My 2 cents on the matter:
- Regarding the weird behavior in multiplayer, double-check that it’s not because of the “3 commands per tick” rule: Clarification on new release logic - #13 by kobus-v-schoor. An easy way to test this is to check if your bot works fine when you only run the game with 3 players. My bot was behaving sporadically before compensating for this (because your command stays queued). From my own tests, with the latest engine I do not see any unexpected behavior playing with 4 bots that properly account for this.
- Regarding the prod map size, once the collectables are finished it is possible to get through the level by digging. It’s possible that the bots get into a stalemate with not enough solids/collectables available to finish the level but I think it’s only likely when the bots are very well matched. Perhaps the needed collectables can be slightly lowered? My biased opinion: I spent a lot of time getting my bot to run on the prod map. It’s a lot more difficult to get working, which is why I assumed the EC team chose that route. There were multiple times were the EC team confirmed that the prod map is going to be used, I confirmed it here: question, confirmation. (there was another post which I can’t find now that also confirmed it).