What with not understanding DLLs, what''s the deal with doing this using lots of classes and OOP stuff? So I have one overall class Bot I need to instantiate? On a related note can we maybe get time to initialise before the fight starts, to allocate memory, load data files or such things? I mean before we can see the arena or anything. Do we have a decision on what''s going to happen and when yet? [On a complete off-topic thought, how about a sub-competition where we CAN hack the system rather than using the interface? You''d see bots teleporting and having extra turns maybe? Though it''d probably end up as a battle over system resources - isn''t that what viruses started out as, a game of sorts?]

quote: Original post by d000hg
What with not understanding DLLs, what''s the deal with doing this using lots of classes and OOP stuff? So I have one overall class Bot I need to instantiate?

Well, each persons approach may differ. For you a single class may do, but It would probably be a more efficient (and easier to debug) method to create different classes for all of the bot''s functions, and set the ''Dll Entry Point'' to call into your tree of classes.

A dll is (as far as I know) exactly the same as a static library (Except it''s dynamic) or, if you will, an exe with no main function - just the function and class code.

quote: Original post by d000hg
On a related note can we maybe get time to initialise before the fight starts, to allocate memory, load data files or such things? I mean before we can see the arena or anything.

It would seem insane not to be given the chance to initialise, and given the comments I believe were made about reading script file during initialisation, there is.

quote: Original post by d000hg
[On a complete off-topic thought, how about a sub-competition where we CAN hack the system rather than using the interface? You''d see bots teleporting and having extra turns maybe? Though it''d probably end up as a battle over system resources - isn''t that what viruses started out as, a game of sorts?]

This wouldn''t work, as the first bot to run would simply set the opponents health to zero, and vice-versa. Also, the challenge with developing ai is that the ''Agent'' only has limited perception. If the world is totally accesible and it can do whatever it wants, there is no challenge.

quote: Original post by Sly
Like the AI in Starcraft...

Unfortunately, I have never played Starcraft. I''m a bit short of cash to buy it Budget too, I tried to get my brother to when he bought a bunce of budget stuff, but he didn''t

Sounds like most RTS games before it!