Robot Auto Racing Simulation (RARS) Mailing List Digest 19950528
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Contents
Some guidelines for driver authors...
The Next Four Race Meets
To Robot Authors (re: random() function)
MSVC-port
to the robot authors
Amiga port of 0.60...
The FTP Blues
New FTP Site
What's next from Timin Labs.
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From: [email hidden] (Marcel Offermans)
Subject: Some guidelines for driver authors...
Send reply to: [email hidden]
Date sent: Mon, 22 May 95 00:21:25
Organization: Private TCP/IP Node
To: [email hidden]
I have some requests for authors of driver programs after having had some
(minor) problems with compiling some of them. The general rule is to
conform to strict ANSI C/C++, because that's the only way to make sure
you're compatible. Some of the more common problems are:
- Non-existing header files. Both "conio.h" and "malloc.h" are not and
never have been standard header files. If you must include them, please
enclose them in an #ifdef #endif block that only gets used if compiled on
your compiler.
- Use static functions for all functions except the "driver" function
itself. This prevents name space problems when multiple drivers are linked.
I have seen people that have tried to solve this by renaming the functions,
but this is no real solution, IMHO.
- In general, don't make assumptions about the size of an "int". I haven't
actually found drivers that run into trouble because of this, but I haven't
looked at all the drivers closely.
Thanks a lot for your cooperation, and good luck with writing even faster
drivers!
.-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| /// | Marcel Offermans | e-mail : [email hidden] |
| \\\/// | | fidonet: 2:281/614.1 |
| \XX/ | Amiga Developer | IRC : Marrs | `-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
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From: "Mitchell E. Timin" <[email hidden]>
Subject: The Next Four Race Meets
To: [email hidden] (Rars- List)
Date sent: Sat, 20 May 1995 17:01:30 -0400 (EDT)
The Next Four RARS Race Meets
(no prizes)
May 28:
No. of races: 1
Track: Indi500.trk
Laps: 200
Software version: 0.50, with different values for 5 parameters
June 11:
No. of races: 4
Track: two surprise tracks, two races each
Laps: 25 each race
Software version: 0.60
Surface type: 1
practice: up to 200 laps each track, if anyone requests it
(if no-one has a robot that learns, we will skip the practice)
June 25:
No. of races 6
Track: oval2
Laps: 10 each race
Software version: 0.60
Surface type: 0
no practice on race day, practice at home all you want!
The default starting order system will be used, i.e. alternating
random and reversed.
July 9:
No. of races 2
Tracks: one race on each of the same two tracks as June 11
Laps: 80 each race
Software version: 0.60
Surface Type: 1
There will be no practice on race day. The tracks will be known after
June 11. Fuel economy will be a factor here.
m
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mitchell E. Timin" <[email hidden]>
Subject: To Robot Authors (re: random() function)
To: [email hidden] (Rars- List)
Date sent: Fri, 19 May 1995 19:09:51 -0400 (EDT)
Hi All,
In your robots, could you please use rand() instead of random()?
This is because random() is not a standard function. The carz.cpp file
has a definition of rand() so that all RARS versions will use the same
rand() function.
rand()%N is more-or-less equivalent to random(N).
Our rand() function returns values ranging from 0 thru 0x7FFF, and
has good statistical characteristics and a period of a few billion.
It was copied from Borland's library.
m
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date sent: Mon, 22 May 1995 08:25:03 +0200
To: [email hidden]
From: [email hidden] (Ronald Hasenberger)
Subject: MSVC-port
Hi all!
I think to have a port of RARS V0.60 to Microsofts Visual C++ ready; I will
put it on the ftp server when I'm able to reach it again.
--
Ronald HASENBERGER [email hidden]
ELIN-Energieanwendung GesmbH
Departement FEI-A
A-1141 Vienna, Austria, Penzingerstr.76
Phone: +43 1 89100-3524 Fax: +43 1 89100-3374
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mitchell E. Timin" <[email hidden]>
Subject: to the robot authors
To: [email hidden] (Rars- List)
Date sent: Mon, 22 May 1995 21:15:26 -0400 (EDT)
Hi Guys,
It's time to get your robots tuned for the indi500 race. None of the
existing robots are much good, since they all think that they are limited to
about one g of traction. Don't forget to test them to see if they can
survive 200 laps with other cars on the track.
m
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email hidden] (Marcel Offermans)
Subject: Amiga port of 0.60...
Send reply to: [email hidden]
Date sent: Tue, 23 May 95 02:13:38
Organization: Private TCP/IP Node
To: [email hidden]
I just wanted to let everybody know that the Amiga port is ready, but after
taking a look at the Mac version, I decided to put a similar GUI in front
of it. This means you can now pick tracks and drivers and set options in a
graphical environment. However, creating this interface will take me a
couple of evenings (I only started doing it today :-). I am confident that
the port will be ready by the time the Indy 500 (go Luyendijk! :-) is held.
The old command line driven options are still there, for those of you that
run RARS in batch files.
.-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| /// | Marcel Offermans | e-mail : [email hidden] |
| \\\/// | | fidonet: 2:281/614.1 |
| \XX/ | Amiga Developer | IRC : Marrs |
`-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mitchell E. Timin" <[email hidden]>
Subject: The FTP Blues
To: [email hidden] (Rars- List)
Date sent: Tue, 23 May 1995 19:33:41 -0400 (EDT)
Hello All,
I am sure that many of you have noticed that our ftp site has been
mostly unavailable since Saturday. That site will have to be abandoned;
fortunately Jivko is arranging another site for us. I will tell you
about it ASAP; should be very soon.
m
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mitchell E. Timin" <[email hidden]>
Subject: New FTP Site
To: [email hidden] (Rars- List)
Date sent: Tue, 23 May 1995 21:48:44 -0400 (EDT)
Hello All,
We now have a new ftp site.
The new ftp site is:
ftp.best.com and the directory is /pub/ijs/rars
all incoming files should go to /pub/ijs/uploads
When you log on as "anonymous" you won't be in the uploads directory,
you will be in the root directory. Therefore, do:
cd /pub/ijs/rars
to get stuff, or do:
cd /pub/ijs/uploads
to upload stuff.
Note: avoid doing 'dir /pub' There are over 1000 directories there.
m and Jivko.
(Jivko's e-mail address is unchanged.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mitchell E. Timin" <[email hidden]>
Subject: What's next from Timin Labs.
To: [email hidden] (Rars- List)
Date sent: Thu, 25 May 1995 11:44:11 -0400 (EDT)
Hello All,
Well, there is no Timin Labs, just my small office in my house, but I am
working on a variation of ver. 0.60 that will optimize the parameter set
for your robot. I expect to release it in about two weeks.
With this software, if you have developed a robot that runs OK, but has
several parameters whose best values you can't determine, then you run
the program for an hour or two or more and it will find the set of
values that minimizes your lap time. (not guaranteed!)
m
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rars-digest is compiled and published by (Dave `Gizmo' Gymer)
[email hidden] http://www.mal.com/~dgymer
-- Dave "Gizmo" Gymer Telephone +44 (0)1268 534228
-- General DataComm Advanced Research Centre Ltd, Basildon, UK
-- [email hidden] http://www.mal.com/~dgymer/
-- Team Shark-Porsche online racing LFRS 95-96 co-driector
