Behavior Modes

A player's top-level behavior decision is its behavior mode. Implemented as a rule-based system, the behavior mode determines the abstract behavior that the player should execute. For example, there is a behavior mode for the set of states in which the agent can kick the ball. Then, the decision of what to do with the ball is made by way of a more involved decision mechanism. On each action cycle, the first thing a player does is re-evaluate its behavior mode.

The behavior modes include:

Goaltend:

Only used by the goaltender.

Localize:

Find own field location if it's unknown.

Face Ball:

Find the ball and look at it.

Handle Ball:

Used when the ball is kickable.

Active Offense:

Go to the ball as quickly as possible. Used when no teammate could get there more quickly.

Auxiliary Offense:

Get open for a pass. Used when a nearby teammate has the ball.

Passive Offense:

Move to a position likely to be useful offensively in the future.

Active Defense:

Go to the ball even though another teammate is already going. Used in the defensive end of the field.

Auxiliary Defense:

Mark an opponent.

Passive Defense:

Track an opponent or go to a position likely to be useful defensively in the future.

The detailed conditions and effects of each behavior mode are beyond the scope of this article. However, they will become more clear in subsequent sections as the role-based flexible team structure is described in Section 5.3.