To All - this is my first interjection in this community. I could not help but respond to this request for input. I am a graduate student in economics, working with a professor who would very much like to conduct a class in multi-agent systems for economics. I've been working with MASON for about 6 months now. The system is fascinating (I was a software engineer before studying economics) but I sorely feel the need for something like a text. The professor would very much like to hold a class using MASON or something like it. However, the lack of material is making it necessary to work with less sophisticated systems. From following this list, I can see where MASON is going - in fact, I have had discussions with faculty about using a game engine for multiagent simulations. But lack of examples in a text format is holding things back. Given the brief time period that a teacher has to conduct a class - with people from diverse backgrounds coming to the material for the first time- it is almost impossible to work without some kind of text. From talking to other students and faculty, I see packages like MASON as the next wave of tools to be used in economics. You can only go so far with a system like NetLogo. NetLogo is a good package but at some point, people want to have more flexibility than it offers. The use of Java is so prevalent world-wide that it is a natural next step for students. Having a wiki or text on MASON is an excellent idea. Jack Sexton San Jose State University On Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 3:23 PM, Magrath, Shane < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > UNCLASSIFIED > > Hi Sean et al, > I've been thinking for some time about whether there is sufficient > interest in a book with a title something like "Developing Multi Agent > Simulations with MASON". > > It's something I and other I know would value if it was done well. > > I guess most of us don't have time to write a book but the Internet > being what it is there may be other options - wikis, open-source text > books - that kind of thing... > > The tutorials are great starting point, but there are some things I'd > like to have covered in more depth, or show how to customise features > and functions in useful ways,... > > Thoughts? > > Shane Magrath > > -----Original Message----- > From: MASON Multiagent Simulation Toolkit > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sean Luke > Sent: 27 November 2009 02:25 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: PacMan > > I've committed our two-player multiple-map PacMan implementation on > MASON. Thanks to Vittorio Zipparo who hung out with me while we wrote > it. I've also stolen a bit of code Brian Hrolenok wrote from our > internal Beacons project, which hopefully will get put out as a MASON > demo in its own right. > > Sean > > IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Australian Defence > Organisation and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the > Crimes Act 1914. If you have received this email in error, you are > requested to contact the sender and delete the email. >