tend to sap the fun out of every other activity even when you do take time out from work to try to relax.

Thanks for the support, Fritzlein. It has been a rough road, though hopefully the end is in sight, I expect to be back in the black by the end of February. Arimaa is still in my heart and with a little luck and dedication I may be able to do the Java port of Zombie and get back to my static eval research later this year. Combining the two would make Zombie quite strong for 2009, I think.