Robo Rally [Awards Ceremony]

[diginova]

Man may have tempered the spectre of nuclear evil, but tonight I have the unenviable task of reporting that warfare has been taken out of Man's hands.
We're now at the mercy of machines and a battle the likes of which we've never seen before is about to begin.

-jeremy clarkson

Intro

It's time for the ultimate battle between bored supercomputers operating neurotic factory robots! It's time for

General Rules

1. This game will be using the current Avalon Hill third edition rules (pdf), with two minor exceptions:
   a. When you power down, you keep your last program, so if registers lock while powered down, you aren't stuck with random programming.
   b. Powered down robots can't capture flags or move archive markers.
2. If you want an additional demo of game play, there is one here, courtesy of Avalon Hill.
   In addition, for the first turn and first turn only, I will respond with the location your robot will end up after executing your program assuming no interference, as a sanity check as we don't want any turn-one accidental deaths.
3. If you have any rules questions, ask
   before
   it would affect gameplay. The Mod's decision is final in all instances.
4. Programming deadlines are
   72
   48 hours, with time passing at half speed on weekends. Reminders will be sent out 24 hours before deadline. If a robot is not programmed in time, a random program will be executed.
5. If Option cards that involve choices at the end of phases are in play, players can send interrupt requests with a specific phase to stop the game at when they send their program. If at least one interrupt request is received, the turn will be played out until that phase ends. Players will then have 24 hours to decide if they will use that Option. Players can also send in conditional statements if they want to automate their use of Options. These can be as complicated as you like.
6. Supercomputers cannot talk, and thus players cannot either outside of the game thread. All discussion/alliances/etc. must happen in-thread, and nothing agreed upon is binding.

Roboteers

Roaming the Factory Floor:

1. ●
   Sudo_Nym ↻N8 ▶
   
   FOURTH GEAR:

   (A) Your robot may now choose to move forward 4 squares when it programs a Move 3. Priority is that of the Move 3.
   
   
   FIRE CONTROL:

   (I) You have targeting control of your robot's main laser. When scoring a point of damage, you may choose to use the damage to lock a register or destroy a particular option.
2. ●
   Cheery Dog
   animorpherv1
   ↻J6
3. ●
   swyellowtail
   kdowns
   ↻E1 ▶
   
   DUAL PROCESSOR:

   (A) You may place both a movement and a rotate program card in a single register. When executing the movement card, move one square less and then execute the rotate card. If the rotate card is a U-Turn, move two squares less.
4. ●
   Magua ↻J7 ▶▶
5. ●
   StrangerCoug ↻E8 ▶▶
6. ●
   xtopherusD
   Cybele
   ↻E8 ▶▶▶

Scrapped:

1. ●
   xtopherusD
2. ●Drench

Awaiting Activation:

None

History

Prologue

:

Roboteers, stand by...

Turn 1

:

Death is merely a setback.

●

StrangerCoug

●

xtopherusD

Turn 2

:

Some might call this a fustercluck.

●Drench

●

StrangerCoug

(

●

Sudo_Nym,

●

Cybele)

Turn 3

:

Recovery and withdrawal.

●

Magua

●

swyellowtail

(

●

StrangerCoug)

Turn 4

:

You spin my head right round.

Turn 5

:

What hast thou wrought?

●Drench

●

StrangerCoug

●

Cybele

(●Drench,

●

swyellowtail)

●

StrangerCoug

●

xtopherusD

(

●

swyellowtail)

●

StrangerCoug

(

●

swyellowtail)

●

animorpherv1

●

Sudo_Nym

Turn 6

:

Don't shoot the messenger.

●

swyellowtail

●

Magua

Turn 7

:

The eye of the storm.

●

xtopherusD

●

Cybele

Turn 8

:

Keep your Options open.

●

xtopherusD

Turn 9

:

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

●

animorpherv1

Turn 10

:

One life to live.

●

Cybele

●

StrangerCoug

●

xtopherusD

●

Magua

(

●

Cybele)

●Drench

●

xtopherusD

(

●

Magua,

●

Cybele)

●Drench

(

●

Magua)

Turn 11

:

A dance with many steps.

Turn 12

:

By the skin of their teeth.

●

swyellowtail
●Drench

(

●

Magua,

●

StrangerCoug)

Turn 13

:

Controlled suffering.

●

StrangerCoug

Turn 14

:

Perhaps, the end of the beginning.

●

Sudo_Nym
●Drench

Turn 15

:

A last-minute extension.

Turn 16

:

...but at what cost?

●

xtopherusD

(●Drench)

●

xtopherusD

Turn 17

:

A lack of forward progress.

●

swyellowtail ●Drench

Turn 18

:

You're in my way, sir.

●

Sudo_Nym

Turn 19

:

The circle of life.

●

Cheery Dog

●

StrangerCoug

●

xtopherusD ●Drench
●Drench

●

xtopherusD

Turn 20

:

The four horsemen.

Turn 21

:

Not with a bang but a whimper.

●

Magua

●

xtopherusD

Epilogue

:

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

[Sudo_Nym]

/in as Red.

[animorpherv1]

Dammit Sudo. I'll take orange.

Also, open to eight.

[Drench]

/yes, black

[Magua]

/in as green.

Yes to crowded.

