archive by month
Skip to content

next up for Steamhammer

I’ve been working behind the scenes and haven’t made a release in a long time. It’s partly because I haven’t finished my original plan, and partly because I keep putting off the item that I promised next, the public repository. I should update everybody on Steamhammer plans.

My original plan was to mainly fix bugs for the next release, and call it version 1.2.4. Debugging gets dull. I have almost but not quite finished with the most critical bugs I planned to squash. I keep tempting myself into adding features instead.

My new plan is to put out a test version sometime soon. When everything is shipshape, I’ll call the release version 1.3, since there are major new features. They are:

  • New SparCraft version.
  • Calculate ground distances taking map blocks into account.
  • The extractor trick works (bug fix found by Arrak). I extended the commands to “go extractor trick drone” and “go extractor trick zergling” so you can choose the unit you want.
  • Added a “go pull workers n“ command to pull n workers for combat. They join the ground attack squad. Useful for all-in rushes (and in principle for reacting to emergencies, though then you might want them to join a defense squad).
  • Zerg strategy boss supports lurkers, guardians, and devourers.

Plus there are many bug fixes and minor improvements, and openings that use the new features—including all 3 of the new “go” commands.

Steamhammer will not participate in CIG 2017, as LetaBot noticed in a comment. But it should be in AIIDE 2017. After version 1.3, the next version will be 1.4 for AIIDE, with opening learning as the major new feature. I’ll keep that as my secret weapon for AIIDE and release it after submission closes.

Trackbacks

No Trackbacks

Comments

PurpleWaveJadien on :

Steamhammer with opening learning will be scary. I feel very vulnerable versus a number of Zerg timings and Steamhammer executes early aggression very well. I added strategy learning to PurpleWave for CIG. One of the strategies it can choose is the Bisu build you've wanted to see -- FFE into Corsairs that pick off overlords and Dark Templar that evade detection.

Joseph Huang on :

Have you considered adding mineral locking? It's pretty easy to add, SH already has most of the code in place.

Jay Scott on :

It’s on my list, but not a high priority. It would be a win. The existing mineral assignment already gets a fair proportion of the gains, especially in the early game when it matters most.

MicroDK on :

1.3 will be a strong update with 3 new units. I wonder if extractor trick with zergling is useful? Maybe in a 5 Pool where you start 3 x zergling at 6/9 and can start a 4th with the extractor trick for a total of 8 zerglings...

Jay Scott on :

Exactly. Watch how ZZZKBot plays its 4 pool: It never makes a second overlord, it keeps its supply down by constantly attacking, and it uses the extractor trick to get 2 extra zerglings whenever it can. That combination is a good part of why ZZZKBot is the most successful rushbot ever.

Add Comment

E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.
CAPTCHA

Form options

Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.