UCSB Programming Battle, Spring 05

(with help from the UCSB ACM Student Chapter, Google, and the Department of Computer Science)
Announcements:
* The programming battle was an wonderful success, we had over 26 people compete for prizes donated by google and microsoft. Thanks to all those that participated, and especially to all those reponsible for making it happen. Several people said it was the most fun they had ever had programming. Below you can find a couple pictures from the event. http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~sherwood/prog
Pictures:
UCSB's top finishing Program Battlers
Highlights:
The battle is Thursday April 14th!
Check-in starts at 3:45pm, we should be getting started at 4:00pm.
The contest is in csil and will go until 9:00pm
We will have pizza and a big projector for watching the battles.
You are encouraged to compete in teams of two
The language is Java, and you can bring any references you like
If neither you nor your partner has a csil account, let us know AT LEAST 48 hours ahead of time.
What is the UCSB Programming Battle?
Each team will program up a software bot to compete head to head with the other teams. The specific environment and type of bot will be kept secret until the start of the contest. You will be given an API to move your bot around in the environment along with other capabilities. You will use this API to score points and complete objectives in direct competition with the other teams' bots. Your program will be able to see the other bots and make strategic and tactical decisions without any human input. To compete, your team must succeed at building a basic bot. But to win, your team's strategy must be superior to that of your opponents. The technical part is easy. But, your opponents will make sure that the real challenge will be in inventing and coding a winning strategy!
How will the winners be determined?
The contest is in two parts. The first part is the coding portion. This will start at 4:00pm and end at 9:00pm. As you code, you can test your bot in a "private simulation" or compete live with other teams' bots, all the while munching on some pizza. At the end of the competition, you will submit your bot to compete in the main competition - a tournament to determine the winners. Your team will watch the final tournament rounds on a big projector and we will likely have google t-shirts/pens/stuff and maybe even some prizes for the winner.
Eligibility:
You must be a part time or a full time UCSB student with valid student ID to participate. All undergraduates and BS/MS students are free to participate. We will likely award a first place to both the best undergraduate and the best BS/MS student teams.
Goals:
The only goal of this contest is to have fun and beat up on some of your friends' bots.