If a TCP server were available, would you use it?
What game(s) would you like to see running there?
It would be very easy to set up an Ants server. There is also working prototype code for an Asteroids-style game.
Previous contest engines (RoShamBo, Tron, PlanetWars) could be rewritten or ported to run on the current TCP server code.
It's going to take a fair bit of effort to get "official" contest servers running in the same way as before. TCP is easy, however. Requires a bit more technical understanding from the users; they have to modify a script and actively run their bot against the server, rather than just uploading and forgetting about it. On the upside, you get heaps of games for very little server power.
Do you think a community can be built around TCP servers alone? Do we really need the cumbersome infrastructure of official contest servers to bring everyone together?
If someone wants to set up official contest servers I will be very grateful and want to help (as I am grateful to the previous organizers for everything they have done). However, I suspect that it will be a long and slow process unless a very effective core of people (or an individual) decides to get it up and running fast. TCP servers can be provided today, within the hour in theory, and new games can be added as soon as they're written.
https://github.com/smiley1983/ants-tcp