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The game's primary focus is on programming, letting players design and develop AIthat will prove victorious on the battlefield. Hand-eye coordination and real-timehuman control give way to automation and intelligent design.
With instructions like Move, Scan, Turn, and Fire, an AI program tells the bot whatto do and feeds it information about its surroundings. Depending on its program, abot can advance and attack, run and hide, or any number of actions. Bots can alsocommunicate with each other for a team-based approach.
Since bots can perform a variety of tasks, players will likely appreciate thecomprehensive User Guide and detailed programming reference. These are designed togive players the information they need to write AI and get the most enjoyment out ofthe product.
Because players can pit their creations against each other or against those writtenby other players, the gaming system may bring opportunities for different types ofchallenges, and what amounts to unlimited competition and collaboration amongplayers.
The company anticipates that both new and experienced programmers will especiallyenjoy the experience because it provides an outlet for doing something they probablyalready enjoy, but in a different and perhaps more exciting arena.
Author Phil Baggett, a software developer with over 10 years in softwareengineering, believes the product will have strong appeal for programmers. "The aimis to combine the challenges and rewards of programming with the fun and excitementof 3 D gaming," he explained. "A lot of developers love what they do -- they have areal passion for it. And in terms of 3-D game combat, it's even more fun when yourprogram literally blows away the competition."
The product admittedly borrows from earlier game ideas in which "AI programming" isthe central focus of game-play. The company hopes to revive the concept in a bigway, while bringing it up to date with today's newer technologies, capitalizing onthe availability of modern development tools with features like real-time testingand debugging.
The company expects wide appeal in part because of the open design of the gamingsystem. Players can choose from any language that targets the .NET platform, ratherthan being restricted to a single, scripting language for example. "You can use whatyou know or what youÂ're more comfortable learning, whether that's C#, Visual Basic,or whatever," suggested Mr. Baggett.
The price tag is undoubtedly a major point of attraction as well: the product isavailable free of charge to individuals. Offering a full, unrestricted product at nocharge gives it a much broader audience, resulting in what the company hopes to be abig following.
"We want this to be available for anyone to play around with," Mr. Baggettclarified, "and offering it for free provides accurate insight into the realinterest level of this kind of product. We think people will have loads of fun withit, but improvements and add-ons will depend on community interest. User feedbackwill be crucial in determining the product's longevity."
Founded in 2004, Omega Technical Systems, LLC develops software solutionsspecializing in .NET Smart Client applications and tools. The company performscustom development services and provides software products to the Internetcommunity.
For additional information, visit the company's product Web site athttp://omegatechsys.com/Pro ducts/Bots.
