The Dark Bot, DarkBOT or Darkbot was developed by Terry Wayne Hendrix II aka "Dark_Skye" aka "Mongoose".
What is interesting about the darkbot, besides its capabilities compared to other bots, is that it was developed early and saw active development for so long, 13 or more versions over a span of 2 or 3 years from 1996 to 1998 or 2000.
Terry also managed his own personal website that hosted news on Quake bot development, originally as the "Scrap Heap" and later as the "Bot Shop" hosted on planetquake.
The first version of the Darkbot was released as darkbt01.zip.
The bot was probably distributed on ftp.cdrom.com. In fact, I suspect that every public release of the bot was released on the ftp site, although only a few spotty traces remain.
A copy of this release can be found on the "Cream of the Crop 23" CDROM collection of BBS software in the /doom/ directory, archived on cd.textfiles.com. It can also be found on the "Nightowl 23" CDROM of BBS software in the "Games - Quake Add-Ons" section, archived at retroarchive.org.
The archive contains the compiled game code (PROGS.DAT), readme (DARKBOT.TXT), config file (CONFIG.CFG) and player model (PLAYER.MDL).
The release also contains the readme file for BGBot v1.5 (BGBOT15.TXT), on which this version of the bot was based. A FILE_ID.DIZ summary file was added later when this version of the released was distributed on BBSs.
64 10 Nov 1996 FILE_ID.DIZ
3592 29 Oct 1996 DARKBOT.TXT
435992 29 Oct 1996 PROGS.DAT
3390 29 Oct 1996 CONFIG.CFG
478992 29 Oct 1996 PLAYER.MDL
4640 6 Sep 1996 BGBOT15.TXT
No source code was disturbed with this or any later releases until the final versions.
The readme file does not list a release date, although the timestamps of files in the zip suggest it was released on October 29 1996, or close to it.
Title : Dark Bot
Filename : darkbt01.zip
Version : 0.1
Date : hehehe, i dunno
Author : Dark_Skye of Plague clan
-- DARKBOT.TXT
The readme gives direct credit to the BGBot as the basis for the project.
Credits : Dark_Skye and that PUNISHER guy and his crew that did BgBot,
tank you for BgBot (Dark Bot's daddy) source!!
[i have inculded BgBot15.txt]
-- DARKBOT.TXT
The player model in the release was added to allow the bot to support multiple skins.
Well what can I say it's the bot DarkBOT was based on. The first DarkBot (v0.0.1) was just Bgbot with skins and could move while firing. I owe you Punisher for helping me get started.
-- http://www.planetquake.com/botshop/news/quake.html (archived February 24 1999)
No evidence for a public second version of the bot can be found.
Nevertheless, the consistency of later releases makes me believe that a second version was created and released.
It probably had a release filename like darkbt02.zip or drkbot02.zip was was released sometime in November 1996.
The next version of the bot was released as drkbot03.zip.
The release filename differs from the first release going from "darkbt0" to "drkbot". Many changes of this kind occur over the later release of the bot, making tracking down files more challenging.
The release was uploaded to ftp.cdrom.com with a capitalized filename of "Drkbot03.zip".
Drkbot03.txt 04-Dec-96 02:41 3k
Drkbot03.zip 04-Dec-96 02:39 332k
-- http://www.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (archived December 25 1996)
A copy of the release was acquired from "PC Zone" magazine CDROM Issue #48 (March 1997), archived on archive.org.
The release contains the compiled game code (PROGS.DAT), readme file (darkbot.txt), and player model (player.mdl).
Like the first release, the player must create the required PROGS/ subdirectory in the mod directory and move the player model file into place before playing the bot.
440876 4 Dec 1996 PROGS.DAT
3490 4 Dec 1996 darkbot.txt
536420 4 Dec 1996 player.mdl
Again, no release date is listed in the readme file. The timestamps of files in the zip file match the FTP file timestamps, indicating that the release was on December 04 1996.
Title : Dark Bot
Filename : darkbt03.zip
Version : 0.3
Date : i dunno
Author : Dark_Skye
-- darkbot.txt
The readme lists many commands required to create and manipulate the bots.
