Local Optimization and Adversarial Consideration: Agent Skills in Everest Simulation Team

Skilled individual agents are firm basis of a strong soccer team. The skills available to Everest 2002 (agents) include kicking, dribbling, forwarding, ball interception and tackling. These intermediate sub goals are implemented by a combination of local optimization which hopes to determine the optimal primitive action from a local perspective and adversarial consideration which takes into account opponents and limitations imposed by simulation environment. Everest 2002 RoboCup simulation teams, building on 11 skilled agents and an on-line coach, won the 2nd place in RoboCup 2002 simulation league.