- News and Updates -
AI Planet Googlisms October 14th 2003 - v1.0.0 development
Another wallpaper was sent in by Shaun Boyland, and is available in the files area here. For those wanting to know the latest net slang, Googlism has funny definitions of aiplanet, ai.planet, and artificial planet.  Here are some of them:
  • ai.planet is a virtual planet where artificial intelligences can live
  • ai.planet is my friend hi
  • aiplanet is gonna take over the world
  • artificial planet is on a trajectory toward destruction
  • artificial planet is out of focus and happens too quickly

 

AI Planet Wallpaper October 12th 2003 - v1.0.0 comments
Dennis submitted a nice desktop wallpaper to the CVS, and it is available for download from the files section.  The wallpaper comes in all sizes, from 1600x to 800x.  It's on my desktop! :)  What else is happening with AI Planet?  Mostly discussions and planning for now, as well as looking for funding in the real world.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day Canada! 
Version 1.0.0 Released October 1st 2003 - v1.0.0 comments
Version 1.0.0 is complete!  It has been ten months since this project was started on SourceForge, and thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, AI Planet is in great shape.  Some said it couldn't be done, yet here it is, totally free for all to play with.  We hope you enjoy using AI Planet as much as we enjoy building it.  Thanks to SourceForge for hosting this site: since December 2002, ai.planet files have been downloaded over 10,000 times, and the site has been viewed over 150,000 times.  Changes in this release:
  • Added Artificial Planet Manual by Dennis Murczak
  • New splash screen (Matt Weaver)
  • Added Code Structure Documents (Pasdoc/Aaron)
  • New land textures (Dennis)
  • Upgraded texture seams and blending
  • Identical textures on world load
  • Added optimizations to Positioning
  • Optimized planet texture changing
  • Added Advanced Mode in Settings (hides AI/collisions)
  • Set trees to reproduce only within XY radius (thins them out)
  • Fixed camera at poles (not sane, but less crazy)
  • Fixed targeting arrow keys

* Updated stats October 7th.

Version 1.0.0 Source Released October 1st 2003 - v1.0.0 development
Version 1.0.0 source is here!  Now that version 1.0 is out, what can you expect in future versions?  AI.Planet will continue on providing new and better creatures.  There are already plans for version 2, which developers can read, and you can discuss via the mailing list.  In the meantime, you can see a preview of another OpenSource project called Pulse, which Dave and Aaron are currently working on.  The engine for this game (Muggle) is expected to appear in AI Planet 2.  It makes full use of ODE and will be client/server networked for multi-user cooperation.  Please be aware that AI Planet is in need of funding and donations.  If you know any rich people interested in AI, send them here. :)
AI Planet Manual Online September 28th 2003 - v0.9.9 comments
The first release of the Artificial Planet manual has been released.  You can view it online from the sidebar, or by clicking here.   A big thanks to Dennis Murczak for his hard work on this project.  This manual will also be included in the next release, and is in the CVS documents directory for anyone who wishes to add to it.
Version 0.9.9 Released September 26th 2003 - v0.9.9 comments
Version 0.9.9 is available for download!  Includes alot of bug fixes and tweaks.  Fixed the populations form bug, fixed the fire tree model, fixed the seed model, fixed fullscreen bug, and made the water system a lot more visually accurate.  Sped up some parts of the program, and took out the annoying Quicklaunch button from the installer.  Note from Dave: I have been unable to crash ai.planet on my machine for over a month, so I believe it is stable.  Its almost time for version 1.0!  :)
New Photo Collection and Documentation September 23rd 2003 - v0.9.8 comments
Dennis Murczak sent in a large collection of photos.  They look great!  Dennis is also working on a manual for ai.planet that will be included in both the Windows release and on this website.  In addition to this, there is a new online code structure browser, that was generated using PasDoc, with help from Aaron Hochwimmer.  You can access it from the sidebar.
Version 0.9.8 Released September 17th 2003 - v0.9.8 development, comments
Version 0.9.8 is available for download!  Includes missile defense against asteroids, interface cleanup, and minor bug fixes.  The missile system is more improved than before, with the stations shooting two missiles per asteroid, and a timer on each missile. Added Random Asteroids setting in Set Menu, and a "Next Kind" targeting camera button.  Be sure to check out the missile defense movie if you haven't already.  Screenshot taken by Dennis Murczak.
