Starcraft AI blog

The annual SSCAIT has progressed far enough that the competitors have roughly sorted themselves into groups. It’s about 1/4 complete, and we can get an idea of how things are going. Currently we have #1 Monster, which may in fact be the favorite to finish first, but it’s too early to talk about detailed finishing order.

Iron is doing better than I expected, though I guess it’s within the statistical margin of error. I have always been bemused by the consistency of cannonbot #38 Jakub Trancik, 11-16 for 41%, last updated in 2013. It has been falling slowly in the rankings year by year, even as bots that began above it fall further; apparently improvements that help against usual play do not help as much against the cannons. What stands out more to me are the bots that collapsed. Styx is failing to start and losing every game. Microwave, which should be in the top 16, is currently #31 of 56 with 16-15; maybe the latest update introduced a bug.

The biggest upset is #52 Marine Hell > #8 Steamhammer; Steamhammer went from lifetime 67-2 to 67-3 (since opponent modeling was added) against this opponent after failing to scout Marine Hell’s unit mix and making the wrong choice of counter units, among other mistakes. A more interesting upset is #48 Garmbot by Aurelien Lermant > #9 Dragon, where Dragon tried its usual harassing game plan but ended up defending all game instead, and could not hold it together. I was also pleased with #16 Skynet by Andrew Smith > #2 BetaStar after BetaStar chose a risky build, and this time didn’t get away with it. Don’t underestimate your foes: “It is not enough to be a good player, you must also play well” — Siegbert Tarrasch.

Steamhammer is currently at #8 with 17-5, having played only 22 games, fewer games than any other bot in the top 16 except Stardust, which has played only 20. I think Steamhammer’s most likely finish is #9 or #10, but we’ll see. Last year I was slightly pessimistic, and if the same is true this year then it may hold its position.