New bot shape

[Cyberduke]

It might be cool to have two separate cells in the same organism have eyes in order to judge distance?

[Numsgil]

I thought about that once but single bots really need to be able to judge distance as well, or it becomes hard to design interesting bots.

[Cyberduke]

How current are the more recently expressed ideas on slime, shell and using inanimate material in the environment to break apart and build structures with or digest and utilize as a mineral?
With the current joint ideas if you authored a simple single algae cell, could you anchor it to structures in the environment? maybe using slime/glue? or even attach/stick to another cell without a join/tie

(I am not sure what’s with all the '/'s either)

[jknilinux]

Primordial Life is interesting, however I think that evolving such a creature would be something to aspire to rather than have it built-in. I do think, however, that certain substances, such as chlorophyll and muscle, will act as a sort of substitute for these "body parts".

Well, in nature, don't different bacterial species have different shapes as well? In fact, if we want true multicellularity, then doesn't that require specialized tissues, with specialized cells? Besides, it will make it far more interesting, even at the single-cell scale.

[Peter]

Primordial Life is interesting, however I think that evolving such a creature would be something to aspire to rather than have it built-in. I do think, however, that certain substances, such as chlorophyll and muscle, will act as a sort of substitute for these "body parts".

Well, in nature, don't different bacterial species have different shapes as well? In fact, if we want true multicellularity, then doesn't that require specialized tissues, with specialized cells? Besides, it will make it far more interesting, even at the single-cell scale.

Well, no I wouldn't take bacteria as a good example for different shapes. Diversity in shapes overall between animals, plants and fungus is there anyway, I just wanted to nitpick  .
Substances like chlorophyll will as I see it make for a big part specialised cells. They are the reason after all leafs are green.

So, I am sorry for missing your point. What did you meant?

[bacillus]

How current are the more recently expressed ideas on slime, shell and using inanimate material in the environment to break apart and build structures with or digest and utilize as a mineral?
With the current joint ideas if you authored a simple single algae cell, could you anchor it to structures in the environment? maybe using slime/glue? or even attach/stick to another cell without a join/tie

(I am not sure what’s with all the '/'s either)

I think a good idea is to build 'crystals' of minerals out of lots of little hexagons, which then can be unfixed with a shot. A bot can then fix them onto a new lattice by expelling it, perhaps with some glue. This would allow bots to 'mine' minerals, give plants a reason to develop roots, and allow for complex structures such as a communal shell.
EDIT=> I think that idea with drawing bots as not-quite-circles being merged through ties instead of just having a line would allow for better-looking multibots.

[jknilinux]

Primordial Life is interesting, however I think that evolving such a creature would be something to aspire to rather than have it built-in. I do think, however, that certain substances, such as chlorophyll and muscle, will act as a sort of substitute for these "body parts".

Well, in nature, don't different bacterial species have different shapes as well? In fact, if we want true multicellularity, then doesn't that require specialized tissues, with specialized cells? Besides, it will make it far more interesting, even at the single-cell scale.

Well, no I wouldn't take bacteria as a good example for different shapes. Diversity in shapes overall between animals, plants and fungus is there anyway, I just wanted to nitpick  .
Substances like chlorophyll will as I see it make for a big part specialised cells. They are the reason after all leafs are green.

So, I am sorry for missing your point. What did you meant?

Well, basically I meant that I don't think multicellular life could have gotten as complex as it has if all our nerve, muscle, spleen and skin cells were just rods. Letting a gene control bot shape would allow you to let algae evolve a large surface area, for example, or let multicellular animals evolve all the different shaped cells we have now.

Also, I don't think it's practical to give every cell the abilities we do, like to see. This is, first of all, nothing like real life. They should have a gene that controls the ability to respond to light/sound/smell/whatever for a cost. That way, there's also less processor consumption and an incentive to become multicellular, so you can sense as many things as possible, since each cell can only do one.

Just a thought.

[Numsgil]

My present goal is to give bots limited control over their length.  So at one extreme they can contract down to a circle, and at the other they extend themselves to something like a muscle cell (really long and skinny).  But this delves in to technical limitations.  Most physics engines do not handle rigid bodies changing size or shape very well.

[Cyberduke]

Ok I am still not quite sure I understand how you envisage the cell joins in multibots, in particular cells of different shapes and sizes? Can you elaborate a bit on this?

[attachment=1018:cell_graphics_1.png]
[attachment=1019:Cell_graphics_2.png]
[attachment=1020:Cell_graphics_3.png]
[attachment=1021:Cell_graphics_4.png]

BTW, I am just using PowerPoint for my diagrams.

[Numsgil]

Probably like the last one you have there (I like the variety you have going on.  I hadn't thought of something like that 3rd one).  Bots join together on the outside of their skins.  I think it's the most flexible way (pun intended )

[Cyberduke]

heh, ok, and how many appendages can one cell have? Not just one for each end, or all you could create is a worm? But if more than one how does that work? Can I have them placed anywhere around the exterior of the cell?

[In Australian Accent] Can you guess what it is yet...?
Hmm.. I don’t suppose you had Rolf Harris in the US?
[attachment=1025:frog.png]

[Numsgil]

No limit on the number of joins.  And probably they can join any point to any point.  The hard part is figuring out how, in practice, the two bots are going to maneuver to create a joint.  Maybe something like a tether that one bot fires out and slowly pulls in.

[Cyberduke]

No limit on the number of joins.  And probably they can join any point to any point.  The hard part is figuring out how, in practice, the two bots are going to maneuver to create a joint.  Maybe something like a tether that one bot fires out and slowly pulls in.

Hmmm, wouldn’t be very precise or replicable then? I think it needs to be more mathematical in nature.

[Numsgil]

I was thinking along the lines of some sort of extracellular matrix that bots use to construct themselves.  Maybe construct a regular lattice of cells and then kill off the extra ones through Apoptosis.

[Cyberduke]

I was thinking along the lines of some sort of extracellular matrix that bots use to construct themselves.  Maybe construct a regular lattice of cells and then kill off the extra ones through Apoptosis.

Doesn’t seem a lot of point in creating a lot of cells to then just kill off most of them..
But maybe the reproduction command can take multiple values from the stack, 1 for the nrg to give and 1 for distance or percentage of distance around the exterior from an arbitrary starting point?