This article is about tests for the new version of new_bot 0.2.0 released 10 May 2026.

The full list of changes can be viewed by reading the file in the download dod\new_bot\  "_CHANGELOG.txt"

I will not go over all of them, just the ones I noticed as major change (better or worse - my opinion) so you can test yourself and maybe give feedback to Martee.

I have added a index for the topics as this is likely a long read.

INDEX

Linux support  OMG... that is huge. Server OPs... read this.
Use the help command in console  Finding commands via console
The bots speed, they are notably faster ?  Yes it seems they are faster there is a solution.
They use flashlights now ?  Yes...they can, also you can adjust that.
Did the skill get increased ?  It seems so, yes that changed.
New team balance and human to bot ratio behavior  Works well... introduced in 0.2.0 but has a bug to sort yet
The new behavior when you call a bot for help.  Calling a bot for help (like to cap a flag) has changed.
Random spawns - a new gameplay item  moving spawn points to the position of random waypoints, fun for gun game
New - gameplay timer command  A override for the round timer to the desired amount of minutes
Conclusion (so far)  This is a lot of features and there are still more.

Linux Support

I tested this out on my local Linux PCs. Linux Nobara 43 and that worked great, runs on Linux native, no problems.
Same on my Linux Mint dedicated sever (a VM on the local LAN)


The only adjustment there is how you call the plugin in dod/addons/metamod/plugins.ini.

In the dod/new_bot/_README.txt...
Add this line to your metamod plugins.ini:
win32 new_bot/new_bot_mm.dll

For Linux you obviously need ... linux new_bot/new_bot_mm.so

That should be in the docs but it isn't.

As for the actual testing (running native no Proton) it was the same as the windows tests.
I didn't notice any differences between Linux native listen server and the tests on the Linux dedicated server.

Speaking of a Linux dedicated server... Traditionally server operators have the windows server... because that is the only way to run dod bots... like Sturmbot.

As much as I love Marine bot with its stability and Linux support for dedicated servers, I noted most server operators not installing it.
I have to concede, it may have issues that don't matter to some but are critical to others considering the jump to a more stable Linux server.

It really is noticeable looking at the servers that do run bots Day of Defeat 1.3 server OS (US servers EU have more Linux) compared to any other game that are dominated by Linux servers. 

Why? I can only guess...

  • Marine Bot has difficulty with some weapons/class mod plugins (gun game and one weapon mods)
  • Marine Bot has 90 waypoints, maybe learning another waypointing system is holding the server ops back there if their maps are not done? OK I get it, Marine bot is "harder" to waypoint for...but it's really just different, not "harder".
  • The server ops ... just don't like Linux servers? (I find that hard to believe)
  • There is a "thicker wall penetration" issue when on a Linux server. That is a big deal for competitive players, maybe not so much for Pub players?

It maybe just that... they just don't know whats possible and not many are willing to change (especially the US server OP's)... that's OK. 

How new_bot 0.2.0 (Linux update) fixes some of those issues now...

  • new_bot uses sturmbot waypoints, just start the map... if you have the sturumbot waypoints on the server ...dod/sturmbot/waypoints, new_bot will generate a set from that (including the author name) and place a new set in dod\new_bot\waypoints So... if that is holding you back... its fixed.
  • Do you use Gun Game and noticed Marine Bots don't work right with that sort of plugin? new_bots work with the weapon/class altering plugin types.

As for the last issue where server ops (who use bots) are so used to the Windows server...that they are fine with it. That's fine, so long as you know your options :)

You can test this out locally by following this Linux dedicated server guide, installing Steamcmd, admin files and Marin Bot or/and new_bot.

Now on to some items that did change... for Listen and Dedicated servers Linux or Windows.

 

Use the help command in console

As it says in dod\new_bot\  "__COMMANDS.txt" you can get a full list that way too...


help - Will show available help categories (like all below)
help addbot - Will show commands to control add/removal of bots
help balance - Will show commands to control class balance
help behaviour - Will show commands to control behaviour of bots
help waypoint - Will show commands for waypoint creation
help route - Will show commands for route creation
help debug - Will show commands for debug
help gameplay - Will show commands for modifying the gameplay

 

The bots speed, they are notably faster ?

