Messages

16

Newbie / Upgrading the default (2.1) install

« on: August 03, 2007, 10:18:20 AM »

Alright. I tried, but it didn't fix the problem. I'll tell you exactly what happens.

I go to File>New Simulation, then click Load Settings in the pop up menu. I choose one of the settings files that came with the program, and click Load. Instead of loading, I get a small notice window saying "The settings file is incompatible with this version. Settings not loaded." I click Ok to get rid of that, and nothing happens further.

I tried exiting the program and then trying again, but it still doesn't work. I've started simulations by choosing the creatures myself and it worked fine. The bots acted a bit retarded, but I was expecting that since I'd read the warnings.

I suppose since the sims probably won't do anything even if I get them running, I ought to just empty the bot and settings folders and start gathering more recent ones from around here? Is there any sort of collection of beginner bots for the most recent version?

17

Newbie / Upgrading the default (2.1) install

« on: August 03, 2007, 02:03:54 AM »

Well, yeah, I suppose it was the settings files... alright, I'll try that.

18

Newbie / Upgrading the default (2.1) install

« on: August 03, 2007, 01:06:13 AM »

due to many changes, they simply don't work any longer.

That needs to be made clear in the wiki FTP. It would save new users some confusion when they discover that the new version isn't compatible with any of the bots that are in the directory... >< That was a little weird.

19

Newbie / Upgrading the default (2.1) install

« on: August 03, 2007, 12:47:43 AM »

Alright. I got DB 2.1 and tried to follow the instructions to upgrade to the latest version. I unzipped the files for 2.43 into the main DB directory, only to discover that the only thing that was in the 2.43 zip was an .exe. I had read something about "sysvars.txt" being overwritten in this process, but all that happened was that the DB 2.43 executable was added to the folder.

I ran it and it opened fine, but it says that none of the default simulations are compatible with this version. This was a little discouraging, so I've been ignoring the new .exe and using 2.1 to just test out the bots and sims that come with it. I'm one of those types that likes to test out the default stuff before I go getting anything else, because that way I have a reference point with which to compare new bots to once I start getting them. I think I will respect the newer ones better if I first watch the older ones in action.

Are the older sim files supposed to be incompatible, and why wasn't there any change to the sysvars file?

20

Evolution and Internet Sharing Sims / Zerobot evolution prize for conditional logic

« on: August 03, 2007, 12:07:57 AM »

I don't think that would be cheating... if you can come up with conditional logic in less than 50 years by randomizing stats, go for it! ^^; Although I don't think you would be able to tell if they were "close" to conditional logic, because either they have it, or they don't.

Once I get used to DB and understand some of this better, I might give this a shot. I have a slight bit of experience with a game that evolved conditional logic using neural networks, and I think I could use a similar approach to "teaching" them in DB as I did in the other game. I'm not sure if the other program had the conditional logic conveniently coded into the learning mechanism, though... probably did.

Anyway, this seems interesting, so I might attempt this after I've gotten acquainted with the program.

I think the best way to do it would be to pick what sort of conditional logic you want, then gradually work up to a situation in which they have to use it or die! Bwahaha!

Is manual bot-killing allowed? I'm not sure if it would help much, but I just want to know.

21

Newbie / stuff for newbies?

« on: August 02, 2007, 04:47:13 AM »

I believe Endy posted some on YouTube not so long ago

Yup. I found those a moment ago when I was browsing the forum. I saw the first one and thought "what on earth?" *eye twitches* "those plants just went crazy..."

I can see what you mean about long term evolution studies. From what I know of the topic, that generally takes lots of tweaking and runtime because it tends to work best in large areas.

We'll see what happens. This ought to be interesting.

22

Newbie / stuff for newbies?

« on: August 02, 2007, 01:39:38 AM »

I just got the program yesterday and since I'm a newb myself, I think I'm in an ideal position to suggest a thing or two that could make this place less overwhelming for new people. I hope this doesn't get on anyone's nerves...

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Maybe I'm a bit spoiled, but I like to look at pictures. A gallery showing examples of interesting bot behavior with short descriptions telling what's going on in the pictures would be nice. Something like that could go in the wiki. The current "screenshots" section is a good introduction to the program, but a gallery would be nice and show some of what bots themselves are capable of.

Along those lines, some screen captured videos of bots in action would be nice as well. A video that shows the evolution process of some bots would be cool, as would any that show interesting behaviors exhibited by bots.

A tutorial video that leads the watcher through some basic runs of the program might help as well, all though it isn't really necessary, it could help keep the UI in DB from being overwhelming.
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Of course, I could help out with this once I have a little bit of experience, although I don't know how long I'll be a part of this community. I'll probably be sticking around for a while though, because I find this stuff very interesting!