3 ms·

You have to have limits or in the limit you just end up with "whose nuclear bomb goes off closer to the starting whistle" or some equivalent. Now, even if you

by jerf 3y ago

You have to have limits or in the limit you just end up with "whose nuclear bomb goes off closer to the starting whistle" or some equivalent. Now, even if you are interested in watching that and the precise mechanics of how to shave those last few nanoseconds off the explosion interest you, it's still a problem for "engagement" that the ruleset converges to one solution. Battlebots has had several similar issues over the years and a common discussion on its fan sites is whether or not the most recent rule set (whatever it may be at the time) is also converging on a single solution as the only viable option. Real car racing has an even bigger problem with this, in that the racing leagues simultaneously want to project an image of technological innovation and how all the teams are brilliant geniuses advancing the field of motor sports, while at the same time having to deal with how boring it is when one team ends up winning a hugely disproportionate amount of the time if you really did just leave it down to technical acumen and the vagueries of who started with an engine design this year that happened to have more optimization room than the other engines. They dress it up in a lot of rules and throw a lot of smokescreen up but to a pretty significant degree they basically just find some reason to throw weight penalties on to whoever is winning too much.

TeMPOraL 3y ago
Maybe we should put not just one, but several limits, denominated in joules (or kilotons), splitting the competition into "weight classes" in terms of maximum energy transfer. So e.g. flyweight class could end up being a competition between smart subsonic bullets, while the middleweight class may see a nuclear bomb facing off against pumped x-ray laser. I'd definitely watch the heck out of it.
- h2odragon 3y ago
  The production challenges seem daunting: how many cameramen are we prepared to lose filming the fights? "Smart camera drones" ha ha. you seen the unions around the entertainment industry?
  - fragmede 3y ago
    Raises an interesting question of who's laws apply on the Moon in such a case. no country has a unique ownership in the Moon due to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, but that just means no country owns the Moon. In the case of a camera crew back on Earth, or even on the Moon, would any union contracts apply?
    - samstave 3y ago
      . M O O N that spealls Moounion
      - TeMPOraL 3y ago
        1969: first human on the Moon. 2069: first union on the Moon.
jareklupinski 3y ago
i think i got one: the winner is chosen by 'style', instead of simply strongest bot while competing, camera drones and internal POV cams stream to audiences, who can 'feedback' to the robot i don't want to go down the 'microtransaction' route, but maybe there's a way teams could leverage that to bide their style during less tense moments, before pumping it up when the time is right
- h2odragon 3y ago
  hunger games sponsorships... pay to extend the suffering and the drama. that might optimize for cute but tough bunny bots that do a Paul Rubens in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" death scene every time they're hit.
- samstave 3y ago
  You literally just described "Space Influencer Bots"... what a weird fetish you have. -- EDIt: Flippancy aside: Having battle teams that can deploy micro bots/bpts to mars and have to fund raise here on earth to have them Musk'd to mars( like "uber'd" but "Musk'd") and a player has control over a bot - but what if the satellites heading to mars could fight? Or coporate sponsers seeded stationary orbitals around mars and the bots could be deployed and driven by Humans on earth 0 and so you would have the so-and-so sponsored here and battle it out on mars.
  - jareklupinski 3y ago
    > "Space Influencer Bots" i just figure with all those light-years in between here and the next world, we're gonna need _some_ kind of entertainment to occupy all that time > deploy micro bots/bots to mars and have to fund raise here on earth makes me think of a Cosmic-scale everyone-participates version of Risk if my bots meet Musk-teams bots on Mars, every fight will be televised in 3D/16k@120Hz
    - samstave 3y ago
      It would be wonderful if we can have actual IRL space batteles - but everything is on a micro-scale - we have little mothership factories which are off limits, but they manufacture micro bots that can be flown FPS by Earthlings. But supply chains are open game (but its Laser Tag (you dont destroy the enemy - you knock them out and they have to be rescued.
samstave 3y ago
[Scene: A mock-up of the Mars rover control room, with screens showing live feeds from the rover's cameras. Two scientists, Dr. Smith and Dr. Johnson, are seated at a desk, facing the audience.] Dr. Smith: Good evening, folks. Tonight, we've got a bit of news from our Martian friend. Dr. Johnson: That's right, Dr. Smith. It seems our rover encountered a little hiccup. Dr. Smith: Just a wee one. The rotor snapped off. Dr. Johnson: The rotor? Dr. Smith: Yes, the rotor. It's now orbiting Mars on its own. Dr. Johnson: How did that happen? Dr. Smith: Well, it seems the rover stumbled upon a Martian pothole. Dr. Johnson: Potholes on Mars? Dr. Smith: Indeed, very Martian-esque potholes. Anyway, one of these craters snagged the rotor, and snap! Off it went. Dr. Johnson: So, what's the plan now? Dr. Smith: Well, first, we panic. Dr. Johnson: Panic? Dr. Smith: Yes, it's customary in these situations. Adds a touch of drama. [Both scientists start faux-panicking, flailing their arms and looking alarmed.] Dr. Johnson: Alright, panic mode complete. Now what? Dr. Smith: Now, we get creative. We've got some of the brightest minds back at mission control. Dr. Johnson: But they're light-years away! Dr. Smith: True, but they're also light-years ahead when it comes to problem-solving. Dr. Johnson: So, we sit tight and wait for a solution? Dr. Smith: Bingo. In the meantime, we can enjoy the Martian views on these screens. [They both turn to observe the screens showing the Martian landscape.] Dr. Johnson: You know, even with a snapped-off rotor, Mars still has its charm. Dr. Smith: Absolutely, Dr. Johnson. It's moments like these that remind us why we explore the great unknown. [They share a nod of agreement as they continue to monitor the screens, signaling the end of the skit.]

