ZX Power #04 09 января 2000

Игры

Game room - SNAKE-HELP1. Tips for playing Snake.

"Snake" - the history of creation

    and features of the game

(C) 1999, Alexander Pelepeychenko
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               Preface.


   Snake game was conceived as a game for
Two or more people, so "most of
a "play it would not be very interesting. Anyway she got pretty
difficult for public understanding. Practice
showed that 95% of the load game yuzayut
it is not using the primary capabilities (intelligence), and 
just sit and stare at each other eating. :) Meanwhile, 5%, 
although understand how it should be taught the snake

virtually yuzayut UIS prog. The purpose of this
HELP - acquaintance with the general principles
work with snakes. Also here you will find
some tips.



           1. Basic concepts.


   Thus, the game consists of two phases. First
phase - is the creation of military kites, it will be
discussed below. The second phase - it is very
battle in which the user plays
only the role of spectator, and to some extent,
judge.


   The battle takes place on a checked box.
Each of the live snake consists of a head, torso and tail. The 
whole snake "intelligence", including sensors to scan the 
environment, is, of course, head and tail are the most 
vulnerable place. The presence of the head and tail required 
for each of snake that is the minimum living snake has a length 
of two cells. 


   During the battle may be only two options motion snake. If 
the head of the snake is moved to an empty cell, then the whole 
body Snake moves behind his head, so

that the first cell of the body is
where before there was a head and the tail is where was the 
last cell torso.



   If the snake makes an attack on the enemy, then her head 
would be on the cell, where it was another snake's tail, and all

body will remain in place. Thus,
length of the snake bite is incremented, and the length bitten 
by one decreases.



   Snake can not move to a cell
busy with his own or another's torso, as well as
beyond the playing field. A snake is always moving, if it has 
such an opportunity, and remains in place only if if all ways 
of travel are blocked. 


   Thus, the total length of parties fighting remains constant, 
and the length of your Snake is a measure of how

successfully fights it is this. Task-max
the user is to be
snake completely "ate" all enemies,
minimum objective - to ensure that its
snake had a maximum length.


   In the battle itself simultaneously engaged by
two to four snakes. Immediately, I note that
fight involving four snakes are much more interesting and less 
predictable than with pair. Fight ends in one of the following 
cases: 

 - When a snake has destroyed all against
   nicknames;
 - When none of the snakes has no stroke;
 - To interrupt the user: STOP.

   (In any case, you have to press STOP)


   You can continue to fight, to update the position of snakes, 
coming and going into battle again. Since the factor of chance 
plays a significant role, the result odnoraundovogo 
battlefield, generally speaking, is not particularly revealing, 
so it pays to hold no less than ten rounds, enough to 
objectively evaluate the effect of opponents. The study showed 
that the reliability about 90% in determining the winner gives

match, consisting of 15 rounds.



         2. Creating fighting snakes.


   Creating fighting snakes includes
several operations:

 - Select the name of the snake.
 - Select a password snakes.
 - The user fills out a passport snake

   stating the information that

   considers necessary (for example, information

   about themselves).


            3. Education snakes.


   How does the behavior of snakes is programmed?
So, listen ...



       3.1 What do we teach a snake?


   1. Snake must "see" the field. She should be able to find 
the enemy's tail, to begin his persecution, to approach and 
attack. Thus, the snake should "scan" surrounding space. The 
larger the radius "Crawl" your snake, the smarter its behavior.



   2. Snake must avoid deadlock near the edge of the field. An 
example of a situation where she can not move anywhere, is 
shown in Fig. 1. The tail of a Snake defenseless to attack 
opponents. From edge at all, apparently, is to stay away, 
except when there usual prey.



        Fig. 1. "Dead End" at the wall.



   3. Smart snake can avoid a situation where she becomes 
entangled in their own (And not just their own) rings (Fig. 2)



   Fig.2 "impasse" in their own rings.



   4. In a situation of "dog runs" when
two snakes unsuccessfully chase each other
along the closed route, "smart" snake
should be able to "cut" corners, and reduce
distance (Fig. 3)


      Figure 3 Technique "cutting" corners



   5. The snake should be able to "break" stable relations. In 
a situation where two snakes obeying his "instinct" (correctly

say - your program) devour each
other with a tail, "smart" snake will break the link. In a 
word, the program for "Communication gap" should have a higher

priority than "Basic Instinct" (Fig.
4)


         Fig. 4 stalemate

          "Mutual of eating."



   6. Your dragon may "be able to" still very,
very much. For example, managed to get very good results even
for a very "stupid" snakes, which have trained
Only one - the right to assess and handle the situation debut.


   7. Fights involving 2, 3 or 4 men held in different ways. 
Examples are known than individual fighters who do not

able to work well in a group
battle, and vice versa. So the "force" a fighter -
a relative concept. It all depends on with whom and under what 
conditions he would have fight. Therefore, education of the 
"universal" soldier - a case involving a sense of balance and 
many compromises. 


   8. It is interesting that in many cases, the force of 
fighters - the concept of non-transitive. Thus, if the snake 
Alpha steadily wins "Beta" and "Beta", in turn, does not 
descent of the "Gamma", it still does not mean that Alfa will 
be stronger, "Gamma". It may well be that the last

there are individual character traits
that "Alpha" will be too tough. After working a few days with 
his men, You yourself will feel it and, again, education 
becomes a matter of universal soldier meticulous research and a 
weighted balance the different qualities and properties.




