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Zappy Game Rules

Table of Contents

Overview

Zappy is a real-time, multiplayer programming game inspired by "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Players control Trantorian inhabitants competing in teams to achieve spiritual elevation by collecting resources, cooperating, and evolving together on a spherical world named Trantor. The game features both AI and human participants, but is primarily designed as a programming challenge for autonomous agents (AIs).

How the Game Works

The World

  • Map: The world is a 2D grid with wrap-around edges (toroidal/spherical). If a player moves off one edge, they appear on the opposite side.
  • Tiles: Each tile can contain resources (stones and food), eggs, and players.
  • Resources: There are six types of stones (linemate, deraumere, sibur, mendiane, phiras, thystame) and food. Stones are used for elevation; food is required for survival.

Players & Teams

  • Teams: Each player belongs to a team. Multiple teams compete simultaneously.

  • Players: Controlled by AI clients, each player acts autonomously and has:

    • Position and orientation on the map
    • Level (starting at 1)
    • Inventory (stores collected resources)
    • Vision (field of view expands as the player’s level increases)
    • Limited lifespan, requiring food to survive

  • Eggs: Players can lay eggs to allow new team members to join later.

Actions

  • Movement: Players can move forward, turn right/left, and explore the map.
  • Resource Management: Players collect and drop resources, and must eat food to avoid starvation.
  • Communication: Players can broadcast messages to coordinate or mislead.
  • Reproduction: Players use the fork action to lay eggs, which can hatch into new players for their team.
  • Elevation (Leveling Up): Players perform rituals in groups to evolve to the next level (see below).

Game Mechanics

Survival

  • Food: Each player needs food to live. Food is consumed automatically over time. If a player runs out of food, they die.
  • Resource Spawning: The server periodically spawns food and stones at random locations according to predefined densities.

Vision

  • Players can "look" to see tiles ahead. The field of view grows as the player’s level increases.

Elevation System

  • Leveling Up: To increase their level, players must gather on the same tile and perform an elevation ritual, consuming specific resources and requiring a specific number of players at the same level.

Elevation Requirements Table

Level Players Needed Linemate Deraumere Sibur Mendiane Phiras Thystame
1→2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2→3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0
3→4 2 2 0 1 0 2 0
4→5 4 1 1 2 0 1 0
5→6 4 1 2 1 3 0 0
6→7 6 1 2 3 0 1 0
7→8 6 2 2 2 2 2 1
  • Ritual: All required players must be present on the same tile, at the same level, and the correct resources placed. After a delay, if successful, all involved players level up.

Communication

  • Broadcast: Players can send messages to others, which are directional (the receiver knows the direction from which it came).
  • Eject: Players can push others off their tile.

Game Goal & Win Condition

The Goal

  • Work as a team to survive, gather resources, coordinate through communication, and elevate as many team members as possible.
  • Efficient resource management and strategic cooperation are key.

Win Condition

  • Victory: The first team to have at least 6 players reach level 8 wins the game.
  • The server announces the winning team to all clients, ending the game.

Additional Rules & Notes

  • Player Capacity: Each team has a maximum number of players (set at game start). New players can only join if there is room or if an egg is available.
  • Time Management: All actions take a specific time to execute, managed by the server’s clock frequency (freq).
  • Autonomous Play: AI clients are expected to play without human intervention.
  • No Direct Combat: The game is focused on resource competition, cooperation, and strategy rather than direct combat.

Summary Table

Aspect Details
Map 2D grid, spherical (wraps at edges)
Teams Compete to evolve 6 players to level 8
Elevation Requires teamwork and resource combinations
Survival Players must eat food periodically
Communication Broadcasts, ejection, and cooperative rituals
Victory First team with 6 level-8 members wins
Death Players die if food runs out

References