At the moment the last version (1.27.1) supports 8159 unique cards, all with full AI. We're already starting on New Phyrexia, trying to implement the cards as they're spoiled.
And if anyone'd like to help, there's unfortunately lots of work unfinished The interface needs some improvements, and lots of cards are still unimplemented. But, to show you an example -- do you know the Daily decks on magicthegathering.com? We have about 35% of them fully functional.
Unfortunately, I think that the secrecy we used to veil BotArena in hurt us in the long run. We're not well-known and while BotArena is smart, the controls can seem a bit weird at first. I'd say we always went for "power", not "looks". Call us "the ugly duckling of MtG" if you wish
Does it allow me to play a deck against an AI opponent?
Yes, that is actually its main function
It's still work in progress and it lacks some of the more complicated cards, but it's getting closer to the OVER 9000 territory. As an illustration: out of the 712 Daily Decks on magicthegathering.com, 271 is fully implemented and working. That's 38% (or maybe even over 40%, as not every number actually HAS a deck).
BotArena has a pretty nice AI (especially when you set thinking time high), though bugs and boneheaded mistakes still occur. The GUI is still a bit rudimentary, but if you have the HQ card scans from slightlymagic, BotArena can make use of them. We also have a token image pack (as the token pictures need numerical codes to work properly).
So, what do we have?
Most of the planeswalkers (missing Karn, Sorin and Chandra Ablaze, IIRC).
Lots of mechanics, including some complicated like madness, storm, suspend and cascade
Full support for many current and historical Top-Tier decks in Legacy, Extended and Standard.
What we lack:
Some important mechanics (morph, flip cards, copy effects, Mindslaver...)
More programmers (anyone who's interested can try to code)
Well I installed it, and.....All this did was waste about 2-3 min of my time.
This is what happend...I installed it, messed around with the interface for about a min to try and get at least a game working and I ran into this....
Ummm.... ummmm.... ummmm... It doesn't explain how to be able play against the AI in this.
I then uninstalled it.
I have a very low tollerance for things that are supposed to have a main function, but cannot explain within a few clicks how to get it working... Sorry but something that has a primary function isn't supposed to require 15 min of set-up/searching and messing around plus and or asking how to use it...Sorry I'm not wasting my time.
Like most of everything else, it doesn't contain any clear step by step instructions that it requires in order to be able to use it. So I uninstalled it.
It's exactly like the problem I Had and still have with MWS and not being able to add custom created cards to decks.
It only explains what to do up to the point to start putting custom created cards into decks but the instructions leave you with only an error message that says the cards have to be compiled, and thsi shows up after you compile them....
Since starting the game against AI currently requires two or three clicks, I sincerely apologize for being confusing
And yes, I admit we don't exactly have documentation
See this I don't mind, because you're at least saying these type of instructions don't exist yet and I don't mind looking (Somewhat) There is a limit to what i will search)
It's when i get a moron like outbak in this topic here http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=322125
that I argue with and refuse top be poilite afterwards...Anyone who makes a dumb ass reply like he did in that topic needs to be shot and doesn't deserve t be treated nice...Right now I have a screw him attitude...
This person is just plain stupid and is clearly just trying to start a problem.
I mean seriously you have to be a total douche bag to watch a video that's narrated, showing exactly what the issue is, then have the testicular fortitude to type out the same exact instructions that were just shown in the video they just watched then say they work.
Really!
I mean even when I messed up with the magic set editor I said my bad...but that kid and his reply are just frigging stupid.
_________________
UPDATE:
I looked at that link......It doesn't explain anywhere on it how to use arenabot to play against the AI or really much about the interface layout of what you do with the functions on it all the information on that link was what it could support or what was in it. Which to me is pointless...No ffense as I know it takes time to make programs like that...But please understand this (And I mean no disrespect when i say this) i honestly do not care what is in something, or the design or anything else like that. (Other people do, but I don't)
I just caree about if it works, and if so how do you get it to work... other than that, all the information on that page doesn't matter one bit and I didn't really read every thing i skimmed through it to see the information i wanted wasn't there. If there is something I have to know when getting it to work then the instructions should say ok this part requires you to know this (Insert whatever) and either at that point explain everything that the person is going to need to know or say if you don't know it then stop reading, go learn it, and when you do then start learning again.
