--- /dev/null
+NAME
+ stratego - Interface to manage games of stratego between AI programs and/or human players
+
+WARNING
+ This program is still a work in progress. Consider it a Beta version.
+
+SYNOPSIS
+ stratego {[-gpirb] [-o output_file ] [-t stall_time] [-m max_turns] {red_player blue_player | -f input_file} | {-h | --help} }
+
+DESCRIPTION
+ stratego manages a game of Stratego. It stores the state of the board, and uses a simple protocol to interface with AI programs.
+ By itself, stratego does not "play" the game. An external AI program must be used. stratego is intended to be used for the testing of
+ various AI strategies, written in any programming language. It will be used for the UCC Programming Competition 2012.
+
+ Unless the -h (--help) or -f switch is given, both red_player and blue_player must be supplied.
+
+ red_player
+ Should be either a path to an executable file which will control the Red player, or "human".
+ If set to "human", stratego will request the user to make moves for the Red player using stdin.
+ NOTES
+ 1. There is no plan to support AI programs named "human". Deal with it.
+ 2. The graphical interface for human players is... basic. Deal with it.
+ blue_player
+ As red_player, except for controlling the Blue player.
+
+A WARNING ABOUT BUFFERING
+ The AI programs must unbuffer their stdin and stdout streams, otherwise it will be seen to be non-responsive.
+ If you C and you know a way to force the process started by exec() to have unbuffered stdin/stdout, please email the author.
+
+ In C or C++, unbuffering is accomplished with the following lines, which should appear near the start of main()
+ setbuf(stdin, NULL);
+ setbuf(stdout, NULL);
+ In python, unbuffering is accomplished by passing the -u switch to the interpreter, ie: The first line of a script reads:
+ #!/usr/bin/python -u
+
+
+OPTIONS
+ -g
+ By default, graphics are disabled. If the -g switch is present, stratego will draw the game as it is played using SDL/OpenGL
+
+ -p
+ By default, even if graphics are disabled, the board state is not printed. If -p is present, the board will be printed to stdout.
+ If the system supports colour, the characters will be in colour.
+ Yes, If -p and -g are both present you will see both behaviours (overkill)!
+ -i
+ By default, stratego will exit if a move which is deemed "illegal" is made. If the -i switch is present, illegal moves will be ignored.
+ That is, the move will not be made (effectively the player making the illegal move loses a turn).
+
+ NOTE: If -i is not given and a human player accidentally(?) makes an illegal move, they will be asked to make a different move. The game will continue.
+ This is intended to prevent fits of rage due to the horrible graphical interface causing humans to make illegal moves.
+ -r
+ By default, the identities of all pieces are shown. If the -r switch is present, and graphics are enabled, red pieces will be disguised.
+ If graphics are disabled, the -r switch has no effect.
+
+ Pieces which have previously taken part in combat (and survived) will be revealed.
+ -b
+ As -r, except blue pieces will be disguised.
+ NOTE: Both -r and -b may be used together.
+ -o
+ By default, stratego does not log moves. If the -o switch is present, the result of each move is printed to a file.
+ If output_file is "stdout" then stdout will be used instead of a text file.
+ -t
+ By default, stratego executes moves as fast as they are recieved. If the -t switch is present, a delay of stall_time will be introduced
+ between each move.
+
+ If stall_time is negative or "inf", stratego will wait for the user to press enter before moving to the next move.
+
+ It is tentatively planned to allow the user to enter various commands to alter the game or proceed to specified turns.
+ However this is slightly complicated. So it might never be done.
+ -m
+ By default, the game is declared a Draw after 5000 turns have ellapsed.
+ Use this option to change the maximum number of turns.
+ To play for an infinite number of turns, supply "inf" as max_number. This is not recommended for obvious reasons.
+
+ -f
+ By default, stratego requires red_player and blue_player to enact a game.
+ If this option is supplied, a file previously produced by using the -o switch is read, and the game reenacted.
+ All switches function as normal with -f.
+ NOTE: It is recommended that -g is used with -f.
