Darwinbots Forum
General => Off Topic => Topic started by: ahwilliams on July 25, 2015, 11:18:33 AM
-
Hi guys, I just wanted to get some input on a new evolution game I am working on. A scaled down web demo is at www.grubbymonster.com and you can download the alpha version from there if you are interested. It may not be quite as pure an evolution simulator as darwinbots but I had the advantage of using Unity as the framework so I could focus on some really cool DNA implementations. Its a bit much to explain in a small post but there is a bit of info on the site and I am happy to discuss if anyone is curious.
Thanks!!
-
Could you possibly do a youtube video or such. Or screenshots and more of an explaination
-
Looks cool :)
Do they eat/attack each other at all? I see them floating around eating the green growths, but they seem to mostly ignore each other.
-
I really thought I had replied to this yesterday. There are videos and stills here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=449959921 (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=449959921)
I had decided to 'gamify' the simulation to get more people running the simulation. Creatures get shared between instances and the more people running it the more interesting it gets. Right now the dominant creatures are from a username of Gonzo and those creatures are rather ugly. I would love to see some more elegant creatures evolve but it might take some time, gonzo's creatures are up to generation 800+.
They do attack each other, their dna defines a very complex set of behaviors, there is a bit of info about how that works here: www.grubbymonster.com (http://www.grubbymonster.com)
-
so how do you get a clean slate and start with single cells and evolving from there without it downloading new organisms from random places into the sim every 5 minutes?
-
Actually this version does not have that option yet. In the final version you will be able to create a new world, this one is locked to a world called 'alpha' which is shared. You can turn the option off to download creatures in the settings on the lower right, then kill off the ones you dont want. New creatures start off at random and are not necessarily single cells although the un-evolved single cells usually fair better than the multi-celled un-evolved ones.
You can also 'lock' a creature if you like it but that only makes an exact copy of that creature return. It just helps you to not lose it before you get a chance to evolve it into something viable. I usually try to find a good creature that I like and get him to reproduce. If they like food then you may only have to get it close enough for them to sense it. You might have to force it to eat and reproduce then try its offspring to see if they like food. Eventually you can get one that can compete a bit more. The future version will have a laboratory that will let you experiment on creatures and mutate them more directly.
-
ok so new ones pop up every now and then, but they don't repro unless you select them?
you should get a forum or something going because it's a bit awkward talking about one evo sim on anothers forum.
EDIT: nvm i figured it out. i had been playing around with it for hours and couldn't understand it.
-
You are right that I need to get a forum together. I have not really had much time, full time job/full time student/full time dad :P
Also, the game just got greenlit on steam so I have my work cut out for me producing a real playable game around this simulator now.
Thanks for the input, if I ever get it published I can send you(s) a steam key if you want :)
-
You are right that I need to get a forum together. I have not really had much time, full time job/full time student/full time dad :P
Also, the game just got greenlit on steam so I have my work cut out for me producing a real playable game around this simulator now.
Thanks for the input, if I ever get it published I can send you(s) a steam key if you want :)
Ok, I've given it a reasonable runthrough, and heres for a thorough assessment of good bits, bad bits, and the questions about it (OF THE DOWNLOAD VERSION)...
Everything appears ot be created by 'alex williams' and theres no 'gonzo' around :P Its also a bit unclear how to interact to even any extent, probably a major thing im not liking is that it forces itself into fullscreen. Thats slightly annoying. On the plus, the graphical representation and such is very nice, and it runs very smoothly... I might suggest adding flagellum to this simulation.
I'd happily help out here an there for a forum and suggesting/testing for the program.
-
Ok, I've given it a reasonable runthrough, and heres for a thorough assessment of good bits, bad bits, and the questions about it (OF THE DOWNLOAD VERSION)...
Everything appears ot be created by 'alex williams' and theres no 'gonzo' around :P Its also a bit unclear how to interact to even any extent, probably a major thing im not liking is that it forces itself into fullscreen. Thats slightly annoying. On the plus, the graphical representation and such is very nice, and it runs very smoothly... I might suggest adding flagellum to this simulation.
I'd happily help out here an there for a forum and suggesting/testing for the program.
