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AI in the Game of Diplomacy: MARS 1.0 Release Notice

Read the MARS 1.0 Conditions of Use before use.

The Product

MARS Release 1.0 (a.k.a. MARS 1.0)  is released as separate zip files of the binary and source.

Binary

The binary may be downloaded from johnnewbury.me.uk/diplomacy/downloads/mars/mars-1.0-binary.zip .

It comprises:

• mars-1-release-notice.htm

  • This Release Notice

• mars-1-conditions-of-use.htm

  • Conditions of Use

• mars.exe

  • A binary version of the Windows program.

Source

The source may be downloaded from johnnewbury.me.uk/diplomacy/downloads/mars/mars-1.0-source.zip .

It comprises:

• mars-1-release-notice.htm

  • This Release Notice

• mars-1-conditions-of-use.htm

  • Conditions of Use

• Mars

  • A Microsoft Visual Studio 6 project containing all files of the source (Visual C++).

Requirements

The following auxiliary products are also required, all obtainable from johnnewbury.me.uk/diplomacy, or via links from there:

• SAGA_2.*.mdb, where * is the version.

  • A Windows 2000 database

• AiServer_0.38~1.* components, where * is the version.

  • Modified AiServer that supervises the games, ultimately controlled by MARS.

• AiMapper_0.41~1.* components, where * is the version.

  • Only required if manual monitoring is required. Not currently used, but the source contains some hooks to use it.

• Clients

  • All those listed and enabled in the SAGA_2 database must be installed in the required location on the same computer as for MARS for MARS use. Disable any that are unavailable.

All the above run under Microsoft Windows 7. They should all work on Windows XP onwards.

Status

All the above products, including all bots listed in the SAGA_2 database run under Microsoft Windows 7, albeit testing has been very limited so far. All have passed Norton Antivirus checks.

Known Issues

• There is no install/setup program for MARS_1.*.

• There are no proper controls, other than specifications of the kinds of games in the SAGA database. In particular, at present a MARS session cannot be closed down cleanly, e.g. at end of the game – it has to be terminated by the Task Manager (unless it completes all required games, which it typically never will).

• Some bots fail, leaving an accumulation of failure windows.

• There are some probably-unnecessary delays inserted.

• The SAGA_Series.Selector must currently always be be "Serendipity1 Fitness"

• SAGA_Contestant.Throttle is ignored (treated as 1).

• SAGA_Platform is not checked. Definitions appropriate to where MARS sessions will run should be added and referenced from SAGA_Setting; the existing ones should be disabled (by one of sever methods, e.g., by inserting appropriate of SAGA_SeriesSetting records with Weight 0).

• The TCP/IP port cannot be set (except by editing the source), so additional copies cannot be run. (It does, however use a different port from the default, and yet a different port is used by a Debug version.)

• Contemporaneous games cannot currently be run under MARS. As many bots use little CPU time, but wait until near the turn deadline before submitting their orders, much CPU power may go to waste.

• During initialization MARS will await user response if any instance AiServer_0.38~1.1 is already running. (It is essential to clear out any earlier instance that uses the same TCP/IP port; ideally any client that are still running too.)

• Some clients only support a limited number of game variants. Until MARS has learned which these are, time is wasted the first time such combinations are run. However this information is stored in SAGA so that future sessions will not be delayed.

• Sometimes a client may spuriously fail to start during the timeout period, so it is thereby avoided forevermore, even after a restart of MARS. This can be fixed by periodic inspection for and deletion of inappropriate SAGA_ClientVariant records (or clearing its AutoInhibit field). [A flag will be added to allow manual overrides when the correct state is known.]

Documentation

The fullest documentation is available at johnnewbury.me.uk/diplomacy, or via links from there. In case of server unavailability (temporary otherwise), if you intend to use or develop MARS, you are advised immediately to download a copy of the current web pages; and new ones as they become available. (Major updates will be announced in DipAi.) Installation and running instructions may be needed.

Acknowledgements

MARS depends on AiServer and (to a less extent) on AiMapper, derived almost entirely from that originally produced by David Norman. It also depends on the products of the many bot developers – see johnnewbury.me.uk/diplomacy/bots.htm for details. Furthermore, the development of MARS, and all these other products, are what they are today thanks to discussions by the members of the Yahoo DipAi group.

The WELLRNG19937 random number generator was produced by Francois Panneton and Pierre L'Ecuyer, University of Montreal and
Makoto Matsumoto, Hiroshima University. It implements a modified "maximally equidistributed" implementation by Shin Harase, Hiroshima University.

Grateful thanks to all concerned, in many cases without whom this product would have been impossible (and irrelevant).