UPDATE 16 May 2025 - Martee provided a special update after this 0.2.0 version.
In that special test version he added a CVAR bot_stamina {on/off}.
When set to "off" it brings back a motion more in line with other bots, Marine Bot, Sturmbot and ShrikeBot.

So look out for that in a future update but for now version 0.2.0 has this behavior...

I noticed this right away in this version. You may not like it?

When we all spawn in they are all very fast off the mark.
They seem to be sprinting a lot more and their normal speed also seems higher.

OK so there has been a change, there are some CVAR's you can use too.


In the document  dod\new_bot\  "_COMMANDS.txt" you can find these two that I put in my new_bot.cfg and adjusted...

Code:
 // [50-500] Default 220
// The speed that the bots will move forwards/backwards. It is not recommended to change this.
bot_run_speed 180

//[50-500] Default 330
// The speed that the bots will sprint. It is not recommended to change this.
bot_sprint_speed 280

 So if you found the same thing... know you can adjust that... but yes, they are noticeably faster for sure and quite hectic.

They use flashlights now ?

Yes they do.
If you start a map, lets say dod_anzio (that Martee has edited with new waypoints) , you can see the bots using flashlights in dark areas !
Now while that is great it does give away the bots location in some cases.

Again we have a new CVAR we can use in new_bot.cfg....

Code:
 // {0-100} - Default 25
// The % chance the bot will turn on it's flashlight when touching a light_on waypoint 
bot_light_percent 25

 

Did the skill get increased ?

Yes it did, some may find that is too much?

You can blame me for that not Martee, I requested it and maybe its a little too much for some?

In the dod\new_bot\ "_CHANGELOG.txt" we can see...

Updated the aiming system to have different accuracy based on bot skill
Bots with max skill (1) will also try to aim at the head
Bots with min skill (5) will probably miss
Also...
Increased the speed that the bots can turn to help them aim faster
And..
Reworked the bot aiming code, should be more accurate over long distances

So basically... 1 is the highest skill. and 5 is the lowest skill.

The item "Increased the speed that the bots can turn to help them aim faster" is something you may notice too, its that split second thing in dod where the bot model isn't aiming at you, but beats you to the trigger...as they don't have a raised rifle or are even looking away.

So... that is critical feed back for Martee, are the skill settings... too high?  Send him a note: give feedback to Martee.

Now the skill can be set in two ways...

  1. (EASY) A global command you can set in new_bot.cfg.. bot_skill <number 1-5>
  2. (COMPLEX) A per bot option using the folder dod\new_bot\maps (in the file "default_bot.cfg" or a <mapname_bot.cfg) and either setting the command as a global one or per bot level if you want... lets say all your MGers and snipers to be dumb bots...
    e,g.: here is one called dod_flash_bot.cfg that loads bots when dod_flash is running and uses the addbot [team] [class] [skill] code to load each bot...
Code:
echo loaded dod_flash bot map config

// {0-32} - The desired amount of active players. 
// Will add/remove bots to try reach this number
// 0 is OFF Default: 0
target_players 16

// addbot [team] [class] [skill]
// [team] 1 - Allies, 2 - Axis
// [class] See the manual for more on class numbers.
// [skill] 1-5 ( 1 deadly, 5 low skill) 2 def


//Allies (1) (8 bots British)
addbot 1 1 1 Brit-Endfield-1       // Rifleman High skill
addbot 1 1 1 Brit-Endfield-2       // Rifleman High skill
addbot 1 2 3 Brit-Sten-1           // Sergeant Major Med skill
addbot 1 2 3 Brit-Sten-2           // Sergeant Major Med skill
addbot 1 3 5 Brit-Scoped_Enfield-1 // Marksman Low skill
addbot 1 4 5 Brit-Bren-1           // Gunner   Low skill
addbot 1 4 5 Brit-Bren-2           // Gunner   Low skill
addbot 1 5 5 Brit-PIAT-1           // PIAT     Low skill


