The Fittest

[robly18]

Bug: When starting a new generation, the distance counter starts at a negative number (usually -3 to -5) instead of 0. Not only is this wrong (distance can't be negative), but it makes it hard to figure out how far the creatures are actually going.

I think it's because it's not exactly distance as much as it is x position (but that's a mouthful!) and I think they start *behind* the 0 line but not ahead of it, so it averages out to a negative x position.

[testtubegames]

Two things, there -- indeed you've found a bug. When the round starts, the distance should definitely be zero. (After all, I go to great pains to position these weird creatures fairly. I guess the first 'find distance' happens *just* before they are in their proper positions, though.)

As for the negative distances, I do want to have negatives. As robly says, that represents the fact the creatures have gone backwards. And if evolution isn't going so hot (like if you, with your mouse, click the worst creature each generation), then they can go backwards. But I can see why distance might be misleading, since in physics, that term is always positive.

Maybe I change it to something like "Farthest: 10m".

[terfe]

Hello TTBers! I am terfe, exfret's brother.

I have created a creature that gets 90 distance in fittest. Beat that Andy!

[NealCruco]

Whether or not you've fixed it, the bug is gone now. I'm running the sim right now, and distance starts at 0 every time.

[A Random Player]

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After 818 generations with pits and starting with the stick. Once the rotating center was evolved around gen 790, it spread rapidly.

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Gen 926. It's now getting further than throwing itself down after the first pit.

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Gen 1107. Stilts!

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Gen 1313. Getting up to 40-45, stagnated at 29 about 150 generations. Evolution. Man. When you think it's stopped, nope.

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Gen 1517. This reached 67 for me!

[NealCruco]

ARP, when I run your last creature with a spiked floor, it breaks every distance record I've seen on this site. Great job!

Record!.png (57.25 KiB) Viewed 35597 times

Edit: Okay, Andy, you have a big problem to fix here. As anyone can see from the above photo, the ground ends at about 80 meters. (At least, I'm assuming that's the unit used.) I thought this was just cosmetic. It's not. The ground actually ends there. So after running ARP's creature through about 20 more generations, it just crawls over to the pit and throws itself off. Not much point to the evolution process now. And just so you can see for yourself, here's the DNA.

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[testtubegames]

Hello TTBers! I am terfe, exfret's brother. I have created a creature that gets 90 distance in fittest. Beat that Andy!

90?! On flat ground? I'm impressed - would love to see the DNA if you've still got it!

Gen 1313. Getting up to 40-45, stagnated at 29 about 150 generations. Evolution. Man. When you think it's stopped, nope.

That's a neat progression -- especially since you started from a stick. The pits can take a looong time for evolution to figure out. I sometimes start my creatures in the relatively forgiving flat ground, then work them up to the pits once they've got basic locomotion down. But the species you made... pit-born and raised they are. Incredible the clever ways evolution can solve problems. Stilts... that turn into a single support-tail! Crazy.

As anyone can see from the above photo, the ground ends at about 80 meters

It's a commentary on the futility of life. How we're all striving towards a goal, but when we finally reach it...

Ah, no, actually, I just put an upper-limit to the distance to make things easier back when I was making this. I figured people wouldn't make it that far (I figured wrong!), and by capping the distance it speeds things up a bit. That's fix-able, I just need to figure out a way to extend the ground. Either extend it to another high number, or figure out a creative way to have it move along with the creature.

In other news, you all seem to be enjoying the sim. After having it gather dust on my laptop for so long, it's nice to see that the evolving creatures have some cool secrets to share (stilts/tails/defeating-the-caterpillar). So maybe it's time to take this one out to the prime-time... up on my main website. If so, what suggestions do you all have for the sim? Things you want, things you hate, etc. (Play modes, or # of save slots, or going back in history, or or or) As I said at the top, I'm not going to spend too much time on this one, maybe a week's worth of work.

[A Random Player]

In other news, you all seem to be enjoying the sim. After having it gather dust on my laptop for so long, it's nice to see that the evolving creatures have some cool secrets to share (stilts/tails/defeating-the-caterpillar). So maybe it's time to take this one out to the prime-time... up on my main website. If so, what suggestions do you all have for the sim? Things you want, things you hate, etc. (Play modes, or # of save slots, or going back in history, or or or) As I said at the top, I'm not going to spend too much time on this one, maybe a week's worth of work.

Suggestions:
A few more tooltips/helps (like for the mutation button), and what selecting a line thing actually does
Allow inputing DNA without choosing a starting creature
Setting different times (like 5 seconds or 20 seconds)
What about lower/higher gravity?

So after running ARP's creature through about 20 more generations, it just crawls over to the pit and throws itself off. Not much point to the evolution process now.

They aren't evolving catapults to launch themselves off the edge yet? We must give them more time!

[exfret]

Suggestions:
DNA modifier- input each part of the code to get the DNA string so 'artificial evolution' is easier. Components that rotate in harmonic motion and pistons (back and forth, also harmonic), because it's limiting to just use the same old rotating parts. Ability to have more legs. More save slots. More control over mutations (e.g. Max length added/taken away from arm, chance of adding new arm, max number of mutations, ability to mutate piston arms). Ability to choose the number creatures that take part and whether they have to be better than the parent to become the next parent. Different modes: cooperation-2 species work together in some way, race-get to goal as quick as you can, survival-wall of death approaches faster and faster and they must outrun it for the most distance, endurance- meet relay points at certain time intervals for as long as you can, speed round- one with the fastest max speed after set period of time wins. Also inclines and declines and slipperiness. Also, user-interference (e.g. Dropping bombs or speed-ups). Multi-event- creatures get combined score from selected multiple events and then mutate. Ability to alter wind conditions. 'Ladders' or stairs to see if they can climb up them. King of the hill- highest creature wins (as opposed to distance).

[terfe]

Hello TTBers! I am terfe, exfret's brother. I have created a creature that gets 90 distance in fittest. Beat that Andy!

90?! On flat ground? I'm impressed - would love to see the DNA if you've still got it!

Gen 1313. Getting up to 40-45, stagnated at 29 about 150 generations. Evolution. Man. When you think it's stopped, nope.

That's a neat progression -- especially since you started from a stick. The pits can take a looong time for evolution to figure out. I sometimes start my creatures in the relatively forgiving flat ground, then work them up to the pits once they've got basic locomotion down. But the species you made... pit-born and raised they are. Incredible the clever ways evolution can solve problems. Stilts... that turn into a single support-tail! Crazy.

As anyone can see from the above photo, the ground ends at about 80 meters

It's a commentary on the futility of life. How we're all striving towards a goal, but when we finally reach it...

Ah, no, actually, I just put an upper-limit to the distance to make things easier back when I was making this. I figured people wouldn't make it that far (I figured wrong!), and by capping the distance it speeds things up a bit. That's fix-able, I just need to figure out a way to extend the ground. Either extend it to another high number, or figure out a creative way to have it move along with the creature.

In other news, you all seem to be enjoying the sim. After having it gather dust on my laptop for so long, it's nice to see that the evolving creatures have some cool secrets to share (stilts/tails/defeating-the-caterpillar). So maybe it's time to take this one out to the prime-time... up on my main website. If so, what suggestions do you all have for the sim? Things you want, things you hate, etc. (Play modes, or # of save slots, or going back in history, or or or) As I said at the top, I'm not going to spend too much time on this one, maybe a week's worth of work.

Yes, I do still have the code. Here it is: 050690533903050782930022362250020253950205311850133182650050192430