emergent-behaviour

A simulation inspired by natural processes in the hopes of creating emergent behavioural structures. This code was developed as part of a Third Year Project for Computer Science at The University of Warwick.

Basic Initialisation

To begin, ensure you have all of the Java source code files in some directory. If you need the source code and the directory structure then you can use git and find the repository at "https://github.com/jack-kirton/emergent-behaviour". Then ensure that folders exists within this directory like so:

• ./sims/
• ./maps/
• ./settings/
• ./textures/plant.png

After this is completed, you must compile the code using the command: "javac *.java". This should compile all of the classes into the current directory. Then, you must create the default settings file. To do this, simply run "java Settings". This will create "./settings/constants.prop" as the default settings file.

Generating Terrain

To create a new map, you must run the command:

java Terrain NAME X_SIZE Y_SIZE Z_SIZE VARIANCE

This will create a new map that is called NAME in the "./maps/" directory. This map will have a two-dimensional width and height of X_SIZE and Y_SIZE respectively. The Z_SIZE parameter indicates the total height that the world can be in the third-dimension. Finally, the VARIANCE parameter is a floating point value that is used in the generation process to define how rough the final landscape is, with the standard value being 1.0.

To alter the biome of the generated landscape is a little more complex. Within the Terrain class and the main function, a call is made to generateTerrain. The final argument in this call is what biome the landscape will be, and can be any Terrain.Type instance.

Executing the Program

To execute the program, all that is necessary is to use the command "java Main". This will begin by asking for some data, which is self explanatory. After this data collection the GUI will be launched. To control the GUI, ensure the window has focus and use the controls:

Move: Arrow keys
Zoom: Page Up/Down keys

Data will also be printed to the console after each simulation about the fitness values of each population. To exit the system, either close the GUI window or ensure the console window is in focus and use Ctrl+C to stop execution. The simulation is saved automatically after each generation so to resume a simulation just type its name when prompted at launch time.