OK, I admit that we are all a bit too "function before form". There's also the "familiarity" factor: I myself have played thousands of games on BotArena, so its quirks are so burned into me that I might have trouble approaching it from the "new user" level.
Incidentally, I am grateful for your comments because they show deficiencies we have and perhaps explain something about why our program is not as popular as the others. I was perhaps too snarky in my last reply -- it was late here, and I apologize.
OK, so I'll give you the detailed step-by-step how-to. Even if you decide to not give BotArena another chance, it's clear that something like that is needed for further readers of this thread.
First of all, let me talk about the pictures. BotArena is capable of running without the card images, it can use just color boxes with name and text, but it looks pretty bad, to be honest. That's why it's set up to use the full HQ scans from Slightlymagic. But since we don't provide those pictures ourselves (for legal reasons, as well as for reasons of space), and we don't have an automatic downloader, some assembly is required of user at this stage. Basically, you need to copy the image folder into Images\Cards\MWS in main BotArena directory. Fully assembled, it contains one subdirectory for every set. Here's the other sad thing: while MOST of our sets use the same code as Slightlymagic scans, not all of them do. Some directories need to be renamed.
However, as I said, this is all optional, and affects just the look. Not the performance.
Now, there are three ways to start a game (all of them start game against AI, playing against human opponent is possible, but more complicated).
Menu: Game -> Start
Click on the green arrow in top left of the icon bar
Press CTRL+S.
The Start Game window is divided into two parts, top for player, bottom for AI. On top you can set your name and your deck (button on the left from deck droplist lets you change directory, default directory is Decks in the main directory, and then there are subdirectories where we store Daily Decks and official preconstructed decks that we have). There's a "Random" checkbox on the right of the droplist that allows you to have a deck selected randomly from everything in the directory.
The top part also has "Start first?" line where you can check Yes, No or Don't Care.
Bottom part allows you to set deck for computer, along the same lines. The Opponent field has a dropbox which normally only has Computer (CPU) in it (if you connect to another player through net, you can find him here and play against him).
Finally, there are "Mulligan" and "Full Screen" buttons, function of which should be clear.
As for the game itself:
BotArena divides the game into timesteps. When you have the priority, you must select and perform an action. This can be done by several means:
First of all, there's the "Actions" window -- this is the main method, and, unfortunately, it can get very confusing. Basically, this window lists every single basic action you can perform, such as tapping a land, casting a spell, activating an ability, or selecting an attacker. For example, when you have a Cunning Sparkmage, the Actions window will list as a possible action activating him for every possible target. It's currently not possible to get mana after announcing a spell or ability, you need to gather it beforehand. Actions are also sorted alphabetically and they interpret Magic symbols alphabetically, meaning that when there's lot of them, it gets confusing (you might not remember right away that blue mana symbol is alphabetically after the tap symbol!).
Basically, Actions window is a "fallback" system that you have to use when the other don't work. I recommend detaching and expanding it somewhat. Personally, I always put it on my secondary monitor.
Actions window is also used for many special decisions:
Mulligan -- BotArena doesn't let you choose "Play or draw", but if you checked Mulligans, the game starts with mulligan decisions. Some players get burned on this one because they don't realize that they need to use the Actions window at the very beginning.
Trigger target-selecting -- you might suddenly get target choices when an ability triggers that needs a target. For abilities that target and have a "may" wording, there's currently an option to skip that ability altogether, although strictly speaking, that's not rules-correct.
Trigger order -- when several triggers you control goes on stack at the same time, you have to select their order.
Actions window has several checkboxes - All Actions lets you show both "reasonable" and "questionable" actions (i.e. actions the computer doesn't see any point in performing), Untap makes the untap step automatic instead of letting you choose individual permanents to untap (this should be turned off only in case that something limits your untap actions, for example Winter Orb or Smoke), and Auto will select an action for you automatically, if there's only one possible thing you can do.
Second method of acting is right-clicking the cards. Any visible card (battlefield, hand, and even graveyard, if it's not too obscured) with green border has actions associated. You right-click it and the top part of the menu shown tells you what you can do with it.