Excellent feedback, thanks! I know there is a severe lack of instruction in the simulation and will correct that but its hard (as the developer) to always know where the disconnects are :huh: I will try to get a forum together and keep you posted.
Thanks again!
-
Ok, I've given it a reasonable runthrough, and heres for a thorough assessment of good bits, bad bits, and the questions about it (OF THE DOWNLOAD VERSION)...
Everything appears ot be created by 'alex williams' and theres no 'gonzo' around :P Its also a bit unclear how to interact to even any extent, probably a major thing im not liking is that it forces itself into fullscreen. Thats slightly annoying. On the plus, the graphical representation and such is very nice, and it runs very smoothly... I might suggest adding flagellum to this simulation.
I'd happily help out here an there for a forum and suggesting/testing for the program.
Excellent feedback, thanks! I know there is a severe lack of instruction in the simulation and will correct that but its hard (as the developer) to always know where the disconnects are :huh: I will try to get a forum together and keep you posted.
Thanks again!
The primary, greatest disconnect. How to 'Control' or 'Influence' the simulation. Otherwise the only other disconnect I can see is... 'what everything IS?' I mean I see some small bits in the 'cells' but not a clue what they are. How come some structures are 2 colours of cell? isn't a colour meant to represent a species?
-
ok so i've been playing with it for a while and pretty well get all of it. i can give you a good list of things that need changing but here are a couple
in the creator name section in the beginning instead of alex williams it should be a blank with enter name similar to microsoft powerpoint in the title section.
the options section has a very small spot only on the gear yet mouse over any other part of it and it lights up as to be able to click it and took me a while to figure it out
i could make this list of about 5+ longer. but other than that it does run smooth and such looks good, i only had it crash 3 times 2 closing out and i'm not sure if it's the program or my computer freezing it up.
i would like to help test and such too, it's a promising program.
-
ok so i've been playing with it for a while and pretty well get all of it. i can give you a good list of things that need changing but here are a couple
in the creator name section in the beginning instead of alex williams it should be a blank with enter name similar to microsoft powerpoint in the title section.
the options section has a very small spot only on the gear yet mouse over any other part of it and it lights up as to be able to click it and took me a while to figure it out
i could make this list of about 5+ longer. but other than that it does run smooth and such looks good, i only had it crash 3 times 2 closing out and i'm not sure if it's the program or my computer freezing it up.
i would like to help test and such too, it's a promising program.
Couple of things in responce to shadow. I don't have a 'supercomputer' and It hasn't crashed for me. I think possibly making it so on the title screen you can input your 'username' then any 'creatures' that have 'generated' in your simulation would have your username onto them
-
Sorry, but I don't think your game's graphics are good enough.
1) Waves over the enviroment is a bad idea. It looks awfull and stretches pixels at the bottom and at the top. I would recommend you to set up some kind of overlay, what lightens up at corners instead of those waves.
2) Floor textures. They don't look seamless. Maybe, you should delete texture or make it more smooth?
3) Object textures. They look pretty strange and unaesthetically. What do you think about making them more minimalistic? Not like in agar.io, keep some details, but not that many.
-
Sorry, but I don't think your game's graphics are good enough.
1) Waves over the enviroment is a bad idea. It looks awfull and stretches pixels at the bottom and at the top. I would recommend you to set up some kind of overlay, what lightens up at corners instead of those waves.
2) Floor textures. They don't look seamless. Maybe, you should delete texture or make it more smooth?
3) Object textures. They look pretty strange and unaesthetically. What do you think about making them more minimalistic? Not like in agar.io, keep some details, but not that many.
Mhm...I do have to agree fading that the waves do stretch the pixels, but not an overlay. God, thats like the worst way he could go. No, I think pushing to more HD (smaller pixel) textures or vector textures would be good.
2 I cant agree with. I haven't noticed any seams in it. Possibly the waves hiding the seams, which would be another reason to be avoiding overlay then.
3....Mhm, They do look a bit alien, but I think thats a bit of the charm of the program. DB2 is very indepth, but so minimalistic, and its fun to see DB robots evolve, but its not as strong on the 'graphical feedback'. I mean, I love that this new simulator is quite graphical in its way of working, even the little bit of music makes me want to stay and actually watch each cycle of my simulation...as DB2 I just generally leave in the background with graphical feedback off.
