The Labyrinth (v1)

The Labyrinth is Uncle Akhmed's first Team Tournament. The first running of the Labyrinth is currently slated for:

20 January 2000

If you wish to enter the Labyrinth (v1) Tournament,

> Send your Cybugs to Uncle Akhmed

The details are as follows:

• Queens
  Each Team will consist of five Cybugs, one of which shall be designated a Queen (and must therefore contain the Queen command in its code).
• No Code Restrictions
  Other than the requirement that one Cybug be named Queen, the slate is clear. Use whatever code you like. Cloaks, grenades, mines, missiles, shields, you name it. Your 'Bugs may all be identical, or all be different, or even be customized to the Labyrinth's Map (if you really care for that much extra work, then by all means: Feel free).
• Battles
  Each Team will fight two battles against each other Team entered, once from each side of the Labyrinth (v1) Map (see below). The Winner in each case will be decided on points – not by the death of a Queen, although the point bonus for killing a Queen makes that likely. Contenders are advised to remember this, and also to note the radically increased value of the Strategy Node (see the Battle Settings link below). For each Battle won, a Team will score one Victory Point. (Therefore, 2 Victory Points are generated by each Team vs. Team pairing.)
• Positioned Cybug Option
  Although each Team must fight once from each side, contenders who use customized Cybugs may request that specific 'Bugs be placed in particular places on each side. For example, a contender might specify that two aggressive Drones be placed in the forward positions (4 & 5, or 9 & 10), while two defensive Drones be placed in the rear positions to guard the Queen. The only requirement is that the two opposing Queens will be loaded into positions 1 & 6.
• Tournament Scoring
  When each possible pair of contending Teams have fought their two Battles, the total number of Victory Points will be counted – and the number held by each Team will determine the ranking. In the unlikely event that two Teams have the same number of Victory Points, there will be a third Battle between those Teams to decide their individual ranks.

The number of Battles necessary to complete the Labyrinth is determined by the number of contending Teams. The progression can be described by a nifty mathematical formula, but your Uncle Akhmed doesn't happen to know it (or particularly care); so instead, you can see a graph that demonstrates the concept visually, right here:

> Tournament Battle Chart

And as mentioned above, the Battle Settings are a bit different from the default values. Some important things like Starting Fuel & Ammo are changed in the Labyrinth, as well as the Overheat Limit. You may wish to look the numbers over in detail here:

> Labyrinth (v1) Battle Settings

The Tournament uses the Labyrinth (v1) Map*, which has been specifically designed to challenge navigational routines and team coordination. It features twisting corridors with dead ends and free-standing walls, and is symmetrical along the vertical axis so that teams begin with mirrored territories. The Strategy Node is positioned directly in the center (x 22, y 15), and is equally accessible to both teams.

If you wish to enter the Labyrinth (v1) Tournament,

> Send your Cybugs to Uncle Akhmed

Coming Soon - The Gauntlet!