Messages

1

Darwinbots Program Source Code / Setting up build environment for C++ fork

« on: December 19, 2006, 09:26:49 PM »

OK: I installed VS 2005, vanilla. I opened the solution included in Numsgil's snapshot, and hit build. It then barfed and said it couldn't find two includes: Vectors.h and fx.h.

In some files, the path is correct, "../Common/Vectors.h" but in other files it is just "Vectors.h" so I changed them all to be correct.

I assume fx.h is foxgui? What version of foxgui are you using? I'm looking for the fox gui package on the internet, and the latest stable they have is 1.6.20. The old stable is 1.4.35.

How shall I proceed?

2

Announcements / C++ snapshot

« on: December 19, 2006, 03:00:44 PM »

You need .NET framework 2.0 to run it.

3

Darwinbots Program Source Code / C++ refactoring

« on: December 19, 2006, 01:30:00 PM »

I would like to see the latest VB source code, just so I can get a sense of the program. Where do I get that?

4

Darwinbots Program Source Code / C++ refactoring

« on: December 19, 2006, 01:08:56 PM »

With 90% of the coding done already in c++, the last 10% should go fairly smoothly.

Care to make a wager? Seriously, I don't want to be insulting. I could really use some help and I really would like to see the code ported but that is very naive statement you are making there.

Hehe, notice I said "smoothly" not "quickly", I think that with careful planning, any project can go quite smoothly, if not quickly.

That being said, I suck at GUI coding. I'm good with core stuff, but when it comes to GUI, I'm all thumbs.

5

Darwinbots Program Source Code / C++ refactoring

« on: December 19, 2006, 10:42:22 AM »

Really, if we're talking about any of the .NET languages, the algorithmic routines will compile down to roughly the same MSIL code. Garbage collection costs 10%, yes, but with .NET, you can use unmanaged c++ code interspersed with managed c++ code. For the more time-intensive stuff that will run millions of times, it would be unmanaged. As long as the C++ was well written, the overhead would be negligible.

Bottom line for me is that I'm not going to invest a lot of time into learning VB6. I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to really be anything but that in this codebase. Learning VB would be like learning FORTRAN or COBOL: a waste of my time. Sure, they can still tow the cart, but there are new and better languages available.

Straight porting from VB6 is not a pretty option. Ask anyone and they will tell you that porting a VB6 app into VB.2005 is a nightmare. With 90% of the coding done already in c++, the last 10% should go fairly smoothly.

The VB fork has a lot of usability as it is, and I think if _just_ the critical bugs could be eliminated, it would stand on its own for 6 months or so while the C++ app were built.

Anyway, I am an aspiring opera singer, and I'm still in college, so I can't commit a lot of time to this project. But I can say that I like it, and that I'll code when and where I can. My primary language is PHP, but I am pretty good with C++, and I think I could help a lot.

6

Darwinbots Program Source Code / Modifying the code

« on: December 18, 2006, 10:48:00 PM »

If people are interested I can build a trial version download that people could just run to see what things are going on in the C++ source.  Most interesting, the physics are much better.  Bots never overlap at all, they're treated as 100% rigid for collisions.  Bots also bounce off of walls instead of just sort of "plop".

I'm definitely interested, I'd like to see it.

7

Darwinbots Program Source Code / C++ refactoring

« on: December 18, 2006, 10:45:44 PM »

Pretty soon I'm going to be placing the VB and C# code into SVNs along with the C++ code (which already is), so all the code will be in the same place.  Then it should be pretty easy to look at changes to any of the code.

I <3 SVN, I use it for everything. Well, not everything... but you know what I mean.

8

Darwinbots Program Source Code / C++ refactoring

« on: December 18, 2006, 09:52:13 PM »

Ok, after reading this thread I have a few comments.

The idea about making an engine dll is just common sense with a project like this. Having the guts be independent from the GUI should be a core priority. This has more implications than just cross-compatibility. It also makes things like server/client architecture easier for one, and the ability to use the C# GUI development tools is essential as well.

