STARCRAFT AI

Below are the steps I used in 2024 to make this work. However, I used the tutorial found here to help me get going:

https://github.com/JavaBWAPI/JBWAPI (tutorial at bottom)

STEP 1 – INSTALL JAVA JDK

Install the latest Java JDK from Oracle.

STEP 2 – INSTALL ECLIPSE

Install the latest version of Eclipse (for Java Developers) from eclipse.org.

STEP 3 – ECLIPSE PROJECT

Create an Eclipse project for your StartCraft AI bot.

STEP 4 – GET JBWAPI JAR

Instead of getting the JAR file, you can use Maven or Gradle to make this work.

a) Download the latest JBWAPI jar file from GitHub. Link: https://github.com/JavaBWAPI/JBWAPI

b) Right click on the project name and choose NEW > FOLDER. Name the folder JARS.

c) Copy and paste the downloaded JAR file into the JARs folder.

d) Inside Eclipse, right click on the JAR file, choose Built Path > Add to Build Path.

STEP 5 – HELLOBOT CLASS

Create a HelloBot class and copy the following code into it.

Note: If you didn’t do the previous step correctly, the code below will contain many errors.

import bwapi.*;

public class HelloBot extends DefaultBWListener

{

private BWClient bwClient;

@Override

public void onFrame()

{

Game game = bwClient.getGame();

game.drawTextScreen(100, 100, "Hello World!");

}

public static void main(String[] args)

{

HelloBot bot = new HelloBot();

bot.bwClient = new BWClient(bot);

bot.bwClient.startGame();

}

}

STEP 6 – STARCRAFT GAME

Copy your Starcraft folder to c:/Starcraft.

STEP 7 – BWAPI & CHAOSLAUNCHER

Download the BWAPI setup file (I used 4.4). You will have to specify the location of your Starcraft folder (C:/Starcraft).

You will be asked to specify where to install BWAPI. I chose C:/Starcraft/BWAPI to keep both the Starcraft files and BWAPI files together.

STEP 8 – RUNNING CHAOSLAUNCHER

In the BWAPI folder (C:\Starcraft\BWAPI\Chaoslauncher) find the ChaosLauncher folder and run the ChaosLauncher.exe file.

Check the plugins below. Under Settings, you can also uncheck the warning about admin priviledges.

STEP 9 – LAUNCHING STARCRAFT

In ChaosLauncher, hit Start. Starcraft begins. You can now run your Java program and it should connect to the game. You can start a game and you should see the Hello World message once the game begins.

LINKS

SSCAI (https://sscaitournament.com/) – Old tournament runner

BASIL (https://www.basil-ladder.net/) – Current tournament runner

JBWAPI (https://github.com/JavaBWAPI/JBWAPI)

OLD STEPS

These are old steps that I was working on when I realized that JBWAPI could be used with 64bit software.

STEP 1 – JAVA JDK 32-BIT

The last Oracle JDK that was 32-bit was Java 8 which was released in 2014.

In 2024, the link for the last 32-bit release from Oracle is not working. The link can be found on this page (in case it is fixed.)

In 2024, the link to the Open JDK 8 can be found here (and it works!)

Note: A local back up of the Open JDK has been made.

STEP 2 – ECLIPSE 32-BIT

The last Windows version of Eclipse that was 32-bit was released in 2018-09.

Click here for the download page.

Note: A local back up of this version of Eclipse has been made.