The number of code lines now has grown up to 45k. I’ve included the existing GUI engine classes, although there is still a lot of work to do to make all components work together. I’m kind of proud of the new business data system, although you won’t actually see it when the product is finished
The architecture is now mostly completed, next in line is testing the GUI and making some basic applets to show you that something is going on, then I will concentrate again on the actual core, the calculation of the build orders. From then on everything should go very smoothly. Because of the solid code ground work I laid down the last 12 months development will be a pure joy

Stay tuned and be patient!

I’ve just noticed that a few projects have been started to use genetic algorithms to calculate build orders for SC2. Great!
But judging from their coding ‘Evolution Forge 2′ is light years ahead Still, I will put up my efforts one notch. You can look forward seeing an “Evolution Forge 2″ this year!

EF2 just breached the 5000 lines of code barrier The core is now polished and complete with smart pointers and a small data base management for loading and saving. Now it’s time to fully implement the StarCraft rules into the new data structures and run a few tests to improve the building algorithms.
After that I either complete the implementation of the AI / genetic algorithms or start full steam ahead with porting the old ClawGUI to the new coding standards I have created

I’ve just finished implementing the core algorithm for handling of goals. Basically it constructs a tree based on the given goal units’ properties, their requirements and the starting units. I still have to complete the tests for the new module, but as far as I can see it’s working.
Next step is the representation of the genetic code and the mutation function. After that I need to finish the simulator and a first (text-based) run could be started As soon as everything is working I can start with the user interface. In addition I’ve set up a proper linux build server (SVN, hudson) which makes things easier and more professional. The source code is regularly rebuilt, backed up and tested with a different compiler and target platform.

Take care and be happy

I’ve completed most of the (data) design of the core components and am now rewriting the game database for some first preliminary tests. I’ve expanded the flexibility as much as possible so that EF will hopefully support a whole range of different games, maybe even business applications But there is still a lot to do, I haven’t decided yet on the user interface and the whole artificial intelligence part has to be adapted.

Stay tuned!

The production is going on smoothly thanks to my new programming environment and new programming techniques. I’ve just finished a major milestone in the Evolution Forge 2 project. The core module is up and running. With “core module” I merely mean the module of Evolution Forge 2 that handles unit types, movement, building queues, data serialization (loading/saving program states) etc. It still needs a little more testing, but after that I will start with the new GUI The final step after that will then be to reprogram the evolutionary algorithms, I’m looking forward to that!
The only big question about the GUI is whether I should throw away my beloved “ClawGUI” and take a generic GUI like QT, whether to move to a web frontend or stay on course with my own GUI. Oh well, that’s my task for October.

Take care and happy autumn!

I attended GECCO (conference about evolutionary computing) in Portland two weeks ago, very interesting experience. Firstly it was my first trip to the US, secondly I got some great input from various talks, sessions and speakers which I am currently processing. I have also decided to go the first steps of the long journey to building an own company and talk to many people about possibilities to make this dream come true The most important step was to put that long-term idea into my head and believe in it and write down a plan for the next 12-24 months. This way my brain works subconsciously day and night creating new ideas

Technology-wise I’ve already decided on a set of tools I will use the next few months. Most importantly is the new hardware coming next week, switching from a netbook to a real PC with SSD and 8GB RAM will hopefully improve my situation I got some new ideas about how to improve my code and code stability (i.e. improving my unit tests), with >50k LOC this becomes important.

Take care and be happy

My paper about multi-agent systems was accepted by the GECCO 2010 conference in July and I will be the designated speaker I’m preparing now my trip to the US :>
Also I’ve switched my development to Visual C++ 2010. Finally some continuous integration… The first prototype of the core of EF2 is nearly finished, I’m currently thinking about some datatypes (map locations, unit lists etc.). In June I will get a new PC, from there on development will be much faster
Be happy and stay tuned…

This week I started at my new working place, a local CRM company. I still have to sleep over the new impressions and experiences I got from there and recover from the first (expected) “shock” that it’s something completely new. But the most important thing (and the source from which I derive my endurance) is that one can succeed anywhere if one just put one’s mind into it. There is no such thing as magic in the world, anything can be explored by one’s mind!
So I welcome the new challenge to get acquainted with new technologies, new people and new concepts! And being now able to support a new (bigger) appartment is a plus

With my job applications finished I have now some time for a new project. I decided to write down what I have learned about GUI programming and design. This gives me also the opportunity to reflect on my current knowledge and find some hidden errors or anomalies in the code. The structure is already clear, I only have to fill in the words