Here's a new (dec '08) viable organism for artificial life / artificial evolution / artificial intelligence / evolution simulation program e-den (eden60x by Craig McColl). It was designed in the Bug_Lab to skyther food, yet not succumb to any carnivores, and ran upto over thousand generations in a *.wld with climate 125 seasonal, mutation rate 0 (mutrate 1 does'nt do so well however), difficulty 5, using defaults for metab-div and metab-child.
direct download: sT.zip - (#7 files - 114 kb) zipped folder with sk33.gnm and sk33.gpl (the latter containing only that same one genome for repopulating purpose) and four consecutively saved worlds with its merely mutated population sk33sav[1 to 4].wld and the initial empty world shape.
Here's e-den's homepage and it's author's whole presentation of it with extensive information on and explanation of handling it and all its features. Organisms have a metabolism, mutating genetic code and a mutable distinct neural net; orgs can see, eat, hear, spore, mate, extend, drop (build or feed theoretically), wait, push inanimate matter, wriggle their joints, signal (i.e. theoretically even communicate rudimentarily), be more or less 'friendly'. Situations are not reproducable (unlike e.g. with the same 'seed' in evolve4.0). Physical world is distinct (unlike e.g. Darwin Pond). So .. lots of fertile interdependencies are given. Organisms can be shared over internet. Author Craig McColl calls it a 'beta'-version, but it's fully playable and there's hardly any 'beta'. The outcome is open-ended.
Graphics come a bit simple and old-fashioned, but wait 'till you see the organisms graze systematically and avoid obstacles (intelligently? :o), herd in groups, chase, populate and lose and gain new properties in the course of evolution (though evolution takes time and patience of course - or the world-wide-grid via web!?) .. They like behave by themselves! .. You should watch these carnivores chasing herbivores! .. and see the efficiency of this alife solution covering all aspects and programming techniques, a viable program of the kind could possibly have.
