Pac-Tape

PAC-TAPE
Copyright (C) 1997 by Sean Gugler

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updated 00-06-23

This work is a derivative work of M.A.M.E. and is subject to all its restrictions.
Pac-Man likeness and name are trademarks of Namco.

DOWNLOAD

Pac-Tape v1.0	pt10.zip	211,887 bytes	10-07-97	DOS exe + portable source
GuzTapes	guztapes.zip	4,248 bytes	10-03-97	Solutions through first key
PassThru	passthru.zip	734 bytes	10-03-97	Demonstrates "Pass Through" bug
Pac-Tape v0.9	pt09.zip	207,385 bytes	10-01-97	DOS exe + portable source

Source compatible with MAME versions:

0.28

Coming Eventually, maybe:

Tapes demonstrating patterns at Roger's Classic Arcade Tips & Tricks

What's New?

00-06-23 False alarm. GeoCities apologized.

00-06-13 GeoCities has discontinued email forwarding, so pactape@geocities.com is dead. Reach me at the new address shown at the bottom of this page.

00-05-17 Pac-Tape became partly obsolete with MAME version 0.30, which introduced recording functions for all games. The remaining novelty, finding optimal paths, was further explored in May 1999 by Scott "Jerry" Lawrence. Jerry updated the Pac-Tape game hooks to work with MAME 0.30, and applied a genetic algorithm solution.

As always, I will answer personal email. For the record, my interest is not dead, but very far down my priority list.

98-01-08 Added GeoGuide to top of page. This prevents the despicable pop-up ads. Paying for GeoPlus is the now only way to prevent advertising altogether.

97-10-28 Fixed link for "passthru.zip".

I've just returned from vacation to find both MAME 0.29 and a heavier job workload waiting for me. It will be a while before I can update Pac-Tape. I will read all e-mail, though.

97-10-07 Published source code for Pac-Tape v1.0

97-10-03 Pac-Tape v1.0 released. New features:

DIP switch requirements reduced to difficulty setting only.
Smarter learning algorithm at last! No more completely random wandering.
Bug fixes: see "whatsnew.txt" for details.

Sample tapes now available! Check them out!
"Tips and Tricks" and "Future Plans" sections added to web page.

The Pac-Tape Project ...

... to build a self-playing Pac-Man system, using the original arcade roms.

Phase 1

Record and playback of Pac-Man sessions. It is well-known that Pac-Man obeys patterns; if you play the same way, the monsters will, too. Thus, it should be possible to hook into an emulator to monitor player actions, save them to a file, and use them at a later date to override the game controls, duplicating exactly the monitored game.

Completed with v0.7

Phase 2

Self-driven exploration of Pac-Man patterns. With the controls overridden, it should be possible to steer Pac-Man according to an algorithm. Each path taken would be stored in a table, with subsequent games drawing on that table to replay high-scoring patterns up to the point Pac-Man died, then resume exploration according to the algorithm.

Completed with v0.8

Phase 3

Intelligent, strategic self-play of Pac-Man. Refinement of the algorithm will yield speedier, more efficient exploration of likely high-scoring patterns. It will also enable games that do not obey patterns, such as Ms. Pac-Man, to be played automatically.

Introduced with v1.0
work in progress

Tips and Tricks

Use F10. Watch Pac-Man fly with speed throttling turned off!
Faster learning: set your DIP switches to 1 life per game. This eliminates the need for the "suicide path." (Thanks to Paul Reid)
Feed your favorite pattern into the engine by overriding the controls during exploration (the 'L' key). Watch Pac-Tape try to refine it and find higher-scoring patterns.
If the engine won't let you turn where you want, and won't let you reverse, use the 'R' key to record a tape you can play back for your friends.

Future Plans

Consider allowing the learning engine to reverse after eating a ghost.
Replace the "suicide path" with the smart algorithm. Even though subsequent paths are useless for pattern learning, levels will be advanced more often.
Start new levels by trying the best known winning path of the previous level, if one exists.
Allow the engine to skip already-solved levels in order to more quickly explore higher ones. (Thanks to Chuck Cochems)
Allow user overrides during the playback part of learning to "force" exploration, instead of having to wait for the exploration phase.
Enable switching to record mode during playback of a tape, like a "punch in" or "overdub".
Slightly randomize the exploration table, to allow for greater variety and partial "breadth search" of the tree.
Reduce search times with full memory snapshots and restorations.

Comments and suggestions may be sent to pactape@geocities.com.
WARNING: Bulk mail not welcome! I charge $500 per knowing violation.

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