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 The Eraser Bot                                    v0.3 (Alpha)
 by Ryan Feltrin (aka Ridah)              email: ridah@frag.com
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Title                   : Eraser Bot v0.3 Alpha
Author                  : Ryan Feltrin (aka Ridah)
Email Address           : ridah@frag.com

Description             : Human-like AI for Simulated Quake2
                           Deathmatch play

Additional Credits to   : id Software for being id Software
                          Rowan "Sumaleth" Crawford, for
                           playtesting and suggestions
                          Brett "B-MonEy" McMahon, for his
                           support and cha-cha
                          To everyone who has supported my
                           work over the last year or so

Build Time              : ~300 hours
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DESCRIPTION

   The Eraser Bot is a simulated multiplayer opponent, for
   use with id Software's Quake2. It has been developed with
   speed and accuracy in mind, so that you can play with more
   bots, with higher intelligence.


INSTALLATION

   SELF-EXTRACTING VERSION

   Double click on the EXE file, and select your Quake2 directory

   -OR-

   ZIPPED VERSION

   Just unzip the files contained in the archive, to a
   Quake2\Eraser folder, RESTORING PATHNAMES. This means
   that if you're using Winzip, you must enable the
   "Use Folder Names" option when extracting. For
   pkunzip users (bless their souls), make sure
   you use the -d option.


RUNNING THE GAME

   To run the game, type the following from the DOS Shell
   command line, whilst inside your Quake2 folder:

   quake2 +set game eraser +deathmatch 1 +map <mapname>
   (please read below to find out which maps are supported)

   The from within the game, follow the on-screen
   instructions to spawn some bots.


SUPPORTED MAPS

   The following is a list of the standard Quake2 maps that
   are currently supported:

   base1
   base2
   mintro
   power1

   I have also added support for a few select user-made maps
   for Quake2:

   <mapname>         <url>

   crdm1             ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/quake2/levels/deathmatch/a-c/crdm1.zip
   ikdm1             ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/quake2/levels/deathmatch/g-i/ikdm1.zip
   mpq1              ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/quake2/levels/deathmatch/m-o/mpq1.zip

   These maps are highly recommended, for their suitability to
   deathmatch play. Many thanks to their respective authors.

   Follow the installation instructions for each map, they can be installed
   as usual, to your quake2\baseq2\maps directory, and will work fine with
   the Eraser.


GAMEPLAY SETTINGS

   Skill Levels

   You can increase or decrease the level of the opponents, using
   the "skill" setting. The default being "1", if you set this
   to "2", then the general skill levels of all bots will be raised.
   They will still maintain their individuality, just some will
   be slightly better in areas they may not have been on skill "1".

   Values: 0 (beginner) through 3 (advanced)


   Deathmatch Variations

   Using the "dmflags" setting (accessed via the Multiplayer Menu),
   you can enable a disable certain rules. Currently, all settings,
   other than "Teamplay" and "Infinite Ammo" are supported.

   "Weapons Stay" means that weapons will remain after being picked
   up, unless they were dropped by another player. This is a
   personal favourite of mine, and I think makes the game much
   more exciting, if less strategic.

   Please see your Quake2 manual for descriptions of the other
   settings.

   Values: Use the Multiplayer->Start Network Server->Deeathmatch Flags
            to set the flags you want to play with


WHAT'S NEW?

   New features/Bug fixes added to version 0.3:

   + Some bots become transparent after death
   + Loads of AI fixes
   + Weapon selection based on circumstances (used to use each weapon until out of ammo)
   + Bots lose intelligence over time
   = Bot's get stuck in sloped (downwards) walls when jumping
   + Added support for custom skins, and client play via network, without installing the Eraser on clients
   + Restored the original Q2 scoreboard
   + Fixed timelimit
   + "cmd botname <name>" no longer case-sensitive
   + Fixed various AI stuff

   New features/Bug fixes added to version 0.2:

   + NODES: Add support for ladders
   + NODES: Add support for teleporters
   = NODES: Add support for lifts/plats
   + Fix some jumping problems in MINTRO
   + Bots now avoid falling in lava/slime more intelligently
   + Increase accuracy of CanMove()
   = Bots occasionally get stuck at top of ladder in MINTRO
   = Bots fire grenades too high when enemy is up-close
   + Bots should go for any weapon when visible, if not attacking enemy
   + Remove unlimited ammo, do weapon change checking when out of ammo
   + NODES: When jumping, check best route is less than jump_distance * 2, rather than a hard coded value
   + Support for skill levels
   + External file support for Bot names, skins and skill levels (skills are adjusted according to the consol "skill" setting)
   + Distributive thinking, so bots out of the client's view are processed between server frames
   + Lots of optimizations
   + Bots with a high "Combat" rating can crouch while attacking


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

   Q: When the game starts, it says "ERROR: Game is version 2, not 1"?

      You need the latest version of Quake2 in order to play the
      Eraser bot. Goto one of the following sites to get the latest
      version upgrade:

      http://www.bluesnews.com/
      http://redwood.stomped.com/
      http://www.planetquake.com/


   Q: The game starts, but I don't see any bots?

      To spawn some bots, type "cmd bots <n>", where <n> is
      a number from 1 to 12. They will then enter game at 2 second
      intervals (to try and reduce telefrags).

      You can also spawn a specific bot using "cmd botname <name>",
      where <name> is the bot's name. You can get the list of bots
      from bots.cfg, which you'll find in your Eraser directory.


   Q: I tried to play in jail1 and it said "Route-table not found!"
      What's up with that?

      Currently, only a few maps are supported. It takes about 15
      mins to create the route-cache table for each map, and since the
      route-cache format is constantly changing, I only keep an
      updated version of these maps for testing. This will be expanded to
      support all maps as soon as the file formats are set in concrete.

      To find out which maps are supported, have a look in the Eraser\routes
      directory. If you see a base1.rt2 file in there, that means you
      can play base1.


   Q: The bots sometimes stand around looking bored?

      There are still some glitches in the bot decision-making that can result
      in bots getting stuck. Also it is possible that some bots will
      disappear. These problems will obviously be fixed in the near future.


DISCLAIMER

   This is an ALPHA release, I therefore will not take responsibility
   for your system barfing after playing the game. I can however
   guarantee that I have not purposely added any malicious content
   to this application. If you believe this to be incorrect, then
   I'd be happy to discuss the matter with you.

   You may freely distribute this archive, as long as it remains
   PERFECTLY intact, as distributed on our home page:
   "http://impact.frag.com/". Thanks.


Please report show-stopper bugs only: ridah@frag.com

enjoy,

-Ryan Feltrin