//Axis (2)  (8 bots)
addbot 2 1 1 Ger-K98-1        // Grenadier High skill
addbot 2 2 1 Ger-K43-1        // Stosstruppe High skill
addbot 2 3 3 Ger-MP40-1       // Unteroffizier Med skill
addbot 2 4 3 Ger-STG44-1      // Sturmtruppe   Med skill
addbot 2 5 5 Ger-Sniper-1     // Scharfschütze Low skill
addbot 2 6 5 Ger-MG34-1       // MG34-Schütze  Low skill
addbot 2 7 5 Ger-MG42-2       // MG42-Schütze  Low skill
addbot 2 8 5 Ger-Rocket-1     // Panzerjäger (Panzerschreck) Low skill

As you can see there instead of just one "global" skill setting I have all my "camper bot" classes low skilled with a setting of "5".

Just note if you are used to other bots like Sturmbot/Shrikebot the numbers work the other way... "1" being the lowest and "8" being the highest skill... in Sturmbot.

Also note when using this file type target_players 16 was using in that file... more on that later as you can see above it gets complicated but it is cool.

 

New team balance and human to bot ratio behavior

This new set of CVAR's (below) are very welcome and on the whole works FAR better than Sturmbot, better than Marine bot (when moving from a team to spectator) and almost as good as the best in team balance and human to bot ratio... ShrikeBot.

martee still has one more bug to squash on this but it is a vast improvement in version 0.2.0.

Where and why these are used in all bot systems:

Why? Mostly used on dedicated servers as Humans join and leave it disrupts the teams and they need balancing.

What about other bot systems:
ShrikeBot was always the best when it came to using the bots to balance teams when Humans come on to the sever, move from Spectator or sit AFK on the MOTD/OK screen, or eventually leave the server.
The bot logic, no matter what the humans did would always switch around the ShrikeBots to balance the teams.

Marine Bot also has a system like that, however it only runs at a minimum of 30 seconds (every 30 seconds or whatever you set) it takes a look and if teams are unbalanced it evens them up. However, Marine Bot can get out of balance when Humans go to Spectator or sit at the OK/MOTD screen.

It is a difficult item to pull off, but... if the bot logic can do this (like the leader in that function, ShrikeBot) then it negates the need for a plugin... trust me I tried to tame Sturmbot via a plugin to make them behave like ShrikeBot... it was impossible, the plugin and the bot logic fought each other, it one added a bot the other would delete it and ended up in a endless cycle of adding and removing bots... not good for the server.

new_bot is almost perfect like ShrikeBot was "back in the day".

The CVAR's

keep_free_slots {0-4} - The amount of slots to keep free on a server, will kick bots until specified number of slots free Default: 0
balance teams {on/off} - If on will remove bots to make the teams even "off" is default
target_players {0-32} - The desired amount of active players. Will add/remove bots to try reach this number, 0 is OFF Default: 0

And also this... Reworked the join team/class code to fix some bugs

So how are they used?
Listen server: Lets say you want a 12 player sever. Sure you can do that on a Listen server... but even then I would set it to at least one above that...13 or 14, even "32" is OK. setting 12 bots in the config files... you get 12 bots.

Dedicated server: Now you don't just set your maxplayers "12" in a command line if you want a 12 player server, most server operators know that, there are reserve slots, admin access spares and all kinds of issues to consider.

12 player dedicated server advice to try:

For a start, the AMX Mod X file in dod/addons/amxmodx/configs/amxx.cfg In that file you find a place to have 2 reserved slots an admin can join, you can also hide the 2 slots...

Code:
// Amount of slots to reserve.
//
// Default value: 0
amx_reservation 2

// If you set this to 1, you can hide slots on your server.
// If server "full" of public slots and slots hidden, you must manually connect with connect console command
//
// Default value: 0
amx_hideslots 2

Now from the outside your server will have two more slots than it shows in the internet browser.
Lets say you want to run 12 bots, have non admin players join and keep 2 for admins to join.

amxx.cfg set it like above

Server startup make it...
maxplayers 16

In the new_bot.cfg...  
balance teams on
keep_free_slots 4 
target_players 12

Martee does say he still has work to do on the logic to quote him..."... when you run a full server and it keeps adding and removing a bot.."

Using the above, so long as you are not right up to the 32 player slots, you should be OK.

