Article Type: Review
Article Date: May 25, 2001
Robots Rule!
Most of us have probably seen Robot Wars or BattleBots on TV. So called robots trying to destroy their opponents in a ring. Well, if the concept of getting paid to build your own robot gladiator appeals you’ve got to check out Roboforge - a totally new concept in online gaming due for release this May.
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Assault marine attacks  |
RoboForge is a 3D game that lets you construct sophisticated virtual robots and train them for combat. The robots are mechanical and/or organic in nature. You can build virtually anything by mixing and reusing components from a huge library of over three hundred parts that you can add to anyone of the twelve robot genres.
To “forge” a bot it is as simple as clicking components together. Components can be Joints (moving servos), Sensors, CPUs, Energy Generators, Weapons, Shielding or just passive Limbs. Once constructed, the robots can then be trained for offensive and defensive moves (all in 3D), and programmed to think during combat. Wizards will allow you to construct your first robot in minutes so you can then "tinker" with the settings, adding new limbs, painting and texturing, and so on. You can have an unlimited "garage" of robots.
Once ready, you can let your creation loose in an arena against another pre-programmed robot and compete in tournaments on the Internet for prizes, including cash (that’s right, cash!!). The robots fight in a hand-to-hand style. The movement of the limbs and damage done to each other is calculated using realistic physics. Mass-inertia and 3D torque calculations are used in the simulation engine. The robot sensor systems have scope and range. Damage is based on point of impact inertia and realistic resultant physics are calculated (e.g., limb recoil). Completely damaged limbs explode and so on. All this results in two bots that usually look like nothing you’ve ever seen before trying to annihilate each other.
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| Combat |
Roboforge is the first game to come from Liquid Edge Games, new developers based all the way down under in New Zealand. Not only is the game innovative but also the way in which these guys are going to be selling it—direct from their website. Talk of online distribution has been kicking around for a while, now that someone’s actually doing it it will be interesting for all to see whether or not it is a successful method for reaching the market. What this does mean though is that you can buy Roboforge for what I think represents excellent value at under US$30.
Whilst Roboforge will be the most tournament based online game around, much of the gameplay is in fact offline and involves the design, construction and testing of your bots. It is only when you’re feeling like you’ve created a worthy contender that you go online from within the game itself and send it off to fight in the Tournaments.
Pure Java
On the technical side, Roboforge is developed 100% in Java and it is like no other Java game I’ve ever seen. It works with OpenGL and Direct3D and is able to run on all Win32 platforms. The minimum spec PC required is 200Mhz CPU, 64MB RAM and an 8MB 3D Card. Obviously a higher spec machine will be preferable.
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| Building an assassin robot |
The game has a well-designed interface with impressive graphics. The “Workshop” is where you build your bot. Here you have the choice of starting with a Bot Wizard where you can get a functional fighting machine in minutes. I would strongly recommend that first-timers start here so they can get a better feel for how it all works. Believe me, with this game you have a lot of choice. Once you’ve worked through the selection of options offered by the Bot Wizard you end up in the Workshop, which is where you’d begin if you wanted to do the whole thing on your own starting with just a chassis and build everything on top.
In the Workshop you get to further design your bot, choosing from the vast array of component options. You add or remove these using a simple drag and drop process. You can also change the appearance of your bot by painting each individual component if you choose. You can let your creative juices run wild when deciding what to build and how you want it to look. The detail and variety Roboforge offers is awesome.
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| You can build anything you want |
Shuck and Jive
You now need to go to the “Moves” screen where you take what you’ve built and teach it how to fight. Defining a move involves taking a snapshot of where you’d like the move to start and another of where you’d like it to end up. Roboforge’s simulation engine fills in the rest. Again, you have no limits here as to how many moves you can give your bot. You can literally program your bot to do anything (except jump). You can set up various zones so that in the event one of your zones is penetrated you can fire of a suitable move.
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| Teach Your Bot Some Moves |
It’s all fun so far, but when you hit the AI interface you need to put your thinking cap on. The AI is where you teach your bot how and when to use the moves you’ve given it thus far. It’s impressive the complexity Liquid Edge Games have gone to in order to let the players create true robots. Unlike the combat robots in the TV shows, which are usually glorified remote controlled vacuum cleaners, with Roboforge you get to teach your bot so it thinks for itself.
Now if this all seems a bit daunting you do have the option of adding “AI Blocks” to your bot where the brains have been made for you. However, for those who want something special out of their bot they are going to have plenty to get their teeth into in getting their bot’s AI to process all the moves they’ve given it.
So, you’ve built it, made it look good, taught it to think and fight—now you get to see how effective your hard work has been. The “Test” screen lets you select your opponent, one of the pre-built bots that are shipped with Roboforge, pick an arena in which to fight then let them go hard at it. Chances are you’ll go through this process a few times before you’ve got something that is winning consistently. But that’s the fun of Roboforge and the whole challenge behind the game – and that’s even before you venture out into the real world and compete in the tournaments on the Internet.
Fightin' Fer Real
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| Tournament entry |
Now it’s time for the serious contest, the ultimate in competition – beating budding bot builders just like you from all over the world. You think you’ve made some weird creations, wait until you see what you’re up against. It is in the “Tournaments” section of Roboforge where you go online to Roboforge's servers, see when and what the next tournament is (amateur, open or pro). You then send your bot off into battle, where all your hard work, training and nurturing will either make or break it. Waiting for the results can be a tense time, but nothing compared to when you go into the “Roboforge Battle Player” to watch your fight ensue. You’ll experience absolute elation when you bot does the business, but be warned, it is gut-wrenching stuff when its arse gets kicked and your bot explodes in front of your face. But don’t worry this is a learning curve all bot designers go through and all part of the challenge the game offers. It has got to be worth it in the end; imagine seeing your bot win some serious prize money in a professional tournament. Will Roboforge be the first to usher in the age of professional online sport? They’re saying there will be prize money of up to US$10,000 and a full professional ranking system. Well, if you can make that kind of money building robots the game’s going to be huge right?
I’ve had the pleasure of testing Roboforge for quite a while now. This is a totally new concept in gaming which really appeals to me. Full credit to the developers given a gaming market that is all too often “been there done that”. The game will not be for everyone, you cannot pick up Roboforge and derive instant satisfaction, this comes with time, but believe me, there is a sweet satisfaction that comes with the challenge. This will be even more attractive when the elements of competition and prize money are combined.
Already there is a strong community building behind the game even though we’re out to destroy each others creations there is a sense of mutual respect among bot designers with a sharing of ideas that goes on.
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| It takes all sorts |
Conclusion
Roboforge is a challenging and refreshing new game. I’m looking forward to the day it is released (expected to be two weeks away) but it can be pre-ordered from the website www.roboforge.net now for only US$14.95. See you in the tournaments!
