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Game Entities

Beyond walls and empty space, the grid contains several interactive entities.

Algae (Resources)

Algae is the primary resource in Seawars. It spawns randomly at the start of the match and does not regrow.

  • Abundance: Roughly 15% of the board tiles contain algae (~60 total).
  • Visibility: You know the location of every algae tile on the board from the start (PlayerView.visible_entities.algae).
  • Poison Status: Roughly 5% of algae is Poisonous. This status is Hidden ("UNKNOWN") until scouted.
  • Normal Algae: Can be harvested for resource points.
  • Poisonous Algae: Kills any bot that attempts to harvest it.

Warning

Scout before you harvest! While you can see where the algae is, indiscriminately harvesting "UNKNOWN" algae is a risk.

Checking Algae Safety 
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from seamaster.constants import AlgaeType

def act(self):
    # Access list of all algae
    all_algae = self.ctx.api.visible_algae()

    for algae in all_algae:
        if algae.is_poison == AlgaeType.FALSE:
             print(f"Safe algae at {algae.location}!")

Banks

Banks are locations where collected algae must be deposited to score points.

  • Functionality: Bots with the harvest ability can deposit algae they are carrying into a bank.
  • Deposit Range: A bot must be within 1 unit of a bank to deposit.
  • Deposit Time: The first bot to perform a deposit starts a 50 ticks timer during which the bank is susceptible to being lockpicked by a bot with the lockpick ability. While a bank is undergoing a deposit, other harvesters of yours can also perform a deposit without affecting the final deposit time.

Note

A bot with the LOCKPICK ability can steal the algae which is being deposited into the bank by the enemy player. This action takes 10 ticks (continuously, if the lockpick is interrupted in the middle, it needs to start again for 10 ticks).

  • Ownership: There are two banks in each player's half of the map. The two banks closest to you are owned by you, and the two banks closest to your opponent are owned by the opponent. You can only deposit algae in a bank you own. Conversely, you can only lockpick an opponent's bank.
  • Coordinates: You can find the exact list of bank coordinates in your PlayerView object under permanent_entities.banks.
  • Reference: See Player View & Perception for data structure details.

Energy Pads

Energy pads are special locations that refill a bot's energy.

  • Functionality: When a bot stands on an energy pad, its energy is restored to the spawn energy level.
  • Cooldown: After use, an energy pad goes on cooldown for 25 ticks and cannot be used again until the cooldown expires.
  • Coordinates: You can find the exact list of energy pad coordinates in your PlayerView object under permanent_entities.energypads.
  • Reference: See Player View & Perception for data structure details.
Checking Energy Pad Availability 
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def act(self):
    pads = self.ctx.get_energy_pads()

    for pad in pads:
        if pad.available:
            print(f"Pad at {pad.location} is ready!")
        else:
            print(f"Pad at {pad.location} ready in {pad.ticks_left} ticks.")

Scraps (Currency)

Scraps are the currency used to construct new bots. You pay for the bot's chassis and its equipped abilities.

  • Global Pool: All scraps belong to you (the player), not individual bots.
  • Starting Scraps: 100 per player.
  • Passive Income: +1 scrap per tick.
  • Salvage: When a bot dies, it drops 50% of its total cost on the tile where it fell.

Note

Bots with the Harvest ability can collect these dropped scraps by moving onto the tile. Collected scraps are immediately added to your global pool.