New release of TOS is coming

I am working on the new release tentatively named 1.5.x.

Changes include:

1. The goalie is made more like a goalie. It can 'grab' the ball and move with it around; the grabed ball time limit and the restriction of the movements to the penalty area are enforced by the server.

2. Changing the situation on the fly by the user. In the stepwise mode, the situation can be changed by moving players and the ball around with the mouse; this could be useful for creating special situations and analyzing them.

3. Saving and playing back the situation. Now in the stepwise mode, the situation can be saved to a text file. The saved situation can be loaded from file and played back repeatedly any number of times. Any duration of the replica can be also set by the user. This allows to repeat many times rare events like scoring attempts and see what is indeed happening and accumulate statistics for the analysis.

4. Game modes control. No-play periods made shorter, with player teleportation done before the kick-offs unless player has occupied its home position itself. Now games can be run continuosly, with the choice of accumulationg the score over the games or resetting before each game.

5. Minor defects have been removed. Of them, player getting stuck is no longer happening. Much of the code has been restructured in order to make is easier to maintain (not everything has been comleted, though).

Known problems.

Before releasing the new version, I have to find and fix the apparent asymmetry in the server; the left-hand team is performing better, and this difference is statistically significant. Possibly I have just introduced a bug in the code for the right-hand team somewhere. Another possible reason is that the right team in all calculations and in the data communication packets is preceeded by the left team; this could be giving unfair advantge to the left team.

As time permits, I am going to:
(1) inspect the server code for the apparent asymmetry;
(2) wherever possible, merge the code for the left and right teams so that same code will be used in calculations for both sides;
(3) randomize the selection of the left and right side in the calculations and in the packet data, or make the teams swapping places in turns in the odd and even simuation cycles.

Once I finish, I will report the results. My intention is getting it done before March 10 when my students will start using TOS in my simulation course. I want them to enjoy using the new version.