The capabilities of the bots are not really described, although the file does list some known technical bugs, including a mention of a behavior change between this version and the prior v0.2 version.
don't drown sometimes now...in .02 they did...werid huh?
run outta ammo they keep attacking
no check for entitys in firing distance
a few more i didn't see i bet...
-- darkbot.txt
The next version of the bot was released as drkbot04.zip.
This release filename matches the convention for the prior release.
The release was uploaded to ftp.cdrom.com, the presence of which was captured by archive.org.
drkbot04.txt 06-Dec-96 00:00 2k
drkbot04.zip 05-Dec-96 23:58 335k
-- http://www.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (archived December 25 1996)
This release was distributed on BBSs.
A version of the release with a different filename, DRKBOT04.ARJ, was observed on usenet, shared in a message listing it s one of many files available on the "MILLENIUM BBS".
DRKBOT04.ARJ 5.1.97 329KB Quake: - Dark Bot
Info [././.] New ./././L/./. (by GamesNet)
Darkbot is 3 teams of 3 bots each....depending on
your skin...
they help or hurt you =)
-- Neue Files in der MILLENIUM BBS, z-netz.alt.fileserver, Uwe Kuhn, 5 Jan 1997.
A copy of the bot was also available from gameaholic.com, and many mirrors with a different filename again, in this case "darkbt4.zip"
A copy of this release has not been located, although a copy of the text file on cdrom.com was captured by archive.org.
The readme does not list a release date, although the timestamps of files on the site suggest the release was made available on December 05, with the readme uploaded a day later on December 06. This release comes only one day after the previous release v0.3.
The first line of the readme comments on the fact that it was forgotten in the initial upload.
Oops...sorry THIS is the one that should've been uped
Title : Dark Bot
Filename : darkbt04.zip
Version : 0.4
Date : i dunno
Author : Dark_Skye
-- drkbot04.txt
The nature of the changes in this release are not described.
The features section gives some ideas of the capabilities of the bot over the BGBot base.
Features Include:
1.Added 7 skins to it
2.Added teleport fire patch
3.Various minor stuff
4."Fixed" team play
5.Now injuryfull team play ¡¡YES!!
6.Now bots drown and stuff
7.Light'n gun bots!!
8.Skins now set teams
-- drkbot04.txt
The next version of the bot was probably version 0.5.
A copy of this release has not not been located, although probably had a release filename like darkbt05.zip or drkbot05.zip and was probably released in 1997.
We know or suspect the existence of this released given the changelog information given in the readme file distributed with version 0.7. of the bot.
The changelog lists a number of tweaks to the animations and behaviors of the bots.
It suggest a greater departure from the BGBot base, beyond simple changes to the skins of the bots, with greater focus on changing now bots behave in the game.
Beta 5:
bots hardly jitter any now
better combat_ai
better lighting and nail gun attacks (now like a real player)
shotgun frames
female sounds for the player if Femme skin and a new jump sound
now no cheating when changing skins
bot uses player deathsounds, all deathframes
fixed bad target error (shoot at dead enemy)
a lot better movement
teamplay works only when teamplay is on now
telefrag msg fixed
jumping problem has been fixed
better pain handling (now like a real player)
fixed lava/slime/water death error
better monster hunting and attacking
started on route_ai (NOT IN USE YET)
flying bot problem fixed
-- darkbt07/DARKBOT.TXT
The next version of the bot was probably version 0.6.
Again, a trace and copy of this release cannot be located, although was probably distributed as darkbt06.zip or drkbot06.zip.
This version was described in the changelog listed in the readme file in the v0.7 releae of the bot.
In it, the description suggests further tweaks to the bot, in this case focused on the handling of different weapons and further improvements to bot animation frames to make them more player-like.
