More to the point if you have too few rules, all you can ever get is complex patterns and not behaviours.
Conways game of life is a perfect example of this.
Sure the living cells make lovely complex patterns but they never actually do anything.
of course they don't DO anything ...
they have no input to the rules ...
the rules are all imposed upon them!
it isn't ALife nor should it ever be consider to be.
(I did at one time write a variation that allowed them to do so ...
and also imposed an age limit ... which was very interesting.
but lost all of those progs ... there are still some possibilities there.)
How many rules do you think were needed for real life to form? Think about it.
<semi-rant>
only the universal laws of physics.
no more.
here on earth ...
the condidtions/resources/environment ...
just happened to be conditions that gave the seeds planted an opportunity.
that life emerged and evolved into myriad forms is a result of a SYSTEM
in which the organisms were able to alter the very environment that they
were a part of ... and the environment reciprocating by applying pressure
on the organisms ... ie ... survival of the fittest.
they work together to do this ... can't have one without the other.
the environment undergoes change and evolves as well.
it has to ... or you end up with a stagnant pond.
this is what evolution is about ...
the basic 'rules' were never altered and cannot be altered ...
that's the physics ...
only the conditions of the environment and the organisms that are a part of it.
and it is up to THEM to do so.
or not.
there is no such thing as a failure in nature.
that an organism does not continue, but ends ...
is no less a part of evolution than are those who do continue.
our function ...
should be limited to providing the initial conditions ... the resources ...
and 'basic' bots with the ability to sense/ingest/take advantage of ...
those resources.
now I understand we can't wait billions of years to see some form of
'order' to arise. so we must also provide some 'basic' skills ...
or at least give them access to such skills ...
ie ... some way to fight (OR cooperate) with other forms.
fine. you have 'shots' which seem like they can do either ...
kill or share. and ties. fine.
but please people ...
let's not get into imposing exotic behaviors on them ...
or 'building' bots to act in predefined ways ...
just provide
them the 'opportunities' to develope/evolve
their own behaviors, and to build themselves.
please?
then ... step back, get out of the way ...
and observe what 'evolves' ...
or does not.
you know ...
there is no such thing as chaos ...
chaos is only what we call something which we haven't recogized as
being ordered.
that doesn't mean it isn't there ...
only that we are not aware of it.
in nature there is no such thing as disorder ...
only what is.
</semi-rant>
"do not force something to happen ...
just have a sense of openess to the phenomena
you are allowing to come into exisence."