Is the qualification match robot randomizer really "random"

[Tom Saxton]

Cathy and I have just released a new version of MatchMaker, the schedule generation program, to FIRST. This new version includes several changes to avoid the clumping effect first reported on this thread.

The clumping was caused mostly by setting the minimum gap between matches too high, which was mostly caused by MatchMaker picking a default that was too large for larger tournaments. To a lesser extent, the way the algorithm was seeded contributed to this problem.

The changes are:

1. MatchMaker now limits the values specified for the minimum match separation so that values that will yield poor schedules will not be allowed.

2. The default chosen when MMS is not specified on the command line is improved, especially for larger tournaments.

3. The starting schedule that is used to seed the match generation algorithm is now randomized both to reduce clumping and also to mix teams up to improve fairness even in situations where constraints on the schedule force some amount of clumping.

4. MatchMaker has a new command line option, -x, which will cause it to just print out the lowest and highest allowed value for MMS, which may be used by the scorekeeper interface to show the range of allowed values.

If you want to give it a whirl, you can get a copy of the build from the MatchMaker download page:

http://www.idleloop.com/matchmaker/download.php

There is also a white paper on the same site that describes the algorithm used.

Please let me know by direct message if you find any issues with this release.