Missile Defense September 13th 2003 - v0.9.8 development, comments
Missile defense satellites can be placed in orbit above the planet.  These detect incoming asteroids and shoot a missile to intercept them.  The missiles do not seek the asteroids.  Instead, the defense satellite predicts the path of the asteroid, and fires the missile with the correct initial velocity, so that the missile later collides with the asteroid and destroys it.  Each missile is fired at the same speed.  Defense satellites can be especially useful if you have random asteroids on and want to protect an area of land. 
Interface Cleanup September 10th 2003 - v0.9.8 development
The interface has been given a scrub and shine.  Buttons are larger, and have easy-to-read captions.
-Added Disasters menu
-Moved Cameras to bottom
-Rearranged and polished buttons
-Made buttons bigger
-Moved shadows to visuals toolbar
Version 0.9.7 Released September 8th 2003 - v0.9.7 development, comments
Version 0.9.7 is out, this is a bug-fix release only. Highlights:
- Added option to disable creation of FireFX, for users experiencing problems with suns/explosions
- Fixed Starfield bug
- Fixed "Vicious Circle" of Lightning problem
- Fixed AVI Recording bug
Screenshot taken by Matt Snelling, stress-testing the ai fueling system.
Version 0.9.6 Released September 1st 2003 - v0.9.6 development, comments
Version 0.9.6 is out!  New features include: turn artificial intelligence fueling on or off, first-person camera for any object, speech bubbles, AVI recorder to make movies, simulated forest fire, high detail mode with high polygon fruits, lightning button, rain cloud button, plant/creature/thing removal cursors, harm button, and a ton of upgrades and bug fixes. 
Text Speech August 31st 2003 - v0.9.6 development
Creatures have been given the ability to talk, by calling AIThing.Talk("text"), which the user can see on screen.  Other creatures can see this speech and could be programmed to respond or communicate.  Turtles will spill their thoughts and so will crabs.  You can turn the speech bubbles on or off from the Visuals menu.
Camera Eyes August 30th 2003 - v0.9.6 comments
A new camera mode has been added called "Camera Eyes".  The screenshot is from the eyes of a baby duck.  Be warned that watching as a ladybug or a bird can make you quite dizzy.  A hawk or a fish, a turtle, and even a beachball floating downstream, can give interesting views of the world.  Here are some screenshots from the point of view of a ladybug, and from a bird that caught some food.  You can literally look at the world as any object, even a fruit or a tree if you want, or even as an underwater beacon.
Simulated Forest Fire August 29th 2003 - v0.9.6 development, comments
Simple tree objects can be scattered about the terrain to make a forest.  If a lightning bolt or explosion occurs near one of the trees, it catches on fire (begins glowing reddish/orange).  Trees nearby that tree will catch on fire too, and the fire will spread throughout the forest.  You can stop the fire from consuming all the trees by clearing a path with the plant removal tool.  This was made in light of the hundreds of fires currently burning throughout Western Canada.
Version 0.9.5.d Released August 24th 2003 - v0.9.5 development
This release includes new beacons that can create any kind of object, with an adjustable timer.  There is a volume control, a couple bug fixes, target camera upgrade, and updated shark and crab ai.  This screenshot is an underwater view of a evolving fruit beacon with a short timer, and the water turned off.
Collision River August 19th 2003 - v0.9.5 comments
Here is a fun experiment to try on ai.planet.  Make a riverbed with one open end, and place a drain beacon at the closed end, and a bubble beacon at the other end (or in the sea).  Throw a bunch of orange beacons and beach balls inside the river.  The oranges will collect in a pile in the calm waters.  Ducks will make trails as they swim through the fruits.  Update: A new animation has been added to the top of the page.
Multicast Shadows August 15th 2003 - v0.9.5 development, comments
This is a screenshot of multicast shadows in action.  As a cloud passes overhead, the trees are shadowed.  The fish under the tree have leaf shadows on top.  To use shadows, you must do a two things: 1) Add a sun.  2) Enable shadows by checking the Shadows checkbox on the Time window.  You can then enable Multicast shadows from the Visuals toolbar, or see the shadow Volumes.  Thanks to Mattias Fagerlund for help with shadows.
Version 0.9.5.b Released August 14th 2003 - v0.9.5 development, comments
This release includes shadows, a working Tip of the Day, fixed fruit/seed collision problem, fixed duck model, and improved error catching and reporting.  You no longer have to worry about ai.planet going crazy and crashing with dozens of errors.  If an error occurs, it is caught and handled by an error window, from which you can e-mail debugging information and do an emergency save of your world.  
