diversity in enviroment

[viplex]

Hi everyone

I'd like to put some inhomogenity in the simulation field, kind of landscape. Like different groups of different energy/size/etc. plants. The reason: I imagined that some areas with different parameters from its surroundings would make genetic diversity possible, like having more species living at the same place together for a long time - that is, paving the way for some different niche.
I've tried pondmode, but can only make veggie energy/abundancy inhomogenous this way, and that is only a dull, monotonous one (plants energy or abundance constantly decrease from top to bottom).
Example: if one of my plant eater spc is good at aiming shots at plants, while the other spc is good at speed, I assume different areas in the screen landscape would benefit different species.
Any ideas? Is my way of thinking correct?

[EricL]

I agree with you line of thought that lack of environmental diversity is one reason why we seldom see co-existing lineages residing in proximity in the same sim for any length of time.  The facilities for increasing diversity are relatively limited at present.  You might try adding some shapes, for example, creating spaces that can be defended, that only small bots can fit into, or create substantial barriers to migration to encourage speciation, etc.  You might also try some adding some hand-authorred organisms which are prevented from mutating as a means of increasing the environmental diversity for the ones that can.  Unfortunatly, your options are limited.  This is something that many people have wanted to improve for years.

[Endy]

I've had some decent success with fixed plants, corpses, and gravity in non-torroidal mode. Starting with a tie using energy sharing species at the top and a shot bot at the bottom; the ecosystem will stay pretty stable for awhile. As the Sharers eat the plants up top, the plant's corpses (and bots) will fall to the bottom, providing a food source for the animals below.

Thing still has a tendency to wind up having one species dominating, either the shot bots learn to reach the plants or the Sharers learn to defend themselves from shots.

[Jez]

How about finding several different veg, all nasty, fixing and removing .repro, then using starting positions for those veg to create different zones on the screen, each needing a different ability to cope.
I guess you'd need to adjust nrg input and maybe need to add a neutral veg but I don't see why this wouldn't force boundaries and the need for specialisation.

[viplex]

How about finding several different veg, all nasty, fixing and removing .repro, then using starting positions for those veg to create different zones on the screen, each needing a different ability to cope.
I guess you'd need to adjust nrg input and maybe need to add a neutral veg but I don't see why this wouldn't force boundaries and the need for specialisation.

hmm thanx I'll try that