Die Macht » stretch dating to Terry Labontes 2003 victory, th

Its match point at the grand finals of a huge StarCraft II tournament. One player booth contains a professional Zerg player complete with massive headphones and stoic concentration. The other booth is ... empty. After Zerg wins in the late game with an unexpected tech switch to infestor/broodlord, the crowd goes wild. The pro player comes out on stage and accepts a huge trophy. They are proud not only of winning, but of dealing a blow to their opponent the likes of which could contribute to technology benefiting millions of people worldwide.At BlizzCon earlier this month in Anaheim, California, Blizzard announced an ambitious new project in collaboration with DeepMind, a leading artificial intelligence research company acquired by Google in 2014. After creating the AlphaGo AI that bested the worlds top Go player earlier this year, DeepMinds next groundbreaking challenge will be StarCraft II. If DeepMind is able to build an AI that could learn how to beat top players such as Byun ByuN Hyun Woo in the complex real-time strategy, tactics and resource management of this game, it would be a giant step forward in AI research. And with DeepMinds interest in using its research to solve hard problems in areas such as?healthcare and energy efficiency on a massive scale, this Starcraft II project could impact the whole world.Soon after AlphaGos Go victory, there were signs that DeepMind would take on StarCraft next. This was not lost on legendary StarCraft player/commentator and former competitive chess player Dan Artosis Stemkosi, for whom StarCraft seemed like the logical next step for AI research after games like chess and Go. While he thought that an AI could have a huge advantage in terms of mechanical skill and precise resource calculations, he also thought this advantage would not be enough to defeat experienced, resourceful pros.I think this is a good place to bring up the super-confident statement made by The Emperor of Terran himself, Lim BoxeR Yo Hwan: Even if it has studied all of the many strategies Ive used, Ill go at it with an unstoppable strategy Ive prepared, Artosis wrote.As soon as I saw this quote, I knew exactly what he meant. There will be some flaw within the AI. Everything you do in StarCraft has a cost, somewhere you have to cut a corner. With enough games under his belt, BoxeR, or any other extremely experienced pro gamer, would find where the AI would be cutting these corners. ... There will be patterns, and patterns are dangerous in StarCraft.StarCraft play is highly situational, the argument goes, and trying to manage all of these pieces in real time based on certain algorithms or formulas cannot top humans in the realm of intuitive pattern recognition (and breaking such patterns). In the long-running AIIDE StarCraft: Brood War AI Competition, the three best programs of 2015 each faced off with a top Russian StarCraft player. They all lost.Furthermore, DeepMinds proposed AI is at an interesting disadvantage compared with, say, IBMs Deep Blue. Deep Blue had sophisticated pre-programmed rules and calculations that allowed it to dominate in chess, but it couldnt do anything else; this is called a narrow AI. DeepMinds StarCraft AI will be the opposite. Its goal is to become a general-purpose learning machine, which means it will learn the game from scratch, with only very basic game-specific information guiding it through automated trial-and-error in order to develop real, generally applicable intelligence. Essentially, this digital mind will cut its baby teeth on conquering StarCraft in order to learn how to adapt to and operate in the outside world.But just like Legend of Zeldas Link needs the Old Men to provide him with hints and weapons to achieve success in Hyrule, a true StarCraft AI also needs information and tools to bootstrap itself from blank slate to World Championship Series winner. The DeepMind team has Googles massive computational infrastructure to help with one side of it, but thats not enough. It needs the community.This is where Blizzard comes in. In a BlizzCon session fittingly hosted by Artosis, StarCraft II senior software engineers described two ways in which the game itself would enable players and fans everywhere to participate in this grand experiment. First, all players from bronze leaguers to pros will be feeding massive amounts of data into DeepMind and other developing AIs just by generating replays on ladder. Second, Blizzard is creating a powerful set of software tools?that will enable modders and researchers to develop AIs that can fully interact with the game. Blizzard is transforming StarCraft II from a popular computer game and esport into a platform for cutting-edge computer science all over the world.This unprecedented partnership is coming at a perfect time for game development and AI research.On a large, competitive scale, there has not really been any other scenario ... where the game companies have actively