# boppie-evolution **Repository Path**: kevinlights/boppie-evolution ## Basic Information - **Project Name**: boppie-evolution - **Description**: boppie evolution game. 波比进化游戏，基于 Godot 3.2 和 Neural Network 神经网络的进化模拟类游戏，模拟自然选择过程 - **Primary Language**: Unknown - **License**: GPL-3.0 - **Default Branch**: main - **Homepage**: None - **GVP Project**: No ## Statistics - **Stars**: 0 - **Forks**: 0 - **Created**: 2024-05-23 - **Last Updated**: 2024-12-01 ## Categories & Tags **Categories**: Uncategorized **Tags**: None ## README

Boppie Evolution

--- # Try it [online](https://boppie-evolution.brutenis.net)! ## A Simulation of Natural Selection based on Owl-like Creatures with Neural Networks ![](./Media/Simulation1.gif) ![](./Media/Simulation2.gif) ## Explanation There are two types of boppies: owlies and kloppies. The owlies eat the red dots (apples), and the kloppies eat the owlies. ![](./Media/FoodChain.png) Each creature has a small neural network which tells it what to do. The neural network has two outputs, go forward/backwards and turn left/right. Notice in the gif below the two output nodes. Currently each creature has 5 inputs (+1 bias/threshold), each input shows the distance (0 = no food, 0.5 = very far, 1.0 = very close) to the next food. As in, the neuron fires when it sees food there. ![](./Media/Simulation3.gif) ## Observations Based on this basic neural network and evolution some interesting behaviour emerges. For example, the [prey-predator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotka%E2%80%93Volterra_equations) cycle appears after some time, just as it does in nature: ![](./Media/PreyPredatorCycle.png) ## Running it You can play with it [online](https://boppie-evolution.brutenis.net) with a web browser. For better performance you can download the binaries [here](https://github.com/LiquidFun/BoppieEvolution/releases/latest) (Linux, Windows and Mac are all provided, the latter two have not been tested though). ## Hotkeys Quickstart: after starting a simulation: press `9` to simulate quickly. After a couple minutes you can press `1` to go to normal speed and inspect what the creatures are now capable of! * `H` - See help page for up-to-date hotkey list (or click on the question mark in the bottom right corner) * `W`/`A`/`S`/`D` - move camera around (hold **shift** to move 10x as fast) * `Mouse click and drag` - move camera around * `Mouse click` on boppie - follow it until it dies * `Mouse wheel` - zoom in/out * `Escape` - stop following boppie * `O`/`K` - follow fittest **o**wlie/**k**loppie until it dies * `P` - turn performance mode on/off (off by default). This improves FPS by a lot by turning off all particles and unnecessary visual effects. This is done automatically when changing to a time factor above 32x. * `F` - **f**ollow new fittest boppie even after death * `C` - toggle **c**ontrol of boppie if already following it (i.e. clicked on it before) (use `W`/`A`/`S`/`D` to move with it) * `E` - add 5 **e**nergy to currently following boppie (press multiple times, then the boppie will grow and have children) * `-`/`+` - decrease/increase time factor by 2x (min: 0.5x, max: 256x) * Numbers `1` through `9` - set time factor to 2^(number - 1) (e.g.: pressing 9 sets time factor to 256x) * `Space` - pause/unpause * `R` - show vision **r**ays for all boppies * `T` - show vision rays for curren**t** boppie ## If you want to tinker yourself * Download the free and open source game-engine: [Godot](https://godotengine.org/) * Clone this repository: `git clone https://github.com/LiquidFun/BoppieEvolution` (or download via github) * Open Godot and import the `project.godot` file * Now press on the play button to run it ## Ideas for future features ### Simulation * Add obstacles * Add more senses for the boppies, such as: * Instead of rays try neural network inputs with information for angle+distance * Cone for detection of food * History neuron both input/output, but cap with sigmoid as it easily escalates * Add sexual reproduction, as in the real world merging DNA from two individuals has greatly benefited survival of the fittest * Add loading/saving of simulations * Add areas of high ground productivity (where more food spawns) * Add seasons where more or less food spawns * Add (for example), a river in the middle of the map, which separates the species on the left/right of it. * Encode how many creatures are reproduced in the DNA of the creature (number of children) * Change meat-eating from boolean to a float, where it essentially becomes meat-tolerance or meat effectiveness (a factor of how much energy can be gained from meat). However high meat-tolerance means low * Different parallel simulations where the best are merged into one ### UI/UX * Add menu so that simulation could be configured * Show genetic tree for entire simulation * Add more graphs: * Fittest creature each second * Species stacked bar-plot * Full screen on neural network, which shows actual weights * Improve display of recurrent connections * Use textures on the ground (fertile vs infertile land) * Show version/commit id in application * Add eye button to hide eye containers * Add world configuration tab with seed and other such stuff * Add high-contrast (bright world background) and large font mode for beamer presentations * Plots * Change y-scale once higher values have been achieved * Ease of use: * Make the hotkey button more apparent (e.g. show a HOTKEYS text after starting for a couple seconds) * Add help tooltips for boppie and world window * Show WASD + SHIFT display when controlling boppie * Add buttons for