This page contains answers to questions we frequently get. If you do not find the answer to your question here, You can take a look or post in forums.

Is this game really for free?

Definitively. You don't need to pay for download the game, build your bot, enter your bots into tournaments, etc..

Is building a Robot difficult?

Not at all! When you first start you can use the wizard to customize a robot "template" to your specifications. You can create a robot ready to fight within minutes. You can color it, texturize it and set it loose on the competition. You learn by watching how it fights, where its weak points are, and then fine tune it. Once you get the hang of it you can then delve deeper into building more complex designs and more sophisticated AI (Artificial Intelligence).

How many robots can I make?

You can have a virtual "garage" of as many robots and prototypes as you like, limited only by your available disk space.

Do I have to be online to play Roboforge?

No. You can fight off-line against several "test" robots that come with the game. Each robot represents a higher level of difficulty. Once you have mastered them all, you are ready to take on other player's robots from around the world.

How different can I make my robot?

You are limited only by your imagination. Roboforge is a full 3D robotic construction environment. You build robots by simply clicking different components together. Every component has a number of connect points to which you can connect any other type of component. It's as simple as pointing and clicking.

What can I use to build my robots?

We have several different styles of robot. Components from any of these can be combined and used. There are no rules. Components can be of different types, which define their function on the Robot. We have sensors, shielding, weapons, energy packs, controllers, joints (servos) etc. Please read the introduction section for more detail.

Do I have to be a programmer to change the AI?

Not at all. The AI is declarative (which is similar to the way we think). It works along the lines of "if my opponent is in front of me and within 3 metres then do my king-hit move".

You don't need to be a programmer to create your own AI as the user's interface is fully intuitive: a basic AI just need to select a few pre-defined function blocks and place them into a graphic flow-chart.

With the AI you can get a lot more sophisticated if you want to, but complex AI will not necessarily win a fight. Good structural design and great moves are just as important.

How does a robot win a fight?

Robots win by inflicting more damage than they take within a 3-minute fight (or by completely destroying the opponent - a knock out). When components collide, damage is calculated on a component-by-component basis. The direction and force of the impact is used to calculate the damage inflicted on both parties. Weapons and shielding have special damage inflicting and absorbing properties, which are taken into account.

Is the fighting realistic?

You bet! We do accurate collision detection (down to individual polygon intersections - so limbs don't look like they are bouncing off some invisible force field), realistic torque calculations (so the performance/speed of a joint is accurately calculated based on the weight and the extension of the limb it is moving), limb recoiling (limbs recoil back due to the force of impact) and accurate inertial damage calculations (damage results from the inertia of the impact and the attributes of the components involved). To do all this takes some heavy duty calculations (especially the collision detection).

Why are there no projectile weapons like rocket launchers?

We thought long and hard about this. Projectile weapons would render any actual 3D design redundant and tactics are pretty much point-shoot-evade. We wanted a game where the design of the robots has just as critical a role as the tactics. We also wanted the fights to be fun and entertaining (which they are with melee-style combat).

Can I fight against one of my friends' robots?

In addition to large pre-planned tournaments, we will have challenge rooms where players can chat and challenge each other to duels. 

How can I "buy" parts for my Robot?

The way it works is that everyone has access to all of the parts, and you can build any style of robot you like.

The limits come in only when you enter a tournament. The total "virtual cost" of a robot is a similar concept to a boxer's weight, where a tournament will be run for robots who fall under a certain "virtual cost-to-build". This is where the designer has to balance components, as more expense on one type of component will mean less expense on another.

What sort of tournaments are going to be available and how often will they occur?

Roboforge is run like a professional sport circuit. It is an international circuit and the designers are real people from all over the world.

You can enter  your bot into a tournament. Tournaments are NOT pay-to-enter, so robots can be entered into any tournament free of charge. The tournaments run offline, so you can build/modify your robots when you have the time and then just enter them into the next tournament. Your presence is not required during the tournament.

When the tournament is finished you can watch the resulting tournament battle replays (3d graphic). There are "ranked" and "un-ranked" tournaments with different weight (or rather, credit-limit) classes. Results from ranked tournaments are recorded on a 57 day, rolling total leaderboard.

You can also challenge someone else's bots online in a challenge room. Once again there is no human intervention: one person hosts the battle and when it's done both players can view the replay.

How do I enter a tournament?

Tournaments can be viewed online within the game itself. You simply choose the tournament you want, select the robot you wish to submit to the tournament and press the Submit button.

Can I play online for free?

Yes. RF is an open tournament system where there is no entry fee. 

Can I watch my fight as it happens?

When testing your robot, yes, you can see the action as it happens. For tournaments, once the tournament is finished, you will be able to view all of your fights, and the semi-finals and finals (regardless of whether you made it that far or not).

Can I watch other robots fighting?

Yes. You can check out the top robots fighting for any recent tournament. Semi-finals and finals available for viewing to anyone who is interested.

What hardware platforms do you support?

Roboforge is developed in Java, with the intention of being as platform independent as possible. As hardware/operating system suppliers support the Java 2 platform (including Java 3D) our game will be made available for those platforms. Currently our game can run on Windows 2000/XP/Vista. 

What is the recommended specification PC I can run the game on?

RF don't need much!

We recommend at least a Pentium II 400 with 128MB of RAM and a late-model graphics card. RAM is probably the most critical factor in improving the performance of the game (for a minimum spec machine).

Can I capture images from a Battle and send them to my friends?

Yes. The battle player has a button, which lets you take a photo at any point in the fight.