            3.2 How to teach a snake.


   Programming the snake runs very
elegant, clear and accessible. The "head"
have your pet set 9 programmable matrices. The Matrix N1 has a 
higher priority than the N2 matrix, etc. Then Thus, if a snake 
executes the program recorded in the first matrix, then to the 
rest it is not delivered. If the real situation

does not match the program recorded in
matrix N1, it can be used
N2 matrix, etc.


   Each "matrix" has a size of 7x7 cells. You can fill these 
matrices to their understanding in order to ensure the most 
effective behavior snakes (what "The most effective behavior" - 
decide themselves, a clear answer there can be no).



   The basis of the behavior of snakes is the logic
her head. This head has to be shown in each matrix used in
single copy (in addition, it
should be placed there after all the other animals, and only 
after all other must be removed). Head of the snake on the 
original matrix is ​​always looking up (north). 


   The computer looks at all turns
matrix, applying them in such a way that the head of the snake 
coincide with her current position. If the environment has 
coincided with what is recorded in a matrix, then a snake 
moving in that direction. If no match occurred, or such a course

impossible, then randomly goes through all rotations and 
reflections of this card. If the match did not happen in one 
embodiment, the transition to the next map. If no card gave the 
match, then the direction of the next move is chosen randomly.



   Vacant block of the matrix in the form of mesh
means that this box is not taken into account.


   Menu item in the column "NOT" means
that the picture element is the same, then if it is any other 
than specified in the appropriate box. Under what 
circumstances, it is useful to apply - addressed to the user.



   Element "OR" - the coincidence is recorded,
if matched at least one of the stained
this color.


   User should not be forgotten
that all the other snakes are absolutely equal. Therefore, in 
particular, can happen, that Users snake chase

for the "far tail, ignoring the tail of another snake, is 
located much closer. In addition, if the user is guided in a 
matrix on the relative position of the tail and trunk snake 
enemy, not excluded the option that will be recorded in the 
coincidence that that the tail will hold a snake, and

fragment of the body - the other.


   4. Some of the standard provisions.


   Entangled and locked herself a snake. If such a situation 
arises in During the game, any opponent will be able to

comfort "eat" a significant part of this snake before it is 
released. Good snake should try to avoid such situations. 


   "Mass" of snakes. End of round battle this way - not uncommon
in this game.


   Tree snakes are sitting on each other's tail.
Following each battle, each stroke
of them as gains or loses one
unit length and the length of each snake's remains
unchanged. Such a situation often arises with two snakes. The 
reader may think about whether and exactly how to try to break 
this cycle. I came up with two possible mechanisms for this

gap, but they are imperfect and often
worsen rather than improve the situation.


   Two snakes, one of which is stable
pursues another, and pursued at the same time
has no idea about the whereabouts of the pursuer and relies
only on the flight. The reader may think
how, firstly, to ensure that his snake did not get the role of 
the persecuted, and, secondly, what should be done to such a 
prosecution could be successful (because snakes move with the 
same speed!).




         5. A bit about analogues.


   In general, the prototype of Snake was PC-demo. In the help 
for her there was the following: 



   The idea to make a program that allows the user to not only 
enjoy the game, but most make their capabilities, creativity 
and inspiration, is not new, but in such a way as "Snake Boy" 
appears for the first time. 


   In long-standing and experienced gamers when they look at 
this program once born some associations with the ancient

culture under the title "CoreWar" ("Battle in
Memory "). For those who are connected to
computer games in the last decade, probably to be reminded 
about this phenomenon, because of him long ago no one recalled.



   A "CoreWar" was not just a program,
It was truly a culture and phenomenon. AND
developed this culture most actively
in the early 80's. The essence was that the
each programmer himself wrote myself a little program in 
machine code, after What are two programs run by various 
authors in the computer memory. Where, in which addresses are 
these programs are gone, nobody knows. 


   The essence of the game came down to the fact that these
programs should be "fired"
large areas of the machine's memory in order to
"Hook" and a program to destroy a rival. When the victim did 
not submit an operating System signals "I'm alive", the fight 
ended. 


   But the "fire" memory at random - not
only what the fighters. Top
samples were able to "multiply", "heal"
damaged areas, "masked"
"Scan" the memory, etc.


   "CoreWar" has received the widest dissemination in the West. 
Championship, tournaments. Organized clubs, and these

clubs to release regular bulletins, the
have appeared as if the media
Information on this culture.


   Numerous magazines have permanent
sections, which organized the competition, commented on the new 
discoveries and achievements.



   Of course, participation in such events was only available 
to programmers, with high qualifications. In addition to 
tournaments to determine the best programs, conducted numerous 
contests for the most short, the most original program.

This movement gave a lot of development programming as an art 
form and creating new technologies.



   For all its mass movement "CoreWar" could not take the usual 
circles users, but it gave an unexpected

side effect. Naked eye
It can be seen that the same properties, which should
have a good "fighter in the memory, and the need
malevolent computer viruses. So, from a culture of "CoreWar" 
proizrosli most outstanding virusovody and virusovedy. 


   We do not know why, maybe it is
due to the fact that most mentally defective
programmers began to exercise a perverse
passion for writing (and spread)
viruses, this movement has faded
somewhere in 1984, and now it was seldom
remember.


   Of course a complete analogy between the "Boy in the
memory "and" Snake Boy "is not and can not be. But I think that 
the idea of ​​a rather good for a new direction in

write game programs.
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