Gridworld manual v1.

03
This is a draft version of the Gridworld manual. More chapters and informa-
tion will be added over time.
For now, the manual will provide a brief overview and explanation of crea-
tures, the neural network and the different neuron types.

Creatures
Creatures are the inhabitants of Gridworld. They
are an artificial and abstract version of liv-
ing organisms. Creatures in gridworld share many
qualities with real living creatures.
For example, they have a simulated metabolism,
which means they need to eat food to stay alive.
They can die from old age or hunger and can
create offspring to reproduce. In order to meet
those needs, creatures have to interact with
their environment.
They have been given plenty of tools to do this. Creatures have many sens-
es avaible for them to observe their environment. They can also perform
actions such eating, moving, turning, attacking, replicating etc.
Creatures are build from two major components; a membrane (body), and a
neural network (brain)

Membrane
The body structure of a creature in Gridworld is somewhat comparable with
single celled organisms. Single celled organisms have a cell membrane which is
kind of like a skin layer that separates the cell from the outside and keeps
nutrients and important parts inside.
Cell membranes in Gridworld have a similar function. They store the crea-
ture's gathered nutrients and hold the important parts in place. You can
recognize a membrane as a colored square that fits exactly on one tile of
the grid. The membrane of the creature in the pitcture above is the big
purple sqaure.
If you look up close at a membrane in Gridworld, you can see smaller cells
inside which are the important parts that are being hold in the membrane.
In Gridworld, these important parts are neurons and together they form a
neural network. The neural network and the membrane together make up a
creature.

Neural network
An artificial neural network is an abstract representation of a biological
neural network. In other words, a neural network is an artificial brain.
The neural network is responsible for the behavior of the creature.
Without it, the creature would just be an empty shell. Creatures in Gridworld
have a brain capacity of 9 x 9 x 9 neurons.
It is small compared to even the tiniest of organisms, but it's enough for
them to live successfully on the simple plane of Gridworld.
So how does a brain function? Well, the main function of brain is to think/
decide/ compute or however you want to call it. Neurons in a neural network
are individual cells that communicate with each other to make decissions. Each
doing a small part in order to produce a more complex behavior.
In order for it to do that, it needs information or input.
This input is basically information from its environment such as vibrations,
smells and light.
Let's take a real bug for example. The bug observes signals from its envi-
ronment such as light, vibrations and smells. The bug's eyes have photosen-
sitive cells which send signals to the brain when they are triggered by light.
Those information inputs are then processed by the brain which leads to a
certain action or behavior. Some input signals might attract the bug such as
sweetness or light, while others may scare it away. What those actions are
is determined by the brain.

Observation > Thinking > Action

This is true for all neural networks, both artificial and biological. You have to
put something in in order to get something out. The brain needs information
to work with.

Let's take a closer look at simple example of the principle of a neural net-
work in Gridworld.

input middle output

1.0
&: 0.75 1.2
5

0.8
1.

0.5
1

&: 1.5 &: 0.8

~: -0.25 ~: -0.1

.5
-0
0.75
&: 1.0

1.0 -0.4
&: 0.5 &: 1.25
5

~: 0 ~: 0.5
1.

1.2 1.1
-1.0
&: 1.0

The picture above displays a simple neural network with 7 neurons. The input
neurons are displayed on the left. These neurons can sense the environ-
ment. The output neurons are displayed on the right and can perform tasks.
In this example, the neural network is displayed as a network that goes from
left to right. In Gridworld, neurons can also connect back, This has not been
displayed in order to keep the example simple. A neural network may also
have more or less layers than 3.

The arrows display the connection the neuron has to other neurons. The
numbers next to the arrows are called weights. The weight of a connection
determines how strong the signal is. Weights can also have negative numbers.
There are two numbers marked inside a neuron.

&: threshold
~: bias

The principle of the neural network is simple. If the sum of all the signals a
neuron receives is greater than the threshold of the neuron, the neuron is
triggered and will send a signal in turn to the neurons it is connected to.
The bias value is an additional value that a neuron will always receive.

Lets analyse this neural network.

The top left neuron receives a signal with weight 1. The threshold is 0.75.
1 > 0.75, Therefore, this neuron will send a signal to the neurons it is con-
nected to.

