ASCII-GAMES - Play and Review
[welcome] [games] [help] [sdf] [thxmoo] [tutorial] [nethack scores]

robots review by hobbsc 13-Feb-04


     +-------+
     |     \ |   
     |   .---|
   +-+-------+-+        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
   |           |--o[    00OO'    '         '''           '       'OO00
   |     o-----+---o[   0Ooo. 'robots' Review for asciigames.org .ooO0
   |           |        0Oo.       By: Christopher M. Hobbs       .oO0
   |           |        00OOo. ..      .o.         .. .        ..oOO00
   |     o     |        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
   +-----|-----+
 .-=============-.
( O0000000000000O )
 `-=============-'

1. Intro and overview

	In robots, you are pitted agains tons of evil robots who all 
want you dead!  While these robots are quite evil, they are lacking in 
the intelligence field and frequently walk into one another, creating
junk piles.

	You remain unarmed and trapped forever in this realm of evil
robots.  The only way to progress to the next level is to play off 
the stupidity of the robots and attempt to get them to walk into 
each other.  You do this by moving about the playing field, attempting
to coax the robots to make a wrong move.

	For every move you make, the robots attempt to take the
shortest distance to you.  They move the same amount of spaces that
you do.  If a robot runs into you, you will die.  For this reason,
when any robot's next move is one that will kill you, you can no
longer move in any direction.  In such an instance, you must
teleport (sometimes landing you into the hands of an EVIL robot).

	Kill all robots in a level to progress to the next in a 
never ending loop of evil robot madness!


2. Options and controls

Options are as follows (taken from 'man robots'):


     -s      Don't play, just show the score file.

     -j      Jump, i.e., when you run, don't show any 
	     intermediate positions; only show things at the end.  
             This is useful on slow terminals.

     -t      Teleport automatically when you have no other option.  
             This is a little disconcerting until you get used to it, 
             and then it is very nice.

     -a      Advance into the higher levels directly, skipping the 
             lower, easier levels.

     -A      Auto-bot mode. Let's the game play itself.

     -n      Increase the number of games played by one.

	Controls are very simple, and resemble vi/vim commands.  Left,
Right, Up, and down are represented respectively by h, l, k, and j.
You also have the option to move diagonally with y (up left), u (up
right), b (down left), n (down right).  The diagonal controls are a
nice touch, but I feel that they are a little counter-intuitive.  I
often find myself pressing 'o' or 'i' for up right.

	Other controls are '.' to do nothing for a turn, '>' to do 
nothing for as long as possible, 'w' to wait until you or all
robots die, 'q' quits, 't' teleports, and ^L redraws the screen.

        Controls and a key are included on the right hand side of  
the screen, making it very easy for newbies to learn to play
quickly.  This also makes for a nice reference when you are all
out of ideas!


3. Screenshots

A sample of 'robots -s' (the score file):
xm:/arpa/hm/h/hobbsc> robots -s
 Rank Score User               Level
    1 10431 emissary              29
    2 10270 fushock               28
    3 10096 emissary              28
    4  8516 emissary              24
    5  8129 rideraax              23
    6  8107 emissary              23
    7  8030 fushock               23
    8  6880 emissary              20
    9  6802 fushock               20
   10  6775 fushock               20
   11  6766 drakir                20
   12  6365 fushock               19
   13  6153 drakir                18
   14  5947 yarara                18
   15  5943 drakir                18
   16  5906 drakir                18
   17  5653 wliao                 17
   18  5574 yarara                17
   19  5562 yarara                17
   20  5351 drakir                16
   21  5186 yarara                16
   22  4804 yarara                15

A new game:
+-----------------------------------------------------------+ Directions:
|                                         @                 |
|                                                           | y k u
|                                                           |  \|/
|                                                           | h- -l
|    +                                                      |  /|\
|                                                           | b j n
|                                                      +    |
|                                                           | Commands:
|                 +          +                         +    |
|                                                           | w:  wait for end
|                           +                               | t:  teleport
|                                                           | q:  quit
|              +        +                          +        | ^L: redraw screen
|                                                           |
|                                                           | Legend:
|                                                           |
|                                                           | +:  robot
|                                                           | *:  junk heap
|                                                           | @:  you
|                                                           |
|                     +                                     | Score: 0
|                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+