Beta 6:
fixed "if you attack b4 their attack frame they can't shoot you" bug
fixed "new change skins code leaves $axwalk2 frame sank into floor" bug
if fraglimit set and you try exit with less than fraglimit frags BOOM
if timelimit set clan ring like play
after match prints frags/rank and teams total frags
new skins in the model file by Dark_Skye (pretty ones too)
new bot maintanice f(x)s
combat_ai for SG, NG and SNG now seeks items WHILE fighting
some swimming ai
NOTE: tested more than coded this one =)
-- darkbt07/DARKBOT.TXT
The next version of the bot may have been released as darkbotx.zip.
I'm not sure what to make of this release. It does not fit the consistency of releases before or after it. It may have been a private test release of the bot that escaped into the public, or a custom version of the bot for some side project.
A copy of the release can be found on the "Cream of the Crop 24" CDROM, archived by textfiles.com and retroarchive.org. It can also be found on the "PC Zone" magazine CDROM Issue #48 (March 1997), archived on archive.org.
The release contain much the same files as the previous release and next releases, including the compiled game code, readme, player model and BGBot v1.6 readme file. The latter suggests that the bot was updated based on the last public released of source code for the BGBot in this version of the bot, or one of the prior versions such as v0.5 or v0.6.
457872 9 Jan 1997 progs.dat 2928 9 Jan 1997 darkbot.txt 364136 7 Jan 1997 player.mdl 5565 13 Sep 1996 Bgbot16.txt
No release date is listed in the readme, although the timestamps of files in the zip file suggest a release date of perhaps January 09 1997.
The version number is listed as "GenX", rather than v0.7, the next release in the sequence.
Title : Dark Bot
Filename : darkbotx.zip
Version : GenX
Date : i dunno
Author : Dark_Skye
-- darkbot.txt
The readme is sparse on details, like the previous releaes, and unlike the later v0.7 release, described next.
The "features" section has more entries compared to v0.4, the last readme file that can be located.
This gives some insight into the changes in this and perhaps prior missing versions.
9. bots can be removed
10. skins STAY ON post mortem
11. better ai all round
12. observer mode
13. water death
14. axe bots
15. bots miss (more realistic)
-- darkbot.txt
The next version of the bot was released as darkbt07.zip.
A copy of the release can be located on the "Cream of the Crop 29" CDROM of BBS software in the "/doom/" directory archived by textfiles.com and retroarchive.org.
Th release contains the compiled game code, player model and readme.
It also contains PCX files a WAV audio file for the demon monster and the readme file for version 1.6 of the BGBot.
96 12 Dec 09:54 DEMON
6687 15 May 1997 DARKBOT.TXT
5195 15 May 1997 CONFIG.CFG
464476 15 May 1997 PROGS.DAT
66176 15 May 1997 QUAKE02.PCX
65666 15 May 1997 QUAKE01.PCX
65585 15 May 1997 QUAKE00.PCX
306708 14 May 1997 PLAYER.MDL
5565 13 Sep 1996 BGBOT16.TXT
There were provably multiple versions of this version of the bot, from v0.7a to at least v0.7c and all distributed with the same filename darkbt07.zip. A similar pattern was followed with v0.13 later.
The version acquired is v0.7c, as listed in the readme file.
The readme lists the release date vaguely as May 1997, and this is confirmed with the timestamp of files in the zip marked May 15 1997.
Title : Darkbot beta 7c
Filename : darkbt07.zip
Version : Beta 7c
Date : sometime in May nineteen ninety-seven
Author : Dark_Skye (Terry Hendrix)
-- DARKBOT.TXT
The readme list many more credits, likely players and fellow mod developer giving feedback and suggestions.
A changelog is provided for this and the prior two versions of the bot.
This version sees improvements to the bot combat AI.
It also includes the ability for bots to appear on the official in-game scoreboard, code developed and shared by Alan Kivlin.
Beta 7:
fights better, better movement, item seek during every combat
drowns just like a normal player now (well it did early on)
only observers spawn/remove bots now
more player and bot f(x) intergrated (ai is more player like)
uses player jump flags
better swimming
removed "thud" sound THANKS Jonathan E. Wright(zeus bot)!!
bots respawn at changelevel
fixed team kill frag error
removed female sounds and bot clan....email me if you want them back
added scorebroad frag/name/color abilties THANKS Alan Kivlin(qcbot)!!
removed rank counts and alot more lame stuff
now thinks to attack faster... more killing =)
fixed fake firing frames...how lame were they?