The second neuron on the left receives a weight of 0.75, but its threshold
is 1.0. The neuron won't send any signals to other neurons because 0.75 <
1.0.

The bottom neuron on the left is also triggered, since its input weight is
greater than its threshold.

Looking at the green neuron in the middle, we see that it has a threshold
of 1.5.
It receives an input value of 1.25 from the top left neuron and an input
value of 1.5 from the bottom left neuron. remember, the middle left neuron
is not sending any signals at the moment. The green neuron also receives a
bias value of -0.25.
The total input weight this neuron receives is: 1.25 + 1.5 - 0.25 = 2.5
2.5 > 1.5, therefore the green neuron is triggered and will send a signal to
the purple neuron with a weight of 0.5.

The orange neuron has a threshold of 0.5 and a bias of 0. It receives an

input signal with a weight of 1.1 from the top left neuron and an input sig-
nal with a weight of 1.1 from the bottom left neuron. The total input weight
this neuron receives is 1.1 + 1.1 + 0 = 2.2.

The purple neuron on the right has a threshold of 0.8 and a bias of -0. It
receives a total input of -0.1 + 0.5 = 0.4.
0.4 < 0.8, therefore this neuron is not triggered and will not send a signal
to other neurons.

The yellow neuron in the bottom right has threshold of 1.25 and a bias of
0.5. It receives input from the orange neuron and the cyan neuron in the
bottom left. the total input weight the yellow neuron receives is:
1.0 - 1.0 + 0.5 = 0.5.
0.5 < 1.25, therefore it will not send a signal further up the neural network.

Neuron Properties
The general principle of a neuron has been displayed in the previous chap-
ter. Let's take a closer look at the neurons from Gridworld.

Neurons in Gridworld have two types of variables;

- Type variables
- dynamic variables

Dynamic variables are determined by the DNA. Every neuron has the same
amount of dynamic variables, These dynamic variables can have different val-
ues depending on the DNA or other factors.
Type variables are dependent on the type of the neuron. They are un-
changeable. An example would be the range that an input neuron of a cer-
tain type can observe. Some type variables are type specific while others
are global.
Dynamic variables
The dynamic variables of one neuron are described by the DNA as strings
of caracters.

gene_type[1][6][0] = i
gene_properties[1][6][0] = #w@F%h^v+M|C~7&Z)76B[?Wrw[?MTK[?E13[!Z0X
gene_tag[1][6][0] = !Tq

These three sentences represent all the dynamic variables this particular
neuron has when it is created.

Locations

The notation [1][6][0] is the xyz location of the neuron which is being de-
scribed. A neural network has a maximum size of 9 x 9 x 9 neurons,
Therefore the numbers between the brackets range from 0 to 8,

Gene_type

There is a total of 60 neuron types currently in Gridworld. Each neuron

type has special qualities.

Gene_tag

The gene_tag variable is kind of like an id or name tag of the cell. It is used
to form connections with other neurons. An output tag can create a con-
nection with a neuron that has a similar gene_tag.
!Tq
!: switch, can be either ! or ?.
! = on, ? = off. 
Tq: is that tag. Tags are used to identify neurons when connections
are made.

Gene_Properties

gene_properties describes all dynamic properties of the neuron. A string of

gene_properties contains:
- annotations
- variables
- switches

Annotations

The dna string contains a combination of letters, numbers and special char-
acters. The special characters are annotations that describe what the
variable that comes after it is used for.

&: threshold
The threshold is the amount of input weight this neuron has to
receive in order to be triggered
#: property 1
@: property 2
%: property 3
^: property 4
+: property 5
|: property 6
 Gene properties 1 to 6 describe the properties this neuron has.
Gene properties have a different function for each neuron type
): property neuron range
Describes the range in which this neuron can connect to neigh
bouring neurons. Ranges from 0-8 for xyz.
[: outputtag
An output tag describes a connection to another neuron. Neurons
can have multiple output tags. An output tag look as follows:
[?MTK
[: annotation for an output tag.
?: Switch, Can be either ? or !
MT: The connection will connect to neurons that have
this tag.
K: Weight of this connection. Ranges from -2.5 to 2.5 by
default.
If an output tag matches that tag of another neuron, a
connection can be made.
~: bias
The bias is an extra input value this neuron will receive.

