ROBOT AUTO RACING SIMULATION (RARS) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (WITH
ANSWERS!)
Last updated 20 Aug 1995; current RARS version 0.63b.
What is RARS?
From the RARS 0.50 announcement:
The Robot Auto Racing Simulation (RARS) is a simulation of auto
racing in which the cars are driven by robots. Its purpose is
two-fold: to serve as a vehicle for Artificial Intelligence
development and as a recreational competition among software
authors. The host software, including source, is available at no
charge.
RARS was designed and written by [email hidden] (Mitchell E. Timin).
Where can I get RARS information and software?
ftp://ftp.ijs.com/rars/ RARS FTP site; uploads go in /uploads. This
site is maintained by [email hidden] (Jivko Koltchev).
http://www.mal.com/~dgymer/rars/ Alternative RARS Home Page
To join the RARS mailing list, send a message to [email hidden]
containing "subscribe rars-list" in the message body. To
unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rars-list" to the same address. The
list is maintained by [email hidden] (Rex Sheasby).
A digest of the juiciest posts is sent to rec.autos.simulators,
comp.ai.games, comp.programming.contests, and any other interested
parties once a week. This is handled by [email hidden] (Dave
`Gizmo' Gymer). Send mail with a subject of "subscribe rars-digest"
to join the list, and "unsubscribe rars-digest" to be removed from
the mailing list. The digest archives are available from the FTP
site and from here.
WHAT PLATFORMS DOES RARS RUN ON?
AIX
[email hidden] (Thomas K. Netousek):
I have done a "port" of the linux version to AIX. It is a matter of
some #include's #ifdef'd AIX
Amiga
[email hidden] (Marcel Offermans):
Amiga version Release 3, based on the RARS 0.60 sources.
Special requirements:
AmigaOS Release 3.0 or better.
The SAS/C 6.55 compiler to recompile the sources.
An FPU is highly recommended as it will speed up the simulation
considerably.
This port can be obtained from the normal FTP site, or from AmiNet:
ftp://ftp.luth.se/pub/aminet/misc/sci/RARS_Amiga_3.lha.
DJGPP
[email hidden] (Dave `Gizmo' Gymer):
I've ported RARS 0.61 to DJGPP 1.12m4 (GNU C/C++ for DOS) using
libGRX. The graphics are still lacking polish (there's no flood
fill, for example) and the OS timer function has been ignored. This
version is about twice as fast as the Borland one running in "fast"
mode, but requires a 386 or better. This port is no longer actively
maintained.
My current port is of 0.63b to DJGPPv2 and GRX2, both of which are
currently in beta. The version works correctly under (and requires)
a DPMI host such as DQPMI, Windows 3.1, Windows/NT, or OS/2. It is
very slightly faster than the DJGPPv1 port but is currently rather
unstable under some DPMI hosts (most notably Windows/NT). It will
probably also be ported to Linux/GRX.
IBM PC
[email hidden] (Mitchell E. Timin):
The standard distribution contains machine-dependent code for the
IBM PC and Borland C++. Porting is generally restricted to two
files, one for operating system functions and one for graphics
functions. The rest of the code is written in portable C++. Robot
drivers can be written in any language which is link compatible with
the C++ compiler used to build the main code. A Borland executable
is distributed separately.
[email hidden] (Randy Saint) is "working on a 3d perspective
view for MS-DOS. Not a true port, but who's counting. I've got stick
figure cars working now, I'm implementing filled polygons 'real soon
now'."
Macintosh
[email hidden] (Hoon Im):
I've ported RARS to the Mac; it is not complete yet but it runs. I
used the 0.5 version of RARS. When I get it to draw all the strings
cleanly, then I'll post the sources.
The Mac version does not accept command line options but allows the
user to enter simulation options through a dialog before the
simulation is run. Otherwise, everything else is the same (for now).
OS/2
[email hidden] (Thomas K. Netousek):
There's an OS/2 port in the works from one of my colleagues...
[email hidden] (John Howard):
I am working on a port to GNAT Ada 95 for OS/2. It is not really
RARS anymore since I am implementing for 3d vectors and
experimenting. The goal is a simulator using DLL-based inputs, and
an OpenGL viewer for the animation frames that are output from the
simulator.
[email hidden] (Nicole Greiber):
[...] I've uploaded the file raros2_1.zip into the directory
/uploads on ftp.ijs.com. They should be moved soon into an OS2
directory below the RARS directory. For further information, please
contact me or read the file rars_os2.doc which is in the zipfile.
Unix
[email hidden] (Randy Saint):
The "UNIX" version uses X Windows for display, and has been known to
run on Ultrix, SunOS, OSF/1 (DEC Alpha), Linux, and probably a few
more that I can't think of right now.
Visual C++
[email hidden] (Ronald Hasenberger):
I'm working on a port to MSVC (Microsoft Visual C++) under MSDOS and
will maybe port it further to Windows.
I'm also trying to improve the (object-)structure of the software,
based on V0.5. This includes headers for all files and a bit more
object orientation of the system.
Watcom:
[email hidden] (Mike Inman):
There is a Watcom C++ port on the FTP site. This appears to be to Watcom
9.5 using a fairly old version of RARS. Can someone supply more details?
Watcom
[email hidden] (Russell Bornsch):
This port is of 0.62 to Watcom 10.0; it may be available on the FTP
site. Can someone supply more details?
Win32 (NT, 95, win32s)
[email hidden] (Muir Lee Harding):
There is a beta Windows port based on 0.63b which uses drag-and-dropped
DLL drivers on the FTP site.
MISCELLANEOUS
How do I write a robot driver?
Firstly, look at the "tut3.cpp" robot in the 0.50 source code; it's
heavily commented. Then read the tutorials; they should be available
from the FTP site, and are also on the Alternative RARS Home Page.
"cntrl0.cpp" is another, even more heavily commented, robot. The ".doc"
file should also be read, of course. Use your debugger or IDE to study
the behavior of the code during operation.
Your driver should replace one of the existing robot drivers. The
function name appears in two places near the beginning of "carz.cpp".
Just substitute "Stocker" for "Blender" (for example). Of course you
should remove "blender.cpp" from the list of files to be compiled, and
add "stocker.cpp". This would be done in a project file or make file,
depending on what environment you are using.
Can I compare my robot against those of others?
There are some more robot drivers on the FTP site. There are now
bi-weekly races being held, for both novices and experts; details are at
the FTP site.
I've thought of something to add to RARS. Has anyone else had the same idea,
or perhaps implemented it?
The RARS ideas database is posted to the rars-list at the beginning of
every month. Everybody can then send a list of ideas which they like to
see implemented, in order of importance. A short motivation along with
the idea number indicating why you like to see this idea implemented is
appreciated. Please send your list directly to
[email hidden] (Marcel Offermans) instead of to the
mailing list. Please put the word "LIST" in the subject. Halfway through
the month, the lists will be evaluated and used to determine what to
implement first.
If you think ideas are missing from the list, please send them to Marcel
so that he can add them to the database.
There is also now the RARS Architecture Review Commitee, tasked with
deciding what features to add to the baseline source code and
determining what direction the software should take. There are six
members on the commitee, namely:
[email hidden] (Muir Lee Harding)
[email hidden] (Rob Creager)
[email hidden] (Tony Cabe)
[email hidden] (Jeremy Weatherford)
[email hidden] (Daniel Ash)
[email hidden] (Mitchell Timin)
-----------------------------------
Compiled and maintained by [email hidden] (Dave `Gizmo' Gymer)
http://www.mal.com/~dgymer/