Object Shadows August 11th 2003 - v0.9.5 development
Suns can now cause shadows on your planet with the GLShadowRenderer component.  This gives users greater depth perception and impression of height.  You can see shadows in the screenshot on the left.  There are options to turn on/off shadows, and to see the shadow volumes.  A lot of complex objects casting shadows will slow down the system, in these cases shadows are best used for snapshots.  Smaller worlds of a few hundred objects can display shadows in real time.  Thanks to Philipp and mrqzz for help.
Version 0.9.5.a Released August 10th 2003 - v0.9.5 development, comments
This release is mainly a fix for the Jedi VCL Tip of the Day bug.  On many machines this component was causing havoc.  It has been completely removed, and will be replaced with a working component built by Aaron Hochwimmer in the next release.  You can find it in the GLData CVS repository.  This is an incomplete prerelease of version 0.9.5 and there will be more releases to follow.  You can test the new collision engine in this build.  A nice experiment to try is alot of aquaplants, beachballs, ducks, and an iceberg.   Please note that loading a saved world may result in a crash.
Collision Engine Finished August 8th 2003 - v0.9.5 development
This screenshot shows the completed new collision engine. The engine can be turned on and off, has basic collision detection and response, in addition to distribution of forces via kinetic energy.  This is simple, straightforward, and fast, but not nearly as complex as ODE.  In post-1.0 versions of AI Planet, there are plans to use ODE.  One outstanding issue: objects are unable to come to rest on top of other objects.  Warning: Version 0.9.4 has some outstanding bugs, but we are working on the fix.  As usual, since ai.planet is beta, use at your own risk.
Collision Response System August 6th 2003 - v0.9.5 development
This screenshot shows the new collision engine in the works. There are some interesting screenshots of the new system here here and here.  The engine has basic collision detection and response, and will have distribution of forces via kinetic energy. 
Version 0.9.4 Released August 5th 2003 - v0.9.4 comments
This new version of ai.planet includes multicolored trees, that evolve over time by producing a variety of  fruits.   Improved creature AI gives rise to new predator/prey relationships.  Interface improvements include a tool repeat button, jump button, new features on the populations form.  There is a new Move tool to pick up objects with the mouse, reposition them, and throw them in any direction.  Although the Ladybugs aren't always successful, if they are given a good environment they can last indefinitely, as this population survived well over 2.5 million ticks.  Birds are now better at mating, and Hawks are better at catching the birds.  Note: There is no selection pressure on the tree color, so they can and will change into any color.  Also be aware of the known bugs, if you find a new one please report it. 
Improved Creatures July 31st 2003 - v0.9.4 development
The creature AI has been improved all around, with new predator/prey/fruit relationship functions available.  In this snapshot, a bird has caught a ladybug, since it was marked as prey.  Animals can instinctively forage for all types of fruits and small plants, including apples, oranges, evolving fruits, and grass, without extra AI code.  Some of the new behaviors that have resulted: Fish will eat ladybugs floating above them, ducks will catch fish, and birds will eat ants. Separate groups of ladybugs will evolve from common ancestors to eat the oranges and apples from aquatic plants.  Also in the works are evolving Rabbits and Foxes.
Tree Evolution July 29th 2003 - v0.9.4 development
A new type of tree (AIEvolvingTree) passes its DNA to its fruits and seeds, which give rise to new varieties of trees.  These trees can turn into new colors, as shown in this screenshot.  Trees near mountains evolve fruits that don't bounce, to climb up the mountain sides.  Users can now save and load DNA into custom files, and stop mutation on any tree to make a standard type.
Version 0.9.3 Released July 28th 2003 - v0.9.3 development, comments
This newest release includes customizable DNA with INI files, Position editor, Creature DNA editor, Tip of the Day, bug fixes, and more!  In this screenshot, an evolved ladybug has grabbed an apple at the bottom of the water, but died of old age.  When the ladybugs die, they become very buoyant and float to the surface.  Help Wanted: Looking for document writers to write tips of the day!
Version 0.9.2 Released July 25th 2003 - v0.9.2 comments
AI Planet Version 0.9.2 is now out for download!  Includes rudimentary evolution (ladybugs), free-floating camera, non-clipping zoom, user interface improvements, and bug fixes.  Most changes and improvements are non-visual.  New creatures and continued feature completion will follow in the next three versions.
