Assignment 2 Task Specification
Introduction
This document provides a description of the assessment tasks for assignment 2. Each task will be assessed separately, although you must submit a single application that includes your solutions for all tasks. Read the Server Interface Specification for more information on how tasks are initiated and run. You are not required to develop a separate agent for each task. Rather, it is expected that you will develop one agent that is capable of solving all problems (since all problems are faced in the game) and that each of these tasks represents a progressive assessment of the capabilities of your agent. These task requirements therefore provide for you with a set of design objectives and milestones to achieve in the development of your AI agent. You should ideally work through them sequentially and enhance the capabilities of your agent as you proceed.
Task Assessment
Each task is worth a number of points as described in the Table 1. The points awarded for each task are summed to determine the final mark for this assignment. Each task will be assessed a number of times (called trials or iterations). The points awarded for the task will be the average score achieved in all trials across all sub-tasks.
Task # Summary Part Points
1 Control & Localisation A & B 10
2 Picking a resource A & B 10
3 Picking up multiple resources A & B 10
4 Evade an enemy drone B 10
5 Destroy an enemy drone B 10
6 Sea Gauntlet Game B 50
Table 1: Summary of assessment tasks and their point value
Task Time limits
To ensure that all student submissions can be assessed in a reasonable time, each task will be assigned a time limit. Timing will begin when your agent is commanded to start a task. If at least one sub-task has not been completed within this time limit, the trial will be terminated and another begun, with no points awarded for that attempt. Each time a subtask is completed, the timer will be reset to zero. Thus, the maximum time allowed for a task is the number of sub-tasks times the task time limit.
If you have ANY questions regarding these assessment tasks, you are urged to speak to your lecturer as soon as possible.
Task 1: Control and Localisation
Time Limit: 2 minutes
Maximum Points: 10
Summary: In this task your agent must control the movement of the hero ship around the lake and stop within a defined distance of a whirlpool.
Task Outline
Control of the ship’s movement is achieved by commanding the activation of forward and rotational thrusters and/or providing a target point given the information available on the environment. Control is required to ensure that the hero ship can move safely around the map without colliding with objects that would damage or destroy it. To demonstrate control you must accelerate your ship to a prescribed speed and maintain this speed for about 2 seconds.
As the hero ship moves, the interface will give it its position in the lake and its distance from the lake’s centre. To complete the task the hero ship must move to a whirlpool and stop within a defined distance from it without being sucked in to the whirlpool.
Your agent must also demonstrate repeatable performance. This will be assessed by running your agent N times on this assessment task. The fail mark will be an average of all trials. If the hero ship does not survive a trial, there will be no marks awarded for that trial. The software will keep a log of the score for the task which can be viewed after the game is completed.
Assessment
Sub-task Performance Measure Points
Speed Control Achieve required forward speed and maintain it for two seconds – The speed is to be half the maximum speed 2
Localisation of
Black Hole
Stopping at the Whirlpool within Defined distance 2
Whirlpool found in time Within ¼ of task time 4
Within ½ of task time 3
Within ¾ of task time 2
Before end of task time 1
Survivability Awarded if the ship survives the task 2
Table 2: Assessment schedule for task 1
Task 2: Picking a resource
Time Limit: 2 minutes
Maximum Points: 10
Summary: In this task your agent will need to pick up a Hull Power up and a Shield Power up.
Outline
Using the given information of the locations of the Power up the hero ship needs to move through the locations of one Hull Power up and one Shield Power up to pick them up. Any whirlpools in the way must be avoided.
Your agent must also demonstrate repeatable performance. This will be assessed by running your agent N times on this assessment task. The fail mark will be an average of all trials. If the hero ship does not survive a trial, there will be no marks awarded for that trial. The software will keep a log of the score for the task which can be viewed after the game is completed.
Assessment
Sub-task Performance Measure Points
Pick up a Hull Power up Pick up within time limits Within ¼ of task time 4
Within ½ of task time 3
Within ¾ of task time
Before the end of task time 2
1
Pick up a
Shield Power
up Pick up within time limits Within ¼ of task time
Within ½ of task time
Within ¾ of task time
Before the end of task time 4
3
2
1
Survivability Awarded if the ship survives the task 2
Table 3: Assessment schedule for task 2
Task 3: Picking up multiple resources
Time Limit: 2 minutes
Maximum Points: 10
Summary: In this task you will be required to collect 6 powerup in order.
Outline
Your agent must use its control to collect 3 Hull Power ups and 3 Shield Power ups. They must be picked up in alternating order. If a Hull Powerup is collected first, then a Shield Power up must be next followed by another Hull Power up and so forth. This task will be terminated when at least 3 Hull and 3 Shield power ups have been collected. Your agent must also demonstrate repeatable performance. The pickups should be collected as quickly as possible.
