eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2708
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Oh, and to move this along:

RSR

____________________________
I got my avatar back! Yay!

Doom
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3303
Registered: 07-05-2004
IP: Logged

...and to end it more quickly I can play for Goblins too

Goblins: RRS (TIE)
Mimics: PPS
Goblins: RSS (TIE)
Mimics: PRR
Goblins: RPR (TIE)

If some of the Goblins or Mimics disagree about any of the moves, they can say it now.

eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2708
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Fine with me. And given that the goblins obviously knew what they were doing long before we did, I doubt that they'd choose the last moment to make a mistake (especially as they no longer have moves that beat us, so a mistake would involve playing a losing move).

____________________________
I got my avatar back! Yay!

Stefan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2119
Registered: 05-25-2004
IP: Logged

eytanz wrote:
I wonder if, once the first move was decided, we had a winning tactic, or whether our only chance was a goblin mistake. Anyone feel like calculating that?

I'm not really sure if I understand what you mean, and if I understand correctly, it will be difficult to calculate...

Well played, goblins.

Thanks! We played it just like goblins do: sneaking up on you from behind when you least expect it. (Or something like that... )

I don't disagree with the above moves. That was just the way we were going to do it.

____________________________
0.099³

eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2708
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Stefan wrote:

eytanz wrote:
I wonder if, once the first move was decided, we had a winning tactic, or whether our only chance was a goblin mistake. Anyone feel like calculating that?

I'm not really sure if I understand what you mean, and if I understand correctly, it will be difficult to calculate...

Well, what I meant was whether, once the move lists were decided and the first (random) round was played, whether there was a move sequence we could have used to guaruntee a win.

Well played, goblins.

Thanks! We played it just like goblins do: sneaking up on you from behind when you least expect it. (Or something like that... )

Yup, and we played it like mimics, copying your tactics without really understanding them (well, not really, but the truth is close enough for this to work as a joke )



____________________________
I got my avatar back! Yay!

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5141
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Good game, everybody! Great job, team.

This is an interesting augmentation to R-P-S: combining simultaneous play, turn-based play, and look ahead makes it a non-trivial game/problem to solve, although there is some definite strategy to be applied.

Good job coming up with this one, RoboBob9000X!

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

I feel like I could have written the rules differently to prevent this back and forth thing that was going on. Oh well. It was a bit of an experiment anyway.

Some mimics have already started sending me their votes, so I'll take that as a sign that they're conceding defeat. I need two more votes before Tribal Council.

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

One vote left to go.

I was thinking that it might be fun if you all kept me updated with your strategies regarding the full game, or how you went about working on challenges, or discussions you've been having with other players. Basically, anything relevant to the game that you think might be worthwhile for someone to read about after it's done. Just PM me.

What I'm planning on doing is making an endgame discussion thread, where I'll post a voting history and reveal juicy tidbits of info regarding how this game was played. It's perfectly optional for you guys to submit anything, but highly recommended. Thanks a bunch! Things are gonna start getting good!

[Edited by RoboBob3000 at Local Time:02-04-2005 at 10:38 PM]

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

stigant
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1182
Registered: 08-19-2004
IP: Logged

Well, wrt to the RPS game, our strategy after the first round was to draw out like we ended up doing. However, we couldn't implement that strategy right away because there was no way to cover all their serves with unique returns. So we played groups that would entice them into playing into a situation in which we could draw out. I suspect that most iterations of this game will come down, in some fashion, to this sort of strategy since the receiving team has pretty much complete control over the outcome of the point and the only way to remain the receiving team without giving up points is to tie. Perhaps the solution to this problem is to switch serve on ties as well.

____________________________
Progress Quest Progress

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Tribal Council #3





Okay everybody, I'll whip up a challenge soon. I'll announce it soon, but I won't make it time sensitive, so you don't need to keep an eye out for it.

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

Maurog
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1501
Registered: 09-16-2004
IP: Logged

Yup, can't say I'm surprised too much about their choice
Anyways, good luck to all you mimics in the next challenges.