Evolving Ladybugs July 23rd 2003 - v0.9.2 development
Ladybugs are the first AIGeneticCreature on AI Planet.  They have very simple DNA which stores their buoyancy.  When two ladybugs have a kid, the mother and father DNA combine, the child inherits the average buoyancy values, which randomly changes by a mutation factor.  When the Ladybugs are given the desire to eat Apples (that sink in the water), the Ladybugs evolve to become less buoyant.  When the Ladybugs are given the desire to eat Oranges (that float in water) the Ladybugs evolve to become more buoyant.  This happens because the Ladybugs that have the wrong buoyancies die off faster and cannot mate to pass their DNA values (natural selection).  This is the first test of the evolving creatures, and since it was successful, expect more robust evolving characteristics to follow.
Action Scheduler Complete July 17th 2003 - v0.9.2 development
Version 0.9.2 includes an Action Scheduler through which all creatures interact.  Note: The Action Scheduler has been disabled due to stability issues.  Thanks to all who voted for "The KerReview"!  It got 27 votes, compared to 9 votes for HPT, the next highest competitor! :)
Version 0.9.2 Started July 14th 2003 - v0.9.2 development
The end has come for Version 0.9.1! What does that mean?  It means we've added all the major features to the engine. It is now time to complete these features, spice them up, and then move onto beta testing.  Versions 0.9.2 to 0.9.5 will be this feature completion, according to this plan.  The next public releases will follow in the upcoming weeks.  In the meantime, developers and anyone with CVS can keep tabs on the latest changes.
DNA, Evolution, and other Designs July 10th 2003 - v0.9.2 development, comment
A new AIGeneticCreature class is in the works.  It has a changing DNA marker that will be given to its children.  Up for debate is which creature will be the first genetic creature.  There are many creatures that need an update to compete with the learning and mating creatures.  Sharks, insects, mice, hawks, dolphins, or a brand new animal?  Post your comments on the message boards!
Action Scheduler July 8th 2003 - v0.9.2 development, comment
Plans are in the works for an action scheduler to make its appearance as one of the final features of version 0.9.2.  The action scheduler will be a system that the creatures use to interact with the world and with each other.  Each creature will have energy that they can use to act with, to move around, grab things, and bite other creatures.  There are more creatures in the works too, and we are open to all model and graphics submissions.  This photo is from the world "Insekti,ptice,ribe" by Dushan Tcholich.  This world is an excellent test of the system and has led to the discovery of some rare bugs.
Ten Million Ticks Reached July 7th 2003 - v0.9.1 development, comment
Over the weekend, a world was left running, and it ran past 11,000,000 ticks.  50 ticks is equivalent to 1 second.  There was still a community of fish living in the water, evidence that the mating algorithm works and the program is stable, although a few glitches remain in the loading routine.  Some fish are losing state information through the file load/save process.  A beta tester sent in a report:  "Have run 1200 birds from start for about 5 hours, all on screen and the program ran fine. Although there were (are) only 30 birds left when I returned to the computer it was running rather 'lumpily'. After a minute or two at the keyboard writing to you it seems to have smoothed out again and is running well enough. A great programme, and as I have recently learnt Delphi for a project at work, I hope to perhaps contribute in some way. I’ve been followin A-life development since the early 80-ies and love the ai.planet app, it’s just what I’ve been waiting for!  Spiffing stuff!  Cheers / Eddie"  The answer to the extinction problem: it turns out that the turtles are very slowly eating up the aquaplants, which eventually exhausts the low level food source. 
Earthquakes, Camera Light July 4th 2003 - v0.9.1 development, comment
New features version 0.9.1.g: Earthquakes, camera light, file loading fixes, and interface clean up.  The camera light improves the visibility and color of the models, especially in close-up shots as shown in this screenshots of foreverlorn's ducks.  Earthquakes occur from Asteroid smashes, or if you press the Earthquake button in the Land menu.  Aaron is pushing for a Godzilla-like creature on AIPlanet, if you have any models, sounds, or animations to contribute please visit the forums.  We'd like to have it able to stomp around and crush things under its feet, which requires animated legs.  Now that the engine is stable, there is a new problem occurring: after about 1,000,000 rounds on "ducksfish.air" all the living populations die off - why?
