Starcraft AI blog

Zerg bot Proxy (which is not a proxy bot but a dll) is a nice start on a new bot. It plays only one strategy and has no outstanding skills, but its strategy is dangerous against many opponents. Most impressively, it holds a score of 2-0 against Tscmoo terran. It is currently rated not far below 1900, a decent performance for a new bot apparently made from scratch. (It does say that it uses BWEM and FAP.)

Proxy describes its strategy as “eco cheese into mass hydra.” “Eco cheese” means make lots of drones, which says that Proxy is vulnerable to almost any early attack. A lot of bots play rushes, so Proxy will never be a top scorer with this strategy. Once the mass hydras arrive, though, with that big economy behind them they seem endless and relentless. It mixes in zerglings as needed to balance minerals and gas; that may be its greatest skill. This game against Marine Hell is boring to watch, with no variety, but it shows what I mean about relentlessness. Proxy slowly battered its way up a ramp by sheer persistence.

Like any new bot, Proxy doesn’t have many skills yet. It takes 2 bases and never expands again. It cannot replace lost buildings. It is poor at scouting. It often makes weak tactical decisions. These things need time to implement. Considering how little it knows, I think it is performing well.

Good start!