Variables

Variables are described in the DNA as letters and numbers. They follow an
annotation character that describes what they are used for.
A value resides within the following range:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, a, b, c, d,
e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, y, z, 0. 1. 2. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

A Variables is displayed as a letter or number, but can represent multiple

types of values in a neuron. It can represent an integer in which A = 0, B =
1, C = 2 etc.
Or a floating value in which A = 0.0 and 8 = 1.0. The floating value is calcu-
lated as; f = int_value / 60.
60 being the total amount of avaible character in this range to represent a
value.

Switches

Switches are connected to tags and output tags. They are displayed as ei-
ther ! or ? and describes if that particular tag is on or off.
! = on, while ? = off.
A tag that is off is not used if the simulation settings 'use output switch'
or 'use tag switch' are turned on respectively.

~: 7 tag: !Tq [: ?MTK

type: i
&: Z [: ?E13
[: ?TqK
#: w
@: F [: !Z0X
[: !TqX
%: h
^: v [: !B0m
+: M
|: C [: ?Elp
): 76B
[: ?Elp
Values

The previous picture shows the variables as they are represented by the
DNA. When a neuron is created inside a creature, the representative vari-
ables are converted to values. These values are used by the neurons to
function. The representative variables are converted to values as follows:

&: threshold = Z
&_int = 25
&_float = 25/60 = 0.42

threshold = ((min_value * -1) + max_value * &_float) + min_value

The default values of minimum and maximum are 0 and 2.5 respectively.
These values can be changed during the simulation.

Using the default values, we get:

threshold = ((0 * -1) + 2.5 * 0.42) + 0 = 1.05

#: property 1 = w
#_int = 48
#_float = 48/60 = 0.80

@: property 2 = F
@_int = 5
@_float = 5/60 = 0.08

%: property 3 = h
%_int = 33
%_float = 33/60 = 0.55

^: property 4 = v
^_int = 47
^_float = 47/60 = 0.78

+: property 5 = M
+_int = 12
+_float = 12/60 = 0.20
|: property 6 = C
|_int = 2
|_float = 2/60 = 0.03

): property neuron range = 76b

)_int1: 59
)_float1: 59/60 = 0.98
)_int2: 58
)_float2: 58/60 = 0.97
)_int3: 27
)_float3: 27/60 = 0.45

neuron ranges are converted to an integer between 0 and 8.

range_1 = 0.98 * 8 = 8
range_2 = 0.97 * 8 = 8
range_3 = 0.45 * 8 = 4
~: bias = 7
~_int = 59
~_float = 59/60 = 0.98

bias = ((mini_value * -1) + max_value * &_float) + min_value

The default values of minimum and maximum are 0 and 2.5 respectively.
These values can be changed during the simulation.

Using the default values, we get:

bias = ((0 * -1) + 2.5 * 0.98) + 0 = 2.45

[: outputtag
The ouput tag consist out of 3 parts. the label, switch and weight.
?MTK
? = switch
MT = label
K = weight
The label is not converted to an integer or a floating number since
it is used as an identifaction variable. The switch is simply converted
to either true or false.
! = true, ? = false.
The weight is converted to a floating number..

weight_value = K
weight_int = 10/60
weight_float = 0.17

weight = ((min_value * -1) + max_value * &_float) + min_value

The default values of minimum and maximum are -2,5 and 2.5 respectively.
These values can be changed during the simulation.

Using the default values, we get:

weight = ((-2.5 * -1) + 2.5 * 0.17) + -2.5 = -1.65

Doing the same calculations for the other output tags we get:

?E13: switch = off; label = E1; weight = 1.92

!Z0X: switch = on; label = Z0; weight = -0.58
!B0m: switch = on; label = B0; weight = 0.67
?Elp: switch = off; label = El; weight = 0.92

With the calculated values we get:

2.45 tag: !Tq -1.65 MT

type: i
&: 1.05 1.92
-1.67 E1
#: 48, 0.80
@: 5, 0.08 0.58
-0.58 Z0
%: 33, 0.55
^: 47, 0.78 0.67
+: 12, 0.20 B0
|: 2, 0.03 0.92
): 8, 8, 4 El
0.92
El
Type Variables

Type variables are variables that can not be changed by the DNA but can
be different for each neuron type.
Some general type variables that can be found in all neurons are:

Mass

The mass of a neuron. a higher mass means the creature becomes heavyer.