+
+ -h, --help
+ If the -h switch is used, this page will be printed and stratego will exit.
+
+
+
+GAME RULES
+ Each player controls up to 40 pieces on the Board. The pieces are represented by the following characters:
+
+ Piece Name Rank Number Abilities
+ 1 Marshal 1 1 Dies if attacked by Spy
+ 2 General 2 1
+ 3 Colonel 3 2
+ 4 Major 4 3
+ 5 Captain 5 4
+ 6 Lieutenant 6 4
+ 7 Sergeant 7 4
+ 8 Miner 8 5 Destroys Bombs
+ 9 Scout 9 8 May move more through multiple empty squares
+ s Spy 10 1 If the Spy attacks the Marshal, the Marshal dies
+ B Bomb NA 6 Immobile. If any piece (except a Miner) attacks an enemy Bomb, that piece is destroyed.
+ F Flag NA 1 Immobile. If any piece attacks the enemy Flag, the controlling player wins.
+
+ Additional pieces, not controlled by the player:
+ Piece Name Number Notes
+ + Obstacle 8 Immobile. Do not belong to either player. Can't be passed through.
+ # Enemy Piece 0 - 40 Indicates that the position on the board is occupied by an enemy piece.
+ . Empty NA Indicates that the position on the board is empty.
+
+ Players take turns to move their pieces. RED begins the game.
+
+ Pieces may only move one square horizontally or vertically unless otherwise stated.
+ Pieces may not move through squares occupied by allied pieces, or Obstacle (+) pieces.
+ Pieces may move into squares occupied by Enemy Pieces (#), in which case the piece with the lower rank (higher number) is destroyed.
+
+ Each player's pieces are hidden from the other player. When two pieces encounter each other, the ranks will be revealed.
+
+ The objective is to destroy all Enemy Pieces (#) or capture the Enemy Flag (also #).
+
+ Since 20/12 Bombs reflect the traditional rules; they are only destroyed by Miners.
+ In previous versions contact of an attacker other than a Miner with a Bomb destroyed the Bomb as well as the attacking piece.
+
+
+PROTOCOL
+ In order to interface with stratego, an AI program must satisfy the following protocol.
+ Each query is followed by a newline, and responses are expected to be followed with a newline.
+ The queries are recieved through stdin, and responses should be written to stdout.
+
+ 1. SETUP
+ QUERY: YOUR_COLOUR OPPONENT_ID BOARD_WIDTH BOARD_HEIGHT
+
+ RESPONSE: 4 lines, each of length BOARD_WIDTH, of characters. Each character represents a piece. The characters are shown above.
+
+ RED's pieces are placed at the top of the board, and BLUE's pieces are placed at the bottom.
+
+ An AI program does not have to place all 40 pieces, but must at least place the flag ('F').
+
+ 2. TURN
+ QUERY: START | CONFIRMATION
+ BOARD_STATE
+
+ On the first turn, "START" is printed to the Red player.
+ On subsequent turns, the CONFIRMATION of the opponent's last turn is printed (see below).
+
+ BOARD_STATE consists of a BOARD_HEIGHT lines of length BOARD_WIDTH characters, each of which represents a single piece
+ as described in the GAME_RULES section. Each line ends with the newline character.
+
+
+ RESPONSE: X Y DIRECTION [MULTIPLIER=1] | NO_MOVE
+ X and Y are the coords (starting from 0) of the piece to move
+ DIRECTION is either UP, DOWN, LEFT or RIGHT
+ MULTIPLIER is optional and only valid for units of type Scout. Scouts may move through any number of unblocked squares
+ in one direction.
+
+ The AI program should print "NO_MOVE" if it is unable to determine a move.
+ This will typically occur when the only pieces belonging to the AI program are Bombs and the Flag.
+
+ CONFIRMATION: X Y DIRECTION [MULTIPLIER=1] OUTCOME | NO_MOVE {OK | ILLEGAL} | QUIT [RESULT]
+
+ OUTCOME may be either OK, ILLEGAL, KILLS or DIES
+ OK - Move was successful
+ ILLEGAL - Move was not allowed. If stratego was not started with the -i switch, the game will end.
