I want to learn how to create my own open-sourse AI, not necessarily from scratch but I want to learn the configuration and the basics of making it work
i am learning the basics of java in school but i am still clueless where to start for this, is there another thread already made explaining this? or, if it is simple, could someone explain it to me?

If you're learning the basics of Java, this would be a very difficult project to do in Java. It would be better to start with Fizzer's new open source AI support, which is done in C# rather than Java, so you will have a lot less to do from scratch. See https://www.warlight.net/blog/index.php/2016/02/the-warlight-ai-goes-open-source/

Fortunately, C# has many similarities to Java, so what you learn about Java will help you with C#, and vice versa.

Edited 2/29/2016 19:11:06

there are many different ways to tackle AI, it largely depends on the problem you are solving and your interests in terms of algorythms.

you have basic things like min max algorythms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimax
where you define rules to compute a score for your current setting and then try to minimize or maximize that value for every possible move.

and you have things like heuristics and functional programming
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic_%28computer_science%29

neural networks have also dominated a lot of AI problem solving, when properly configured
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_neural_network

you also have behavior trees
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_tree_%28artificial_intelligence,_robotics_and_control%29

and a shitton of differnt optimization algorythms that can usually be applied to concise AI problems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Optimization_algorithms_and_methods

so it largely depends on what you want to focus on. best to start with is always minimax.

Edited 3/1/2016 15:22:09

Well, first, thank you for the responses.

Although those programming algorithms and concepts fascinate me, most of it is a bit beyond me. I am basically starting at the very beginning. Past the program we use at school, I am new to all of this. I am more focused on configuration right now, thinking that once I get the right programs and understand how to use them, I can download the current AI to play around with it and see what I can do on my own.

If it is recommended that I use C#, what program should I install? Are there translation programs required for zip files?

check fizzer's video on the blog page about the AI, he walks through the toolchain. it's using visual studio and c#

I like using visual studio for my coding (we do Python, C#, Javascript, cshtml).

hey Kevin I'm starting right now by downloading Visual Studio. Let me know where you get stuck to get your environment set up.

*** side note ***
To run/test either the production AI, Wunderwaffe or Cowzow without making any changes of your own, you don't need Visual Studio, but you still need .NET. You can just go to the release page:
https://github.com/FizzerWL/WarLight.AI/releases
download WarLight.AI.0.1.zip
extract it
Follow the instruction from Fizzer's video to run it
https://youtu.be/A3A0U2RxLKo?t=30s
(He is saying that you cannot run this without .NET; if you install Visual Studio, .NET gets installed automatically with it)
*** end side note ***

Here are the steps I took

1. Download and install Visual Studio. I left the default installation options. Select Visual C# when it's done installing.
https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-community-vs.aspx

2. Decide which version you want to use first. There will be a couple of versions out there that might be out of sync with each other. Right now we have

https://github.com/FizzerWL/WarLight.AI (Contains all 3, prod, Wunderwaffe, and Cowzow)
https://github.com/Norman1/WarLightAI (Should contain only Wunderwaffe, although I do see Cowzow and prod as well)

I will be working with Norman's version. Any change that Fizzer makes, Norman will have to bring over to his version to keep them up to date.

3. Download the source code. There are 2 ways to do this:
3a. Fork. For this you need a github account. Forking makes a copy of the existing repository into your github account. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think any updates that the original developer makes are not propagated down to the fork that I made, right?
3b. Straight up download the zip file

4. Let's assume you downloaded the zip file. Unzip to a location you remember. Open WarLight.AI.sln - it should open with Visual Studio.

Now your screen should look exactly like Fizzer's at 5:30 in the video https://youtu.be/A3A0U2RxLKo?t=5m30s

5. Make a change to the code. Compile it. Every time you compile it,

\WarLight.AI-master\bin\Debug\WarLight.AI.exe will change.

6. Open a console (Cmd). Navigate to the above location and run
WarLight.AI.exe just like in the video

Edited 3/8/2016 23:29:43