CIG 2018 maps and entrants
CIG 2018’s info is updated with the latest. The “was this bot submitted?” column in the table of registered entrants is on the far right.
maps
CIG 2018 has cranked the random number generator and chosen their 5 maps from the pool of 20:
- (2)Destination
- (3)Tau Cross
- (3)Great Barrier Reef
- (4)Andromeda
- (4)Python
None of the difficult maps was chosen. 5 maps are too few to even out any imbalances that might exist, but except for that it seems like a fine map pool. The maps have some special features: Destination has a mineral-blocked back door to each main. Great Barrier Reef has mineral line blocks around the edge of the map. Andromeda and Python have island bases. None of the special features causes severe problems for bots which are unprepared (Destination’s mineral block is the worst), and bots which are prepared can show off their skills and gain an advantage.
race balance
I count 16 submisions and 11 old bots carried over from last year, for 27 participants. For the submissions:
| terran | 3 |
| protoss | 6 |
| zerg | 6 |
| random | 1 |
| total | 16 |
The total:
| terran | 8 |
| protoss | 7 |
| zerg | 10 |
| random | 2 |
| total | 27 |
Zerg and protoss are equally popular this year, and terran is in a slump. Among the bots carried over from last year, protoss was the unpopular race, so the overall numbers are not too uneven, with a bit of a bump for zerg. All in all, a pretty good range of challenges for everyone.
unknowns and favorites
The unknowns are terran TitanIron, protoss ISAMind, and zerg Stormbreaker. ISAMind and Stormbreaker are both “independent” affiliation, lone wolves, and a quick look did not turn up more about them. TitanIron I can guess more about: It is from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the same larger organization under which Casiabot and NLPRBot were made, and it is credited to a large team that includes some of the same authors. It looks as though serious effort and expertise went into it. To generalize, the past bots from CAS were Steamhammer forks with either ambitious and not too successful, or quick-and-dirty but strong changes—none had staying power, but some placed high in the tournament they were tuned for. Playing terran and having a name that includes “iron” suggests that TitanIron may be a fork of Iron. Putting together the whole picture, I think TitanIron has the shape of a strong contender.
The familiar favorites are PurpleWave which we know from experience does better in tournaments that it was put in shape for, McRave which has been maturing in secret, new Locutus which is strong but which other bots may have prepared specifically against, and the perennials Tscmoo and ZZZKBot, which can never be counted out. You might think you can count out ZZZKBot because this year everyone will be ready for its rush, but so far it always has something new and successful.
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Comments
Dan on :
I also wouldn't rule out LetaBot, who has historically showed up with some smartly chosen low-touch adjustments. If I had a week to prepare LetaBot for a tournament, I'd look at the field, think "How do I beat these Protoss?" and show up with a pro-style push like JoyO or a 4-Fact that Protoss bots haven't really had to compete against before.
McRave on :
In terms of top Protoss for this tournament; PurpleWave has tested some new builds that are strong in PvP. Locutus has some great new changes such as ramp denial with his proxy 2 gate and some goon micro changes with his 4gate. McRave has some new builds, but most of my work has been done on cheese proofing, BWEB and some neat pathfinding based combat sim stuff.
I'm thinking top slot could come down to who is the best Protoss. I'm hoping it doesn't come down to who has the strongest PvP for my own sake. My PvP is a bit too greedy and contests map control when it shouldn't be. I think I'm currently the weakest of the 3 for PvP, but I may be the strongest in PvT and PvZ.