Color

Every neuron type has a different color. The color of each neuron type
can be changed in the neuron settings window

Target tile

Neurons can have a target tile which is a tile in the near environment of
the creature. If the neuron has a target tile it can interact with this tile
in some way. The position of the target tile depends on the range of the
neuron type, the rotation of the creature, the position of the creature
and the x,y position of the neuron in the neural network.

The interaction with the target tile can consist of either observing a prop-
erty of the tile or an object on the tile, or performing some action with or
on the target tile or an object on the target tile.

Interaction through observation is most often the case for input neurons.
An example would be the eye neuron which can sense a color from a target
tile.

Interaction through performing an action on the target tile or an object on

the target tile is most often the case with output neurons, An example would
be the poison emitter neuron dropping poison on a target tile.

Range

The range of neuron type influences the location of the target tile.
A neuron can have a range of 0, 1 or 4. A range of 0 means the neuron
has no target tile or the target tile is at the exact location of the crea-
ture.

A range of 1 means the target tile can be no further away than one tile.

A range of 4 means the neuron has a target tile which can be 4 tiles
away in either of 4 directions. The location of the target tile is determined
through a projection of the location of the neuron on the environment. For
example, if the input neuron would be located in the neural network at loca-
tion 8,8 (top right corner) , the neuron's target tile would be 4 tiles to the
right and 4 tiles to the top relative to the creature.
target tile with range of 1

example creature with neuron

target tile with range of 4

example creature with neuron

Neuron types
Currently there are 60 different neuron types in Gridworld. Each neuron
type has a unique function. These 60 neuron types all fall in one of three
categories;

- input neurons
- middle neurons
- output neurons

Input neurons

input neurons are used by the creature to sense its environment. These
neurons provide the creature with its senses such as seeing, hearing or
touching. Input neurons can not receive signals from other neurons but can
send signals to other middle neurons and output neurons.
The different input neurons are:

Name: Antenna
Type: AN
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The antenna neuron is used for sensing other objects by touch. The range
of the antenna is one tile which means the antenna can sense an object
next to the creature. The side the antenna can sense depends on the po-
sition of the antenna and the rotation of the creature. If an object is lo-
cated on the target tile, the antenna is triggered.

Name: Blink sensor

Type: BS
Range: 4
#: determines which color the blink sensor is sensitive to.
# <= (1/3): sensitive to red
# >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): sensitive to green
# >= (2/3): sensitive to blue
@: brightness threshold, value is between 0.0-1.0.
@ = 0.0: black
@ = 1.0: full color
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The blink-sensor is triggered when it senses a blink of a certain color on
the target tile. Blinks are short flashes of light that can be emitted by
blinker neurons.
Name: Cell Antenna
Type: CA
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The cell-antenna is almost similar to the antenna, except it is only triggered
when it can sense a neuron in the target object. The neuron has to be
close to the cellantenna in order for it to sense it.

Name: DNA Sensor

Type: DS
Range: 1
#: similiraity threshold
@:
@ <= 0.5: sensor is triggered when dna is found
that does not meet the similarity
threshold.
@ >= 0.5: sensor is triggered when dna is found
that meets the similarity threshold
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The dna sensor is used for sensing dna in other creatures. it gets trig-
gered if it senses a similar or different dna cell in the creature, depending
on the neurons properties.

Name: Energy Sensor

Type: ER
Range: 0
#: minimum of interval
@: maximum of interval
%: % < 0.25: energy sensor is triggered when energy
level is below minimum interval.
% >= 0.25 and % < 0.75: energy sensor is triggered
when energy level is within interval.
% >= 0.75: energy sensor is triggered when energy
level is above maximum interval.
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The energy-sensor is triggered when the energy level of the creature is
above or below a certain value.

Name: Eye
Type: EY
Range: 4
#: determines which color the eye neuron is sensitive to.
# <= (1/3): sensitive to red
# >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): sensitive to green
# >= (2/3): sensitive to blue
@: Brightness threshold, value is between 0.0-1.0.
@ = 0: black
@ = 1: full color
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The eye is triggered by observing a color of the target tile that is above
certain brightness.
Name: Feed sensor
Type: FE
Range: 0
#: if # > 0.5: the feed sensor is triggered when energy is
gained.
# < 0.5: the feed sensor is triggered when energy is
lost.
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The Feed-sensor is triggered when the creature gains energy or loses en-
ergy from any source.