I'd say probably the strongest point of this simulator though, as far as I can see currently is its starting to bridge the gap between simulator, and game.
-
I agree with most of those suggestions and tbh have struggled with the graphics quite a bit. Design decisions are not a linear path and I can go in circles trying to find the perfect combination. I have a forum working now:
http://grubbymonster.com/index.php/forum/index
Its still very new and I have lots of work to do, so many design decisions :blink: !! As a recovering perfectionist I am trying to just get it out there and fix it later. I have so many "place holders" that I plan on getting back to later I've considered just calling it 'Evolution: placeholder'
-
I agree with most of those suggestions and tbh have struggled with the graphics quite a bit. Design decisions are not a linear path and I can go in circles trying to find the perfect combination. I have a forum working now:
http://grubbymonster.com/index.php/forum/index
Its still very new and I have lots of work to do, so many design decisions :blink: !! As a recovering perfectionist I am trying to just get it out there and fix it later. I have so many "place holders" that I plan on getting back to later I've considered just calling it 'Evolution: placeholder'
The forum IS up and running. Just not really functioning. It appears to be a terrible glitchy/badly coded host you have their. I made an account, but can't log in. Its also a bit of an....undesirable looking forum, May I -strongly- recommend you use the same forum host as Darwinbots2 Uses.
-
A very big thank you for the suggestion. I know it probably seems obvious but the other forum integrated much easier and is way more popular in the joomla community. Joomla is just a content management system I am very familiar with so it decreased the production time to get a site running. However, you were 1000% correct, the SMF forum is very easy to configure and very intuitive so THANKS! Let me know if you have any trouble accessing it. The direct link is http://www.grubbymonster.com/forum but there is a link from the main site.
-
I agree with most of those suggestions and tbh have struggled with the graphics quite a bit. Design decisions are not a linear path and I can go in circles trying to find the perfect combination. I have a forum working now:
http://grubbymonster.com/index.php/forum/index
Its still very new and I have lots of work to do, so many design decisions :blink: !! As a recovering perfectionist I am trying to just get it out there and fix it later. I have so many "place holders" that I plan on getting back to later I've considered just calling it 'Evolution: placeholder'
The forum IS up and running. Just not really functioning. It appears to be a terrible glitchy/badly coded host you have their. I made an account, but can't log in. Its also a bit of an....undesirable looking forum, May I -strongly- recommend you use the same forum host as Darwinbots2 Uses.
ok so was the giant wording really necessary couldn't regular size work just fine it looks like you are really really pist over nothing. you didn't suggest anything about the forum before hand of what to use or how to structure it did you?
ist does look better with this kind of forum though. already signed up
-
ok so was the giant wording really necessary couldn't regular size work just fine it looks like you are really really pist over nothing. you didn't suggest anything about the forum before hand of what to use or how to structure it did you?
ist does look better with this kind of forum though. already signed up
Well I was...relatively agitated. I don't mind to much about the forum, as long as it works...Which currently. It does not. It'd be nice for it to look nice, but just for us to be able to log in after we've created an account. I honestly dont mind the structure, its a bit garish to look at, but no, the fact we can't log in. thats the annoying part
-
I don't mind the big text, my eyesight is pretty bad 8) I am just very appreciative of the input. Time is my lowest commodity at the moment and suggestions like this save me hours of trouble later on when dozens of people cant log on and someone finally gets around to telling me.
The forum should be good for everyone now! Also, if you want the steam codes for the beta version (and future versions), just post here:
http://www.grubbymonster.com/forum/index.php?board=7.0
-
I don't mind the big text, my eyesight is pretty bad 8) I am just very appreciative of the input. Time is my lowest commodity at the moment and suggestions like this save me hours of trouble later on when dozens of people cant log on and someone finally gets around to telling me.
The forum should be good for everyone now! Also, if you want the steam codes for the beta version (and future versions), just post here:
http://www.grubbymonster.com/forum/index.php?board=7.0
It'd be nice if we can still run it off steam also, I don't know how long it'll take me to fix out this issue with steam (their password servers just -dont- want to let me connect)