Cambridge Battlecode

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[ about ]
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Cambridge Battlecode is a programming competition inspired by MIT Battlecode.
Build bots that battle head-to-head in a turn-based strategy game over 6 weeks, before live finals in the iconic Cambridge Union Debate Chamber.
Starting March 16th, a live ladder ranks teams continuously, and the top teams - both UK and international - compete in streamed qualifier tournaments for the finals. International finalists receive a 3-night all-expenses-paid trip to Cambridge, UK.
No experience required — beginners and veterans compete in separate brackets. Teams of 1-4 allowed, any university, any country.
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[ dates ]
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 Mar 16 Launch event — game grand reveal + swag Mar 16 eve Ladder opens for bot submissions Sundays Weekly sprint prizes for top ladder bots Apr 21 International qualifier → top 4 finalists Apr 30 Submissions freeze at midnight Apr 30 UK qualifier → top 12 finalists Apr 30 Novice Tournament → final 2 (final match live) May 5 International finalists arrive in London/Cambridge May 6 Live finals at the Cambridge Union 
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[ eligibility ]
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UK Student Team — Consists of only UK students*1
International Student Team — Student*1 teams that do not meet the above criteria for UK Student Team
Novice Student Team*2 — Consists of only students*1 with no experience in similar competitions (please don't smurf)
Non-student Team — Any teams consisting of non-student(s)
teams \ bracketsUKqualifier
Int'lqualifier
Novice*2Sprint
UK——
Int'l——
Novice——
Non-student———
 *1 "Students" refers to individuals either in high school or university, OR < 22 as of the finals (May 6th). *2 The Novice bracket does not lead to the same finals. Instead, the full Novice tournament will be livestreamed on qualifier day, with the finals being streamed online. 
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teams \ brackets	UK qualifier	Int'l qualifier	Novice^*2
UK		—	—
Int'l	—		—
Novice	—	—
Non-student	—	—	—

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[ prizes ]
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£15,000 total prize pool. Prizes for all finalists — UK, international, and novice brackets, as well as sprint prizes.
          All prizes are split between team members.
          International finalists receive a 3-night all-expenses-paid trip to London/Cambridge.
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[ team ]
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James LeungLead Organiser
  
Oliver FogelinLead Organiser
  
Andy WuGame / Engine
  
Summer GuoArtist
  
Alex PylypenkoAdmin
  
Cordelia WangMedia
  
Kotaro YoshizawaWeb
  
Fredrik WilliamsonLore
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[ briefing ]
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Holographic message — received 2076.03.12, 18:52 UTC · Flagged priority
DR. ELAINE MORROW — DIRECTOR OF AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
Good morning.
Your application to the ASO programme has been accepted. We reviewed just under two thousand candidates this quarter and selected sixteen. You're one of them. Well done.
When you accept this offer, you will relocate to compound R4-vB and report to me on Monday.
The moment you opened this message, a Class 4 non-disclosure agreement was applied to your employment record, meaning you are bound to secrecy regarding your assignment, location, and knowledge.
Note the following reports from the research, relations, and mechanics secretaries:
RESEARCH SECRETARY — AXIONITE RESEARCH DIVISION
I'll keep it brief—you already know what's going on with Axionite, I'm sure you're listening to the Senate hearings and the news media and all those stocks. You basically understand, right? WRONG! You don't know anything. Or rather, you only know what was disclosed. Sure, sure—we found a superconductor on Titan three years ago and now several competitors are moving in. It may or may not be true that I haven't figured out the molecular structure of the crystalline ore yet but—room temperature superconductivity? Energy storage densities that make fusion look like coal? Applications my research division tells me will take a decade to catalogue?
We can't exactly stop. The world needs this. The shareholders need this.
■ COMPLIANCE: YOU MAY NOT DISCUSS AXIONITE CHEMISTRY WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES
RELATIONS SECRETARY — EXTERNAL AFFAIRS & PUBLIC NARRATIVE
Thankfully… what the public doesn't know is how far along the race already is. Governments do, naturally. At least the important ones. I hear from our Watchers that at least six autonomous fleets are currently on Titan. Claiming deposits, building infrastructure, contesting operations. None of this has been disclosed. All parties have their reasons.
We assume there are more fleets, apparently; the public assumes there aren't any, thanks to me. I would rather keep the political tension to a minimum…
■ COMPLIANCE: YOU MAY NOT DISCUSS THE PROGRAMME'S POLITICS WITH YOUR FAMILY
MECHANICS SECRETARY — OPERATIONAL SAFETY & HARDWARE
▶ Titan-14 Mechanical Manual
TEMPERATURE: Deadly (−179°C) — est. survival << 10 seconds
ATMOSPHERE: Nitrogen-methane. Suffocation secondary; will freeze first.
ISOLATION: 76 minutes at communication transmission speed.
UPDATE 2075.03.09
Due to changes in the Department of Human Safety, these conditions have been deemed unsafe. Robots will be used. Orbiter capsules remain suitable for human transport if commanded.
The programmes you write controlling Meridian's extraction fleet may not be patched, overwritten, or called back post-launch. They will run on the machines as written.
On event of error, wait for next upload window and watch it go wrong from a desk on Earth. Reminder that humans will fit in the orbiter capsule if required.
■ COMPLIANCE: YOU MAY NOT TALK TO PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
DR. ELAINE MORROW — DIRECTOR OF AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
I took this job four years ago. I understand what I'm asking you to give up.
Talk to whoever you need to talk to, while you still can.
If you decide to accept, report to Lab 11-C on Monday morning.
CLASS 4 — DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
CLASS 4 — DO NOT DISTRIBUTE[ all transmissions → ]
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Play Discord