ALL weapons now use their CORRECT frames
bots ONLY fire in their facing direction (but they pivot very fast)
bots can use "only_registered_trigger" doors now
now people don't need skins to play clanmatch because colors are set
-- DARKBOT.TXT
Terry lists his personal homepage http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye/darkskye.htm as a place to learn more about the bot. Sadly, the site was not captured by archive.org until many years later.
There is no mention in this release of the previous GenX "darbotx" release.
The next version of the bot was released as darkbt08.zip.
We only know of the existence of the bot because Terry posted a message to Usenet asking for a review.
In his message, we can see a direct link to the bot on ftp.cdrom.com, showing that the release was public.
The date of the post may also be taken as the release date for this version of the bot, or very close to it, May 25 1997. This is 10 days after the v0.7c release.
i hope this msg works....damn windoze news readers
well, i would like comments and suggestions on my bot
get it at ftp.cdrom.com/pub/quake/quakec/bots/darkbt08.zip
the llamas and i will thank you
-- DarkBOT needs help, Dark, rec.games.computer.quake.quake-c, 25 May 1997
The next version was released as darkbt09.zip.
This release was uploaded to fp.cdrom.com and archive.org captured evidence for the release.
darkbt09.txt 02-Jun-97 10:47 5k
darkbt09.zip 02-Jun-97 10:55 955k
-- http://www.cdrom.com:80/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (June 09 1997)
Sadly, a copy of the zip and readme cannot be locaed.
Nevertheless, we can see from the ftp timestamp that this version was released on June 02 1997, about a week after the previous release.
Dennis Plester aka "Den" on his website "Den's den" described the bot and linked to this specific version, hosted on Terry's personal homepage.
Dark Bot, by Dark_Skye (Terry Hendrix).
Dark Bot is another newcomer to the Quake bot arena. Again, the accompanying text file credits the BGBot and CTF Bot source code. Dark Bot has an impressive list of options for the player, including a clan type of team play. The other bots offer these features as well, but the way in which they are offered in Dark Bot is easier to use than the others. When first started, Dark Bot puts the Quaker in observer mode, where they can fly around the map and inspect the arena. Then when they press the fire button, they are offered a list of impulse commands that can be used to start different types of games. If the clan option is enabled, the human player can join either the Dark Bots or CPUs Gone Bad Clan. They each have different, discernable skins, allowing clan mates, and enemies to be identified. This user friendly approach with prompts for the player are a welcome change from most of the other bots.
-- http://www.iinet.net.au/~den/darkbot.html (archived January 17 1999)
The next version of the bot was released as darkbt10.zip.
The release was made available on gameaholic.com with links to many mirrors.
darkbt10.zip, 958k, 6/9/97
Darkbot 10th Beta - Darkbot has 8 bots for DM ("clan ring" teamplay optional) and coop 6 skins observer mode
-- http://www.gameaholic.com/idgames/quakec/bots/ (archived June 28 1997)
The release was added to the gameaholic.com on June 09 1997, one week after the previous release.
We can also see evidence of the release on ftp.sunet.se, a popular mirror for ftp.cdrom.com. The ftp file timestamps for the release match those on gameaholic.com.
darkbt10.txt 09-Jun-97 19:54 3k
darkbt10.zip 09-Jun-97 20:07 958k
-- http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/pc/games/idgames2/incoming/ (archived June 15 1997)
No copy of the release or readme file for this version of the bot has been located.
The next version of the bot was probably v0.10c.
It may have been released as the same filename as the previous version v0.10, e.g. darkbt10.zip. If so, it is possible that prior release was in fact the same as this release.
Alternately, the release may have had a filename like darkbt10c.zip or drkbt10c.zip to match the subsequent release.
We know of this specific version of the bot because it was mentioned in a signature to a post by Terry to Usenet asking about an unrelated Linux question.