Name: Food sensor

Type: FO
Range: 1
#: minimum of sensitivity range
@: maximum of sensitivity range
%: % <= (1/3): sensitive to food value below range
% >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): sensitive to food value within
range
% >= (2/3): ensitive to food value above range
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The food-sensor is triggered when the target tile contains a certain food
value.

Name: Movement sensor

Type: MV
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The movement-sensor is triggered when a creature has moved one spot in
any direction.

Name: Direction sensor

Type: NS
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The direction sensor is triggered when the target tile of the neuron is lo-
cated above the creature.
Name: Pain sensor
Type: PA
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The pain-sensor is triggered when a creature experiences pain. Pain can
be experienced from damage of any kind such as lava, poison or being eaten.

Name: Pheromone sensor

Type: PE
Range: 0
#: determines which color pheromone the pheromone sen
sor is sensitive to.
# <= (1/3): sensitive to red
# >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): sensitive to green
# >= (2/3): sensitive to blue
@: brightness threshold, value is between 0.0-1.0.
@ = 0.0: black
@ = 1.0: full color
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The pheromone-sensor is triggered when it senses a pheromone on the tar-
get tile that has a certain value. Pheromones are smells that can be left on
a tile by a pheromone emitter. Pheromones have colors and decay over time.

Name: Random input

Type: RA
Range: 0
#: chance of being triggered, range from 0.0-1.0
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The random-input neuron is triggered randomly.

Name: Smell sensor

Type: SM
Range: 1
#: minimum of sensitive range
@: maximum of sensitive range
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The smell-sensor is triggered if the smell of an object falls in a certain
range.

Name: Sonar
Type: SN
Range: 4
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The sonar is used for sensing objects on the grid.
Name: Sound sensor
Type: SO
Range: 4
#: minimum of interval
@: maximum of interval
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The sound-sensor is triggered when it senses a sound that has a volume
within a certain range on a tile. Sounds are made when creatures move and
can be created by the speaker neuron.

Name: Ticker
Type: TI
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The ticker neuron provides a steady stream of input signals to the neural
network. In other words, it is always triggered.

middle neurons

Middle neurons form a connection between other neurons. They receive their
input from other neurons and can send signal to other neurons.
The different middle neurons are:

Name: Activater
Type: AC
Range: 0
#: determines if connected neurons are activated or de
activated
# <= (1/3): activates target neurons
# >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): deactivated target neurons
# >= (2/3): inverts activation status
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The activater neuron does not send signals to the neurons it is connected
to, but instead activates or deactivates them. Deactivated neurons will not
function until activated again.
Name: Cell poker
Type: CE
Range: 0
#: x location of target neigbouring neuron
# <= (1/4): relative target x: -1
# >= (1/4) && # <= (3/4): relative target x: 0
# >= (3/4): relative target x: +1
@: y location of target neigbouring neuron
@ <= (1/4): relative target y: -1
@ >= (1/4) && # <= (3/4): relative target y: 0
@ >= (3/4): relative target y: +1
%: x location of target neigbouring neuron
% <= (1/4): relative target z: -1
% >= (1/4) && # <= (3/4): relative target z: 0
% >= (3/4): relative target z: +1
^: weight
+: not used
|: not used
The Cell-poker does not form normal connections but instead send signals to
a neighbouring neuron. The neighbouring neuron is picked according to the x
y z locations from properties #, @, %.

Name: Counter
Type: CO
Range: 0
#: #_int: counter limit
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The counter neuron has an internal ticker which counts every time it is
succesfully triggered. Once the maximum counter amount has been exceeded,
the counter is reset and the counter neuron sends signals to its connect-
ed neurons

Name: External Sender

Type: ES
Range: 1
#: output weight to externa lconnections
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
External-senders can form a link between external-receivers in other crea-
tures. External-senders have a target range of 1. If an external-sender is
triggered, it will attempt to send signals to external-receivers in the target
creature. The target creature is any creature that resides on the target
tile.
Name: External receiver
Type: EX
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The external-receiver can receive signals from other neurons and from ex-
ternal sender neurons from other creatures.