COMMON PRESS, 2075.03.08 — Senate Committee on Off-Earth Resources enters ninth month of hearings. No subpoenas issued. Corporate representatives continue to describe Titan operations as "geological survey and resource assessment." · · · THE POLICY REVIEW, 2075.03.04 — After two decades of failed AGI programmes, the industry quietly pivots to narrow autonomy. "General intelligence was always a marketing term." · · · HARMONY NEWS SERVICE, 2075.03.06 — Zhongli Industrial reaffirms commitment to "peaceful scientific development" of Titan resources, dismissing foreign media speculation as "misinformed and politically motivated." · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.03.05 — U.K. public sector healthcare waiting times reach 16-month average. Meridian Medical reports same-day access for enrolled employees. The gap has tripled since 2060. · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.03.02 — Deep-space autonomous systems now manage $8.7T in active infrastructure with no human oversight. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2075.02.25 — Seventeen nations petition the U.N. to reclassify axionite as a "common heritage resource" under the Outer Space Treaty. "The law is clear," said a Meridian legal representative. · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.03.13 — Meridian Industries ranked #3 in annual corporate employer satisfaction index. Employee retention rate holds at 94%. Public sector attrition continues to climb. · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.03.10 — Pan-Pacific Resource Authority requests emergency funding after "unanticipated operational expenditure" on Titan. New Zealand's finance minister calls the programme "a money pit we can't afford to abandon." · · · PACIFIC COMMERCE DAILY, 2075.03.09 — Axionite derivatives market now larger than crude oil futures. Regulators in four jurisdictions call for trading halt. None imposed. · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.03.03 — Global lithium index falls to 14-year low as axionite speculation accelerates. "The market is pricing in obsolescence." · · · COMMON PRESS, 2075.03.14 — U.N. confirms receipt of "anomalous orbital telemetry" from Saturn system. Declines to elaborate. Refers inquiries to the Outer Resource Committee. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.03.07 — Indonesia's education ministry announces partnership with Helios Dynamics to fund STEM programmes in public schools. Critics call it "a recruitment pipeline with a government seal." · · · HARMONY NEWS SERVICE, 2075.03.14 — Zhongli Industrial announces "routine personnel rotation" across its deep-space programmes. A spokesperson praised the "dedication and professionalism" of outgoing staff. · · · ORBITAL INDUSTRY REPORT, 2075.02.14 — European Mineral Consortium oversight committee admits members were "not briefed on recent operational developments." Asks for summary "in layman's terms." · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.02.28 — Axionite futures surge 4,200% since inception. Economists warn of "total structural disruption" if bulk extraction succeeds. Three major energy firms file for restructuring. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2075.01.15 — Language model artifacts in autonomous system logs prompt renewed debate about machine intentionality. Meridian: "Anthropomorphisation of narrow AI is a known cognitive bias, not evidence of emergent properties." · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.01.22 — Fusion sector stocks down 31% year-over-year. Industry group warns of "premature devaluation based on unverified claims about an unrefined extraterrestrial mineral." · · · SOUTHERN CURRENT, 2075.02.09 — Bangalore public transit authority suspends evening service on four routes due to funding shortfall. Nakamura Transit, operating the corporate network in the same corridors, is unaffected. · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.03.09 — Insurance underwriters refuse to cover Titan-adjacent operations, citing "an absence of verifiable risk data." One underwriter: "They won't tell us what's happening up there. We can't price what we can't see." · · · AP, 2075.01.30 — Annual "corporate gap" survey finds quality-of-life differential between corporate employees and public sector citizens at widest point since tracking began in 2041. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.02.07 — Fourth corporate spokesperson this quarter uses the phrase "there are no personnel on Titan" in response to unrelated questions. · · · THE POLICY REVIEW, 2075.02.01 — If axionite delivers on even half its theoretical properties, the global energy transmission industry — worth $4.2T annually — becomes redundant. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.01.28 — Sixteen Helios Dynamics employees transferred out of undisclosed programme in the past six months. All have signed extended non-disclosure agreements. None have spoken publicly. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2075.03.11 — Anonymous source claims multiple corporate survey operations on Titan have made "direct contact" with each other. All six corporations issued identical denials within the hour. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.02.20 — The off-grid population falls below 2% in OECD nations for the first time. "It's not that people don't want to opt out. It's that there's nothing to opt into." · · · PACIFIC COMMERCE DAILY, 2075.03.01 — Nakamura Heavy Industries announces $340B capital raise for "next-generation deep-space survey platforms." Analysts note this is three times the cost of any previous survey programme. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2076.03.12 — U.N. Outer Resource Committee calls emergency session as fourth corporate claim-stake dispute on Titan escalates. "There are no personnel on Titan," a Meridian spokesperson confirmed. "Only equipment." · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.02.19 — Helios Dynamics denies reports of "significant equipment loss" on Titan's surface. Shares fell 6% in pre-market trading. · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.03.13 — Meridian Industries quietly doubles its deep-space communications budget. No explanation given. Filing noted by three analysts, reported by none. · · · ORBITAL INDUSTRY REPORT, 2075.02.11 — Nakamura's autonomous cargo fleet completes 10,000th uncrewed delivery between asteroid belt and lunar orbit. Zero human interventions since 2071. · · · COMMON PRESS, 2075.03.08 — Senate Committee on Off-Earth Resources enters ninth month of hearings. No subpoenas issued. Corporate representatives continue to describe Titan operations as "geological survey and resource assessment." · · · THE POLICY REVIEW, 2075.03.04 — After two decades of failed AGI programmes, the industry quietly pivots to narrow autonomy. "General intelligence was always a marketing term." · · · HARMONY NEWS SERVICE, 2075.03.06 — Zhongli Industrial reaffirms commitment to "peaceful scientific development" of Titan resources, dismissing foreign media speculation as "misinformed and politically motivated." · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.03.05 — U.K. public sector healthcare waiting times reach 16-month average. Meridian Medical reports same-day access for enrolled employees. The gap has tripled since 2060. · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.03.02 — Deep-space autonomous systems now manage $8.7T in active infrastructure with no human oversight. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2075.02.25 — Seventeen nations petition the U.N. to reclassify axionite as a "common heritage resource" under the Outer Space Treaty. "The law is clear," said a Meridian legal representative. · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.03.13 — Meridian Industries ranked #3 in annual corporate employer satisfaction index. Employee retention rate holds at 94%. Public sector attrition continues to climb. · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.03.10 — Pan-Pacific Resource Authority requests emergency funding after "unanticipated operational expenditure" on Titan. New Zealand's finance minister calls the programme "a money pit we can't afford to abandon." · · · PACIFIC COMMERCE DAILY, 2075.03.09 — Axionite derivatives market now larger than crude oil futures. Regulators in four jurisdictions call for trading halt. None imposed. · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.03.03 — Global lithium index falls to 14-year low as axionite speculation accelerates. "The market is pricing in obsolescence." · · · COMMON PRESS, 2075.03.14 — U.N. confirms receipt of "anomalous orbital telemetry" from Saturn system. Declines to elaborate. Refers inquiries to the Outer Resource Committee. