Increase the tie limit

[EricL]

Today a bot can have up to 10 ties (I think it's actually 9 from looking at the code).  This is all ties - ties they create, ties others connect to them, etc.  10 max total.

I propose effectively removing this limit.  I'll make it 100 or similar.

Now, I appreciate arguments along the lines of multibots using up all the ties to their own cells as a defense against tie feeding like Helios did in the old days.  But I envision a day not too far from now where ties are visible, we have tie collision detection with bots, tie fuild resistance, etc. so that the limit for whether a tie can be created between two bots becomes a function of physics I.e. being able to see the bot, having a clear path to the bot for the tie, having room ont he bot for the tie to connect (maybe) etc.  So I see increasing the tie limit as a step down this road.

Opinions?

[MacadamiaNuts]

Dunno.

I sure think that ties shouldn't extend thru other bots, nor bots walk over ties without breaking them. Multis will work better if their 2D connections aren't just a random springy mess.

I never tried seriously stifftie and tielen, but they should allow total stiffness so they didn't change length when one bot moves, no matter what. Only breaking any tie that cannot reach the specified tielen when stiffness is set high or max. So ideally tielen could be set to the minimum, bot1 + bot2 radii, and the bot would be superglued to just as much bots that fit around it.

The collision option would specify how hard is the bot membrane and how much the angle of that glued tie could be pulled around. Ideally at the hardest collision setting + max stiffness + minimum tielen one would be building multibots like bolting pieces on a machine.

[Numsgil]

Ideally you'd make the tie array resize as bots gain and lose ties.  Originally there were 4 ties per bot.  I expanded it, but was concerned about inflating the size of a robot in memory.  With 1000 robots or more on screen at once, having 100 unused tie slots can take up megabytes of unused space.

Not that a few megabytes is going to make the difference one way or another, it just seemed wasteful.

[Testlund]

I agree that stifties should be stiffer and no ties longer than 1 bot radii. I'd prefer the connections were made with the bots cell membranes instead of ties though. Also I hope the extra calculations needed for it won't slow down my sim to a freeze when it reaches 1000 bots.

[EricL]

Lets stay on topic folks shall we?  If you have suggestions to make about maximum tie length or stiffness, please make them as separate, complete, well articulated topics.

Now, back to the question at hand.  How do people feel about allowing more than 9 ties per bot?  Assume I know what I'm doing and will implement it with no performance impact.

[shvarz]

I like it. The more the merrier.

[Peter]

I think for one side it is a good idea, why have artificial limits.

But in the current system there is a tie-limit of 10 you say. I can't really think of any bots needing more than 10 ties.
And will there if the tie-phycics that will evatually bet set up, setting a limit for the ties, should there be much cases where more then 10 ties are needed.

I don't know exactly the code, but there has been a limit for a reason. If without any performense loss it can be made, then why not. But are that many ties really needed

[Numsgil]

but there has been a limit for a reason.

Sheer laziness, I assure you