Crazy Brain Evolution

Using a set of basic components and a neural network this evolution simulator enables you to create creatures that will hopefully evolve into being able to accomplish tasks such as running, jumping, jumping over an obstacle and climbing a steep hill.

The creatures are made up of three basic body parts (joints, bones & muscles) whose functions are explained below:
Joints:
Joints are connectors between bones. Without joints you can’t place any bones in the creature building scene. Joints enable the connected bones to rotate freely around the center of the joint.

In order to place a joint click on the ”Joint“ Button or alternatively press J on your keyboard and click where you want to place the joint. The joint option is selected by default since you have to start every creature with at least two joints.

Bones:
Bones make up the skeleton of your creatures. You can only place bones between two existing joints. Bones do not collide with each other, which means that they don’t restrict the movement of your creature in any way.

In order to place a bone you have to select the “Bone“ button or press B on your keyboard. Click on the first joint and then hold and drag your mouse to the second joint.

Muscles:
Muscles enable the creatures to move their bones autonomously. They are the only body parts that the brain of a creature can control. Muscles are always connected to the center points of two bones, so you can’t place any muscles if you haven’t already placed at least two bones in the creature building scene.

In order to place a muscle you have to select the ”Muscle“ button or press M on your keyboard. Then click on the first bone, hold down the mouse and move to the second bone. The muscle will automatically connect to the center of the bones.

Unlike real muscles these creature muscles can both expand and contract (You can think of them as simplified muscle pairs that go in opposite directions). Physically the muscles are spring-like, which means that they will always tend to go back into their starting position.

A creature can expand and contract its muscles continuously by applying a different amount of force to them. Without any muscles a creature is not able to move at all and will therefore not be able to accomplish any of the tasks. Another thing to keep in mind while building your creatures is that both the joints and the bones have some weight to them (which is independent of the length of the bones). Therefore, the more bones and joints your creature has the more muscles you need to add to it, otherwise the muscles might not have enough strength to move the skeleton around. Keep in mind that you also can’t connect more than one muscle between the same two bones.

The Brain
The brain is not a body part like joints, bones or muscles. You don’t need to worry about adding or setting up a brain for your creatures, this is all done automatically when you hit the “Evolve“ button.