Right-clicking is almost always easier that selecting directly from Actions window. There's just one problem with it: the number of actions the menu shows is limited. If there's a LOT of things you can do with the card (typical example is casting a X burn spell, since there's one action for every combination of mana payment and target), and you don't see the one you want, then you have no other option then use the Actions window.
Third method: double-clicking a green card. This performs an action associated with it. This ONLY works if there's exactly ONE action. For example, to get mana from a basic land, just double-click it -- but for a dual land, you need to use the right-click method to choose what color you want.
If you double-click a card, but nothing happens, it's possible that there's some action you haven't noticed. For example, it's possible to tap Llanowar Elves for mana when you're declaring attackers (as a preparation for Propaganda and similar, though unfortunately we don't have those cards yet), so you need to select whether you want to get mana or attack. Another common source of this problem is when opponent has a planeswalker and you select attackers - you have to use the right-click there and select who you want to attack with that creature, unless the attack is forced (Gideon Jura).
Fourth method: buttons in the Turn window. Turn window basically shows progress of the game, it tells you what phase/step it is, the number of the turn, etc. The bottom of this window is the most important part, showing:
A bar with either "Waiting for computer..." or "Your action needed". When it shows the latter, you need to input something.
A green arrow icon. This is the "Pass" button, and you press it to signify that you don't want to do anything. It's only disabled when it's mandatory to perform an action (for example, with the selecting order of triggers).
A sword and shield icon. This is the "Combat" button. At this point, if you are in main phase and want to attack, you must say it explicitly. Combat button is one way to do it.
Both Pass and Combat actions also show up in Actions window, they are usually the very first ones.
Fifth method of inputting actions is via keyboard shortcuts. There are three:
Space: Pass.
C: Combat.
CTRL+Space: Automatic passing until computer puts something on stack, your turn starts, or you're required to choose blockers. Very useful if you have some untapped mana and nothing to do with it and you don't want to be bothered pressing "Space" at every step. Currently a bit unfortunate in that it won't stop on computer attacking you (so you won't get a chance to animate manlands for blocking, for example). If you worry about that, only press normal Space.
The stop button (brown square in top left of the screen) is a button to concede and stop the game.
As for menus, the most important menu is Options -> Game Play settings, where you can:
Customize the name of computer player
Set the thinking time of computer player -- the AI algorithm is a tradeoff between intelligence and speed, the more time you give it, the better it should play.
Do various tweaks
The last option in this window selects what happens when double-clicking: it can either zoom the card to be readable or select only available action. I usually use the Preview window where the cards are shown, so I keep this on action.
Other useful info:
G opens a window showing your graveyard, R opens window with your exiled cards. CTRL+G and CTRL+R do the same thing for opponent.
Deckbuilding:
Deckbuilder is opened from menu Decks -> View Decks or by pressing CTRL+D. BotArena is capable of accepting plain text decks where every line has format [number] <cardname> [(number)].
First number is number of cards - if omitted, then it's 1.
Cardname is obvious.
After cardname, there can be a number in parenthesis - that's the internal code which allows to distinguish different printings of the same card. You don't have to worry about it when writing/importing plaintext decks.
The file can also contain comment lines (starting with //) and special commands (starting with #). For example, the command #Sideboard delineates the rest of the deck as a sideboard. Sideboard, however, currently only appears in deckbuilder and you can't sideboard in games.
Using the deckbuilder is the second possibility to add new decks. In the current version, the deckbuilder has a top and bottom window, where top is the deck you're editing, and the bottom has tabs and can be switched between global cardpool and the current deck's sideboard. Cards can be found by scrolling, by typing first letters of their name, or by using the filter line in the bottom window (where you can search for strings in various fields). Between the windows are buttons for transferring cards in either directions, left-click transfers one card, right-click transfers four. Top window has a directory change button, a drop-down box with all decks in current directory, and buttons for adding a new deck or saving the current one. (Currently, it doesn't offer you to save the deck when you change the directory, so you have to do it manually.) Decks are saved in what is basically a plaintext format, but the resulting file has automatic comment lines delineating the deck's structure, cards are separated by type, and all of them have the internal numbers. I usually import decks as plaintext, and then use the deckbuilder to finetune the card's versions to what I want them to be.
Friends, BotArena is still alive! We have a subforum here - I have a thread there with tips if you wish to try it.
