Author Topic: How can I better understand this?  (Read 3620 times)

Offline Trilobite

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How can I better understand this?
« on: August 15, 2007, 04:49:36 PM »
I know next to nothing about the DNA code, I've been looking at some tutorials but admittedly it's daunting. So, I need some time to get to grips with it, please be patient with my lack of understanding or knowledge.

I've been running a sim, the longest one I've run so far. The first proper run really, most were no more than 2 or 3 thousand cycles before everything perished. This one is almost 300,000 cycles and involves a veg that grows big fast and reproduces slow (non-evolving, using repopulation) and I_Flamma. Over time I've let the I_Flamma adapt to increasingly fewer food resources and reduced the repopulation threshold of veggies from 20 to 12. The I_Flamma are faring very well, populations upping and downing in regular cycles between 130 to 70. So I'm sitting drawing when I realise I forgot the sim was running, and have a peek at how things are going. I_Flamma seem a bit more sure about the directions of their movement. They clear a large area quickly. They gather around veggies to feed but seem to chance attacking each other for nrg - you might notice two spinning around each other, trying to chase each other in circles.

But something peculiar I can't understand is... what would be the use in shooting constantly without stopping? Why not just shoot when you have to? It seems the ones that don't shoot constantly are dying out. Is it something well known and common, or quite uncommon? Cost related?

I'd be very happy if someone could have a look and help me understand the whole thing a bit better, or even help decipher the DNA for some of them. The DNA eludes me completely and the mutations have started building up, and I don't have the faintest idea what any of them mean.

(I hope posting the sim works...)

Offline Numsgil

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How can I better understand this?
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2007, 10:44:08 PM »
It's very common for bots to lose the conditions that control their shooting, so that they always shoot.  The reasons for this are several fold.

1.  Bots really want to break the conspec avoidance code.  It just means a huge new source of energy for the first few bots to figure it out.  Shooting constantly helps increase the chance of friendly fire, so they gain more energy.

2.  It takes several cycles for a shot to hit its target, and several cycles for the nrg shot to come back.  But if you already have shots moving when a food source comes into range, you can cut that initial feeding time down.

3.  If a bot comes to try and eat you (a predator, usually a conspec that isn't friendly ), and you can match them head on, they'll have to suffer damage from your shots for several cycles before their shots hit you, giving you an advantage.

If you want to encourage more intelligent decisions on when to feed, jack up the shot costs relative to everything else.  Maybe 20 nrg instead of 2.  Remember that a successful shot can return nrg in the hundreds, and even the best bot probably is going to waste 30% or 40% of their shots that don't hit anything.  Experiment with costs with that in mind.

Offline Trilobite

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How can I better understand this?
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2007, 03:59:13 AM »
I'll give that a go, it seems interesting to try. Thanks for the information it's really helpful. I honestly wouldn't have figured it out on my own...  to be honest I still don't understand half the settings even. Some of them I just mess around with to see what happens.

Do you know where I might find some help for the definitions of all the settings? I might just have overlooked it but I can't find anything detailed.

Offline Numsgil

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How can I better understand this?
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2007, 09:05:59 AM »
There really isn't anything other than the tooltips.  Hover your mouse over a control and a short message will pop up.  If you have questions about specific controls, feel free to ask!  It is a bit daunting at first.

Offline fulizer

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How can I better understand this?
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2007, 08:51:35 AM »
Quote from: Numsgil
Maybe 20 nrg instead of 2.
Quote from: Trilobite
Over time I've let the I_Flamma adapt to increasingly fewer food resources
that proves it it is actually quite easy for I flamma to survive
anyways yes increasing the shot cost would help because continual shooting srews up anti cnnibalism genes
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