Teleporting:
+-----------------------------------------------------------+ Directions:
|                                                           |
|                                                           | y k u
|                                                           |  \|/
|                                                           | h- -l
|    +                                                      |  /|\
|                                                           | b j n
|                                                      +    |
|                                                           | Commands:
|                 +          +                         +    |
|                                                           | w:  wait for end
|                           +                               | t:  teleport
|                                                           | q:  quit
|              +        +                          +        | ^L: redraw screen
|                                                           |
|                                                           | Legend:
|                                                           |
|                                                           | +:  robot
|                                                           | *:  junk heap
|                                                           | @:  you
|                                                           |
|                     +                                     | Score: 0
|                                                           | Teleport!
+-----------------------------------------------------------+

DEATH!:
+-----------------------------------------------------------+ Directions:
|                                                           |
|                                                           | y k u
|                                                           |  \|/
|                                                           | h- -l
|                                                           |  /|\
|                                                           | b j n
|                                                           |
|                                                           | Commands:
|          +                                                |
|                                                           | w:  wait for end
|                                                +          | t:  teleport
|                 +        +                     +          | q:  quit
|                 AARRrrgghhhh....             +            | ^L: redraw screen
|                                                           |
|                                                           | Legend:
|                                                           |
|                                                           | +:  robot
|                                                           | *:  junk heap
|                                                           | @:  you
|                                                           |
|                                                           | Score: 0
|                                                           | Another game?
+-----------------------------------------------------------+

After a little gameplay:
+-----------------------------------------------------------+ Directions:
|                                                           |
|      +                                                   +| y k u
|                                                           |  \|/
|         +                 +                +              | h- -l
|                                                           |  /|\
|                                      +                    | b j n
|                                                           |
|    +                        +      +   +                + | Commands:
|                                                           |
|                                +     +             +      | w:  wait for end
|                                                           | t:  teleport
|              +               +                            | q:  quit
|                                                           | ^L: redraw screen
|                                       +    +         +    |
|                                                           | Legend:
|        +  @           +                                   |
|                                                           | +:  robot
|      +     +             +       +                        | *:  junk heap
|                                                           | @:  you
|                                 +     +     +             |
|                                                           | Score: 302
|                                       +        +          | Wait bonus: 2
+-----------------------------------------------------------+

Trapped like a rat!!!:
+-----------------------------------------------------------+ Directions:
|                                                           |
|                                                           | y k u
|                                                           |  \|/
|                              +                        +   | h- -l
|                                                           |  /|\
|                  +                  +           +         | b j n
|                                                           |
|             +                    +                        | Commands:
|                                                           |
|       +                                      +            | w:  wait for end
|                                                           | t:  teleport
|       ++      + +  +   +        +                         | q:  quit
|                                                           | ^L: redraw screen
|                  +       +                                |
|                                                           | Legend:
|          + +   +  +  +                                    |
|    +        ++   +   @    +                   +  ++       | +:  robot
|    +         + +     +                        +    +      | *:  junk heap
|                                                           | @:  you
|    + +        +                                           |
|                                                           | Score: 602
|                                                           | 
+-----------------------------------------------------------+




4. Strategies and hints

o Try to get the robots to line up single file near a junk heap, then
  you can simply move back and forth on the same line, and they will
  eventually all die.

o Should you get in line with a row of them and a junk heap like this:
  @   *+  + ++    +
  and no other robots are anywhere else on the screen, press 'w' to 
  wait the game out, and you will win with a bonus for each remaining
  robot.

o Try to herd the robots into a tight group before teleporting if at all
  possible.  A widespread group of robots makes it difficult to teleport
  without dying.
 

5. Conclusion

	Overall 'robots' is a fun and addicting game.  With very simple
controls, a great interface, and tons of progressing levels, it will
provide you with hours of fun.  robots is a highly addictive game that I
would reccomend to anyone with some spare shell time on their hands!