Quake Bots Rock The Prefrontal Cortex

0x4B writes "Some researchers from Vanderbilt University have used id Software's Quake III Arena to test a model of the human prefrontal cortex. The model was injected into the control systems of a Quake Bot, allowing it to flexibly adapt to changing enemy characteristics. The bot was required to identify the vulnerability of its enemies to different types of weaponry through repeated combat trials. Not only are the bots busy shooting each other relentlessly, but you can catch the action by joining the battle as an observer. Source code and Quake virtual machines are available for download."

Comments

Re:Caught

[Hogwash McFly]

With my experience with bots from various FPS games on several platforms is that the bots autoswitch to the most powerful weapon and stick with it until they die and/or run out of ammo.

The result? A close quarter battle where the bot is trying to snipe you from four feet away when he has a shotgun in his inventory. Or a map with copious amounts of one weapon becoming a single weapon map (Rocketfest, Sniperfest etc.)

If a bot can select an appropriate weapon based on a multiple factors than it serves to add to more realistic bot gameplay. Have I just popped in to a dead end? Then the bot should bounce grenades into my little enclosure. Am I clearly running for the flag? Then the bot should line the corridor with bio sludge to hinder my efforts. Am I flying through the air from a rocket jump? Then the bot should try and place a rocket at my landing spot as well as/instead of trying to continually fire rails at me.

RE: I didn't read the article, but I ran the mod

[monkeyserver.com]

Ya, RTFM, the point of this isn't to make them good at kicking your butt. This bot is supposed to be pitted against two special dummy bots, name one and two. Then it can react to the bots chaning their sheild. blah blah blah, it's actually a very cool use of nueral nets, but you wouldn't know that unless you read it :)