The physical travelling salesman problem: WCCI 2012 competition

Abstract

Numerous competitions have emerged in recent years that allow researchers to evaluate their algorithms on a variety of real-time video games with different degrees of complexity. These competitions, which vary from classical arcade games like Ms Pac-Man to racing simulations (Torcs) and realtime strategy games (StarCraft), are essential to establish a uniform testbed that allows practitioners to refine their algorithms over time. In this paper we propose a new competition to be held for the first time at WCCI 2012: the Physical Travelling SalesmanProblem is an open-ended single-player real-time game that removes some of the complexities evident in other video games while preserving some of the most fundamental challenges. This paper motivates and outlines the PTSP and discusses in detail the framework of the competition, including software interfaces, parameter settings, rules and details of submission.

Online and offline learning in multi-objective Monte Carlo Tree Search

“…The target is to minimize two objectives: the number of movements to reaching the goal and the presence of the agent in the puddles. In the PTSP, a real-time game fully described in [11], the player must drive a ship in a continuous space in order to visit a series of waypoints scattered around the world.…”

Automated Map Generation for the Physical Traveling Salesman Problem

“…Additionally, like in many modern video-games, the game is long enough to ensure that the outcomes derived from the actions taken by the agent do not provide enough information to determine if they will lead to a victory or a loss. The PTSP features in a popular game competition organised by the Game Intelligence Group at the University of Essex where competitors submit software controllers to navigate a series of unknown maps [19]. The winner is the controller that manages to visit the most waypoints in the fewest number of time steps across all maps.…”

The 2013 Multi-objective Physical Travelling Salesman Problem Competition

“…The Multi-Objective Physical Travelling Salesman Problem (MO-PTSP) is a modification of the Physical Travelling Salesman Problem (PTSP), previously introduced by Perez et al [4] for the WCCI 2012 PTSP Competition. The PTSP is a game where the player controls a ship with the goal of visiting 10 waypoints scattered around the maze in as little time as possible.…”