Too many veggis

[Testlund]

When I have maximum veggies set to 400 I don't want to see 663 veggies on the screen.    :huh:

[Griz]

When I have maximum veggies set to 400 I don't want to see 663 veggies on the screen.    :huh:

that's kinda how it works ...
there were some recent threads here in which Nums and PY explained how
veggies reproduce, but I have no idea in what thread.
there are reasons it can end up being close to twice what you set as maximum.  
having to do with  how many bots are set to reproduce in a given cycle ...
iow, if you have 300 bots, which is below your setting of 400 ...
they are ok'd to reproduce ...
so say 250 of them want to reproduce ...
you are going to now get 550 in the next cycle ...
and then no more repros until the pop once more falls below your max
setting of 400.
all you can do is drop that max value down  to something closer to half
what you want it to be, and play with the # of bots in each repro event number.
also, the amount of nrg/cycle you let them have ...
has a lot to do with how much they reproduce.
I try to keep mine low. like 10.

[PurpleYouko]

I don't remember where that thread is either so here it is again in the compressed version.

One "cycle" of the program is actually made up of several smaller cycles.

The first couple deal with ties.

Then we have the main cycle.

During this main cycle, robots that are ready to reproduce are "tagged". If the number of veggies is less than the "max" value then ALL veggies that are ready to reproduce will be allowed to. This is the only way that we can be sure that they all get an equal chance since any other kind of threshold limit would favor older bots and stop younger bots from reproducing at all.

After the main cycle, tagged robots reproduce (in a seperate cycle)

Effectively this means that the absolute maximum number of veggies that can be on screen at any one time is twice the value that you set.

You should think of the "max" value, not as a population cap but as a threshold below which ALL veggies may reproduce if they are ready to.

[Griz]

You should think of the "max" value, not as a population cap but as a threshold below which ALL veggies may reproduce if they are ready to.

and then there is the 'threshold' the population must be under before they can 'repopulate', yes?
my question then is ... are 'reproduce' and 'repopulate' different events?
it would seem so.

I usually set my max at about half of what I wish to be the hightest # of bots ...
and the threshold at 1 or 2 less than that, # per repro event to 1 ...
to get a somewhat stable population. doesn't always work.

I wonder what would happen if one set 'max #' to say 100 ...
and threshold to a higher number ... say 105 and # per repop event to 1.
would the veggies then only repopulate and never reproduce?
if one isn't mutating them, it wouldn't matter if they didn't 'reproduce'...
and I wonder if the pop would then stay within 100-105?
will have to play with it.

[PurpleYouko]

To tell you the truth I have absolutely no idea what the "repop threshold" and "repop event" do.
Those controls were added by Numsgil when he redesigned the GUI. Since then I have had no real reason to go in and mess with the code.
It all seems to work pretty much the same as it did before. The only thing I ever change is max veggies and I still get up to twice that number on the screen.

[Testlund]

Well, it works as it should then, now when I understand how it works. Heheheh. Holding the mouse pointer over the fields in the Population Control section shows an explanation what they do. I think it's pretty straight forward and it seems to do what it supposed to.

[Numsgil]

Repopulation occurrs when veggies fall below the threshold.  Fresh veggies are seeded into the sim.

Reproductiuon occurrs when a single bot creates another single bot.

Sorry if that wasn't clear, they do both start with "Rep"

[Griz]

Repopulation occurrs when veggies fall below the threshold.  Fresh veggies are seeded into the sim.

Reproductiuon occurrs when a single bot creates another single bot.

Sorry if that wasn't clear, they do both start with "Rep"

understood.
but then let's explore the differences for those
folks who didn't program it and who aren't privy
to what your intentions were when you wrote it.
you know ... the lowly everyday users ...
who are trying to learn how things work.

that is what is being asked about here.
so again ...
when do these occur?
below 'max veggies' but above 'threshold' ...
it is reproduction, yes?
any bot able to reproduce is then allowed to do so on
the next cycle, and the offspring will appear somewhere
near the parent.
and below threshold ...
it is repopulation only, yes?
and then the '# per repop event' comes into play ..
and these can come in anywhere in the field ...
or, ideally, in the area defined in that original
population window when selecting species.
[btw, this doesn't seem to work in 2.37.6]

what the 'cooling off period' is about I don't know ...

so, maybe we can get this all clear ...
and let folks in on the thinking/intention behind it.
or not. ;)

[Numsgil]

Below the "repop threshold" existing veggies can still reproduce, but fresh veggies are also thrown into the sim to make up the difference.

Repop cooldown creates a time limit between repopulation "events".  WIthout this you can potentially get get an amazing increase in population from the bots as they eat every veggy in like 10 cycles, then are given more.

the cooldown let's you enforce times of famine.

The repop amount or whatever it's called lets you determine how many bots to throw down when a repop event is triggered.  If you keep it low, you'll only feed a few vegs into every cycle, which should help smooth out the effects.

If you combine cooldown with repop amount (with long cooldown and low amount) you'll really be forcing the bots to try and "farm" their existing veggies instead of just eating them.