[ODE] OT: virtual creatures in games

[Nate W]

On Wed, 26 Mar 2003, gl wrote:

> > I'm pretty sure that a evolved (or "self-optimizing") control system is
> > the way to go for things that walk.
> 
> I'll need to look up the term.  

That might not help, since I sort of invented it on the fly. :-)  I just
meant that the control system should include a means of optimizing itself
(such as a genetic algorithm, for example) rather than require the
developer to optimize it by hand.

> In general, if you evolve a creature in a seperate app, and want to
> 'freeze' its brain (smile) for use in another application without
> further learning ability, can you optimize the brain by stripping out
> unneeded stuff?

Probably depends on the structure of the brain.  With neural nets it
generally won't be obvious which stuff is needed for which behaviors.  
With state machines, maybe.  But what I meant by "optimize" was to adjust
the movements and feedback loops so that the creature doesn't fall over
when it, for example, starts to climb a hill.

-- 

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA
http://www.natew.com