by jerf 3y ago

TeMPOraL 3y ago

Maybe we should put not just one, but several limits, denominated in joules (or kilotons), splitting the competition into "weight classes" in terms of maximum energy transfer. So e.g. flyweight class could end up being a competition between smart subsonic bullets, while the middleweight class may see a nuclear bomb facing off against pumped x-ray laser. I'd definitely watch the heck out of it.

h2odragon 3y ago
The production challenges seem daunting: how many cameramen are we prepared to lose filming the fights? "Smart camera drones" ha ha. you seen the unions around the entertainment industry?
- fragmede 3y ago
  Raises an interesting question of who's laws apply on the Moon in such a case. no country has a unique ownership in the Moon due to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, but that just means no country owns the Moon. In the case of a camera crew back on Earth, or even on the Moon, would any union contracts apply?
  - samstave 3y ago
    . M O O N that spealls Moounion
    - TeMPOraL 3y ago
      1969: first human on the Moon. 2069: first union on the Moon.

jareklupinski 3y ago

i think i got one: the winner is chosen by 'style', instead of simply strongest bot while competing, camera drones and internal POV cams stream to audiences, who can 'feedback' to the robot i don't want to go down the 'microtransaction' route, but maybe there's a way teams could leverage that to bide their style during less tense moments, before pumping it up when the time is right

h2odragon 3y ago
hunger games sponsorships... pay to extend the suffering and the drama. that might optimize for cute but tough bunny bots that do a Paul Rubens in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" death scene every time they're hit.
samstave 3y ago
You literally just described "Space Influencer Bots"... what a weird fetish you have. -- EDIt: Flippancy aside: Having battle teams that can deploy micro bots/bpts to mars and have to fund raise here on earth to have them Musk'd to mars( like "uber'd" but "Musk'd") and a player has control over a bot - but what if the satellites heading to mars could fight? Or coporate sponsers seeded stationary orbitals around mars and the bots could be deployed and driven by Humans on earth 0 and so you would have the so-and-so sponsored here and battle it out on mars.
- jareklupinski 3y ago
  > "Space Influencer Bots" i just figure with all those light-years in between here and the next world, we're gonna need _some_ kind of entertainment to occupy all that time > deploy micro bots/bots to mars and have to fund raise here on earth makes me think of a Cosmic-scale everyone-participates version of Risk if my bots meet Musk-teams bots on Mars, every fight will be televised in 3D/16k@120Hz
  - samstave 3y ago
    It would be wonderful if we can have actual IRL space batteles - but everything is on a micro-scale - we have little mothership factories which are off limits, but they manufacture micro bots that can be flown FPS by Earthlings. But supply chains are open game (but its Laser Tag (you dont destroy the enemy - you knock them out and they have to be rescued.

samstave 3y ago

[Scene: A mock-up of the Mars rover control room, with screens showing live feeds from the rover's cameras. Two scientists, Dr. Smith and Dr. Johnson, are seated at a desk, facing the audience.] Dr. Smith: Good evening, folks. Tonight, we've got a bit of news from our Martian friend. Dr. Johnson: That's right, Dr. Smith. It seems our rover encountered a little hiccup. Dr. Smith: Just a wee one. The rotor snapped off. Dr. Johnson: The rotor? Dr. Smith: Yes, the rotor. It's now orbiting Mars on its own. Dr. Johnson: How did that happen? Dr. Smith: Well, it seems the rover stumbled upon a Martian pothole. Dr. Johnson: Potholes on Mars? Dr. Smith: Indeed, very Martian-esque potholes. Anyway, one of these craters snagged the rotor, and snap! Off it went. Dr. Johnson: So, what's the plan now? Dr. Smith: Well, first, we panic. Dr. Johnson: Panic? Dr. Smith: Yes, it's customary in these situations. Adds a touch of drama. [Both scientists start faux-panicking, flailing their arms and looking alarmed.] Dr. Johnson: Alright, panic mode complete. Now what? Dr. Smith: Now, we get creative. We've got some of the brightest minds back at mission control. Dr. Johnson: But they're light-years away! Dr. Smith: True, but they're also light-years ahead when it comes to problem-solving. Dr. Johnson: So, we sit tight and wait for a solution? Dr. Smith: Bingo. In the meantime, we can enjoy the Martian views on these screens. [They both turn to observe the screens showing the Martian landscape.] Dr. Johnson: You know, even with a snapped-off rotor, Mars still has its charm. Dr. Smith: Absolutely, Dr. Johnson. It's moments like these that remind us why we explore the great unknown. [They share a nod of agreement as they continue to monitor the screens, signaling the end of the skit.]