why does BB7 timeout?

[James M]

when it does that it's frustating.  anyone know?

[Homer]

I don't know why it does it but I can tell you it is not that bad a thing. When it times out it counts as a lost game. You don't want your wining percentage high because there are people who will report you for having a high winning percentage.

[Element]

BB7 timeout

yea that stuff ticks me off too....it will have it down to like 1 balloon and then when its almost there it times out. you know i dont go on auto a whole lot and when i do im usally watchin it so you can see when it does timeout it ticks me off a little bit more than it should lol

[fatkid]

After watching the time-outs for some time it seems like the program's combo of clicks in its "brain" get ahead or behind the actual clicks... So what happens is that the wrong balloons will get clicked... Once this happens the program will eventually try to click on a balloon pair that doesn't actually exist... This problem has been brought up many times... Almost makes me think Eric is taking a break on updating his programs... People say that these problems are really a blessing in disguise but I still see 'em as programming flaws... I figure if Eric wanted the program to screw up every few games or so he could easily put in an option to lose every 1 out of whatever number of games... Just my $0.02

[goatblls2006]

I definitely don't want to look like an auto when it plays so it is nice not to win every game.  However, I agree with fatkid that it should be a choice.  To test if the algorithm was a "perfect" one (as in it could get to 0 every time if given enough time)  I gave the program 5 minutes to think, it pops the puzzle half way, and then thinks again for 5 minutes.  I admit that the number of 0s I got increased substantially but there were still several puzzles it couldn't solve completely.  I would support an updated version that was "perfect" but had that humanizing factor built in, but I am by no means complaining that the program is dissatisfying, as it is still pretty amazing in what it does.  Just my $0.04

[Element]

I totally agree that BB7 should be updated  :-\ It would be an awsome program if it had the "lose game" option and the "play perfect" option (to where it would take as much time needed to search the puzzle and start when it has the least possible balloons left)  :) Please update!