____________________________
Slay the living! Raise the dead!
Paint the sky in crimson red!

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Immunity Challenge #4

This should be much simpler. For this challenge, both tribes will be playing a game of capture the flag!

Mimics, this is your flag:


Goblins, this is your flag:


What each tribe is going to be doing is hiding five of their own flags around in posts you've made in the past by editing in the image where there wasn't one before as an attachment. As an attachment, they won't be searchable. They can be hidden in any forum, provided that someone in your tribe owns the post.

After the flags are all hidden, we'll agree on a certain time to begin the hunt for them. Once this time has come, each tribe will begin a hunt for the other tribe's flags. Each time they find one, they will post the location of it in this thread, preferably with a direct link. The first tribe to find all five of the other tribe's flags (or the tribe that has the most after a certain time period if this drags on too long) will win immunity! That should be simple enough.

In my attempt to make all of the hiding simultaneous, I might try and obtain the help of an admin who can make the ten edits for us at the scheduled hunting time. You guys would just tell me where you want them hidden first via PM, and I'll pass the message along to the admin to be named later. After I recieve 5 potential flag locations from each tribe, we'll discuss starting times.

Oh, and don't post decoy flags or stuff like that. Then it'll just start to get ugly. Stay cool.

As usual, ask me any questions you like and I'll be perfectly happy to answer them. With this giant stick!

I mean... I'll be perfectly happy to answer them.

[Edited by RoboBob3000 at Local Time:02-08-2005 at 09:53 PM]

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

My only comment is that the search function of the forum will make this absolutely trivial....


____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

stigant
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1182
Registered: 08-19-2004
IP: Logged

Agreed.

Also, we could probably use the time-delay tag to post the images so that they all become visible at once. We just need to agree on a time that they will be available.


____________________________
Progress Quest Progress

Doom
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3303
Registered: 07-05-2004
IP: Logged

But in the other hand searching for "this message will be revealed" wouldn't give propably that many results.

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Doom wrote:
But in the other hand searching for "this message will be revealed" wouldn't give propably that many results.

Actually, that wouldn't give any results, except for when it was actually typed in. That text is inserted at view-time, it's not in the database when you use a unhidetime tag.

This makes me realize that hidden text is searchable. You still won't be able to see what it is exactly, but I should still probably do something about it. Even if we put the flags in unhidetime tags, you could find them by searching.


____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Drat. I thought this challenge was foolproof. I've done it before on boards without search functions. Stupid high-techiness.

Give me some time, I'll figure out how to make this work.

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Schik just suggested a great idea. Instead of actually posting the images in your edits, you can attach them to your post, because the attachments are not searchable.

If anybody can think of why this won't work, let me know, otherwise, I'm going to edit the challenge post.

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

stigant
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1182
Registered: 08-19-2004
IP: Logged

search for posts by RoboBob3000

I'm not sure how long it would take, but I think I could write a bot to crawl through every post by a particular user and find attachments. Then its just a matter of flipping through them to see which ones are the flags. Attachments are indexed by when they were posted, so you'd just go through the ids in reverse order (I would think).

I'm not sure if you consider that to be busted. I mean, it would take SOME time to write the program.

[Edited by stigant at Local Time:02-08-2005 at 11:18 PM]

____________________________
Progress Quest Progress

Stefan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2119
Registered: 05-25-2004
IP: Logged

Well, even though you only add an attachment, the 'Edited'-tag will still be added, so you could search for the word 'localtime' which will show all edited posts (and maybe some others too). You can also search for a date, such as '02/09/2005' to find all posts edited on this date (I tried this with one of my posts and it worked), so there's still a somewhat easy way to find the posts.

____________________________
0.099³

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Hmm... perhaps this calls for a more serious revision. I did anticipate the "search for posts by a user" thing because otherwise the searching would pe absolutely perilous. Those "edited by" tags are really ruining my day. I'll think this through a little more and see if there isn't any better implementation.

Maybe I could even have you guys create a free primitive message board somewhere without a search function, or at least one you can disable. Like ezboard or proboards. That might work even better, because then you can flood your own board with extraneous posts in which you can hide your flag. And then I can reveal the addresses of the opposing tribe's board at the same time. This method has a much more noticible reward/effort ratio.