+ KILLS ATTACKER_RANK DEFENDER_RANK - The piece moved into an occupied square and killed the defender.
+ DIES ATTACKER_RANK DEFENDER_RANK - The piece moved into an occupied square and was killed by the defender.
+
+ Most turns will be confirmed with: "X Y DIRECTION [MULTIPLIER=1] OUTCOME"
+
+ A confirmation of "NO_MOVE OK" occurs when the AI program made no move for a legitimate reason.
+ "NO_MOVE ILLEGAL" is printed if the AI program made no move for an illegitimate reason.
+
+ If both AI programs successively make a "NO_MOVE" response, then the game will end.
+ The player with the highest piece value will win, or a draw will be declared if the values are equal.
+
+ 3. END GAME
+ If the CONFIRMATION line is of the form:
+ QUIT [RESULT]
+ Then the game is about to end.
+
+ If present, RESULT will be a direct copy of the message to stdout described in the EXIT/OUTPUT section below.
+
+
+ 4. TIMEOUTS
+ If a program fails to respond to a query within 2 (two) seconds, the game will end and that AI will be sent the ILLEGAL result.
+ Human players are not subject to the timeout restriction.
+
+
+
+EXIT/OUTPUT
+ If the game ends due to a player either winning, or making an illegal move, stratego will print one of the following result messages to stdout.
+
+ NAME COLOUR OUTCOME TURN_NUMBER OUTCOME RED_PIECE_VALUE BLUE_PIECE_VALUE
+
+ Where:
+ NAME is the name of the player on whose turn the game ended,
+ COLOUR is the colour of that player,
+ OUTCOME is one of the following:
+ VICTORY - The indicated player won
+ DEFEAT - The indicated player lost
+ SURRENDER - The indicated player surrendered
+ DRAW - The game ended in a draw because neither player moved
+ DRAW_DEFAULT - The game ended in a draw because the maximum number of moves was exceeded
+ ILLEGAL - The indicated player loses due to an Illegal move/response
+ DEFAULT - The indicated player wins by default due to the other player making an Illegal move/response
+ BOTH_ILLEGAL - Both players made an Illegal move/response. Usually occurs due to simultaneous setup errors, or bad executable paths.
+ INTERNAL_ERROR - The game ended, even though it shouldn't have.
+
+ TURN_NUMBER is the number of turns that elapsed before the game ended
+
+ RED_PIECE_VALUE and BLUE_PIECE_VALUE are the summed piece values of the pieces of RED and BLUE respectively.
+ Bombs and Flags are worth zero, and the ranked pieces (Spys -> Marshal) are worth (11 - rank).
+ So the Spy is worth 1 point, ... the Marshal is worth 10.
+
+ (The initial piece values can be determined by running with -m 0)
+
+
+ stratego will then return exit code 0.
+
+ If an error occurs within stratego itself, an error message will be printed to stderr and return exit code 1.
+ If possible, stratego will print the message "QUIT" to both AI programs, and they should exit as soon as possible.
+
+
+BUGS
+ Occasionally the result is not printed at the end of the game.
+ So far this has only been observed to occur when RED wins the game by Flag capture.
+
+ stratego is still a work in progress. Report another bug to the AUTHOR (see below).
+
+
+AUTHORS
+
+NOTES
+ 0. This program is still a work in progress and subject to changes.
+
+ 1. UCC Programming Competition 2012 Description
+ http://matches.ucc.asn.au/stratego/
+
+ 2. UCC Programming Competition 2012 Git repository
+ git://git.ucc.asn.au/progcomp2012.git
+
+
+ 3. IRC Channel
+ irc://irc.ucc.asn.au #progcomp
+
+THIS PAGE LAST UPDATED
+ 20/12/11 by Sam Moore
+
git.ucc.asn.au / progcomp2012.git / blobdiff
UCC git Repository :: git.ucc.asn.au