CS 499 Senior Project: Life Simulation

Rationale

Inspired by John H. Conway's "Game of Life," this project simulates living organism behavior. It's a medium-complexity simulation between Conway's Game of Life and Virtual Worm.

Project Team

- Erik Overberg

- Adam Johnson

- Riley Rhodes

- Justin Davis

Simulation Dynamics

- Real-time and Accelerated Simulation: The simulation operates in real time and can accelerate up to 100X speed.

- Life Forms: Includes Plants, Grazers, and Predators, each with specific rules and genetic traits.

- Obstacles: Boulders in the simulation world affecting life form movement.

- Reporting: Real-time tracking of life form populations.

End Conditions

The simulation concludes when any life form's population reaches zero, indicating ecosystem instability.

Website Hosting and User Interaction

- Hosted on a website for multi-user interaction.

- Users can input data files and review the results.

Constraints

- Browser Compatibility: Operable on various web browsers, including Chrome.

- Open Source: All code must be original.

- No External Engines: All graphics and controls must be developed in-house.

Additional Information

- Initial settings data file provided.

- Source file for reading simulation data in C++ and Java.

Project Advice

- Focus on functionality before balance.

- Use Conway's Game of Life for inspiration.

- Effective time management and communication are key.

- Choose programming languages based on project needs.

Spring 2022 Recommendations

- Concentrate on general entity behavior first.

- Integrate front-end and back-end early.

- Establish clear communication protocols between front-end and back-end.