comments on your comments.
1) Big problem with this. If the eye5 value is greater than about 50 there isn't enough physical room to reproduce at all so nothing happens. You have to be facing open space in order to make a baby.
2) I think speciation should be possible. It should be a prerequisite that the DNA of the two bots share at least some similarity before sexrepro is possible. A rat can't mate with a camel.
I haven't given enough thought to this issue to come up with any suggestions on exactly how this can be done so here is an idea off the top of my head.
One possibility is that the DNA of the two is compared and a compatibility percentage obtained. Something like the standard deviation based on the average of the number of referenced sysvars and their value and maybe some other factors. A number from 0 to 100% will be returned.
Using a slider to adjust for compatability thresholds you can set about any compatability you like. Anything from almost exact match of the DNA to an advanced fighter bot mating with a veggie.
3) Completely agree. Make your sexes any way you like within your robot's DNA.
4) Gene mixing is done pretty much this way now only genes that go past the end of one parent's genome are
all added (I think). I like your way better.
5) Energy transfer to young works this way now. No plans to change it.
6) Birth tie cycles can easily be cut short from the DNA. I figured out how to do it for Hunter 2.13 a long time back. Have a look at
this thread for the way to do it.
7) Newborns typically only explode when their DNA is messed up. It tends to happen when you have a missing "cond", "start" or "stop" in the genome. Pretty much every case of exploding babies that I have ever seen has turned out to be due to some typo in the genome.
:D PY :D