This will be assessed by running your agent N times on this assessment task. The fail mark will be an average of all trials. If the hero ship does not survive a trial, there will be no marks awarded for that trial. The software will keep a log of the score for the task which can be viewed after the game is completed.
Assessment
Sub-task Performance Measure Points
All Power ups collected Pick up 3 Hull and 3 Shield Power ups 2
Collection in correct order. Power ups are collected in alternating order. Marked deducted for incorrect sequence 4
Collection time Collect all power ups within 1/3 of the allocated task time. 2
Survivability Awarded if the ship survives the task 2
Table 4: Assessment schedule for task 3
Task 4: Evade an enemy drone
Time Limit: 2 minutes
Maximum Points: 10
Summary: In this task your agent must demonstrate the ability to evade an enemy combat drone once it has targeted the hero ship.
Outline
This will be the first task in which a hostile enemy (a combat drone) is present in the map. Only one such enemy will exist. This enemy will actively hunt for the hero ship and once it detects it, will target and pursue it, with the aim of destroying it. The combat drone does this by colliding with the hero ship.
The aim of this task is not to destroy the combat drone. Rather, the aim is for your agent to manoeuvre the hero ship so as to successfully avoid the drone. This will be deemed successful when both the hero ship and the drone are intact at the end of the task’s allocated time.
Your agent must also demonstrate repeatable performance. This will be assessed by running your agent N times on this assessment task. The fail mark will be an average of all trials. If the hero ship does not survive a trial, there will be no marks awarded for that trial. The software will keep a log of the score for the task which can be viewed after the game is completed.
Assessment
Sub-task Performance Measure Points
Evade enemy
drone Evasion is achieved by Surviving for the full task time limit. 8
Destruction of enemy drone. 4
Survivability Awarded if the ship survives the task 2
Table 5: Assessment schedule for task 4
Task 5: Destroy an enemy drone
Time Limit: 2 minutes
Maximum Points: 10
Summary: In this task your agent must control the hero ship so as to lure a pursuing enemy into an obstacle to cause its destruction.
Outline
As with the previous task, a single drone will be spawned in the map. It will hunt for the hero ship and once its target is detected, it will pursue it with the aim of destroying it. If the combat drone collides with the hero ship, this will cause the destruction of the drone. It may also cause the destruction of the hero ship (which will depend on the hero ship hull integrity and shield status at the time of collision). The aim of this task is to destroy the drone by luring it into a whirlpool.
Your agent must also demonstrate repeatable performance. This will be assessed by running your agent N times on this assessment task. The fail mark will be an average of all trials. If the hero ship does not survive a trial, there will be no marks awarded for that trial. The software will keep a log of the score for the task which can be viewed after the game is completed.
Assessment
Sub-task Performance Measure Points
Time taken Time taken to destroy the drone. Within ¼ of task time
Within ½ of task time
Within ¾ of task time
Before the end of task time 4
3
2
1
Destroy enemy drone Destruction is achieved by… Collision with a Whirlpool
4
Collision with the shielded hero ship or any other means 1
Survivability Awarded if the ship survives the task 2
Table 6: Assessment schedule for task 5
If the hero ship is destroyed in the collision that also destroys the target, it will be deemed to NOT HAVE SURVIVED.
Task 6: Sea Gauntlet Game!
Time Limit: Until your ship is destroyed!
Maximum Points: 50
Summary: In this task your agent must demonstrate its ability to cope with all of the aforementioned tasks as it attempts to destroy as many enemy drones as possible and accrue points.
Outline
This task is the culmination of the assessment tasks and requires that your agent display a multitude of behaviours in the one task. The task is performed in an area which is populated with several Whirlpools and Power ups. A number of drones will spawn initially and throughout each trial, as will the Power ups. Your agent must cause the destruction of all enemy drones in a level as quickly as possible and advance as many levels as possible. Points are awarded for the drones destroyed and the Power ups collected. Points are lost with time. The higher the level in the game the more drones will be spawned and the fewer whirlpools.
The hero ship also has an autodestruct. If no drone ship has been destroyed within a set time (usually about 1 to 2 minutes) then the hero ship will autodestruct. This is to stop the game when AI code causes the game to continue indefinitely without any conclusion.
Assessment
Points are lost as time continues so the quicker a level can be completed, the fewer points are lost. Points are gained for the destruction of combat drones the collection of Power ups. The software will keep a log of a comparative score for the game which can be viewed after the game is completed.