Game AI Research with Fast Planet Wars Variants

This paper describes a new implementation of Planet Wars, designed from the outset for Game AI research. The skill-depth of the game makes it a challenge for game-playing agents, and the speed of more than 1 million game ticks per second enables rapid experimentation and prototyping. The parameterised nature of the game together with an interchangeable actuator model make it well suited to automated game tuning. The game is designed to be fun to play for humans, and is directly playable by General Video Game AI agents.