Name: Nerf end

Type: ND
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The nerf-end can receive signals from nerf neurons that reside in oth-
er creatures. If the distance between the nerf and the nerf-end becomes
greater than 2 tiles, the connection is broken.

Name: Neuron
Type: NE
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The regular neuron does not have any special properties, but simply re-
ceives signals from other neurons and sends signals to other neurons when
triggered.

Name: Nerf
Type: NF
Range: 1
#: output weight
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The nerf neuron forms a connection with the nerf-end neuron that resides
in another creature. If a connected nerf end does not exist, the nerf will
attempt to create a nerf-end in any creature that resides on the target
tile.
If the distance between the nerf and the nerf-end becomes greater than 2
tiles, the connection is broken. The connection between a nerf and nerf-end
can be restored.
Name: Random Neuron
Type: RN
Range: 0
#: weight of output connection
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Does not form connections to other neurons. When it is triggered, it will find
one randomly picked neuron in the neural network and send a signal to that
neuron.

Name: Randomizer
Type: RZ
Range: 0
#: chance of triggering
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Almost similar to a regular neuron, except the ability to send signals to oth-
er neurons when triggered is randomized.

Name: Target Neuron

Type: TA
Range: 1
#: weight of output connection
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Can send signals to neurons of another creature that resides on the tar-
get tile. The inspected location in the other creature's neural network is
the mirrored location of the target neuron's location. For example, if the
target neuron is at location [4][8][0], it will attempt to send a signal to a
neuron in another creature which is on location [4][0][0] if a creature on
the target tile is above the owners location.

Name: Threshold Changer

Type: TH
Range: 0
#: determines how the threshold is changed
# <= (1/3): increase threshold
# >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): decrease threshold
# >= (2/3): pick random threshold
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The Threshold-changer does not send signals to other neurons, but instead
changes their threshold.
Output neurons

Output neurons can receive signals from neurons and can also send signals
to other neurons. Output neurons also perform a special task when they
are triggered which allows the creature to interact with the world.
The different output neurons are:

Name: Blinker
Type: BL
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
When triggered, the blinker neuron will produce a blink on the location of the
creature. Blinks are short pulses of light and can be sensed by blink sen-
sors.

Name: Creature connector

Type: CC
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
A Creature-connector connects the owner with a creature that resides on
the target tile when it is activated.
Creatures that are connected can move like a chain. Creatures can only be
connected if they are both not locked to anything.

Name: Disconnector
Type: DI
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
A disconnector disconnects the owner with a creature that resides on the
target tile when it is activated.
Creatures that are connected can move like a chain. Creatures can only be
connected via a connector neurons.
Name: DNA copier
Type: DN
Range: 1
#: copy and/or build dna
# <= (1/4): only copy
# >= (1/4) && # <= (3/4): copy and build
# >= (3/4): only build
@: used for target location
%: used for target location
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used

Simulation settings:
Copy mode: dna copier can copy sideways to a target tile.
Copy mode: method of calculation how dna is copied
0: DNA is only copied if there is no neuron in the tar
get membrane between the spot the DNA will be copied
too and the creature.
1:
the DNA copier picks a random spot in the outer shell
of the target facing the creature. If the spot is emp
ty, the DNA is copied.

The DNA copier can copy DNA that is close to itself to another membrane.
If it succeeds in copying DNA, it will also create a DNA executer in the other
membrane.

Name: DNA builder

Type: DX
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: minimum value of range on z-axis (0-8)
|: maximum value of range on z-axis (0-8)
The DNA-builder can read one or more DNA objects and will build a neural
network according to that DNA. A DNA-builder can be created by a DNA-copi-
er when a piece of DNA is copied to a creature.
Once created, it will try to interact with all DNA objects that are with-
in one spot of the DNA-builder on the x,y plane, and are located within the
z-range. After the DNA-builder has created a neural network or part of a
neural network it will be destroyed.

Name: Feeder
Type: FD
Range: 1
#: amount of food dropped (maximum of 40)
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Drops food on the target tile when triggered
Name: Fin
Type: FI
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The Fin neuron uses its target tile to create momentum for the creature.
The direction of the momentum is opposite to the direction of the target
tile. If the targe tile is on the left, the direction of the momentum will be on
the right. Fin neurons only work on water.

