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Fight Scheduler
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Philip
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Joined: 18 Jun 2004
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Location: Queensland near Brisbane


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Have a look at the product you would like to use. The software providers will list recomended and minimum specs required. The minimum specs will mean you only spend half the time pulling your hair out in frustration.

Compatability is a key issue. The specs may seem good but the components don't like the software and it constantly crashes.

http://www.videoguys.com/system.htm Some useful info here.

You should also record to a hard drive that does not contain your program files.
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:15 pm 
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kkeerroo
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Joined: 17 Jun 2004
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Location: Brisbane


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quote:
Originally posted by TDT:
AMD 3200+ Venice S939 (2Ghz)
2048mb Corsair T2-4-4-8 RAM
2 x 160GB 8mb SATA drives
16x DVD burner

That's my PC's specs, but in a few months a Opteron 165 (Dual core @ 1.8ghz) will be going into it. Reckon that hast he bawls to do it?


Well if we're showing off:
AMD Athlon64 3500+ 64bit socket 939 Dual Channel CPU
nForce4 SLI chipset based motherboard
1gig DDR400 memory (2 x 512mb DUAL CHANNEL)
2 x nVidia 6800-GS 128meg video cards running in SLi mode
1 x 16x DVD Player drive
1 x DVD Burner drive DUAL LAYER
200gig SATA-2 high speed harddrive

And that is just one of my computers Twisted Evil
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:23 pm 
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Spockie-Tech
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Can I add up all the Gigahertz and Storage of the network of machines ?

Rough estiamate - about 15 Ghz of processor power, 2.8 Terabytes of hard drive space, and 9 monitors.. Twisted Evil Razz

[edit] Oops, I just noticed this is in Valen's Fight scheduling software thread. If it turns into too much of a who has the biggest PC, I'll split the posts off into off-topic, so we dont derail Jakes software talk too much..

Jake: you should have guessed asking about beefy PC's would turn into a pissing contest.. Laughing
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Last edited by Spockie-Tech on Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:28 pm; edited 1 time in total

Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:37 pm 
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Philip
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A pissing contest? Let me unzip my laptop.
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:11 pm 
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Knightrous
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Location: NSW


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Actually, I wasn't trying to start a PC stats show off Confused Was just querying Valen if my system would be enough to handle such a task, as I was looking at possibly setting this up for at HOC. Since your PC is better Andrew, you can handle it, saves me having to shift 280GB of data around to get some more space for video Wink 3500+ is a nice chip, good selection.

OT: Who's hanging out for the upcoming Intel Conroe? I am itching to see it go...
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:30 pm 
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Spockie-Tech
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OK Then, back on topic.

I think Video Intro's, Streaming, Webcasts, AutoRanking calculations and all the bells and whistles would be nice, but not very likely considering there is less than 2 weeks to go until the Brisbane event, so lets keep it realistic and it can be flashed up later.

A PC projectable version of the Whiteboard fight-tree is more likely to be useful immediately. Something that can display the tree, have results entered it, show the spectators and competitors who won, who they're fighting next, and if you want to get ambitious, an auto-updated "Scheduled time for each fight" display.

You calculate the time's as an offset from the current time, and when a scheduled fight actually occurs, the software could compare the actual fight time against the scheduled time, work out whether you are running ahead or behind time and display the updated times.

Or perhaps a "T-Minus" display on each fight, so it doesnt show that this fight will occur at 3.30pm, but instead shows, this fight should occur in 92 minutes and counts down ? That should help keep competitors happy about turn-around times.

Even thats getting flash though. Even a manually updated system would be great for this event if it can display a neat, understandable dual-elimination tree on a large-screen or projector.

I dont know what Res the Suncorp super-screen runs at, but given that its being fed from a composite video signal, I wouldnt use tiny fonts at 1024+ resolution.. think TV screen res.. A power-point style presentation with bug chunky writing would be safer.
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:48 pm 
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Rotwang
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Joined: 15 Jun 2004
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Inputs SVHS, RGBHV, Composite, VGA, HDTV

Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:46 pm 
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Valen
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Joined: 07 Jul 2004
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Location: Sydney


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Problem is a tree would occupy too much space on a tv screen resolution to be legiblle
i'd estimate the max info you could probbly put on it at something like 20 lines and about 20 chars wide.

Perhaps some kind of scrolly thing?

whack everything into a db and the screen drivy thing can just pull out the bits it wants and the detailed thing will show everything in 1024x768

of course if you can stick 1025x768 onto the big screen then yay but its probbly too complicated for your average punter.

more thaughts later
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 7:15 pm 
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Spockie-Tech
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OK, Gary has been surfing the Southcorp pages.. Wink

I said Composite because when i spoke with the AV tech for the Piazza the other day, he said the vision mixers they use are composite mixers

So if we want to run multiple video sources (CameraMan, Laptop, DVD discs etc), then we will probably be running a single coax cable from next to the Arena across to the "booth" where the AV gear lives (its like a bar where they have a booth set back from the stage where the audio tech hangs out)

I'll check with him again and see if we can get SVGA across to the projector on a seperate channel, but I dont know where that means the laptop would have to live. Perhaps the scorer would be best located in the booth anyway.