In his signature, he mentions the latest version of his "DarkBOT" as version "Beta 10c".
Has anyone here tryed using linux loop back
to run a quake server AND a client connected to that server
on the SAME machine?
I need to test my bot over a network...and my ISP is long distance,
so I would like to know if anyone has done such.
cheers,
Dark_Skye (the linux know nothing, buy me SunOS and a Sparc)
http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye/index.htm
The latest DarkBOT is Beta 10c
-- linux network looping and quake, rec.games.computer.quake.quake-c, Dark_Skye, 12 June 1997
The next version of the bot was version 0.11a.
It may have had a distributed filename like darkbt11.zip to match the last known release, or like drkbt11a.zip to match the next known release.
Like the previous version, we only know of the release given the mention of the bot in Terry's signature in a message on Usenet.
In the signature, he mentions DarkBOT version "Beta 11a" as being the latest version.
try my brand
darkbot is a player!!?!
http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye/index.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye/index.htm
The latest DarkBOT is Beta 11a
-- Mr. Polge and bots in general, rec.games.computer.quake.quake-c, Dark_Skye, 24 June 1997.
It is a terrible shame that his personal webpage, http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye was not archived at or around this time.
The next version of this bot was released as drkbt11b.zip.
It was the last version to be uploaded to ftp.cdrom.com and remains in the directory in modern mirrors of the directory today.
drkbt11b.txt 24-Jun-97 10:21 4k
drkbt11b.zip 24-Jun-97 10:21 152k
-- http://www.cdrom.com:80/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (archived February 10 1998)
This release contains only the compiled game code (progs.dat) and a readme file (darkbot.txt).
Given that previous versions of the bot had custom models and sounds, we can suspect that at this point in its history, the bot was releases in two parts. One part for the game code and the other for the game files that change less often.
This separation of concerns was used in later releases.
Luxuriantly, the distribution of associated files for this release has not been located, making this version of the bot unusable. It is surprising that it was uploaded to ftp.cdrom.com and left in this state.
4246 24 Jun 1997 darkbot.txt
492084 24 Jun 1997 progs.dat
The readme file lists the release date as June 1997. The FTP file timestamps and timestamps of files in the zip match, listing the release date as June 24 1997.
Title : Darkbot 11th Beta
Filename : drkbt11b.zip
Version : Beta 11b
Date : June 1997
Author : Dark_Skye (Terry Hendrix)
-- darkbot.txt
The need for a separate release is mentioned in the readme, suggesting that the files were bundled into a PAK file.
How to Install the Modification
-------------------------------
make a subdirectory darkbot in your quake directory
copy pak0.pak into the directory darkbot you just made
-- darkbot.txt
The readme provides a changelog, listing just a few minor changes to the bot AI.
New for Beta 11b
------------------
Damn annoying bot watermove sound when swimming removed
( CONTENT_EMPTY when bot.waterlevel == 1 )
Annoying no lg discharge in water fixed
( run a watercheck inside weapons like lg )
Added a lg discharge in water at ppl when bot health is low
The most stable dedicated server id routine yet!
-- darkbot.txt
The next version of the bot was 0.13.1.
In fact, the v0.13 saw a series of releases from 0.13.1 through to 0.13.9, and it is possible all of them were made public. We only know of some of them.
At this time, the popular QuakeC editing page shared news of new bot release, including many of the Darkbot releases.
An announcement was made about an impending release of the darkbot, listed as version "0.13.5". I suspect this version number was a typo.
Latest News November 21st
DarkBOT Resurfaces - Dark_Skye has decided to start working on a new beta (13.5) of DarkBOT later tonight. WooHoo! [legion]
-- http://www.inside3d.com/nov20-nov21.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
The release of this version of the bot was announced on November 25 1997, four days after the first announcement and about five months after the last release, v0.11b. It is possible that there was a v0.12 release or series of releases, although no evidence has been found.
Latest News November 25th
DarkBOT release - Dark_Skye has released v0.13.1 of DarkBOT. Go there now and download his bot! [legion]
-- http://www.inside3d.com/nov24-nov25.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
No copy of this version of the bot has been located.
