RFS AI Pack
The RFS AI Pack, initially released in 2003, is a trilogy (and soon to be quadrilogy) of supplemental all-stock AI upgrades created by Radio F Software for the Robot Arena 2 game.
History
The RFS AI Pack is considered to be a groundbreaking modification because of its expansions to the fundamental AI coding of the game. Until the second installment of the RFS AI Pack was released, the original AI restrictions of the game allowed only 15 enemy teams with 3 robots per team; all AI packs released during this time consisted of only 45 robots. Throughout the first three installments of the RFS AI Pack each one built upon a specific part of the game beginning first with the replacement of the stock AI, followed by increasing the AI's allotment of robots to 6 per team, and finally by extending the AI's allotment of teams from 15 to 30. Thirty teams was the number decided upon because it was a simple doubling of the existing amount; theoretically the number of teams could go on endlessly so long as the additional data was coded correctly.
Release history of RFS AI Pack installments:
- Version 1.0: Released Q4 2003
- Version 1.2: Released Q4 2003
- Version 1.5: Released Q1 2004
- Version 1.7: Canceled, project merged into V2.0.
- Version 2.0: No release date announced.
- DSL Version 1.0: Release date unknown.
Reception
The designs featured in the pack ranged from moderately well received to indifference and nominal complaints. The RFS AI Pack encompassed a number of realistic designs with very few "abuses" of what cannot be constructed realistically should someone have the desire to do so (e.g. no usage of AAM, few stacked/overpowered weapons, etc.). Many claim this design choice is the pack's biggest shortcoming because of the lack of challenge for experienced and seasoned Robot Arena 2 players, but the pack's creator claims this is its strongest point because it's marketed toward beginner players who likely aren't familiar with advanced building levels in the game.
Legacy
The RFS AI Pack series held the rank of being the most downloaded AI pack ever (according to the original download counters on RA Reborn), and several pirated copies of Robot Arena 2 that were once available for download featured the game pre-patched with V1.5 of the RFS AI Pack (see photo).
Ultimately, the RFS AI Pack lost its rank of "most downloads" to the AI pack(s) created by Starcore who cited Radio F Software among his inspirations for wanting to get involved with AI creations of his own and was given permission to use the special UI files to allow for more AI teams and robots.
DSL Version
A special DSL version of the RFS AI Pack was created to coincide with the launch of the massive overhaul of the Robot Arena 2 game. This pack featured 45 robots built using the DSL components.
Plans to expand the pack to the proportions of its stock counterpart were announced but ultimately scrapped when the RFS DSL AI Pack received generally poor ratings from players.
Installation
Installation of the RFS AI Pack series was once a simple process but after the closure of AceUplink it became problematic because the installation instructions for the packs were hosted on an AceUplink page and there were no provided readme files until after the packs were unzipped or extracted to their appropriate directories. The proper installation instructions are:
- 1. Unzip the 1.0 pack to C:\Program Files\Infogrames\Robot Arena 2\AI\
- 2. Unzip the 1.2 pack to C:\Program Files\Infogrames\Robot Arena 2\
- 3. Unzip the 1.5 pack to C:\Program Files\Infogrames\Robot Arena 2\
The rumored "2.0" version of the RFS AI Pack is said to be an "all-encompassing" version that will not require meticulous installations of all previous versions. The 2.0 download will contain the entire 1.0 - 1.5 collections in its download.
Robots Included
The table below contains a complete roster of robots provided to players who have updated the packs to the latest version of the RFS AI Pack (currently V1.5).
- The first three robots in the teams Sgt. Stone to C0MPU73R H4CK3R5 comprise the original 45 robots of version 1.0.
- The last three robots in the teams Sgt. Stone to C0MPU73R H4CK3R5 comprise the additional 45 robots provided by the version 1.2 upgrade.
- All robots contained in the teams Pokemon Robotics to Radio F Software make up the additional 90 robots the 1.5 version included.
| Team Name | Team Motto | LW #1 | MW #1 | HW #1 | LW #2 | MW #2 | HW #2 |
| Sgt. Stone | "Indestructable Forces." | flipMODE | Pneumenace | Detonator | Fang The Mantis | Saturday Night Slammer | Wooden Warrior IV |
| Alien Research Team | "The PROOF is out there!" | It Came From The Moon | Thwacktar | The Truth | This Planet Sucks! | The... Probe | Mothership |
| United Commoners | "We don't need the fancy crap to whopp your ASS!" | 5 Gallon Bucket | Chop Shop | Harry The Potter | Cement Mixer | Padre Diablo | Final Verdict |
| Lethal Dosage | "100 Rads can kill you, 4000 Rads will make you suffer." | Face Scruncher | 4000 Rads | Big 1 | Item | Shockwave | Aftermath |
| The Disturbed Ones† | "Oddly effective..." | Cheap Shot | Cheese | Monkey Wrench | Spikey | Chewbot | Tank |