And here is the link for the last version:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8oaczkxa05xalkb
At the moment the last version (1.27.1) supports 8159 unique cards, all with full AI. We're already starting on New Phyrexia, trying to implement the cards as they're spoiled.
And if anyone'd like to help, there's unfortunately lots of work unfinished The interface needs some improvements, and lots of cards are still unimplemented. But, to show you an example -- do you know the Daily decks on magicthegathering.com? We have about 35% of them fully functional.
Unfortunately, I think that the secrecy we used to veil BotArena in hurt us in the long run. We're not well-known and while BotArena is smart, the controls can seem a bit weird at first. I'd say we always went for "power", not "looks". Call us "the ugly duckling of MtG" if you wish
Does it allow me to play a deck against an AI opponent?
Yes, that is actually its main function
It's still work in progress and it lacks some of the more complicated cards, but it's getting closer to the OVER 9000 territory. As an illustration: out of the 712 Daily Decks on magicthegathering.com, 271 is fully implemented and working. That's 38% (or maybe even over 40%, as not every number actually HAS a deck).
BotArena has a pretty nice AI (especially when you set thinking time high), though bugs and boneheaded mistakes still occur. The GUI is still a bit rudimentary, but if you have the HQ card scans from slightlymagic, BotArena can make use of them. We also have a token image pack (as the token pictures need numerical codes to work properly).
So, what do we have?
Most of the planeswalkers (missing Karn, Sorin and Chandra Ablaze, IIRC).
Lots of mechanics, including some complicated like madness, storm, suspend and cascade
Full support for many current and historical Top-Tier decks in Legacy, Extended and Standard.
What we lack:
Some important mechanics (morph, flip cards, copy effects, Mindslaver...)
More programmers (anyone who's interested can try to code)
This is what happend...I installed it, messed around with the interface for about a min to try and get at least a game working and I ran into this....
Ummm.... ummmm.... ummmm... It doesn't explain how to be able play against the AI in this.
I then uninstalled it.
I have a very low tollerance for things that are supposed to have a main function, but cannot explain within a few clicks how to get it working... Sorry but something that has a primary function isn't supposed to require 15 min of set-up/searching and messing around plus and or asking how to use it...Sorry I'm not wasting my time.
Like most of everything else, it doesn't contain any clear step by step instructions that it requires in order to be able to use it. So I uninstalled it.
It's exactly like the problem I Had and still have with MWS and not being able to add custom created cards to decks.
It only explains what to do up to the point to start putting custom created cards into decks but the instructions leave you with only an error message that says the cards have to be compiled, and thsi shows up after you compile them....
http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2549&sid=df155fac78acb95f76091d100ec38bca
Since starting the game against AI currently requires two or three clicks, I sincerely apologize for being confusing
And yes, I admit we don't exactly have documentation
See this I don't mind, because you're at least saying these type of instructions don't exist yet and I don't mind looking (Somewhat) There is a limit to what i will search)
It's when i get a moron like outbak in this topic here
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=322125
that I argue with and refuse top be poilite afterwards...Anyone who makes a dumb ass reply like he did in that topic needs to be shot and doesn't deserve t be treated nice...Right now I have a screw him attitude...
This person is just plain stupid and is clearly just trying to start a problem.
I mean seriously you have to be a total douche bag to watch a video that's narrated, showing exactly what the issue is, then have the testicular fortitude to type out the same exact instructions that were just shown in the video they just watched then say they work.
Really!
I mean even when I messed up with the magic set editor I said my bad...but that kid and his reply are just frigging stupid.
_________________
UPDATE:
I looked at that link......It doesn't explain anywhere on it how to use arenabot to play against the AI or really much about the interface layout of what you do with the functions on it all the information on that link was what it could support or what was in it. Which to me is pointless...No ffense as I know it takes time to make programs like that...But please understand this (And I mean no disrespect when i say this) i honestly do not care what is in something, or the design or anything else like that. (Other people do, but I don't)
I just caree about if it works, and if so how do you get it to work... other than that, all the information on that page doesn't matter one bit and I didn't really read every thing i skimmed through it to see the information i wanted wasn't there. If there is something I have to know when getting it to work then the instructions should say ok this part requires you to know this (Insert whatever) and either at that point explain everything that the person is going to need to know or say if you don't know it then stop reading, go learn it, and when you do then start learning again.
