Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Tell me again - how do I enter?

You need to do the following things:

  1. Obtain a retail copy of Unreal Tournament 2004
  2. Download and install GameBots2004 from the Pogamut 3 site (we suggest you also download and install Pogamut 3). We will use the GameBots2004 version the version that is distributed with version 3.0.11 of Pogamut.
  3. Develop your bot that uses the GameBots2004 interface (we suggest you develop your bot using Pogamut 3). There are sample bots on Pogamut.
  4. Advise your intention to enter by emailing the competition organisers by the end of July, 2011.
  5. If necessary, take part in pre-final qualification trials.
  6. Be prepared to take part in the finals in Seoul. In 2011 it is a condition of entry that a team member must register for and attend the IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games, where the finals will be run.

Q2. How is the winner determined?

The winner is determined by the "humanness rating" of the bot. This is the percentage of times the bot was judged to be human by the judges during the final series. To win the major prize, a humanness rating of 50% must be obtained.

We have set up a server with an automated scoring system so that teams can test their bots in the same environment and using the same system that will be used for the final judging. This is also available for anyone to play on. Point your UT2004 client or your bots at the BotPrize server (195.242.237.18).

Q3. And how much do I win?

The major prize winners share a A$7,000 cash and a trip to 2K Marin's Canberra studios. If there is no major prize winner, then the minor prize winners share A$2,000 cash and a trip to 2K Marin's studios.

Q4. What will be changed in the mod used for the final?

General

Some mods will be made to enable the new automated judging system. Others are to prevent bots from interfering with the game, or to remove things that would be obvious giveaways for bots.

Bots will communicate with the game server via the GameBots2004 interface as distributed with Pogamut 3.0.11.

The system is based on a modification to the Link Gun. It is now used by players to "tag" other players as either human or bot. The primary mode applies the BOT tag, which the secondary mode applies the HUMAN tag. Once an opponent is tagged, the player will see the word BOT or HUMAN as a label on the opponent's avatar. Players can change their judgement at any time by using the Link Gun again. Judgements have no effect on player health, or on game scores.

Here is a summary of all the changes:

  • The effects of the Link Gun will be changed as described above. The Link Gun has infinite ammo.
  • Some GameBots commands will not have any effect. The affected commands are: ADDINV, ADDBOT, CHANGEMAP, CHATTR, CLEAR, CONF, CONFGAME, CONSOLE, DIALOG, KICK, MESSAGE, PAUSE, REC, SETGAMESPEED, SETLOCK, SETPASS, SETSKIN, SPAWNACTOR, SPEECH, STOPREC, TEST
  • The CHANGEWEAPON command with the argument "Best" will return a randomly selected weapon.
  • None of the GameBots2004 debugging text or images will appear on screen.
  • When a new player (human or bot) enters the game, their name will be changed to a randomly chosen name.
  • When a player enters the game, they will be given a randomly chosen skin.
  • When a player enters or leaves, epic bots may be automatically added to or removed from the game to keep the numbers of humans and bots roughly balanced.
  • The Redeemer is removed from the game.
  • Damage levels are reduced to 40% of normal.
  • All pings will be set to 0.
  • In-game chat will be disabled.
  • Data on which bots/humans have been correctly and incorrectly identified, and by whom, will be logged.

Differences from previous competitions

  1. The judging gun can be used multiple times on the same opponent.
  2. The judging gun does no damage.