what is this
This is a little helper utility thingie I made for the 2017 Z-Day event in the online game NationStates.net. It's likely of zero interest to you.
what's it do
This section assumes you know what Z-Day is.
It supplies superweapon targets to either Cure or Exterminate. You can read the code if you're curious about the specifics, but basically it will prioritise big nations that aren't currently active for curing, and zombie exporters for extermination. Cure target is kept until it's cured all the way, while exterminate targets are swapped rapidly so as to stagger the offence.
did it work
Technically, it worked correctly. The strategy it encodes doesn't have any obvious flaws, at least obvious to me. It did what it was designed to do.
It didn't help to defend our region, its effect on the turn of events became barely noticeable after just a few hours after the start of the game, activity turning aither sporadic or nonexistent.
I attribute its failure to that fact that it removed the social element from the game, and made it boring to play -- you would literally just be pressing buttons in order. It's a solution to the wrong problem; it ignores that players are people, not automations. Any future project I'll make for this gig will amplify the social aspect of the game, the little of it there is, rather than remove it. It will prioritize fun over efficiency.
why'd you publish it
To reminisce about the missteps of the past, and as a lesson to future generations.