Generations Update Preview (v0.25)
Xerol
simulator which uses the third dimension to represent time. It's still
in its early stages but is being actively developed to add features to
be enjoyed by enthusiasts and everyone else alike. It's been nearly a
year since a full update (v0.15, available on project page) but a lot
has been added in that time, and this will definitely be the largest
to date.
Here are some screenshots of the current development version (56k
warning: 1+MB PNGs ahead):
http://xerol.org/h/img/1680
http://xerol.org/h/img/1681
Also working on a 9 minute HD video, so that'll be up soon(ish - it's
going to take an hour to render and 3-4 to upload).
Quick rundown of new features for the next release, some still not yet
implemented:
-Variety of color coding options: Classic (like 0.16 and prior), Aged
(shown above), Monotone, and a couple others. Eventually want to turn
it into an equation-based system so you can 'program' your own with
various parameters (x,y,z cell location, age, born/died cells, etc.)
-More useful speed control. Right now this just lets you pick what
speed to run at (or not run, you can stop the simulation entirely
now). I'm not sure if this'll make it into the update, but I'm
eventually going to add Reverse and Hyper modes - reverse will let you
'rewind' the simulation, Hyper will do more than one simulation update
per display frame. Both require engine changes that, while not
tremendous, are substantial and might get put off in favor of a timely
release.
-"Save States" (think emulators), being able to clear the field,
portions of the field, single cell add/delete, and changing rule sets
mid-simulation. That last one may not get in this release as it'll tie
in a bit with the Rewind feature (rewinding the simulation and then
resuming can (by option) overwrite "future" layers with newly
simulated ones).
-Better camera controls.
-More interface components, all options will have clickable controls.
There will also be a menu with even more options, like more permanent
saves.
The release will include source and should be buildable on both
Windows and Linux environments, although a Linux build of the current
version has not been tested. A Win32 executable is also included. To
build from source, the FreeBasic compiler is required (http://
freebasic.net/). The program is rather resource-intensive (although a
slew of optmizations are planned for a future release). I haven't
tested on specific systems but it should run at a decent speed on a
Pentium 4 2.0ghz with a 128MB graphics card, and has run (albeit slow)
on a dual-socket P3 system. A planned engine overhaul should improve
performance across the board (even as it stands now it's extremely
slow on a modern system under certain conditions).
If anyone has suggestions, comments, or bug reports, please comment on
my website (http://xerol.org/h/news/55) or send me an email
(xe...@xerol.org). Email is preferred if you desire a direct reply.