The next public release of the bot that can be identified is version 0.13.7.
The release was announced on inside3d on November 28 1997, three days after the 0.13.1.
It is possible that there 5 other releases between this and the last announcement, and it is possible that all of the releases were public, or this was the first public release after 5 private test versions of the bot, or something in between.
The release notes suggest that this version supports routing, perhaps like the reaper bot. The reaper bot was being actively reverse engineered at this time and Terry was a part of some of that work.
The announcement also mentions a message board for discussing the bot at http://www.westga.edu/~stu7440/wwwboard/wwwboard.html although sadly it was not captured by archive.org and all messages have been lost.
Latest News November 28th
DarkBOT Beta Release - Dark_Skye has released v0.13.7 beta of DarkBOT. Dark_Skye writes: "Well I've gotten around to releasing a bot with routing plaese beta test the hell out of this one!!" DS also has a message board for you to use as well. [legion]
-- http://www.inside3d.com/nov28-nov29.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
No copy of this version of the bot has been located.
The next version of the bot was 0.13.8.
Again, it was announced on inside3d, in this case on December 17 1997, more than two weeks after the last release announcement.
THese announcements all link to Terry's personal webpage on http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye which was not archived and none list the filename or link to the zip or readme file. This makes it challenging to know what files to search for through the archives.
Latest News December 17th
DarkBot Sighting - Dark_Skye of Scrap Heap has released v0.13.8 of DarkBot.
-- https://web.archive.org/web/19980614160658/http://www.inside3d.com/dec16-dec17.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
Links:
The next version of the bot was released as version 0.13.9.
The release was announced on the news page of his new "Bot Shop" webpage hosted on planetquake.com, found in an archive of the news page in a later version of the site.
The announcement is dated July 10 1998, about six months after the last release in December 17 1997.
Friday 98.07.10 13:30 EST
DarkBOT Update
Version 0.13.6 of my DarkBOT source is up for dl here on the code page -- this version is much more stable than the final, in fact it'll kick your ass in DM6 one on one. It has SRPI in it and includes a compiler. Oh, it's now released under the SA too.
-- http://www.planetquake.com/botshop/news/1998-07.html (archived October 08 1999)
The release version is listed as "0.13.6", which was corrected in a follow-up post 5 days later, intending it to be "0.13.9".
This follow-up also comments that the release includes both the PAK version of the bot and source code.
Wednesday 98.07.15 12:11 EST
DarkBOT error
BTW, it's DarkBOT 0.13.9 source for download here with the DarkBOT 0.13.9 pak - not 0.13.6. Damn uno numbers.
-- http://www.planetquake.com/botshop/news/1998-07.html (archived October 08 1999)
THe code section of the Bot Shop site lists the release, including both source code (darkbot_0.13.9-src.zip) and PAK (darkbot_0.13.9-pak.zip) files.
The description suggests that the previous version, perhaps 0.13.8, was the final version, and that this version is an amended version and is better.
DarkBot 0.13.9
DarkBot 0.13.9 paks
Author: DS
This is an archive of DarkBot 0.13.9 source. Email me to get a copy of the key, as this is now under the SA copyright. This version is much better than DarkBOT Final, but to play more than six bots you must set ROUTE_ON = 0 in the SBLE code. (Stack overf low, due to QuakeC if more than six bots use SRP. Yes, this has SRPI in this one.)
3xCfg6A
-- http://www.planetquake.com/botshop/code/index.html (archived February 21 1999)
A copy of these files is preserved in mirrors of the planetquake.com files area, such as on quaddicted.com and dukeworld.com.
The PAK release (darkbot_0.13.9-pak.zip) contains only two PAK files and no readme file.