helped [third parties to create game AIs], and you really need that level of assistance, Matthew Fisher, an AI researcher who recently finished his Ph.D. from Stanford, said in an interview with ESPN.In 2011, Fisher was building a StarCraft II AI with a similar approach to DeepMind, and he had to do it all on his own.The main reason youre seeing this particular thing happening now is [because] its the first time the artificial intelligence community has really been developed enough ... to the point where you [could start to see AIs that] would challenge professional players, he said.Sure, blowing the AI research field wide open is a big deal, but how could this project affect the esports scene? Polish StarCraft II pro player Artur Nerchio Bloch, a Red Bull-sponsored player on EURONICS Gaming who won DreamHack Valencia earlier this year, spoke to ESPN about his perspective.Some people were saying it could be used to make some kind of dynamic tutorial for players ... but I dont think thats the way to go, really, he said. If anything, this AI is going to help us to develop a lot of strategies ... we havent seen before.Nerchio studied information technology in school and happens to have a particular interest in artificial intelligence. Hes very excited for the DeepMind project. For all that, the larger impact of a theoretical AI that could defeat top players like him is unpredictable.Im a little bit worried, I guess, because an AI beating the best players in the world is always exciting, but at the same time it can be damaging to the competition or to the community surrounding the games, knowing that theres something better than the best players out there, Nerchio said. I am excited but worried at the same time.Although the specter of an unbeatable AI might loom large, Fisher believes the process of getting to that theoretical point could produce some of the most interesting and exciting StarCraft ever.Expert players will find weaknesses in the AIs, and then youll have this really cool period of a year or more where the AIs are adapting, Google is updating its AI to deal with the power of expert players, expert players are battling against Googles AI ... [in] this very cool interplay, Fisher said.The benefit of the research to StarCraft is not ultimately focused on esports, however.I feel that, for the players of the game, this should be equally exciting regardless of your level, DeepMind research scientist Oriol Vinyals said to ESPN. It may be more obvious that the esport scene may be more enthusiastic about it, but in fact I believe that average players may see some benefits sooner, such as AI coaches, or additional aids for the novice players so they can focus on certain aspects of the game (e.g., by letting AI control your units and letting the player decide on the high level strategy).We dont know what will happen with the Google DeepMind StarCraft II project -- whether their AI will be able to defeat pro players, whether it will be able to revolutionize player coaching or whether it will be able to transfer its approach to the real world at all. But people wont give up, because the desire to change the world through technology and the fascination with a game that ruthlessly challenges us to think are inextricably intertwined in a new generation.As a teenager, I played the original Starcraft and Brood War for a while. I was a very good player on the Spanish and European scene (top 32 or so, Id say) back in around 2000, Vinyals said. Later on, as an AI Ph.D. student at Berkeley when I was approached to be the coach of the bot we built back then, I had no doubt that my unique skills in the game plus knowledge about AI would be a nice mix to build what we did. It is extremely nice that, even further into my career, StarCraft is making yet another comeback.Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. NCAA Jerseys Outlet . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007.By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire ServiceDistributed by The Sports ExchangeDARLINGTON, S.C. -- Tropical storm Hermine made sure Chris Bueschers path to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup would be just a bit more difficult.In qualifying for the last five races, Buescher has advanced to the second round four times and to the third round once, posting an average starting position of 20.4.But at Darlington Racing this weekend, Buescher didnt have a chance to qualify, thanks to the storm that washed out all track activity on Friday.Accordingly, with the starting order set by owner points, Buescher will take the green flag from 31st place in Sunday nights Bojangles Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBC) -- right beside David Ragan, the driver hes trying to beat for the 30th position in the regular-season standings.If Buescher is 30th or better after the Sept. 10 race at Richmond, he make the Chase. If hes 31st or worse in the driver standings, his Chase spot will go to someone else.With