Name: Grabber
Type: GR
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The grabber steals momentum from any object that resides on the target
tile when triggered. It will also give part of the owners momentum to the ob-
ject on the target tile.

Name: Jet
Type: JE
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The jet uses its target tile to create momentum for the creature when
triggerd. The direction of the momentum is opposite to the direction of the
target tile. For example, if the targe tile is on the left, the direction of the
momentum will be on the right. Jet neurons only work on ground tiles..

Name: Lamp
Type: LA
Range: 1
#: light color red
@: light color green
%: light color blue
^: light radius (maximum of 3)
+: not used
|: not used
The lamp neuron creates a light when triggered. Currently not used due to
lag issues.
Name: Lock
Type: LO
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
If the lock is activated and a creature resides on the target tile, the tar-
get creature and lock owner are locked together temporarely. Locked crea-
tures share their momentum and can move together.

Name: muscle end

Type: ME
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Forms a connection with a muscle neuron from another creature. If the dis-
tance between a muscle and a muscle-end is greater than 2 tiles, the con-
nection is broken. Muscles and muscle-ends are able reconnect

Name: Membrane Maker

Type: MM
Range: 1
#: color red of new membrane
@: color green of new membrane
%: color blue of new membrane
^: amount of energy transfered from parent to new
membrane
+: rotation of new membrane
|: not used
The membrane maker can create an empty membrane on the target tile when
it is triggered. The mebrane will not be created if the creature does not
have enough energy.

Name: Mouth
Type: MO
Range: 0
#: food type that can be eaten (0-5)
@: food preference red
%: food preference green
^: food preference blue
+: not used
|: not used
The mouth neuron can eat food that is located on the same tile as the
creature when it is triggered.
Name: Muscle
Type: MU
Range: 1
#: strength and direction (-1 to 1)
@: rotation
%: move source and/or target
% <= (1/4): only move source
% >= (1/4) && # <= (3/4): move source and target
% >= (3/4): only move target

^: move sideways or forward/backward

^ > 0.5: move sideways
^ <= 0.5: move forward/backwards

+: not used
|: not used
The muscle neuron forms a connection with the muscle end neuron. If a con-
nection does not exist, the muscle neuron will attempt to create a muscle
end neuron when it is triggered in any creature that resides on the target
tile.
When a muscle is activated and it has a muscle end connection, the two
creature will be pushed away from eachother or pulled together.
If the distance between a muscle and a muscle end is greater than 2 tiles,
the connection is broken. Muscles and muscle-ends are able reconnect

Name: Other turner

Type: OT
Range: 1
#: direction of rotation
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Rotates a creature that resides on the target tile when it is triggered.

Name: Paddle
Type: PD
Range: 1
#: can use floor for movement or only creatures
@: not used
%: move owner and/or target creature
^: not used
+: direction of movement
|: not used
The paddle neuron is comparable to a leg. It provides a movement that is
perpendicular to the direction of the target tile. Paddle's can also use
creatures that reside on the target tile for movement. In that case, the
target creature will be pushed backwards.

Name: Pheromone emitter

Type: PH
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: color of the pheromone, either red,green or blue
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The pheromone-emitter will create a pheromone on the target tile when it
is triggered. If a pheromone allready exists on that tile, it will increase the
amount of the pheromone. Pheromones decay over time.
Name: Piston
Type: PI
Range: 1
#: # < 0.5: only creatue is pushed
# > 0.5: only target is pushed
@: direction
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
If there is an object on the target tile and the piston is triggered, the
target object and the creature are pushed or pulled towards eachother or
away from eachother.

Name: Poison emitter

Type: PO
Range: 1
#: color of poison (red, green or blue)
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Creates poison on the target tile when triggered. If a poison object allready
exist, the poison amount is increased. Poison can decay over time.

Name: Remote dna builder

Type: RX
Range: 0
#: not used
@: execute dna
@ <= (1/2): build dna
@ >= (1/2): don't build dna
%: not used
^: mimimum value of z-range
+: maximum value of z-range
|: not used
Can build DNA but is not detroyed after it executes. remote DNA builders do
not build DNA automatically, but do so when triggered by other neurons. When
triggerd, they attempt to read and build all dna that resides within one spot
in the x,y plane and resides within the z-range.