Two Thousand Birds July 4th 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Two thousand birds were added, but still AIPlanet didn't crash, went awfully slow though.  The engine also handled hundreds of ducks, ants, and can handle thousands of simultaneous objects such as plants, apples, clouds, etc.  Note for speeding up performance: close the main 3D view.  AIPlanet will still run in the background, and you can reopen the view at any time to see what is happening.  You can also view the populations graph or any other window while in this mode. Happy Independence Day!
One Thousand Birds Stress Test July 3rd 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
A call to beta testers: download version 0.9.1.f, load "stresstest.air" and add as many birds as you can. Save your world and send it in, or take a screenshot.  Been trying to make ai.planet crash, unsuccessfully, and thought: what's a better way to stress test the system than to add a thousand birds?  It didn't crash.  After five hundred birds were flying around, the system slowed down.  As the bird count reached 1000, the earlier birds started to die off.  Improvements: count numbers in the Populations graph, proper plural spelling of names, selection tool enabled when reality stopped, smaller Time and View bars, and support for large desktops.  Hint: closing the Space window sets AIPlanet to run in the background.
Version 0.9.1 Source Released July 2nd 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Released a very stable version of AI Planet, (0.9.1e), with both the Release and Source.  A large number of bugs have been hunted down and removed, not including ladybugs.  Please report any bugs you encounter, or look at some favorable stats. Note: If you want to see a new creature in version 1.0, you must act soon!  Feel free to post a request on the open discussion forum.  Updated the creature development section.  Happy Canada Day!
Developer Tutorial and Update June 30th 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
There is a new tutorial for developers interested in compiling AI Planet.  New version of v0.9.1 out for download!  Includes many bug fixes and improvements, including a working population graph, improved turtle AI, duck flocking, and much more.  Ducks and turtles now form a nice dichotomy; after predatory turtles learn to catch and eat ducks, the duck mating strategy benefits in the long run.  New cloud attempt didn't work out, see bug photos and dev forum for more info.  Listed on BetaNews!
Version 0.9.1 Released June 26th 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Now out for download!  Consider yourself a beta tester if you download it. This version includes: two learning creatures: turtles, crabs, as well as fancy new textured ducks that have babies, ladybugs, ants, flat terrain preview, all around improvements, and a dash of bugs (yes those kinds of bugs!).  :P  In this snapshot there is a sad picture of a user who added too many birds but not enough food to match.  Hint: please load "aquaplants.air" if you plan to test the ducks, fish, and turtles.  Use "beaconmountain.air" to test ants, ladybugs, and crabs. 
Ducks Get a Facelift! June 25th 2003 - v0.9.1 development, comment
Ducks received an incredible makeover thanks to Kaufmann Thorsten, who generously textured the ducks.  The ducks have a beak, eyes, and a pattern of feathers over their body.  Kaufmann's site, six4one, offers a resource for 3D modeling and graphics design, particularly for projects using GLScene.  Thanks Kaufmann!  There are more photos of the new duck.  Next step is to make the AIDuck code worthy of their good looks.  ;)
Smarter Crabs June 24th 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Crabs are the second learning creature, using the new AILearningCreature class.  They like to take a bite of their prey and then throw it.  Raised a mountain with apple and orange beacons on top (beaconmountain.air), and then let loose ants, ladybugs, and crabs.  The crabs learnt quickly to go after ants.  The ants were climbing up the hill to get the apples, but the crabs would throw them down the side.  The ladybugs were outnumbered by the ants, but moved faster to get the food.  The crabs did their best to catch them, but the ladybugs still got the apples.  The moral of the story: Apparent behaviors arise due to environmental complexity, resulting from the interactions of many simple objects.
Black Ants June 23rd 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Added another insect, this time an ant, using another free model from 3DCafe.  With insects on aiplanet, the world is more diverse.  Insects provide a moving food source to animals and birds, although the learning turtles are the only animals curious enough to try to eat them.  At the moment, both ladybugs and ants have basic foraging ai and feed on fruits.  There are more photos of ants available on the screenshots page, as well as some new bug photos at the bottom.

 
Improved Ladybugs :) June 22nd 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Dan Bartlett from the glscene.general newsgroup fixed up the 3DS ladybug. "I loaded it in Anima8or and selected 'fix normals' which seemed to fix it."  Looks alot better!  Nik sent in a model that included white 'eyes'.  Thanks Dan and Nik!  There remains ai code to be written for the bugs, and proper modeling of their small size.