two races left before the cutoff, Buescher leads Ragan by seven points for the all-important 30th spot.On a track fraught with peril, starting that deep in the field is certain to raise Bueschers stress level.Definitely, Darlington being one of the tougher race tracks we go to, that makes us a little bit anxious to get out there and get rolling this weekend, Buescher said. Nature has not helped us by any means. Without qualifying right, its going to put us starting a lot further back than what weve been able to qualify the last several months, so thats a little bit of a bummer there.But, on the other hand, Darlington is my favorite race track we go to. I absolutely love that race track. I had a lot of fun there on the XFINITY side, and Ive gotten my fair share of stripes already, so maybe Im done with that and we can keep it clean this weekend.This will be the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Darlington for the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, who is competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors this season.In four XFINITY Series races, Buescher has an average finish of 17.0, with his best result of fifth coming in last years championship season.CALE YARBOROUGH HONORED IN DARLINGTON CEREMONYIn a special ceremony on pit road at Darlington Raceway on Saturday morning, NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough was honored for his contributions to the sport.The garage area at the 1.366-mile track was named in Yarboroughs honor.Yarborough, the honorary pace car driver for Sunday nights Bojangles Southern 500, grew up in nearby Timmonsville and decided he wanted to be a race car driver the first time he saw an event at the Lady in Black.In fact, he sneaked into the garage that now bears his name to watch his first race at the track.I slipped under the fence when I came to see my first race, and now, here Ive got a garage named after me, so its great, Yarborough said. This is a great honor. Theres no place like Darlington to me, and to have a garage area named after you from now on is just great.Team Peenske driver Joey Logano is five victories short of the five Southern 500s Yarborough won during his career, but Logano remembers his first encounter with the three-time Sprint Cup champion during a winners circle appearance in 2009.ddddddddddddHe took me around in a ride-along car, and I sat in the passenger seat and he came out with his old race suit on, open-face helmet, bubble goggles, and I got to sit in the passenger seat with Cale Yarborough driving around Darlington, Logano said. I thought, Man, this is the coolest thing.Obviously, I wasnt watching racing when he was racing -- I wasnt alive -- but re-watching races and reading a lot about the history of the sport and what hes meant to NASCAR racing, its neat that hes still so involved and he still cares about the sport.KEVIN HARVICK ON POLE AFTER QUALIFYING RAINOUTThe odds against Sundays Bojangles Southern 500 producing another first-time winner are relatively heavy.When all track activity was washed out on Friday, the starting field for the race was set according to owner points, and the top 10 starters in the field, from pole sitter Kevin Harvick through 10th-place Matt Kenseth, all have at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory this season.Why is that significant? Because in the last 14 races at Darlington, 10 of the winners have come from the top 10 spots on the starting grid. So the odds say a driver who already has won this year will take the checkered flag on Sunday night.Brad Keselowski will line up next to Harvick, with Carl Edwards in third and fourth, respectively, behind the front-row starters. Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kenseth complete the top 10.The last time Harvick started from the pole in Darlington, in April 2014, he picked up his only victory at the track.But that doesnt mean 11th-place starter Chase Elliott should abandon hope of notching his first career win.Back in 2004, Elliotts Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, started 11th and ultimately took the checkered flag. In the 14-race stretch dating to Terry Labontes 2003 victory, the deepest in the field a winner has started is 23rd (Regan Smith in 2011).SHORT STROKESJimmie Johnson paced opening practice at Darlington with a lap at 176.025 mph, followed by Denny Hamlin (175.060 mph) and Sunoco rookie Ryan Blaney (174.711 mph). Ryan Newman, who currently is 15 points behind Jamie McMurray for the final Chase spot on points, was fifth fastest at 174.519 mph. McMurray was 26th on the speed chart. ... Newman, however, slipped to 25th fastest in final practice, while McMurray was two spots ahead of him in 23rd. Brad Keselowski was fastest in the session at 174.649 mph, followed by Kurt Busch (174.031 mph) and Johnson (174.019 mph). Kasey Kahne, whose only realistic path into the Chase is a victory in one of the next two races, was fourth on the list at 173.656 mph. ' ' '