69768 14 Jul 1998 pak1.pak
251058 23 Nov 1997 pak0.pak
The first PAK file (pak0.pak) contains the player model, config and a sound file.
admin.cfg
progs/player.mdl
quake.rc
sound/demon/dland2.wav
The second PAK file (pak1.pak) contains player sound files.
sound/fplayer/axhit1.wav
sound/fplayer/death1.wav
sound/fplayer/drown2.wav
sound/fplayer/gasp1.wav
sound/fplayer/gasp2.wav
sound/fplayer/h2odeath.wav
sound/fplayer/lburn1.wav
sound/fplayer/lburn2.wav
sound/fplayer/pain1.wav
sound/fplayer/plyrjmp8.wav
Neither PAK contains game code. THe release is purely the additional files required to play the bot.
The source release (darkbot_0.13.9-src.zip) presumably contains the compiled game code and source code for the bot.
The file is password protected. Thankfully, the password is listed on the archive of the code webpage on the Bot Shop.
The password is: 3xCfg6A
The archive contains a readme file (readme.txt) a password text file (password.txt) and a second archive (darkbot_0.13.6-src.rar).
208 9 Jul 1998 password.txt
263693 7 Jul 1998 darkbot_0.13.6-src.rar
1935 20 Jun 1998 readme.txt
The password file comments that the release is made under the "SABIN Agreement" and to email Terry to get the password.
This product is released under the SABIN Argeement.
http://www.planetquake.com/botshop/sabin
You have to email me to get the password. It's SABIN policy...
Terry 'DS' Hendrix II
[email protected]
The readme file contains instructions on how to unzip and use the "SABIN Package", which this is not.
The RAR file contains a number of directories that contain source code (oldsrc, source, bot, and mod) and a readme file in HTML format (darkbot.html) as well as copy of a QuakeC compiler for windows.
352 7 Jul 1998 oldsrc
1184 7 Jul 1998 source
576 7 Jul 1998 bot
288 7 Jul 1998 mod
967 23 Dec 1997 _COMPILE.PIF
2598 23 Dec 1997 progdefs.h
690 11 Dec 1997 progs.src
1373 7 Dec 1997 _compile.bat
16439 7 Dec 1997 darkbot.html
81 6 Aug 1997 _find.fnd
128516 18 Jun 1997 PROQCC.EXE
81232 15 Apr 1997 _qcman10.wri
The readme HTML file lists the version number, matching the file and a release filename of "drkbt013.zip".
This suggests that this version of the bot, and perhaps prior version in the v0.13 series were released using the same filename.
The source folders are dated July 07 1998, about one week before the release. The readme HTML file is dated December 07 1997. This is before the release announcement for 0.13.8. I'm not sure how to explain this, other than to strongly suspect that this readme file is not for this release.
Title Darkbot
Filename drkbt013.zip
Version 0.13.9
Date Sunday, December 07, 1997
Author Terry Wayne Hendrix II (aka Dark_Skye)
Future CoAuthor? - Jamey Gibson
-- darkbot.html
The readme also lists a collaborator on the release, Jamey Gibson.
Other than that, the file appears to be an HTML port of the text files associated with prior releases.
The progs.src file lists the files to include in the release and the compile.bat file includes a target for compiling the game code on a windows machine, circa 1998.
THe final version of the bot was distributed as darkbot-fnl-q2.tar.gz.
It was announced on one of the few pages captured by archive.org on his old homepage at http://darkskye.home.mindspring.com.
In the announcement, the release is described as Darkbot with "Quake2" frames, allowing the use of quake2 player models for the bot.
DarkBOT with Q2 frames
This will let you use Quake2 player models in my Quake DarkBOT mod. DarkBOT is like clan arena with bots, and is the first bot I wrote for Quake. To compile this source you need the QCC compiler. You need MDDC to convert model formats.
-- http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye/projects/quake.html (archived August 09 2001)
A copy of the release was located in modern mirrors of of the planetquake.com files area, such as quaddicted.com and dukeworld.com. https://www.quaddicted.com/files/mirrors/ftp.planetquake.com/botshop/
The release contains the same general structure as the darkbot_0.13.6-src.rar in the previous release. This includes directories of code files. In this case a compiled version of the game code is included, as is the HTML readme file from the last release (darkbot.html)
608 10 Mar 2000 bot
320 10 Mar 2000 mod
352 10 Mar 2000 oldsrc
1184 10 Mar 2000 source
37283 10 Mar 2000 qcc.gz
351804 10 Mar 2000 progs.dat
2455 10 Mar 2000 progdefs.h
633 10 Mar 2000 progs.src
16439 8 Dec 1997 darkbot.html
81232 15 Apr 1997 QC.manual
The timestamps of the file suggest the release date was March 10 2000, about one and a half years since the last release.
