Testbeds |
Mon, 08 August 2005 04:46 |
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Hi, i'm new here. I would like to know what exactly is a testbed. What is is used for? What is a "standard" testbed? How do u do testbedding?
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Re: Testbeds |
Tue, 09 August 2005 00:50 |
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jrbuller | | Petty Officer 3rd Class | Messages: 48
Registered: February 2004 Location: Clearwater, FL | |
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Normally, when we talk about using a testbed, it's for a race design. The one thing you learn when you play Stars!, especially against humans, is that there is no "perfect race". Each game has its own set of victory conditions, its own rules, and so on. A good player (and I'm not claiming to be one, I'm barely above beginner status....) will combine this with the type of universe and other factors, and make a race that he thinks will be the best fit. Then you throw that race into a new AI Stars! game with similar settings and see how it does.
And after constant tweaking and ten or twenty testbeds, you take the race out into the universe, and ... you STILL get your butt kicked. But that's the fun of Stars!
jrbuller
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Re: Testbeds |
Tue, 09 August 2005 07:46 |
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m.a@stars | | Commander | Messages: 2765
Registered: October 2004 Location: Third star to the left | |
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killerk wrote on Mon, 08 August 2005 10:46 | Hi, i'm new here. I would like to know what exactly is a testbed. What is is used for? What is a "standard" testbed? How do u do testbedding?
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Quoting Alberto BARSELLA on rgcs (Mar 4 1998):
Quote: |
There's no "standard" unfortunately
You can use a small/dense, no AI, accel BBS, and the "25K by 2450" mark.
Others prefer small/packed or medium/packed.
Others throw in beginner minerals to facilitate comparison.
Others use "armageddons by 2460" as a mark.
Personally I use the first one I said, and I add in 3 expert AIs (2 SS and 1 PP) when I want to do some "real" testing. I use those AI because they are annoying, the HE is just free colonies (and tech) in a small and the others just sit there doing almost nothing.
BTW 40K/2450 with AR is a very good performace which requires specific study, since the AR race is substantially different from all the other races. I'm sure I would NOT qualify for such a game...
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So, you basically design your race, save it to a file, then create a game with the settings you like to test, then play until you can say the race design performs as expected (or better, or worse)...
See also http://starsautohost.org/sahforum/index.php?t=msg&th=253 1&start=0&rid=625&S=a85a5caaa4021526fca5d707c6ab 1843 for some tips & tricks.
But of course you've seen nothing till you've been in a real game.
[Updated on: Tue, 09 August 2005 09:21]
So many Stars, so few Missiles!
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What testbed do you use? |
Tue, 09 August 2005 10:25 |
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crr65536 | | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | Messages: 180
Registered: June 2005 | |
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What testbed do you use?[ 14 votes ] |
1. |
Tiny/Normal, constant MM |
0 / 0% |
2. |
Tiny/Dense, constant MM |
0 / 0% |
3. |
Tiny/Packed, constant MM |
0 / 0% |
4. |
Tiny/Normal, no MM after turn 30 |
0 / 0% |
5. |
Tiny/Dense, no MM after turn 30 |
0 / 0% |
6. |
Tiny/Packed, no MM after turn 30 |
2 / 14% |
7. |
Small/Normal, constant MM |
0 / 0% |
8. |
Small/Dense, constant MM |
2 / 14% |
9. |
Small/Packed, constant MM |
1 / 7% |
10. |
Small/Normal, no MM after turn 30 |
0 / 0% |
11. |
Small/Dense, no MM after turn 30 |
0 / 0% |
12. |
Small/Packed, no MM after turn 30 |
5 / 36% |
13. |
Medium/* (any density), constant MM |
0 / 0% |
14. |
Medium/*, no MM after turn 30 |
0 / 0% |
15. |
Tiny/Packed constant MM for normal races, Small/Packed & no MM after turn 30 for two-planet races (IT and PP) |
1 / 7% |
16. |
Testbed? I don't need no stinkin' testbed! |
2 / 14% |
17. |
What's a testbed? |
0 / 0% |
18. |
Something else (comment) |
1 / 7% |
This is something I've been wondering for a while. What testbed do you use to ensure your race meets the 25k by 2450 mark (or Armageddons by 2460 mark or whatever criterion you choose)?
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Re: What testbed do you use? |
Wed, 10 August 2005 08:35 |
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Every testbed I've ever run has been tailored to the specs of the game I was testing for. I have no idea if I can reach 25K by 2450, the only time I tried it I got bored by 2430 because nothing interesting was happening.
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Re: What testbed do you use? |
Thu, 11 August 2005 08:02 |
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m.a@stars | | Commander | Messages: 2765
Registered: October 2004 Location: Third star to the left | |
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gible wrote on Wed, 10 August 2005 14:35 | I have no idea if I can reach 25K by 2450, the only time I tried it I got bored by 2430 because nothing interesting was happening.
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Heh, that's why everybody usually stops MM by that turn and just force-gens the remaining 20 turns.
It would also depend on the race. I remember trying a CA monster (usually referred to as Boredom incarnate) and, besides blasting the resource mark a decade in advance, the damn critters kept overflowing available space, raking in the techs, and getting permaforms, making for a nice fun.
So many Stars, so few Missiles!
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Re: Testbeds |
Fri, 12 August 2005 05:39 |
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I see... thanks..
haha this is like my 10th game playing stars and i'm managed to reach 19k by 2447 using a CA i designed in a small packed universe.. with 3 expert AI.. the AI is pretty weak.
I was just wondering.. how do you get manage to research armageddons by 2460.. i'm only at level 13 tech in weapons at 2447.. with other techs at an average of 10 each? What sort of testbed do you use. No computers? Large Packed uni?
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Re: Testbeds |
Fri, 12 August 2005 06:13 |
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iztok | | Commander | Messages: 1207
Registered: April 2003 Location: Slovenia, Europe | |
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Hi!
killerk wrote on Fri, 12 August 2005 11:39 | haha this is like my 10th game playing stars and i'm managed to reach 19k by 2447 using a CA i designed in a small packed universe.. with 3 expert AI.. the AI is pretty weak.
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Show us here your design and how you run the colony drive and we'll be able to point on things you should/shouldn't do. However for the start you should read the aricle "Tutorial - How to get over 25k resources by 2450 (BEGINNER)" in "Stars! - Must Know" section. Just to let you know: 25k by 2450 is nowadays almost required for a race to be playable in intermediate games.
BR, Iztok
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