Repository navigation
Broken Egg-like Replication #866
Description
There are actually two issues here, which I am choosing to group into one as they are related.
Expected behavior
When a creature that reproduces by constructing an egg-like cell tries to replicate, the result is a perfect copy (excluding mutations).
Actual behavior
-
The egg will sometimes fail to finish, leaving an inactive creature (see screenshot 1)
-
The last cell of a successfully replicated creature will sometimes be missing (see screenshot 2). In this example it prevents the creature from attacking (sensor cell is missing).
Screenshots
Reproduction
https://jottacloud.com/s/401e0395bd062ae4f9fb13300248e61f82d
Details
Build from: b5c7186
GPU: RTX 5090
OS: Fedora Linux 44 (Workstation Edition) x86_64
Kernel: Linux 7.2.5-200.fc44.x86_64
I should note that in my actual long running simulation, the replication failing happens much more often. There might be several factors at play.
Activity
chrxh commentedon Oct 8, 2026
Thanks for the report and the sims!
Not really a bug, but an unlucky interplay of effects. When the force on a cell exceeds Maximum force (0.8), the cell loses all its connections with a 20% chance per time step.
Workaround: Increase Maximum force for all colors. In my test no creature lost its last cell anymore and it should prevent unfinished eggs as well.
chrxh commentedon Oct 8, 2026
In my test, it seems that a value of 1.2 instead of 0.8 for max force is sufficient to prevent these two problems.
btw: In the current state of develop branch, sensors can target multiple creatures. This makes it a bit easier for creatures to consume a carpet of algae like that.
Enitoni commentedon Oct 15, 2026
Thanks! I've set the value to 1.2, but I am still seeing some failed replications appearing. It seems to be much less frequent though, so it might not matter in the end. But that is in my actual sim, not the repro.
Edit: There is also a concern of having to increase the maximum force. One is that it sort of defeats the purpose of the setting, and the second is that it makes it hard to make it dangerous to carelessly bump into things, which selects for avoiding crashing into creatures and walls.