Awoken

Thanks, some of those photos I no longer have.

My question is... I noticed the pictures that were attached to older blog entries are no longer visible. Is this a permanent thing affecting all blog entries prior to the update? Would I need to go through and re-attach them? It was nice seeing the visual history of my project.

I am fascinated by the origins of life. I love entertaining ideas about where this all came from, and why and what is subjective experience? Is conscious experience really just an inevitable expression of the brain and free-will is just an illusion as Daniel Dennet suggests, or is it an essential ingredient in defining self-organising systems as Christopher Langan says ( My own interpretation of the his mad...?? genius ), or is it a waste of mental energy thinking insight could be gleaned from the unknowable. Anyways, if you're on board so far I'd like to say that I'm particularly fascinated by Pilobolus fungus. The first time I saw Pilobolus fungus on BBC documentary 'Life' I was just in awe. How does such a thing achieve such complexity? Especially since fungi came before cellular life.. so interesting. So one day while at work I came up with a proposed computer simulation that could ~kinda~ simulate the life cycle of Pilobolus fungus. I'm going to be making up a whole lot here and I'm going to make a lot of erroneous assumptions about the complexity of cells. I'm hoping someone who knows what they're talking about can show me the errors in logic. When I talk of 'system' I mean the actual Pilobolus fungus, o.k I'll try my best to convey the idea: - Within the fungus is DNA containing instructions/chemical bonds which have developed in complexity over the many iterations of the self-organising system. Through inevitable external/environmental interactions, the fungal spore synthesises and facilitates the processing of billions of chemical bonds resulting in RNA. Through similar processes mentioned in the previous sentence Protein bonds begin to fill the system. O.k, this is where I just simplify the hell out of this idea, so the system creates protein A, B, C, D and E. Each Protein has a bonding-potential given the right external conditions. At first the single spore develops a disproportionate amount of Protein A, which is good because protein A is responsible for cellular division ( hyphae ). Mean while Proteins B through E just slowly build up in concentration. Eventually the concentration of Protein B reaches a point where it's forced to develop an equilibrium with it's surrounding environment (thanks to maybe sunlight, moisture, dryness, nitrogen...) as a result a new type of structure emerges ( stalk ). Perhaps with the addition of the stalk a new set of environmental conditions allow for protein C to begin doing its bonds to achieve an equilibrium and develops the ( cap ). Now the cap happens to have an elastic component to it. As moisture is pushed to the extremities of the system the concentration of protein D builds up and creates a sort of one-way valve/gate, and moisture begins to accumulate within the cap. Eventually the whole system develops an equilibrium with its external environment and an equilibrium within itself. Once this state is achieved the system begins to self-germinate ( or it begins to foster the creation of spores within the system ). These spores are pushed to the extremities of the system and are trapped behind the one-way gate. Eventually the cap bursts. Protein E does nothing significant during this iteration.- What do you think?

That is true, you can pause all the mentioned games and yes this game could not be paused; at least not the multiplayer version of it. This is something I've thought about a lot... What I've drafted up borrows elements from traditional browser games in that the player can only do so much at any given time. Like most browser games, which can not be paused, the player's choice of action is restricted into 'time-blocks' so to say. A player only needs to attend their game session for an hour or two max per day and over the course of many weeks, even months do they see their efforts pay-off. A big difference that I can see between the game I'm creating and traditional browser games is just how dynamic and organic an experience could potentially be given that the game's session is dependent on thousands of interacting AI. menyo, do you like the games I've mentioned ( civ, sim-city, 4X), If so, what do you think about this idea I've had running in my head. Yeah, some players will have a heavy advantage because they commit more time manicuring their simulation; however, I was thinking of incorporating gaming bonuses which could be earned within a different game session. So let me explain the idea a bit: --During the course of one game session you're playing, and thanks by the way for playing , you've managed to build up a pretty sizeable tribe. You've developed some healthy farms, raided a few surrounding tribes for booty and your tribe boasts over 100 simulin. Things are looking good and you've spent an hour or so every night just making sure things are running smoothly. One day you return to your game session and find out your tribe has been raided and you're 20 strongest have been deleted, 50 taken for work and 20 deserted you. Now you only have 10 simulin left and everything you've built has been decimated. Things seem bleak, why carry on?... Your 10 remaining simulin, and the 50 which are under another player's suppression, now have a conditional moral bonus modifier which can be unlocked. Maybe not immediately, but over the course of time if you are able to build up strength, raid and free your former simulin, you'd unlock your heroic bonus and now you'd have a unique bonus which would not be available during a regular game session.-- anyways, this is a pretty good description of how I hope the game session could turn out, what do you think menyo?

It's a big idea, imagine a game that is like Civilization, but real time.  A real-time Civilization. It's a game where you play online with dozens, maybe even hundreds of other players. The Civilization building process is simulated, much like how Sim-city simulates City Building. It's a browser game and a game session could take weeks to months to complete.   The simulation continues while you are away, much like traditional browser games. My attempt at this idea is to simulate thousands of individual people who'd make up these Tribes, Communities and Civilizations. Each possessing their own needs and wants.  Participating together to simulate things like trade, wealth, war and conquest. If you're a fan of games like Civilization, Sim-City and 4X games, what do you think of this proposed game?  What are your thoughts, ideas?