For extensibility and scripting, I'd suggest looking into lua (http://www.lua.org), which is a lightweight programming language developed specifically for extending programs.

I'm curious at this point why the VB fork hasn't been feature frozen? It seems counter-productive to me to be actively extending the feature set of one codebase while rebuilding in another language. I understand reluctance to learn another language, but wouldn't it be more productive to have all hands on deck on the new codebase? Let the VB 6 codebase die with VB 6.

As far as multithreading goes, I think that having 'an eye' to MT is a bit underpowered. Ideally every procedure that can benefit from multithreading should be designed to make use of it. The real trick is knowing if a routine actually benefits from MT.

Lastly, documentation is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to fostering community involvement. Code without documentation is like coca cola without sugar. It just sucks. I can't emphasize how important documentation is to community support for a project.

Anyway, I'm certainly a newb to this project, and I don't mean to ruffle any feathers. Just my $0.02

9

Darwinbots Program Source Code / Modifying the code

« on: December 18, 2006, 07:30:51 PM »

thats because VB is really an acronym for "Very Buggy"

10

Bug reports / Sim hanging

« on: December 18, 2006, 06:54:53 PM »

11

Bot Tavern / Methods of Committing Suicide

« on: December 18, 2006, 12:13:45 PM »

Hey, I didn't see this anywhere else on the forums, so I thought I'd ask here:
What ways do you use, or can think of, to make a bot kill itself?

Here's the gene I'm using.

Code: [Select]

cond
' whatever, usually detecting if dna length has changed to prevent add/del mutations
start
1 .delgene store
stop
This gene recursively deletes the bot's DNA, effectively making it a corpse.

12

Bug reports / Sim hanging

« on: December 18, 2006, 12:00:53 PM »

Yeah, I'd certainly be willing to help debug.

13

Bug reports / Sim hanging

« on: December 18, 2006, 10:41:36 AM »

I'm thinking the hang may be due to the massive number of ties devious eradicatorus makes. That's just a guess though, as I don't have VB and can't debug.

14

Veggies / Alga Substantis (V)(Frankle)-18.12.06

« on: December 17, 2006, 07:38:32 PM »

'This is my first bot.

'I wanted a veggy that would be prolific and highly variable in both size and population. I also wanted a
' veggy that wouldn't go cancerous very easily.

'It requires day and night cycles. I recommend a period of 500-1000 cycles. I've included a settings file to
'show the native environment.
' http://www.darwinbots.com/Forum/index.php?act=ST&f=26&t=1806&st=0

'Here it is:

'|----- Cut -----|

' Alga substantis I
'
' Vegetable
'
' This bot stores energy into its body
' during the day, and reproduces at
' night.

' If its daytime, and there's enough energy, build up the body
' run around a bit, and don't get too big
cond
  *.daytime 1 =
  *.nrg 5000 >
  *.body 10000 <
start
  1000 .strbody store
  45 rnd .aimdx store
  10 .up store
stop

' If its nighttime, and there's not enough energy to reproduce, pull some out of body.
cond
  *.body 500 >
  *.nrg 3500 <
  *.daytime 0 =
start
  1000 .fdbody store
stop

' if its nighttime, and there's enough energy, reproduce lots of little babies so that they have a chance of surviving until morning
cond
  *.nrg 3000 >
  *.daytime 0 =
start
  10 .repro store
  15 .aimdx store
stop

' run around randomly at night, keep away from the baddies.
cond
  *.daytime 0 =
start
  45 rnd .aimsx store
  10 .up store
stop

cond
  *.nrg 500 <
start
  100 .fdbody store
stop

' If a add/del mutation or virus is detected, commit suicide
cond
  *.dnalen 87 !=
  *.robage 0 !=
start
  1 .delgene store
stop
end

15

Bug reports / Sim hanging

« on: December 17, 2006, 02:42:36 PM »

I have tried it with 2.42.9o with the same results.

The hang does not seem dependent on the veg. I can put any veg in and it does the same.