| United States Army | "A ROBOT Army of one." | Wire Cutter | Bomb Disposal Unit 32 | M1A1 | Claymore | 4X4 | M2A2 |
| Pyros | "All of our bots will make yours to explode and burn!" | Fire Burst | Satan's Forklift | Bomb | Spark | Firestorm | Mind Meld |
| Reptilian Team | "Tough as nails. Deadly as a dragon." | Pit Viper | Predator | Garden Dragon | Snatcher | Snapping Turtle | Alpha Dragon |
| Mode II | "Mortal robots beware!" | Ghetto Blaster | Traffic Jam | Overwhelming Force | Diamondback | Rift Blade | Loch |
| Stoners | "Dude we are so stoned right now." | Get High | Tokin' It | Weed Cutter | Bad Trip | Ultra Bong | The Munchies |
| The rObO zOne | "You're going down!" | Tilt a Whirl | Crap Bot 3000 | Stomper | Lemon-Lime | Twist and Shout | Irrational Exuberance |
| Brute Force | "Pure Metal. Pure Force." | RC Car | Underdawg | Mega Force 2 | No Escape | All Your Bot Are Belong To Us | Prize Grab Machine |
| Under Pressure | "How good can your bots do, under Pressure?" | Big Box Bot | Invertigo | Pressure | Mini Klamp | Class Act | Thumperizer III |
| chAos | "Take no prisoners." | Deceptitron | The Chaos Engine 2 | Tryke | Psygnos | Stratosphere | Northern Fury |
| C0MPU73R H4CK3R5 | "Terminate." | PIN | Circuit Breaker MK III | LAN Mower | Hax0r | Bit Rot | Firewall |
| Pokemon Robotics | "Forget the kids' stuff." | Psychic Spinner | Earthquake!!! | Tha Master | Quick Attack | Dive Bomb | King Krabby |
| p0werh0use tw0 | "Full of it, power, that is." | Lightning Rod | XLR8 | Atomic Generator | Unit 56 | F.L.A.S.H. | p0werh0use tw0 |
| Aquas | "Water-proof, Robot-proof." | Harpoon | Watermill | Turbine | Sand Dune | Starfish | Tidal Wave |
| Team Plastic Fruit | "You could say we are a bit fruity." | Laser Gates | Razor Burn | Worm Hole | Decibel | STOP | FaceFull of Steel |
| Sinister Squad | "We would rather die on our feet than live on our knees!" | Stretcher | Quarter | The Rack | Lasceration | Silence | Sticks and Stones |
| New Island Technologies | "We use only the best stuff available." | Infernus | 0115D8CF | Chainsaw Charlie | Stealth | Streamliner | Bumper |
| Inventive Minds | "We find ALL of the loopholes!" | Phase IV | Hate Factory | Stomperama IV | Plink | Foxtrot | Centrifuge of Pain |
| X-Force | "If you think we're aggressive now, wait until mating season." | Dragon Spawn | Telekinesis | The Dragoness | Velociriptor | PinDragon | V |
| United States Navy | "Our torpedoes will SINK your robots." | Quadrant | CODE: RED | Defcon 1 | Level 5 | Turbulence | Striker 2 |
| r3v3ng3 0f t3h n00bz! | "OMG ur goin down!1!!one!1!eleven!!!" | OMG WTF SUSPENDED | !11!one!1eleven! | OMG WTF BANNED | 1337 | Obvious ICED OUT Clone | 7h3 d347h 5p1nn3r |
| People In The Basement | "We all got bored one day..." | Lurker | Student Driver | Fully Articulated Plow | Any Time is Good For Pizza! | Drum Ba Dum Dum | Smack in the Box |
| Maximum Resistance | "You're a wimp! You're going DOWN!" | 1K | Octa-GONE | Big Red | Solar Flare | Short Phuse | F-7 |
| toXic | "This ain't no false alarm!" | 17 | ChemTox | Heavy Lobster | Fissure | toXic | Experiment X |
| Destruction 101 | "Now for a class in Destruction 101." | 101 | Fork Truck | The Windcallers | Paradox Twilight | Shades Of Green | WHAT?WHERE? |
| Radio F Software | "You KNEW it was coming." | Keep BACK 500 Feet | Digital Dragon | Tha Thumperizer | LaunchPad | 404 | Wooden Warrior |
| RA2 Revenge | (TBA) | Holy Moly | Close Shave | Uncare Bear | Sam R. Rye | Best Served Cold | The 'Merge |
| RA1 Remix | (TBA) | Patriot Act | Going Commando | Executioner EX | Menace 2 Society | Gammarazer | Wimpy 2K10 |
| Best of Twilight Foundry | (TBA) | LaunchPad 2 | HACK! | Balls Of Steel Revolution | No Escape Reincarnated | CrapBot: The Reckoning | Thumperizer 9 Yr. Anniversary |
| Second Chance | (TBA) | Psygnos 2004 | Steamroller | Thrasher | The Bloody Butcher | The Supervisor | |
| Blast Works | (TBA) | Sharp Thing | The Fursecutioner | Violator | Hot Pursuit | ||
| RoboWarriors | (TBA) | Toasty | The Maw | USS Bot Destroyer | Runaway Rocket | Wrecking Ball | Mad Max |
| Team MegaSparkRiotStorm | (TBA) | ||||||
| Obligatory Dragon Team | (TBA) | ||||||
| Newfac Robotics | (TBA) |
† This team was formerly known as "Team Crashed" in the 1.0 version of the AI pack. It was renamed in the version 1.2 update after program assistant TheDisturbedOne. The 3 new robots that were added to the team are also his creations.
Personnel
- Radio F Software - Lead Designer, Main AI-ing
- TheDisturbedOne - Support Programming
Secrets
Despite what the creator claims, there are "secrets" hidden in two of the three available AI packs.
- V1.0: No hidden secrets.
- V1.2: C:\Program Files\Robot Arena 2\Secret contains the pack's readme file as well as some pictures from SomethingAwful.com and a tribute picture to one of RFS' friends.
- V1.5: C:\Program Files\Robot Arena 2\AI\NOT A SECRET!!! contains various media including a Bahamut dragon graphic, a MIDI version of Green Day's "Basketcase", an optical illusion program, and an interactive sandwich maker game. The optical illusion generator does not run on Windows 7 operating systems.
- V2.0: TBA