Frequently asked questions

Why is the client not written for StarCraft: Remastered?

In short: Because we can't. Brood War bots use something called the Brood War API (BWAPI) for communicating with StarCraft , and that is not currently equipped to handle SC:R. To be precise, there is no technical limitations for doing that, but it requires approval from Blizzard Entertainment. Until the BWAPI team gets the go-ahead, we can only work with 1.16. After that, we will make the switch as soon as possible.

What is the skill level of this bots? What kind of MMR/ELO/other ratings they have?

Currently, there is only bot vs bot ratings are available, and those are relative to each other. You can check them out at the SSCAIT website. We plan to add a rating system in SCHNAIL for bots in the future.

Are the bots cheating? Can they see what I'm doing?

The bots use an interface to communicate with the game, and that is meant to reflect the level of interaction that humans can get. They have fog of war, and they have to issue orders to units, and solve the same problems that humans do. They are aware of invisible units if they perform an action, like moving or attacking, but can't target them without detection.

Do these bots have learning?

Not all of them, but many bots do, using different approaches.

Do the bots slow down the game?

They should not. If a bot does that too much, it will be disabled, and the author gets notified about it.

What are the APM of the bots? Is there a limit?

The APM of the bots vary a lot, but they can be in the tens of thousands. These are not really the equivalent of human APMs, as bots don't do things as efficiently in many cases. Currently there is no APM limitation, and until unbeatable bots emerge, there probably won't be one.

Can I write and submit my own bot? How can I do that?

You definitely can! In this site, there will be an option to do just that. As for the how, you can check out the tutorial on the SSCAIT page. You can also go to Making Computer Do Things, and check out the BWAPI: The Comprehensive Guide articles.