Here are my tests trying to get it to bug out, and perhaps others can test further and ...give feedback to Martee.

Test 1.
Put 12 bots on, make maxplayers "14"
Two players join, get in to teams and bots leave.
Bug: But when one goes to spectator bots are added and removed in a constant cycle.

Test 2.
Change the maxplayers to "15" and you can now have one player in spectator and the add/remove bot cycle bug is gone...
Bug: however if the second person moves to spectator, it starts again.

Test 3.
Now change maxplayers to "16" and you can have 2 humans in Spectator and..
Fixed: the bug is gone.

So if you have a server...

  • Watch your maxplayer and other settings and...
  • maybe a AMX Mod X AFK kicker for players ( I think this one from the dodplugins.net archive works OK) that sit too long in spectator or at the OK screen.

    CVAR's from that dod_afkmanager plugin (by FeuerSturm) are

// dod_afkmanager_afkkick <1/0> = enable/disable AFK Manager (kicker)
//
// dod_afkmanager_afkkicktime <time> = sets time in seconds a player can be AFK
// before he's kicked off the server.
//
// dod_afkmanager_speckick <1/0> = enable/disable SpectatorKicker
//
// dod_afkmanager_speckicktime <time> = sets time in seconds a player can be a
// spectator before he's kicked off the server
//
// dod_afkmanager_minplayers <amount> = minimum number of players that have to be on the
// server to get rid of afks and spectators

 

The new behavior when you call a bot for help.

This isn't new in bot programs, in Sturmbot you call a bot to help cap out a flag, sometimes you hear a "Yes Sir!" and they come... sometimes.

Bots will now shout I need backup when they have been waiting at a multiman flag capture point for a while
Bots can respond to other bots shouting for backup and move to their position

  • I did notice this is quite strong, even if you are not at a flag, you can get them to follow you asking for back up.
  • The request for help is immediate in that the yes sir! answer is sent so quick the two .wav files actually overlap.

There is also this related item...

When bots are trying to capture an area flag, enemy bots will have a chance to go to their location to try stop them, they will shout Go go go! If they are trying to stop the capture. flag_defend_percent controls the chance

So there is another CVAR... "flag_defend_percent" Likely 0-100 range the default in console was "25"

 

 

 Random spawns - a new gameplay item

A new gameplay item designed as a compliment to Gun Game (I have not tested this).

Added gameplay random_spawns {10-60} - The time in seconds to wait before moving spawn points to the position of random waypoints, fun for gun game, -1 is OFF, Default: -1

 

This one may be associated with the existing command "gun_game_mode" (on / off) That one I am not sure about either as gun game works fine with that on or off.
I guess more testing required :)
Its listed as...

gun_game_mode [on/off] Default: off
Changes bots weapon behaviour to help them play gun game. 

 

New - gameplay timer command

This one is interesting.

Added gameplay timer {1-60} - Sets the round timer to the desired amount of minutes, for example can be put inside dod_glider_bot.cfg to override the round time

I have not tested that yet. Looks very interesting and again we see this bot moving on Game Play items more and more that you normally see in AMX Mod X plugins that sometimes... don't include the bots involvement.

That is welcome too, having a Game Play change just built right into the bot, that is a "Game Changer" if you pardon the pun.
He has indicated there are more items like this in the works... cool, cannot wait.

 

 

Conclusion (so far)

As you can see, that is quite a lot in one release to test out and amazing relatively bug free with reliability not suffering.

There are of course more I have not listed in the dod\new_bot\  "_CHANGELOG.txt" file, lots of reworking of the code to do with existing Way-pointing structure and features that perhaps only waypointers care about.
I am sure interested in those but waypointers... read what he has there as I have left out quite a lot.

In all is this a improvement?

Yes its awesome, but  some issues around the bot skill worries me a bit, I have seen some settings players send me for RCBot2, Sturmbot and they are quite low on the skill.
Maybe this bot is too strong, a little fast for some of us?

More testing by others would really be helpful.. .give feedback to Martee.

While you are there... perhaps visit his donation page, he has been going through some issues of late like some programing software expense, not enough spare cash for PC equipment to test Linux properly... give him some help?