Ladybug Bug! June 21st 2003 - v0.9.1 comment
Found a nice ladybug model from 3DCafe, but half of its faces are inverted, so the model looks patchy.  Eric Grange writes: "You could try the normals unification tool in your favorite 3D modeler, or perform it in GLScene via UnifyTrianglesWinding (in MeshUtils) and its evil sister InvertTrianglesWinding if the unification faces the wrong way... Essentially call it on all vertex index lists, if you have several facegroups, that means calling it on the facegroups individually, and then invert for the facegroups that got normals in the wrong way."
Terrain Unwrapping June 21st 2003 - v0.9.1 development
The default terrain of AI.Planet is spherical, and the underlying grid system is represented in two dimensions.  This is why the Heat and Humidity maps are rectangles.  Objects may move about in three dimensions, but water may only move in two.  To accurately and precisely visualize objects in water, flat terrain is needed, because the water bubble does not follow a complete curve, whereas objects do.  This results in objects appearing to be slightly above the water in some places.  This feature is still in development: the terrain can be switched at runtime but objects and cameras remain to be oriented correctly.
Individual Behaviors June 20th 2003 - v0.9.1 development, comment
After tweaking and upgrading the AITurtle's memory, they began to exhibit individual traits.  Each gave unique Weights to the food they ate, as shown in this screenshot.  Turtle 497 liked Oranges the most, Turtle 489 liked Fish, and Turtle 487 preferred Crabs.  None of the turtles surveyed liked eating Plants, but would eat one as a last choice.  The preference is based on history and experience: how healthy the food was, how long it took to get the food, and how often it succeeded in catching the food.  The AITurtles are curious and will attempt to eat new things they encounter.  Watch out if you are using a bot, bots are edible. :)
Learning Turtles June 19th 2003 - v0.9.1 development, comment
There is a new cTurtle that attempts to eat everything.  Whenever it eats something, it adds a statistic to its memory (AIReportCard).  This results in some interesting behaviors: the turtle will eat fruit, plants, birds, fish, other turtles, and even tried to eat vibes (a sound is a vibe).  After trying to eat both a vibe and an orange, the turtle learnt to prefer oranges instead of vibes.
Baby Ducks June 18th 2003 - v0.9.1 development, comment
Using the AIMatingCreature component, and borrowing some AIFish code, Aaron's ducks are now able to reproduce and grow.  Works, but needs tweaking.  Still looking for some Baby duck sounds!  The duck models also need texturing.  Any artists out there?
Virtual Ecosystem June 18th 2003 - v0.9.0 comment
This screenshot shows many of the features of version 0.9.0.  Birds fly around looking for fruits and fish, apple and orange trees drop fruit, aquatic plants live underwater with fish and sharks, ducks float on the water looking for oranges, and clouds form from high levels of humidity.  If you look closely you can spot a crab trying to grab a beachball.
Jumping Dolphins June 17th 2003 - v0.9.0 development, comment
Dolphins are simple creatures with a Sensor to detect land in front of them.  If land is detected in their path then they try to jump over it.  Dolphin models supplied by Aaron Hochwimmer.
Natural Iceberg Formation June 13th 2003 - v0.9.0 comment
Thought this looked nice, an iceberg formed in the middle of three plants.
Aquatic Plants June 12th 2003 - v0.9.0 comment
Aquatic plants were introduced to replace Orange beacons.  The beacons are still in the tools menu, but I think the plants look better.
Sun Explosion June 11th 2003 - v0.9.0 comment
A sun was exploded through the user interface.  To do this, select a sun, and then press the Perform0 button on the selection toolbar.  Collisions are currently disabled in the engine due to performance issues.  Any object can Perform multiple actions; try it with a ball or a tree.
Visual Object Viewers June 10th 2003 - v0.9.0  development
Using GLSceneViewers, and adding a GLCamera to the scene, multiple object views are possible.  You can now track a creature or object by selecting it with the mouse and pressing View, or by double-clicking the object with the mouse.  Very helpful in developing more sophisticated creatures.
Fish Mating June 9th 2003 - v0.9.0 development, comment
Fish were updated graphically and given the ability to reproduce. A new component was developed, AIMatingCreature, that inherits from AICommunityCreature.  These creatures have a stage (Baby, Adult, Elder) and a Partner link.  They reproduce fast enough to survive predatory birds and sharks.

Old Versions of AI.Planet