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4th Gen Voltorb Flip Solver

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RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    You know Voltorb Flip? That stupid half-chance, half-logic game in the game corner? I got bored of trying to learn some sort of strategy to play Voltorb Flip, so I decided to make a program to do it for me (plus I really wanted a Dratini). I'm now releasing my in-progress versions, as I continue working. The solver takes a board you give it, and recommends the best moves for you to take.

    Interface
    It's pretty much all explained in the program.
    Basically, you enter all the numbers at the ends of the rows/columns, and then input the moves you make (along with the results you got), and it will reload and recommend new ones.

    Note: Just because there are a bunch of tiles with equal odds and equal payoff, it doesn't mean they're all equally good. Remember that flipping tiles helps figure out what other tiles are, so in case of ties, try to pick the tile that you think will help the computer the most.

    Download
    .UHA format here (which I prefer and recommend. It's free and compresses better than RAR and ZIP)
    .ZIP format here
    Source code here (.UHA format)

    Note: The free WinUHA utility for .UHA files can be found here

    Extra Info
    Update history
    Current work & planned updates
    How the solver works
    Optimization explanations
    Move recommendations mechanics

    If the links die, please notify me.

    Leave a comment or recommendation below!
    I'm looking for recommendations, but check the Present/future updates link to make sure I don't already have it down.
     
    Last edited:

    Aggron1991

    • 42
    Posts
    14
    Years
    • Seen Oct 12, 2010
    I like this.
    I know a lot of people are going to say "OMG YOU'RE CHEATING" but IMO Voltorb Flipping is nothing more than a waste of countless hours that could have been spent training or looking for better Pokemon.
     

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    Aggron1991 said:
    I like this.
    I know a lot of people are going to say "OMG YOU'RE CHEATING" but IMO Voltorb Flipping is nothing more than a waste of countless hours that could have been spent training or looking for better Pokemon.
    Click to expand...

    Lol it's a game of chance no matter how you play it. Hacks aside, it's pretty impossible to cheat.

    I've looked around, and there seem to be a few similar programs. The one I found that actually recommended the safest & best moves was in JavaScript, though, and I'm not sure if it was as accurate as mine. That being said, mine has an absolutely horrible interface, so I hope to fix that soon.
     

    ♥Sweetheart™

    爱是永远
    • 27
    Posts
    13
    Years
    • Seen Aug 1, 2010
    "OMG YOU'RE CHEATING!"
    jks.
    I will try this, because that game is really starting to annoy me..
     

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    I'm so sorry, I messed up. Many people will get a MSVCP.DLL error. Fixing now!
    Unfortunately, it still recommends spaces that are guaranteed to be 1 (which means some risk for no payoff). The main reason I haven't changed it is because even 1 tiles still help; they help it figure out where the voltorbs are. Should I change that?

    Edit: Links fixed; no more MSVCP.dll error


    Update: Version 2.0 is now uploaded. The links have been updated in the original post, and it's substantially easier to use (still a long way from nice, though). Tell me what you think!


    Edit2: LOL I just had the board

    Code: 
    X  X  X  X  X   2/3
3  X  3  X  3   10/1
X  X  X  X  X   3/2
X  X  X  X  X   4/1
X  X  3  X  X   7/0

7  2  8  4  5
0  3  1  1  2
    The four tiles shown were the only useful tiles on the board. I gave the program the specs, and it immediately recommended those four tiles, with 0% chance of voltorbs.


    Edit3: My bad again: the "new game" prompt wasn't working (it wasn't re-initializing the board for a new game. Whoops) Fixed now, links updated.
     
    Last edited:

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    There appears to be a rather severe memory leak right now. I'm fixing it, but I have no clue as to how long it will take. Sorry for the delay.

    Rajahgold said:
    how exactly do i download this?
    im rather new to this idea.
    Click to expand...

    You go to the link provided (either ZIP or UHA), and download the file as a free user.
     
    Last edited:

    Dedemaru

    • 52
    Posts
    13
    Years
    It keeps crashing for me. I downloaded it before you took the links down and when I run it, I input the numbers and while it's calculating, it just crashes. Every time. I assume you're working on it though.
     

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    I swear I posted a response.. stupid internet.
    Anyway, yeah, I was having massive memory consumption in the thing. For me, it just kept giving me the wait message until my computer became unresponsive for minutes at a time.

    I think I fixed it.. at least, I fixed that particular issue. Unfortunately, it was caused by a very simple speed optimization, so now it's slower, but functional. I'll keep trying to figure it out.
     

    Dedemaru

    • 52
    Posts
    13
    Years
    Do I have to redownload it to get this update, or can I just start it up again and it'll be fixed?

    I just used it. What exactly does it do? I didn't really find it helpful, I'm sorry.
     
    Last edited:

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    Redownload.

    It finds every possible solution of the board and picks the least dangerous tiles (if there's multiple equally safe ones, it picks the ones with highest probably payoff). It then shows you those tiles. You move, tell it your move (and result), and it recalculates to get the new safest tiles.

    Update: Alright, 2.2 is up now. If you don't care, it's not a major edit, just a couple minor text changes and it's a little faster (I found out what was causing the bug in 2.0, so now the speed tweak works).
     
    Last edited:

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    Which version did you get? 2.2 seems to be working rather well.

    If you have the latest, then could you give me some more information? Where does it crash? Are you 32-bit or 64-bit? What operating system are you using? Are you getting error messages?
     

    Eurydice

    `~♥Eury♥~'
    • 1,126
    Posts
    14
    Years
    sorry i didnt include more info.
    i just downloaded the newest version from the second link you have on the first post.
    after i enter all the info about the board i get to about the 3rd or 4th place and it just closes itself out. the only thing it says is calculating moves (could take a minute) and then it just goes away. i have tried it several times and it does the same thing.
    i am using the 32-bit
    and i have windows vista.
    hope this helps ^_^
     

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    well there's a new version up now. 2.2 had a minor issue with using more memory than it really needed, so it slowed down considerably and may have caused crashing. I've pretty thoroughly tested the 64-bit version of 2.3, but I'll try out the 32-bit version and report back.

    Results: Alright I tested the 32-bit version in compatibility mode on my 64-bit Windows 7, and I completed levels 1 & 2 with no problems (7 moves and 12-15 moves).

    Try the new version, which is working fine for me in both 32-bit and 64-bit mode. I think it's prone to closing if bad data is entered. Is anybody else having this issue?
     

    Eurydice

    `~♥Eury♥~'
    • 1,126
    Posts
    14
    Years
    yay! so far i got passed the first level and its working awesome. ^_^
    i will let you know if i run into any more problems. but you are now my hero because i could never figure out the stupid game ^_^
    let me know when new versions are out please ^_^
     

    RobotGymnast

    • 25
    Posts
    15
    Years
    • Seen Jan 24, 2011
    Eurydice said:
    yay! so far i got passed the first level and its working awesome. ^_^
    i will let you know if i run into any more problems. but you are now my hero because i could never figure out the stupid game ^_^
    Click to expand...

    Glad to help; I was too lazy to learn the "strategy" on GameFaqs, and the computer does it better than I do, anyway =P

    Eurydice said:
    ...
    let me know when new versions are out please ^_^
    Click to expand...

    I would make it auto-update, but then I'd have to find a central server to host update data. For now, I'll continue posting back here when new versions are available.
     
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