Getting Started (Software Version 1.32)
In order to run the Chrome version of Angry Birds which we use for our competition, you will have to install the offline version of the game on your computer. Please follow the instructions here to obtain the offline version.
(Changes to version 1.3 are listed here.)
If you follow these instructions carefully, the sample agent should work well on your system:
1. Please download and install Chromium version 65 for your respective operating system:
2. Please download and install the Java Development Kit version 8 (JDK8) here.
3. Please download the zipped repository of the latest Angry Birds Game Playing Software (abV1.32.zip)
-a. Create a folder "Angry Birds" and unzip the repository into that folder
-b. The folder should then contain a subfolder called "plugin" and a java executable ABSoftware.jar
4. Please install the Chrome extension. The extension is located in the folder "plugin".
-a. In Chrome, go to Settings->Tools->Extensions
-b. Tick "Developer Mode"
-c. Click "Load unpacked extensions..."
-d. Select the "plugin" folder and confirm
-e. Make sure the extension called "Angry Birds Interface" is enabled
5. Open Angry Birds in Chrome by going to http://chrome.angrybirds.com (note: this requires installing the offline version of Angry Birds first)
-a. Click on SD on the bottom left of the game window
-b. Click "PLAY" and then click on "Poached Eggs" on the bottom left
-c. You will now see the "Level Selection" window
6A. Open a terminal or shell that allows you to run java
-a. Navigate to the "Angry Birds" folder where you installed the unzipped repository
-b. Run this command: "java -jar ABSoftware.jar -na 1" (instead of 1 you can select any level 1-21)
-c. If you want to see the real time vision output, run this command instead: "java -jar ABSoftware.jar -na 1 -showMBR" (instead of 1 you can select any level 1-21). If you select the flag -showReal instead of -showMBR you will see the real object shapes, but this takes longer to process.
6B. In order to run the Client/Server version of the software, follow these steps INSTEAD of 6A:
-a. Open a terminal or shell that allows you to run java
-b. Navigate to the "Angry Birds" folder where you installed the unzipped repository
-c. Run this command: "java -jar ABServer.jar" to start the server software
-d. Open another terminal or shell that allows you to run java (this can be on a different computer on which the software is installed!)
-e. Navigate to the "Angry Birds" folder where you installed the unzipped repository
-f. Run this command: "java -jar ABSoftware.jar -nasc" to start the naive agent. (If you are running the agent on a different computer, please specify the IP address of the server by instead running: "java -jar ABSoftware.jar -nasc <IP>" where <IP> is the IP address of the computer running the server software. Note that Angry Birds Chrome must run on the same computer as the Server software.)
7. The Naive agent (the -na flag) now starts playing in level 1 (the 1 flag)
-a. Once a level is solved it should automatically progress to the next level. Otherwise the level is played again
-b. The agent always zooms out every level automatically so that the everything is in the image
-c. The agent only plays when the chrome.angrybirds.com tab is active. If you switch tab, the agent pauses. You can minimize the browser window and it continues playing, but the tab must be active.
8. Issues that require manual intervention:
-a. If there is a pop up that needs confirmation, please manually click on the confirm button in the pop up and the agent will then continue
-b. If a level cannot be solved for a long time, the Mighty Eagly pop up appears which opens a new window when confirmed. Just exit the new window and the agent will continue.
-c. In very rare cases, the slingshot is not detected. If this happens, please finish the level manually.
-d. On the right side of the image there is a MENU that opens depending on how you move the mouse. Please make sure the menu is invisible by moving your mouse accordingly.
9. For further details please refer to the documentation included in the "doc" subfolder.
IMPORTANT:
A. Make sure the Chrome plugin is enabled
B. Make sure SD mode is selected and not HD mode
c. DO NOT run the game in full screen mode, but make sure the ad banners on both sides of the game are visible (window can be minimised once it works).
NOTES:
The problem with HD or full screen mode is that the image resolution will then depend on your computer hardware and on your screen resolution. This can possibly stuff up our computer vision module.
In SD mode, the game image should always be 840-by-480 pixels. If for whatever reason SD mode is not 840-by-480 pixels, then the software might not work on your system.
If this is the case, please try changing your screen resolution to different settings and see if it works.
The -showReal option is very memory intensive. In case you do not have enough memory, please try to run the java option -Xmx2048m, for example: java -Xmx2048m -jar ABSoftware.jar -na -showReal
Please cite the software as: XiaoYu Ge, Stephen Gould, Jochen Renz, Sahan Abeyasinghe, Jim Keys, Andrew Wang, Peng Zhang, Angry Birds Game Playing Software Version 1.32, aibirds.org, 2014.
The Angry Birds Basic Game Playing Software is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation.
Copyright © 2013,2014, XiaoYu (Gary) Ge, Stephen Gould, Jochen Renz, Sahan Abeyasinghe, Jim Keys, Andrew Wang, Peng Zhang. All rights reserved.
