http://www.daide.org.uk/index.xml

I'm not one of the people in authority, but every time something like this comes up, someone says that programming is the issue. It would probably require a lot of time to program this.

http://www.sais.se/mthprize/2004/haard2004.pdf

http://www.daide.org.uk/external/TheDiplominator.pdf

Don't know anything about code (well barely anything) but it strikes me that just because there is "an algorithm" doesn't mean it's easy in practice to transfer that over. It may have to be reworked entirely.

A fascinating idea, when will you have your first draft bot code complete, Baskineli?

While I can imagine why it hasn't been put in place here yet, I'm surprised there isn't a web/email-based interface for games with the bots that have been developed, even if it aint pretty. Or is there one I don't know about?

There are good reasons for not doing it. Off the top of my head:

1. It is against the rules of the game
2. It would give an advantage to people who understood and could run the code
3. It would have to choose someone to attack/ defend against most strongly, and would therefore add random chance to the game in a different, less predictable way (you cannot negotiate with it)
4. Because the CD country would last longer this way, the potential imbalances it might cause are greater
5. The programming time would be far better spent on improving mod tools/ official sitter support/ adding more advanced game options, e.g. an option to pause on CD/ improving the PM system etc. etc.

Not saying that I think this means it should be included, but I believe you can negotiate, to an extent, with some of the bots.

It is hardly on a par with proper diplomacy.

No indeed! But I think it's interesting..

Why not? I would say because it could randomly start stabbing people and it's not what is done on ftf games, which is what the rules come from.

@TGM, you said 'you cannot negotiate with it[the bot]'

ok, so perhaps the bots should only be implemented for gunboat - no diplomacy there anyway :p

I do want to see how good these bots are, considering how much i got my ass handed to me by a chess bot today... :'(

@Stratagos
No, I am not a good coder... If it was in Matlab and had something to do with image processing, then.... :) But I get your point.

@TGM
Your 5th point made it for me - an official sitter support is much better.

@Orathaic
As far as I know, these bots can be pretty good. The whole beauty of Diplomacy is the negotiation part, and when it is reduced to tactics by gunboats, bots will have an upperhand.

Heh, I have a name for this bot - Gunbot :)

i know i said inthe sentence before that i wanted to see the bots in gunboat... but i actually want to see hwo good the bots are against each other, and in an anon game agains a number of humans (perhaps not telling the humans how many bots there are...but also limiting the humans to talking in the limited 'bot-speak')

As for not being a good coder. If thre is an open srouce one available then you could grab the code and convert it... shoulnd't be too hard... (by which i mean, i know i couldnb't write a decent dbot to make tactical decisions - that kind of AI is way beyond me... but i could copy and paste a bot which had been written by someone else)

The bots have a protocol that governs their language. It would not be insignificant a out of work to make it scrape messages off a web form. More than that, in past games with humans and bots, the humans needed to use a custom interface for entering messages so as to eliminate incorrectly entering erring syntax.

Sitters are the best solution for cd players. Ones that respect the previous deals of the previous player ( think about how crap would it be if your only ally cd'd and the sitter turned on you.)

Though having games with bots if we know up front would be fun. Bots like dumbbot doesn't do press so they would be fun to play in gunboat.

I disagree with the comment that a dumbbot would be able to smoke humans in gunboat. Humans do try to communicate in gunboat ( albeit) subtly and alliances will form. Dumbot will never form alliances.