common actions * Eat food, show sensors, stop following * Load and save simulations * Alternative display of neural network, where the input neurons are shown at the positions of the sensory neurons near the actual boppie * Add menu bar at the top: Simulation/Help, with multiple dropdown menu options to restart simulation, back to menu, keyboard help, explanation help etc ### Rework * All globals should be in gamecontroller, so that those could be loaded and saved easier * Neural networks in GDNative C++ instead of GDScript (by far largest bottleneck) * Separate StatusBar, BoppieBar and WorldStats ### Experiments * Can the boppies learn recurrent connections if their inputs are delayed * Instead of sexual reproduction, only reproduce fittest creatures by crossover * Player vs evolution game mode * Try to compete with evolution by creating an AI (code in game screen, use eval to evaluate code) * Get access to better/more sensors over time * Try to beat ever stronger kloppies ### Known bugs * Currently crossover is not performed when spawning new boppies * Cannot copy DNA over to other boppies * Loading and saving does not work ## Changelog ### v0.4.0 (not yet released) * UI/UX Improvements * Added progress bars for energy/water/offspring, improving legibility * Left panel is now for boppies, right panel is for world, status bar has been cleaned up * Fittest table now in right world panel * Plants now have plant icon * Plots * Current value is now displayed in the top right * Ease of use: * Added tooltips for most buttons * Added buttons for common actions: * Faster/slower game-speeds, pause play * Take control of boppie, make invincible, produce offspring * Performance mode * Follow fittest boppie * Show all vision rays * Added meat after death of boppies ### v0.3.0 (2022-03-09) * UI/UX Improvements * Show additional danger-sense near boppie * Disabled spike rotation and blood in performance mode * Improved graphs by drawing lines instead of pixels in texture, graphs can be hidden * Neurons have colors based on their type, can now drag neurons * Show importance of neural network connections * Can now select different profiles for displaying neural network (weights or activations) * Added lakes, water requirement for boppies and neurons for detecting lakes * Boppie colors now represent: hue: dna, saturation: energy, luminance: water * Added reinforcement learning, where neural net weights are adjusted based on rewards * New neurons/senses * Terrain resistance sense below and ahead of boppie * Timer (time encoded in DNA) * Hunger/thirst * A single large water ray for detecting water * Ally sense for detecting allies (same as danger sense) * Fixed major bug where each time a new boppie was spawned the AIs and NeuronTimers would become orphaned * Required boppie offspring energy depends on DNA ### [v0.2.0](https://github.com/LiquidFun/BoppieEvolution/releases/tag/0.2.0) (2022-02-17) * UI/UX Improvements * Random seed is shown * Can now drag boppies from fittest list into world * Camera can now be moved by dragging the mouse * DNA/Neural network as tabs, as they did not fit in a single column * Neural networks now show what each input/output neuron means * Neural networks can have any structure (not necessarily fully connected) * Added rotating traps with spikes and blood marks after death * Added these senses for boppies: * Danger sense (for detecting traps and kloppies) * Added boppie color as part of DNA * Implemented NEAT (Neuroevolution of Augmenting Topologies), such that the neural networks of the boppies change with each generation * Added an innovation number for each connection in the neural network, as described in NEAT * Crossover of creature DNA and neural networks ### [v0.1.0](https://github.com/LiquidFun/BoppieEvolution/releases/tag/0.1.0) (2021-10-19) * Two types of creatures (Owlies and Kloppies) * A basic neural network for each creature * Creatures have DNA which they pass on to children * Vision based on 5 rays extending from each boppie ## Inspired by ### Videos * [Evolution simulator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOFws_hhZs8) by [carykh](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9z7EZAbkphEMg0SP7rw44A) * [Evolv.io](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9tWr1WUTuI) by [carykh](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9z7EZAbkphEMg0SP7rw44A) * [MarI/O](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv6UVOQ0F44) by [SethBling](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8aG3LDTDwNR1UQhSn9uVrw) * [Simulating Natural Selection](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZGbIKd0XrM) by [Primer](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKzJFdi57J53Vr_BkTfN3uQ) * [I programmed some creatures. They Evolved.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3tRFayqVtk) by [David Randall Miller](https://www.youtube.com/user/davidrandallmiller) * [The Evolution of Predation in a Simulated Ecosystem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPkMoFJNcLA) by [The Bibites: Digital Life](https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBibitesDigitalLife) ### Papers * [Neuroevolution of Augmenting Topologies](http://nn.cs.utexas.edu/downloads/papers/stanley.ec02.pdf) by K. Stanley and R. Miikkulainen, 2002 ## Credits ### Fonts * [Font awesome 5](https://fontawesome.com/versions) ([CC BY 4.0](https://fontawesome.com/license/free)) * [FredokaOne](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Fredoka+One) ([Open Font License](https://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&id=OFL))