Yes to starting with options. A different house rule I've used before is to deal a number of options to each flag equal to the number of players. When a player touches a flag, everyone who has yet to touch a flag decides which option they get (so the earlier a player touches the flag, the worse option they get) as a weak rubber band effect.

[diginova]

As Crowded has now passed, signups are now open to 8 players.
In addition, each player gains an additional Life (another thing I miss from the original rules).

Any house rule you want to add is fine as long as people agree.

[StrangerCoug]

/in purple

Let me familiarize myself with the rules before taking a stance on any proposed changes.

[StrangerCoug]

Consider me OK with starting with options.

[Cybele]

/select crab-bot! (purple)

[kdowns]

/in yellow

[diginova]

Cybele, sadly your color has been taken. Looks like brown and blue are all that are left for you and xtopherusD to decide between.
Unless you can convince SC to let you take purple.

[StrangerCoug]

*hogs purple*

Sorry.

[Cybele]

Flipbot, it is. (brown)

[diginova]

So it looks like the rule is Options: Yes, Flags: As standard.
I'll send xtopherusD a PM and then the

carnage

race shall begin!

Starting positions have been randomized, and where your robot is is where you will start the Rally.

[xtopherusD]

> Confirming pre-/in as Blue player . . .

[Magua]

The left-most pusher seems to say 1,2,4,5, but I'm relatively certain it should only be 2,4

[diginova]

I did have it incorrect; it's actually a 1, 3, 5. Thank you for catching that.

Options are now sent out to everyone; once people reply back, Turn 1 will start.

[swyellowtail]

Just in case, will /replace.

...yes, that was bad.

[diginova]

---

Initial Options

---

Roboteers, stand by...

As the tournament loomed, the participating supercomputers chose only the best Options to ensure their robot's survival over all challengers.

●

Sudo_Nym chose to remain steady with the GYROSCOPIC STABILIZER (A):
On any turn you choose to activate this option, your robot is not rotated by gears or conveyor belts.

●

animorpherv1 will shot people from behind with the REAR LASER:
Your robot has a rear-firing laser in addition to its main laser.

●

kdowns will fly... backwards with REVERSE GEARS (A):
Your robot may now choose to back up 2 squares when you program a Back-Up. Priority is that of the Back-Up.

●

Magua kept his options open with the FLYWHEEL (A):
After programming all five registers, you may set aside one of the remaining movement cards. On your next turn that card will be added to the program cards dealt to you. For example, this gives an undamaged robot 10 program cards (9 normal and 1 from the Flywheel).

●

xtopherusD hopes to hit other robots where it hurts with the RAMMING GEAR:
When your robot pushes another robot, that robot receives a point of damage in addition to being pushed. Even if the target robot can't be moved, it still receives a point of damage.

●

StrangerCoug controls the wireless frequencies with his RADIO CONTROL (I):
You now have the option of firing a radio control beam instead of your robot's main laser. The radio control beam can only target a robot within 6 squares, and it replaces that robot's entire program with a copy of your robot's program. In cases of card priority, the target robot moves after your robot.

●

Cybele cashes in his pewpew for a krakowww with the MINI HOWITZER (I):

5 uses

You now have the option of firing a mini Howitzer instead of your robot's main laser. The mini Howitzer will cause 1 point of damage in addition to pushing the target robot 1 square away from you.

And ●Drench opts to just install more RAM, hoping the EXTRA MEMORY will help later:
Your robot receives one extra program card per turn. This option does not prevent your robot from being destroyed when it has received 10 points of damage.

[diginova]

---

Turn

1

Programs compile in (expired on 2012-12-15 00:00:00)

---

It's time to get the Rally started! In not too long from now, one of you will stand atop the heap, either through completing the race or reducing all your opponents to scrap.

A few things to remember that are easily forgotten:

1. You may choose to Power Down only when programming your robot. You will not power down or heal the damage until
   next turn
   .
2. Higher priority means you move first. The highest priority in the deck is 840.
3. Each register phase, the steps of execution are as follows: A. Reveal Program Cards, B. Robots Move, C. Board Elements Move, D. Lasers Fire, E. Touch Checkpoints. This means you can be pushed into (or out of) firing range.
4. You only heal or gain an Option card if you end the entire
   turn
   on a Wrench space, not just a phase. You
   can
   tag flags or change your Archive by ending the phase on one.
5. Rotate Left and Rotate Right refer to your robot's facing. Also, if you make a turn while being pushed by a conveyor, your robot turns along with it.
6. If you have an Option that must be activated, specify if and when you are activating it. If you have an Option that operates on an Interrupt, you can send orders as to whether or not you want it to activate. They can be as complicated as you want. (eg, if I am at B4 and firing at X player, activate
   or
   if using this option will cause my opponent to move off the board or into a pit, activate)

[Cybele]

Cashing in my pewpew for a krakowww

lol, you have stolen my intellectual property. Bastard.

[diginova]

A note from the MC:

What the different cards look like (and the highest priority of each), as I somehow forgot to put labels on the images.

U-Turn, Rotate Left, Rotate Right, Back Up, Move 1, Move 2 and Move 3 in order:

[animorpherv1]

Let's hope this gets me where I want, lol.

[xtopherusD]

I'm pretty confident :33

[diginova]

Current repository progress:

Compiling