Entelect Challenge 2019 – Initial Thoughts

The 2019 Entelect Challenge has finally started.

To me this means I have a chance to:

• Work on some AI (Something I only do for the Entelect Challenge)
• Test my coding skills against others
• Go to Comic Con
• Win some money

Now the money itself is not that important to me, though I would be lying if I said that first place would not help a bit. Building the AI, testing it against others, seeing your performance on those leader boards and actually going to Comic Con by invitation is an extremely nice experience.

I first stumbled upon the Entelect Challenge in 2015. The theme was Space Invaders and I managed to end among the top 32 of the challenge, Maybe even top 16. This allowed me to learn my own AI style which I have improved over time.

In 2016, I was one of the Bomberman Finalists and ended 5th

In 2017, I was one of the Battleship Finalists and ended 5th

Last year, 2018, I was one of the Tower Defense Finalists and ended 8th.

Since I have been one of the performing Contestants, I do feel that my achievement so far is no accident. I decided to document my 2019 Entelect Challenge entry and post a bit about it when the time is right.

I will try and help new contestants get started. I will not share advanced strategy till after the challenge. The reason is, I might give away my silver bullet. Something nobody else thought of, then they combine it with theirs. Something I never thought of, and kill me with my own approach. Or build a counter strategy. I am somewhat paranoid in this regard…

I have always found hard to go back on a challenge and give insight. For 2 reasons:

1. The reward phase is over, so any improvements are useless.
2. I push a lot of time into my entries. As fun as it is, by the time the competition is over, I am partly over the code.

So I decided I will do my documentation through the year, and release them when the time is right.

I will post a guide to help contestants get started. I know a lot of contestants might feel lost in a challenge like this.

I am also making a time lapse of my bot this year (Which I will release after finals)

What is not to love, 6 worms battling it out on one world. Makes for an interesting range of tactics. It allows for the single worm tactics as well as teamwork.

I am going to spend a bit of time thinking about what my end bot would look like. Then tomorrow I will start my first event’s entry.

I generally build one or two different bots to test the effects of different strategies. Example Aggressive VS Defensive. I also have some other ideas, But I will leave them for later.

I look forward to a great competition again this year. Will be aiming for that 1st place spot again. The trophee would mean far more to me than the cash that comes with it.

Good Luck to everyone reading.