I realized recently that the bots that I've designed will only perform
well on newer machines. Because some of the algorithms I've designed
have running times as high as 5N (I realize that this is not big-O
notation, but at these values, the coefficient has a significant
effect), at less than approximately 80% CPU, the clock will run faster
than the algorithms. The result is undesirable behavior: not shooting,
failing to move back to 740m distance, etc.
I didn't find this out until recently, when I noticed a significant
difference between performance when I tried to run several copies of
the applet at once, to increase trials without jumping to 2x, 4x, or
8x speed.

I am in the process of redesigning, with the hope of eliminating this
type of flaw, but I would like to know what sort of environment the
online arena will provide. Can I depend on 70% CPU or higher, or
should I ensure that my bot continues to function at lower values (40%
CPU? 20%?)?

Thanks for your time,
-Stephen