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The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:43 am
by testtubegames
Long story short:

Here's a prototype for you all to check out! It's from long ago, and I should have just released it way back when. "The Fittest," an evolution toy.


Short story long:

As I was hunting through my old folders to write this blog post, I came across my old evolution simulator. And I was amazed at how 'finished' it was. I didn't release it at the time because I was trying to figure out a way to make it into a game, rather than just a simulation that you watch. But that didn't come together. I should have learned from that and just released the damn thing as a sim; but hey, live and learn. After a while I forgot how done it really was.

Since I've been so tied up in Bond Breaker, I thought I'd reward all you cool forum goers by giving it to you to play. It's an interesting little toy, where you watch stick-creatures trying to learn how to move. Each generation, the creature that goes the furthest is cloned (but with mutations). Over time, they get faster and faster. You can experiment with different starting bodies, different terrains, and different challenges. Fight other creatures in a reverse game of tug-of-war (a game of push-of-war, perhaps?) Try to evolve a creature that can cross the dastardly pits. Grab the creature's dna and share it with others.

Play around, let me know your reactions.

Some notes on things that are definitely not clear:
-The mutation button increases the severity of the next set of mutations when you click it. The effect isn't permanent, it goes away the next generation.
-New limbs can appear through mutations. And if they shrink too small, limbs can disappear, too.
-What can change: limb length, limb #, limb positions, starting angles, and angular speed

I'm probably not going to work too much more on this little project, but I thought it was a shame to keep it hidden in the depths of my computer!

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:27 am
by robly18
Oh hey, I remembered this. Good to know we finally get to try it out.

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:29 pm
by A Random Player
I forgot about the sim for a while, came back to this at gen 718:

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It was going at default ground against short stack.

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:46 pm
by testtubegames
A Random Player wrote:I forgot about the sim for a while, came back to this at gen 718:

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050840400718037150950050371050219104132324231743421104350033443350003204350119160746
It was going at default ground against short stack.
Oh wow! That creature is wonderfully suited to defeating short stack. What well timed lifts-and-pushes!

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:07 pm
by A Random Player
It's actually rather coincidental that you release this right now. I was browsing reddit last night, and stumbled upon r/evolution, which got me thinking about evolving stuff again. And the next day, this!

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:30 pm
by exfret
I find this really fun to compete with my siblings to try and get the best creature. If you ever need something to do, then this is something that I think will capture people's attention.

Also, has anyone made anything that defeats centipede? I have:

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Just cracked the code. And beat the centipede at his (or her) own game...

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And another tactic:

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Also, there's a ledge??!!

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:29 pm
by testtubegames
It's fun to watch what you are all making -- really reminds me why I made this sim in the first place. Seeing the first creature you posted, exfret, and how it is wonderfully suited to fight the caterpillar. The long portion of its body acts as a little conveyor belt, and its little legs lock right in with the caterpillar's to stop it moving. It almost feels as if the creature came up with a clever strategy... but of course it is mindless.

You however, are not so mindless. How did you make your own caterpillar? Trial and error with the dna?

And I may as well start the "who can go the furthest" competition -- after 1686 generations... this little guy makes it 73 meters:

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Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:58 pm
by exfret
You sure it wasn't 63? (When I simulate the next gen always goes to about that much). Also, I used trial and error to figure out how to make the caterpillar, but it was fairly easy, because it would show you most changes right when you made them.

Also: My failed attempt at artificially creating a super-speedy caterpillar:

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Re: The Fittest

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:39 pm
by testtubegames
Haha, yeah, just goes to show the limitations of intelligent design, eh? It looked like such a great caterpillar on paper...

My creature did make it to 73, but you reminded me that I really need to let players do the '1-on-1' mode *without* a competitor. That way you can just see the creature whose dna you typed in, without any mutations. So then the creature I share is guaranteed to look the same to you.

Re: The Fittest

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:58 pm
by NealCruco
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.