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.03.07 — Indonesia's education ministry announces partnership with Helios Dynamics to fund STEM programmes in public schools. Critics call it "a recruitment pipeline with a government seal." · · · HARMONY NEWS SERVICE, 2075.03.14 — Zhongli Industrial announces "routine personnel rotation" across its deep-space programmes. A spokesperson praised the "dedication and professionalism" of outgoing staff. · · · ORBITAL INDUSTRY REPORT, 2075.02.14 — European Mineral Consortium oversight committee admits members were "not briefed on recent operational developments." Asks for summary "in layman's terms." · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.02.28 — Axionite futures surge 4,200% since inception. Economists warn of "total structural disruption" if bulk extraction succeeds. Three major energy firms file for restructuring. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2075.01.15 — Language model artifacts in autonomous system logs prompt renewed debate about machine intentionality. Meridian: "Anthropomorphisation of narrow AI is a known cognitive bias, not evidence of emergent properties." · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.01.22 — Fusion sector stocks down 31% year-over-year. Industry group warns of "premature devaluation based on unverified claims about an unrefined extraterrestrial mineral." · · · SOUTHERN CURRENT, 2075.02.09 — Bangalore public transit authority suspends evening service on four routes due to funding shortfall. Nakamura Transit, operating the corporate network in the same corridors, is unaffected. · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.03.09 — Insurance underwriters refuse to cover Titan-adjacent operations, citing "an absence of verifiable risk data." One underwriter: "They won't tell us what's happening up there. We can't price what we can't see." · · · AP, 2075.01.30 — Annual "corporate gap" survey finds quality-of-life differential between corporate employees and public sector citizens at widest point since tracking began in 2041. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.02.07 — Fourth corporate spokesperson this quarter uses the phrase "there are no personnel on Titan" in response to unrelated questions. · · · THE POLICY REVIEW, 2075.02.01 — If axionite delivers on even half its theoretical properties, the global energy transmission industry — worth $4.2T annually — becomes redundant. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.01.28 — Sixteen Helios Dynamics employees transferred out of undisclosed programme in the past six months. All have signed extended non-disclosure agreements. None have spoken publicly. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2075.03.11 — Anonymous source claims multiple corporate survey operations on Titan have made "direct contact" with each other. All six corporations issued identical denials within the hour. · · · THE CIVIC STANDARD, 2075.02.20 — The off-grid population falls below 2% in OECD nations for the first time. "It's not that people don't want to opt out. It's that there's nothing to opt into." · · · PACIFIC COMMERCE DAILY, 2075.03.01 — Nakamura Heavy Industries announces $340B capital raise for "next-generation deep-space survey platforms." Analysts note this is three times the cost of any previous survey programme. · · · ORBITAL WIRE, 2076.03.12 — U.N. Outer Resource Committee calls emergency session as fourth corporate claim-stake dispute on Titan escalates. "There are no personnel on Titan," a Meridian spokesperson confirmed. "Only equipment." · · · TERMINAL NEWS, 2075.02.19 — Helios Dynamics denies reports of "significant equipment loss" on Titan's surface. Shares fell 6% in pre-market trading. · · · THE MARKET LEDGER, 2075.03.13 — Meridian Industries quietly doubles its deep-space communications budget. No explanation given. Filing noted by three analysts, reported by none. · · · ORBITAL INDUSTRY REPORT, 2075.02.11 — Nakamura's autonomous cargo fleet completes 10,000th uncrewed delivery between asteroid belt and lunar orbit. Zero human interventions since 2071. · · ·