It's a big project.
It is clear by the end that Terry was bringing ideas over from Quake2 into Quake and back again.
He makes this clear in his description of his own bot, taken from an archive of a page describing quake bots on his botshop website.
The DarkBOT project was intended to train players for clan ring and DM net play, and allow male/female Quake players. I'm currently working on routing and fact tables alogrithims for the Quake2 DarkBOT (Semi Intelligent Darkbot), by prototyping in Quake. I enjoyed this project, even though I never finished due to the fact that I would start then stop for various reasons. I also enjoyed chating other people in the Quake bot community, to name a few: Alan Kivlin, Roscoe A. Secero, Johnatan Wright, Mr Elusive, John Crikket, Mike Warren, Timm Stoke, and Drew Davidson. I learned a lot more about programming in general, since returning to college. Here's thanks to my professors: Will Lloyd, Dennis Edwards, Mitch Clifton, Bill Rivera, and anyone else I forgot or don't remember their name. Thanks to everyone who supported this project! Look for S.I.D. to start devlopment as soon as I get the Quake2 DLL source.
-- http://www.planetquake.com/botshop/news/quake.html (archived February 24 1999)
- Darkbot v0.1, darkbt01.zip, October 29 1996
- Darkbot v0.2, ?, ???
- Darkbot v0.3, drkbot03.zip, December 04 1996
- Darkbot v0.4, drkbot04.zip, December 05 1996
- Darkbot v0.5, ?, ????
- Darkbot v0.6, ?, ????
- Darkbot vGenX, darkbotx.zip, January 09 1997
- Darkbot v0.7c, darkbt07.zip, May 15 1997
- Darkbot v0.8, darkbt08.zip, May 25 1997
- Darkbot v0.9, darkbt09.zip, June 02 1997
- Darkbot v0.10, darkbt10.zip, June 09 1997
- Darkbot v0.10c, ?, June 12 1997
- Darkbot v0.11a, ?, June 24 1997
- Darkbot v0.11b, drkbt11b.zip, June 24 1997
- Darkbot v0.12, ?, ????
- Darkbot v0.13.1, ?, November 25 1997
- Darkbot v0.13.7, ?, November 28 1997
- Darkbot v0.13.8, ?, December 17 1997
- Darkbot v0.13.9, drkbt013.zip, ???
- Darkbot v0.13.9 source, darkbot_0.13.9-pak.zip, July 07 1998
- Darkbot vfinal, darkbot-fnl-q2.tar.gz, March 10 2000
- http://www.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (archived December 25 1996)
- http://www.cdrom.com:80/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (June 09 1997)
- http://www.cdrom.com:80/pub/idgames2/quakec/bots/ (archived February 10 1998)
- DarkBOT needs help, Dark, rec.games.computer.quake.quake-c, 25 May 1997
- Mr. Polge and bots in general, rec.games.computer.quake.quake-c, Dark_Skye, 24 June 1997.
- http://www.mindspring.com/~darkskye/projects/quake.html (archived August 09 2001)
- http://www.gameaholic.com/idgames/quakec/bots/ (archived June 28 1997)
- http://www.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/ls-laR.gz (archived December 21 1996)
- http://www.gameaholic.com/idgames/quakec/bots/ (archived June 28 1997)
- Neue Files in der MILLENIUM BBS, z-netz.alt.fileserver, Uwe Kuhn, 5 Jan 1997.
- http://www.inside3d.com/nov24-nov25.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
- http://www.inside3d.com/nov28-nov29.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
- http://www.inside3d.com/dec16-dec17.shtml (archived June 14 1998)
- PC Zone March 1997 / CD Zone Issue #48 (March 1997)