@Jake: I'll let you know if VGA+ Res to the Screen is feasible or not.
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:22 pm 
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Valen
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okes my thaughts on how the "system" will work

I am aiming for a totally public orientated show, the rounds will be further apart but the fights closer togther. So i will attempt to have a tier execute every hour from the completion of the previous tier.

definitions
pool is a group of bots
draw is the process of getting members of a pool and creating a fight list
a fight is well a fight
A round is the execution of a draw.
a tier is a "level" of the competition

Features
all draws are random
at all times when draws are conducted it will attemt to avoid state Vs state fight


tier 1
all eligablle bots are put into the first pool
first draw is conducted selecting from all compeditors
first round is executed with all combats back to back.
(IE all bots are ready or nearly so, your given a 2 fight warning so ey you might as well watch the other fights)

winners go into the first winners pool
loosers go into the first looser pool

tier 2
conduct the tier 2 winners and loosers draws
execute the loosers round
execute the winners round (back to back as always)

loosers from the tier 2 loosers round are eliminated
winners from the tier 2 loosers round go into the tier 3 loosers draw
winners from the tier 2 winners round go into the tier 3 winners draw

execute the winners draw.

loosers from the tier 2 winners round go into the tier 3 loosers draw

basically you then just repeat the system
winners from the tier 2 winners round go to the tier 3 winners round
loosers go to the tier 4 loosers round

winners from the tier 3 loosers round go to the tier 4 loosers round
loosers from tier 3 loosers are eliminated.

By my quackulations 8 tiers should get us to the final with 20 bots
and 9 tiers with 30 bots

special case for when you get it down to the final, Final is winner of loosers round Vs winner of winners round
this is "sudden death"
well for the winner of the winners anyway lol

I think with that format it should be easier to get filler matches and easier on the people in the fillers too as there is only pressure to do one fight then you know you have an hour off.

so total duration assuming 80 minutes per round with a 1 hour break is ~ 19 hours in total.

thaughts on this kind of system (for brizzy anyway because we have the time)

edit
another thaught, the draws should be done about 10 minutes prior to the start of the round, after we have confirmations on who is in and who is out etc.
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:19 pm 
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Valen
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Joined: 07 Jul 2004
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Location: Sydney


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for the public i dont think they really give a toss about the tree they are only really interested in what they are going to see next i thinks.

As such i think the "default"/attract mode display should be robot videos for 50 minutes or so with a countdown / next event at clock on there.
Then at T-10 it switches to a scrolling list of who is up that round with stats on
each fighter.
when the round is due to begin the thing flips to round mode
where it does the intro videos, then the fight managment (unless we cut over direct to the video feed externally which is probbly easier at this point in time)
then do the judges decision display and get ready to run the intro's for the next bots.

I think intro should be 10-20 secs long tops with a 10 second 360 spin if we have the time to set it up.

it'll be some work to get it all done but hey a total of 20 seconds worth of "generic tv spot" shouldnt be too hard to grab and shoot.
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Post Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:43 pm 
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Waddy the phoenix



Joined: 16 Jun 2004
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sounds like you got it all planned out now time to impliment Smile and it sounds like it would be a grat system to run at all events Very Happy (although you ould rig it for the compeditors for our comps atleast cause we realy dont give a massive toss about entertaining outsiders any way they ome and see what we do and either stay or go rob solved for us Very Happy (bah i hate eing at work :S)
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Post Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:56 am 
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Ajax
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Joined: 17 Jun 2004
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Location: Sydney


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Valen that is sounding excellent.

A thought I had with set-up, is that this software would end up getting used on different screen's that have different configurations.

It might be an idea to have a display selection, which has specs for the screen being used.
i.e. resolution, Font size, Bot spec display area size, No of tree on screen, etc

This will make it easier to change screen types at different events.

I’m not saying to do it now but to keep it in mind for future development.
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Post Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:37 am 
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Valen
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Joined: 07 Jul 2004
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Location: Sydney


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i'm going to make several seperate programs
a schedualer/draw/thingie
a judging thingie
a bot info thing (for putting in stuff like 360 vids
and a presentation thingie

they will all just tie into a mysql database

so you can run them all on seperate PC's or have them all running on one and just flip between them.

the only one designed for public consumption is the presentation one.
the others will be just boring white on grey things.

If other people want to make up some sample art for backrounds and stuff i'll get a more finished design for the presentation program up soon.

(i am thinking of ripping bbc robot wars style as a base for the presentation program)
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Post Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:15 am 
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Spockie-Tech
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I dont know if I like the random-draws before a round idea or not.

I know you Sydney-siders have done things that way in the past, but its not the way Robot Combat is conducted in most compeitions around the world.

If you look at elimination trees from most events, the losers from the "top" winners side tree are moved to the "bottom" of the losers round tree, I think this is to do with keeping the potential bots you have to fight mixed up, without the unpredictability of a random draw.

Can we make allowances for running a non-randomised (except the first round) draw ?

What does everyone else think of a random draw ?

I think we've had this discussion before without a clear settlement, so unless I'm shouted down by a Majority who prefer random, I'd like to keep the format of RoboWars eliminations in agreeance with the world standard.
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Post Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:40 am 
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