I do that with all my manuals.
Incidentally, I am grateful for your comments because they show deficiencies we have and perhaps explain something about why our program is not as popular as the others. I was perhaps too snarky in my last reply -- it was late here, and I apologize.
OK, so I'll give you the detailed step-by-step how-to. Even if you decide to not give BotArena another chance, it's clear that something like that is needed for further readers of this thread.
First of all, let me talk about the pictures. BotArena is capable of running without the card images, it can use just color boxes with name and text, but it looks pretty bad, to be honest. That's why it's set up to use the full HQ scans from Slightlymagic. But since we don't provide those pictures ourselves (for legal reasons, as well as for reasons of space), and we don't have an automatic downloader, some assembly is required of user at this stage. Basically, you need to copy the image folder into Images\Cards\MWS in main BotArena directory. Fully assembled, it contains one subdirectory for every set. Here's the other sad thing: while MOST of our sets use the same code as Slightlymagic scans, not all of them do. Some directories need to be renamed.
However, as I said, this is all optional, and affects just the look. Not the performance.
Now, there are three ways to start a game (all of them start game against AI, playing against human opponent is possible, but more complicated).
Menu: Game -> Start
Click on the green arrow in top left of the icon bar
Press CTRL+S.
The Start Game window is divided into two parts, top for player, bottom for AI. On top you can set your name and your deck (button on the left from deck droplist lets you change directory, default directory is Decks in the main directory, and then there are subdirectories where we store Daily Decks and official preconstructed decks that we have). There's a "Random" checkbox on the right of the droplist that allows you to have a deck selected randomly from everything in the directory.
The top part also has "Start first?" line where you can check Yes, No or Don't Care.
Bottom part allows you to set deck for computer, along the same lines. The Opponent field has a dropbox which normally only has Computer (CPU) in it (if you connect to another player through net, you can find him here and play against him).
Finally, there are "Mulligan" and "Full Screen" buttons, function of which should be clear.
As for the game itself:
BotArena divides the game into timesteps. When you have the priority, you must select and perform an action. This can be done by several means:
First of all, there's the "Actions" window -- this is the main method, and, unfortunately, it can get very confusing. Basically, this window lists every single basic action you can perform, such as tapping a land, casting a spell, activating an ability, or selecting an attacker. For example, when you have a Cunning Sparkmage, the Actions window will list as a possible action activating him for every possible target. It's currently not possible to get mana after announcing a spell or ability, you need to gather it beforehand. Actions are also sorted alphabetically and they interpret Magic symbols alphabetically, meaning that when there's lot of them, it gets confusing (you might not remember right away that blue mana symbol is alphabetically after the tap symbol!).
Basically, Actions window is a "fallback" system that you have to use when the other don't work. I recommend detaching and expanding it somewhat. Personally, I always put it on my secondary monitor.
Actions window is also used for many special decisions:
Mulligan -- BotArena doesn't let you choose "Play or draw", but if you checked Mulligans, the game starts with mulligan decisions. Some players get burned on this one because they don't realize that they need to use the Actions window at the very beginning.
Trigger target-selecting -- you might suddenly get target choices when an ability triggers that needs a target. For abilities that target and have a "may" wording, there's currently an option to skip that ability altogether, although strictly speaking, that's not rules-correct.
Trigger order -- when several triggers you control goes on stack at the same time, you have to select their order.
Actions window has several checkboxes - All Actions lets you show both "reasonable" and "questionable" actions (i.e. actions the computer doesn't see any point in performing), Untap makes the untap step automatic instead of letting you choose individual permanents to untap (this should be turned off only in case that something limits your untap actions, for example Winter Orb or Smoke), and Auto will select an action for you automatically, if there's only one possible thing you can do.
Second method of acting is right-clicking the cards. Any visible card (battlefield, hand, and even graveyard, if it's not too obscured) with green border has actions associated. You right-click it and the top part of the menu shown tells you what you can do with it.
