Contents The gameCompetitors write Software that controls a miniature Tank that fights other identically-built (but differently programmed) tanks in a playing field. Robots move, shoot at each other, scan for each other, and hit the walls (or other robots) if they aren't careful. Though the idea of this 'game' may seem simple, the actual strategy needed to win is not. Good robots can have thousands of lines in their code dedicated to strategy. Some of the more successful robots use techniques such as and attempts at in their designs.Safely run other peoples' botsOne can test a robot against many other competitors by downloading their, so design competition is fierce. Robocode provides a (security) (bots are restricted in what they can do on the machine they run on), which makes redistribution safe.Movement and TargetingRobocode competition is all about two things:. Avoid getting hit too much (Movement).

Try to predict where the opponent(s) will move and hit them as much as possible (Targeting)Many sophisticated techniques have emerged. In particular, many top bots utilize:. WaveSurfing - Adapting your movement and trying to avoid getting hit the same way twice.

Downloading Robocode. Robocode can be downloaded from the download page at SourceForge.This page contains all Robocode releases available for download. The file you want to download is a JAR (Java ARchive) file, which is in fact a renamed zip file used for distributing Java programs.

StatisticalTargeting - Collect data that describes the targeting situation together with what would have been the correct decision for each situation. Use this data to make targeting decisions. GuessFactorTargeting - The best known form of StatisticalTargeting where the stats for enemy robots are each contained inside one number (the 'GuessFactor'). PatternMatching - Tries to match patterns of observed behavior with previously observed patterns, and make decisions on targeting based around that.Sample botsSeveral sample robots are included in Robocode to help the beginners get started. They demonstrate various basic techniques used in coding robots, from to writing out data to files for use later.