The bot is spawned by the server/GUI, so it inherits the SERVER's
environment. The user could not tell whether their exports reached the
bot, so print a one-shot greppable report at boot:
grep '^\[env\]' /tmp/modularbot_stdout.log
Section A prints every TR_*/GUN_* this process actually received, the
count vs the total env size, a loud warning when nothing matched, and
the process identity (pid/ppid, cwd, self command line, and the PARENT
command line) so the spawn trap is obvious. Section B prints the
resolved effective value of every documented knob with its source
(env|default), including clamps and the rack's empty-set fallback.
Build identity (NimVersion, compile date/time, binary path/size/mtime)
pins the exact artifact. Suppress with TR_ENV_REPORT=0.
docs/env_reference.md: add the missing GUN_SHOTLOG_PATH,
GUN_SELECTOR_MINOBS/FLOOR/POOL/RANK/SHRINK/SEED, TR_ENV_REPORT and
-d:TM_NCLAUSES; record the measured TR_TMHORIZON_WINDOW verdict; and
add a prominent 'Did my env vars actually reach the bot?' section with
the boot report, the /proc/PID/environ no-code check, the correct GUI
launch recipe, and how to prove the trap deliberately.
The user's request: "when our bot is low OR enemy is low, it is useless to use high
power instead low fast bullets have more chances to finish the enemy. Let's do a
math slope: starting from some health down, the power goes down with it."
1. ENERGY SLOPE (`TR_POWER_ENERGY_*`), replacing the old hard step at 50 energy:
cap = ENERGY_MAX at/above ENERGY_HI, ENERGY_MIN at/below ENERGY_LO, LINEAR in
power between, clamped. Defaults HI=80 LO=20 MIN=0.5 MAX=3.0, so no cap >=80,
0.5 at <=20, and e.g. E=65 -> 2.375, E=50 -> 1.75, E=35 -> 1.125.
Rationale: bullet speed is 20-3p, so lower power = FASTER bullet (less lead
error, higher hit chance), fires more often (10+2p) and drains slower (p/shot).
E[dE] = p(3P-1) => break-even hit probability is 1/3 INDEPENDENT of power, and
our measured rates are 5-27%, far below it.
2. FINISHING CAP (`TR_POWER_FINISH_KILL`, default ON): cap power at the SMALLEST
bullet that still removes the enemy's remaining energy -
`E<=4 -> p=E/4` (min 0.1), `4<E<=16 -> p=(E+2)/6`, `E>16 -> no cap`.
Rationale, and it makes the user's instinct stronger than a heuristic: server
1.3.1 caps the damage SCORE at the energy ACTUALLY REMOVED, so overkill is
WASTED damage AND ~6x the energy for ZERO extra score. Damage is 4p (p<=1) /
6p-2 (p>1).
Both are min-composed with the existing far/below-average caps, may only LOWER
power (exhaustively tested), and are exempt while ramming.
`TR_POWER_POLICY=0` still returns the uncapped control exactly.
MEASURED ENERGY SAVING (offline replay of the DrussGT fixtures, 28,797 ticks):
arm shots energy meanP E/1k ticks vs cliff
control(uncapped) 1913 4646 2.43 161.4 -90.2%
cliff (today) 2363 2443 1.03 84.8 0.0%
slope 2404 2178 0.91 75.6 ** 10.9% LESS **
slope+finish 2404 2167 0.90 75.3 ** 11.3% LESS **
So the slope spends ~11% less energy than the cliff AND fires slightly MORE shots
(2404 vs 2363) - both directions at once.
HONEST NOTE on the finishing rule's reach here: ticks where the enemy is low
(0 < E <= 16) are only 2252/28797 = 7.8% of these fixtures, so finishing adds just
~11 energy of saving against DrussGT. It matters in CLOSER fights, not this one.
Verification: test_power_policy 58 (was 26) in BOTH the default and TR_POWER_POLICY=0
control arms - slope at E=100/80/65/50/35/20/5, powerToKill across E=0.1..100, the
inverse-cover property for E<=16, monotonicity, ram exemption, and an exhaustive
sweep proving power <= preference. Guards: test_gun_harness 39, test_vbullet_metric
11, test_power_selection 3, test_adaptive_radar 41, test_tfil_ring_weights 24,
test_ram_decision 40, test_rack_membership 48, test_selector_tiebreak 19,
test_tm_pattern_registration 20, test_vbullet_admit_gate 12. acceptance
12/12 PASS. ModularBot compiles release.
Adds `common_libs/tests/measure_power_policy.nim` (the energy/histogram tool) and
updates docs/env_reference.md for the new `energySlope|finishKill` log reasons.
NOT MEASURED: the battle/hit-rate effect. The offline figures use the fixture
shooter's energy as a proxy, open-loop; the RELATIVE saving is the meaningful part.
Single place to answer 'what env vars exist, what do they default to, and what are
they for'. Grouped by area, with the measured reason each knob exists recorded
next to it, since several defaults are counterintuitive:
- The shipped rack is PATTERN ONLY, with the revert one-liner included.
- GUN_SELECTOR_TIEBREAK defaults off because it measured NEGATIVE on real hit
rate, and the per-tick random draw inside the tie band is load-bearing
(commitment cost 7.02% -> 5.10%, p=0.002).
- The power policy is ON because turning it off measured 10.6% -> 7.9% real hit
rate; TR_POWER_FINISH_KILL exists because server 1.3.1 caps the damage SCORE at
the energy actually removed, so overkill scores nothing.
- The ring mover is NOT the default and must not be shipped: best offline hit
rate of anything measured, but it halves survival (16/49 -> 6/49, p=0.012).
- The proactive ram is off because it converts 0/6 times.
- TR_PATTERN_RAD_* are kept but are structurally incapable of changing the shot
(the aim is bearing-only, measured byte-identical on the path metric).
- TR_TMHORIZON_NSTATES is the automata inertia ('mood'): lower = adapts faster.
- TR_VBULLET_ADMIT_ONLY=1 gave +68% tick rate (87 -> 146 ticks/s).
Documents the read-once-at-start convention and the operational trap that the bot
is spawned by the server/GUI, so a variable exported in an unrelated terminal does
NOT reach it. Also lists the compile-time -d: knobs and the test-harness jars.
Snapshot of the source at this commit; f9f8d84-era knobs added by the in-flight
jobs are included where already present.
SirStone