Right-clicking is almost always easier that selecting directly from Actions window. There's just one problem with it: the number of actions the menu shows is limited. If there's a LOT of things you can do with the card (typical example is casting a X burn spell, since there's one action for every combination of mana payment and target), and you don't see the one you want, then you have no other option then use the Actions window.
Third method: double-clicking a green card. This performs an action associated with it. This ONLY works if there's exactly ONE action. For example, to get mana from a basic land, just double-click it -- but for a dual land, you need to use the right-click method to choose what color you want.
If you double-click a card, but nothing happens, it's possible that there's some action you haven't noticed. For example, it's possible to tap Llanowar Elves for mana when you're declaring attackers (as a preparation for Propaganda and similar, though unfortunately we don't have those cards yet), so you need to select whether you want to get mana or attack. Another common source of this problem is when opponent has a planeswalker and you select attackers - you have to use the right-click there and select who you want to attack with that creature, unless the attack is forced (Gideon Jura).
Fourth method: buttons in the Turn window. Turn window basically shows progress of the game, it tells you what phase/step it is, the number of the turn, etc. The bottom of this window is the most important part, showing:
A bar with either "Waiting for computer..." or "Your action needed". When it shows the latter, you need to input something.
A green arrow icon. This is the "Pass" button, and you press it to signify that you don't want to do anything. It's only disabled when it's mandatory to perform an action (for example, with the selecting order of triggers).
A sword and shield icon. This is the "Combat" button. At this point, if you are in main phase and want to attack, you must say it explicitly. Combat button is one way to do it.
Both Pass and Combat actions also show up in Actions window, they are usually the very first ones.
Fifth method of inputting actions is via keyboard shortcuts. There are three:
Space: Pass.
C: Combat.
CTRL+Space: Automatic passing until computer puts something on stack, your turn starts, or you're required to choose blockers. Very useful if you have some untapped mana and nothing to do with it and you don't want to be bothered pressing "Space" at every step. Currently a bit unfortunate in that it won't stop on computer attacking you (so you won't get a chance to animate manlands for blocking, for example). If you worry about that, only press normal Space.
The stop button (brown square in top left of the screen) is a button to concede and stop the game.
As for menus, the most important menu is Options -> Game Play settings, where you can:
Customize the name of computer player
Set the thinking time of computer player -- the AI algorithm is a tradeoff between intelligence and speed, the more time you give it, the better it should play.
Do various tweaks
The last option in this window selects what happens when double-clicking: it can either zoom the card to be readable or select only available action. I usually use the Preview window where the cards are shown, so I keep this on action.
Other useful info:
G opens a window showing your graveyard, R opens window with your exiled cards. CTRL+G and CTRL+R do the same thing for opponent.
Deckbuilding:
Deckbuilder is opened from menu Decks -> View Decks or by pressing CTRL+D. BotArena is capable of accepting plain text decks where every line has format [number] <cardname> [(number)].
First number is number of cards - if omitted, then it's 1.
Cardname is obvious.
After cardname, there can be a number in parenthesis - that's the internal code which allows to distinguish different printings of the same card. You don't have to worry about it when writing/importing plaintext decks.
The file can also contain comment lines (starting with //) and special commands (starting with #). For example, the command #Sideboard delineates the rest of the deck as a sideboard. Sideboard, however, currently only appears in deckbuilder and you can't sideboard in games.
Using the deckbuilder is the second possibility to add new decks. In the current version, the deckbuilder has a top and bottom window, where top is the deck you're editing, and the bottom has tabs and can be switched between global cardpool and the current deck's sideboard. Cards can be found by scrolling, by typing first letters of their name, or by using the filter line in the bottom window (where you can search for strings in various fields). Between the windows are buttons for transferring cards in either directions, left-click transfers one card, right-click transfers four. Top window has a directory change button, a drop-down box with all decks in current directory, and buttons for adding a new deck or saving the current one. (Currently, it doesn't offer you to save the deck when you change the directory, so you have to do it manually.) Decks are saved in what is basically a plaintext format, but the resulting file has automatic comment lines delineating the deck's structure, cards are separated by type, and all of them have the internal numbers. I usually import decks as plaintext, and then use the deckbuilder to finetune the card's versions to what I want them to be.
A video can be found here:
http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4620&sid=72ea992a6801782907cbe25c2af17106
...Wow, this is a big post.