Name: Smell changer

Type: SC
Range: 0
#: increase or decrease smell
# >= (1/4) && # <= (2/4) increase smell
# >= (2/4) && # <= (3/4) decrease smell
# else pick @ as smell
@: possible smell
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Changes the smell of the creature when triggered.
Name: Skin changer
Type: SK
Range: 0
#: color that is being changed
# <= (1/3): change red
# >= (1/3) && # <= (2/3): change green
# >= (2/3): change blue
@: increase or decrease
@ <= (1/2): increase color
@ >= (1/2): decrease color
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The skin-changer neuron changes the color of the creature when triggered.

Name: Speaker
Type: SP
Range: 1
#: sound volume
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The speaker neuron produces a sound on the target tile when triggered.

Name: Stinger
Type: ST
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Simulation settings:
eat amount: amount of default energy stolen by stinger.
eat mode: method of calculation total amount of energy stolen.
0:
s = amount of stingers in creature located in the half
of the creature facing the target.
a = armor neurons in target creature located in the
half of the target facing the attacker.
b = s - a
is zero if b < 0
f = b / s
e = energy stolen
e = f * eat amount
1:
Stinger picks a random spot in the half on the target
creature facing the creature. If the spot contains an
armor neuron, the stinger will not steal any energy,
otherwise the amount of energy stolen is equal to the
eat amount.

Stingers can steal energy when they are triggered from objects that are
located on the target tile. They are countered by armor neurons.
Name: Turner
Type: TU
Range: 0
#: # < 0.5: direction of -1
# > 0.5: direction of 1
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The turner rotates the creature in one direction when triggered. The di-
rection depends on the x,y location of the neuron in the neural network and
the # property

Name: Anti Poison

Type: AP
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Anti poison neurons do not interact with other neurons nor can they be
activated. Anti poison provides protection against poison damage.

Name: Armor
Type: AR
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Armor neurons can not be activated nor do they send signals to oth-
er neurons. Armor provides protection against stinger neurons from other
creatures.

Name: Elastic End

Type: ED
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Elastic-ends form a connection with Elastic neurons in other creatures.
Name: Energy Sharer End
Type: EE
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
An energy-sharer-end forms a connection with an energy-sharer in another
creature. If the distance between an energy-sharer and an energy-shar-
er-end is greater than 2 tiles, the connection is broken.

Name: Energy Sharer

Type: EH
Range: 1
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The energy-sharer forms a connection with an energy-sharer-end neuron in
another creature. If the energy-sharer is activated and a connection does
not exist, the Energy-sharer will attempt to create an energy-sharer-end
neuron in any creature that resides on the target tile.
Creatures that are connected by an energy-sharer and an energy-sharer-
end will automatically move energy from the creature with highest amount of
energy to the creature with the lowest amount of energy.
If the distance between an energy-sharer and an energy-sharer-end is
greater than 2 tiles, the connection is broken.
An energy-sharer and energy-sharer-end are able reconnect.

Name: Elastic
Type: EL
Range: 1
#: strength
@: rotation
%: nt used
^: not used
+: x location in neural network in which elastic end is cre
ated
|: y location in neural network in which elastic end is cre
ated
The elastic neuron forms a connection with the elastic-end neuron. If a con-
nection does not exist, the elastic neuron will attempt to create an elastic-
end neuron when it is triggered in any creature that resides on the target
tile. Elastics can not be triggered nor do they sned signals to other neu-
rons. Elastic-end owners and elastic owners are constantly pulled together.
A greater distance between the creatures means a stronger pull.
If the distance between an elastic and an elastic-end is greater than 2
tiles, the connection is broken. Elastic and elastic-ends are able reconnect

Name: DNA Cloner

Type: DC
Range: 0
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
The DNA cloner can copy DNA inside the creature.
Name: Photosynthesis
Type: PS
Range: 4
#: not used
@: not used
%: not used
^: not used
+: not used
|: not used
Can use energy in light to create energy for the creature. Photynthesis
happens automatically but can only happen if there is no object located on
the target tile.

Name: Vein (currently unused)

Type: VE

Name: Vein releaser (currently unused)

Type: VR

Name: DNA
Type:
Range: 0

DNA is not a neuron but does take a spot in the neural network. DNA is the
blue print that describes how a neural network will be build. DNA can mutate
when it is copied.