What do you all think of that? Don't make a board somewhere yet, because I'd want both tribes to use the same site. I just want your opinion.

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

RoboBob3000 wrote:
Hmm... perhaps this calls for a more serious revision. I did anticipate the "search for posts by a user" thing because otherwise the searching would pe absolutely perilous. Those "edited by" tags are really ruining my day. I'll think this through a little more and see if there isn't any better implementation.

Maybe I could even have you guys create a free primitive message board somewhere without a search function, or at least one you can disable. Like ezboard or proboards. That might work even better, because then you can flood your own board with extraneous posts in which you can hide your flag. And then I can reveal the addresses of the opposing tribe's board at the same time. This method has a much more noticible reward/effort ratio.

What do you all think of that? Don't make a board somewhere yet, because I'd want both tribes to use the same site. I just want your opinion.

I can write you a little page that will let you input 5 Goblin post numbers and 5 Mimic post numbers and will add attachments to them without changing the edited time or anything. So both teams can send you their picks, and you can enter them into this form. They'll all be added at the same time.

And yes, you can still create a bot to search for you. I don't think there's anything we could do about that.


____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

Doom
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3303
Registered: 07-05-2004
IP: Logged

Isn't it still possible to search for attachments?
Type something like this:

site:www.drod.net file downloaded times

into google and you'll get many posts with attachments as search results.

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Doom wrote:
Isn't it still possible to search for attachments?
Type something like this:

site:www.drod.net file downloaded times

into google and you'll get many posts with attachments as search results.

Yeah, but make an attachment right now and then google for it. Google's not up-to-the-minute with searches. In time, it would show up, but I think that's okay. I'm guessing we'll be done with this challenge before google re-indexes us and finds all of those new attachments.

____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Okay, so... are we doing it with attachments? I've got a page coded up that will let our host, RoboBob, input 5 post numbers for each team, and the flags will be attached without any edit tags, so it's not searchable via the forum's Search page. RoboBob, I'll PM you the details.

Also, perhaps a small clarification in the rules - you say that flags can be hidden on posts owned by team members on any board - it's obvious, but let's make it official that only boards that are viewable to everyone will be used. So for example, I won't be putting flags in one of the private Caravel boards that only mrimer could find for the goblins.


____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5141
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Schik wrote:
Also, perhaps a small clarification in the rules - you say that flags can be hidden on posts owned by team members on any board - it's obvious, but let's make it official that only boards that are viewable to everyone will be used. So for example, I won't be putting flags in one of the private Caravel boards that only mrimer could find for the goblins.

D'oh!

you knew I was planning that, didn't you...

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

TripleM
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1377
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Schik wrote:
Okay, so... are we doing it with attachments? I've got a page coded up that will let our host, RoboBob, input 5 post numbers for each team, and the flags will be attached without any edit tags, so it's not searchable via the forum's Search page. RoboBob, I'll PM you the details.

That page wouldn't accidentally PM each of the Mimics with what the goblins entered, too, would it?

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Accidentally? No.

Seriously, it only attaches the files. However, if you guys want, I'm fine with finding another way to do this.

____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1980
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Awesome work, Schik. This challenge will totally work now.

Okay guys, start planning your hiding places. I'll need you to PM me the numbers of the posts you want me to add attachments too.

After that, then I'll go gonzo with my magic tool and attach things to every post you've ever made. Like old holds you've submitted will become giant pictures of my face. Or the flags. I guess I don't really hold that much power.

One question for Schik, does this work for posts that already have attachments? Will it replace them or give me an error?

____________________________
http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5419
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

RoboBob3000 wrote:
One question for Schik, does this work for posts that already have attachments? Will it replace them or give me an error?

Hey, that's a good question. It wouldn't overwrite the other attachment, it would have both attached, but the display code is not set up to display multiple attachments per post, so it would probably seem like the flag simply disappeared.

[Edited by Schik at Local Time:02-10-2005 at 01:51 PM: file => post]

____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi