Running races
Races are run offline — they do not happen on the server. You need to download the race file, determine the outcome of the race, and then upload the results.
To run a race, run this script (for set-up and requirements, see below):
python3 utils/run-buggy-race.py
That will prompt for input, including the path for the race file you downloaded. The result of running the race is an updated copy of the race file — this has the same contents as your downloaded (input) race file, except now it contains results and events too.
By default the script looks for an input file called race.json in the current working directory… so either drop your downloaded race file there and/or copy/rename it to race.json. The script doesn’t change the input file; it creates a new (output) one.
When the script has completed, upload the race file — it contains the results of the race as well as details of each event within it.
Set-up and requirements
You do not need to be running a database, or the server. You’re just running a utility script which uses the downloaded race file (JSON) as input. That JSON contains all the race and buggy data for this race.
This simplest (if not the most efficient) way to get the script is to download the whole server repo from github.com/buggyrace/buggy-race-server (either download the zip file from there via the green Code button, or use git clone). Remember you don’t need to run the race server, you just need the script and the one custom library file it imports.
The script imports more Python modules but they are all from the Python standard library, so you shouldn’t need to use pip to install anything.
If you haven’t downloaded the whole race server repo, or you’re not in its root directory when you run the run-buggy-race.py script, Python won’t be able to find the race_specs module. Make sure you’re running Python from the root of the repo you downloaded.
Minimal version
Alternatively, if you do not want to download the whole race server repo, you can just download the two files you need directly. There are “download” buttons on each of these GitHub pages:
You’ll need to edit the run-buggy-race.py script so it looks in the right place for the race_specs one. The simplest way to do this is to put both files in the same directory — any directory — and edit run-buggy-race.py so the import statement changes from
from buggy_race_server.lib.race_specs import BuggySpecs
to
from race_specs import BuggySpecs
Then, put your input race file (JSON) in the same directory, and run the script from there:
python3 run-buggy-race.py
Why races are run offline
The Buggy Racing project is really about the students developing their buggy editors. As such, the race server is really to help you manage and run that project. The races themselves are the context but it’s not where the focus is.
With this is mind, the details of how races are implemented has always been separate from how the students’ project is run. So although currently the races are run by a Python script, we anticipated races could be implemented in a variety of ways. You can customise or rewrite the Python script, or develop an entirely different race, using the buggy specs and race file as the input.
The buggy race, with its detailed input and output specifications, coupled with a customised player, could be an excellent games-dev project for final year students.
So the download → process → upload mechanism of race files is a very general way of leaving this open. For this reason, the race player (that animates the events from the race) is also entirely standalone, although the default one is included on the race server.
It’s even feasible for a creative classroom activity to run each race as a table-top simulation, that is, not digitally — provided the results file is constructed and uploaded accordingly.
For more about the context of races as an incentive for students — specifically qualification for races — see about races: What the races show.
Made a race-runner? Let us know!
If you implement a buggy-racing mechanism please consider sharing it with us so other people can choose how to run the races when they run a Buggy Racing project.
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