Fluffles Simulator

Overview

Fluffles Simulator is an evolutionary simulation that models a population of small creatures called "Fluffles" in a dynamic ecosystem. The simulation demonstrates natural selection, genetic inheritance, and emergent behaviors as Fluffles compete for resources, reproduce, and adapt to their environment.

Features

• Genetic Evolution: Fluffles inherit traits from their parents with slight mutations, allowing populations to evolve over time.
• Complex Behaviors: Fluffles make decisions based on their needs, genetic traits, and environmental conditions.
• Life Cycle: Fluffles are born, mature, reproduce, and eventually die of old age or other causes.
• Predation: Hungry or aggressive Fluffles may attack others to survive.
• Environmental Challenges: Natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, disease, and cold snaps create evolutionary pressure.
• Terrain Variety: The world contains grass (food), water, and rocks, each affecting movement and survival.
• Population Dynamics: Overcrowding creates pressure that affects reproduction and resource availability.

Genetic Traits

Fluffles have various genetic traits that influence their behavior and survival:

• Size: Affects energy consumption and appearance
• Speed: Determines movement efficiency and hunting/escape success
• Metabolism: Controls energy usage and hunger rate
• Intelligence: Affects decision-making quality
• Aggression: Influences tendency to attack other Fluffles
• Friendship: Counteracts aggression and promotes social behavior
• Social Behavior: Determines desire to be near other Fluffles
• Reproductive Urge: Affects frequency of mating attempts
• Lifespan: Determines maximum age
• Maturity Age: Sets when a Fluffles can reproduce
• Fur Color: Visual trait with no survival impact

Controls

• Left/Right Arrows: Select previous/next animal
• H: Toggle help screen
• +/-: Increase/decrease simulation speed
• Q or Esc: Quit the simulation
• P: Pause/Unpause the simulation

Visual Indicators

• F, f: Adult Fluffles (different sizes)
• •: Baby Fluffles (not mature yet)
• ♥: Fluffles that are mating
• ♣, ♠, ·: Grass (different densities)
• ≈: Water
• ▲: Rocks/Mountains

Life Cycle

1. Fluffles are born as babies (•)
2. They mature around age 25 (varies by genetics)
3. They can mate only when mature (takes 4 turns)
4. Their lifespan is around 100 (varies by genetics)
5. Population pressure affects reproduction success

Technical Details

The simulation is built with TypeScript and uses the Blessed library for terminal-based UI. It implements:

• A genetic system with inheritance and mutation
• A tile-based world with different terrain types
• A decision-making system based on needs and traits
• Environmental challenges and disasters
• Detailed logging and statistics

NOTE: This has been coded using Claude 3.7 Sonnet as a guide and is a fun project to play around with. Don't take it too seriously.

Running the Simulation

To run the simulation:

1. Make sure you have Node.js and Bun installed
2. Clone the repository
3. Run bun install to install dependencies
4. Run bun start to start the simulation

Logs are saved to the logs directory for later analysis.

Development

The codebase is organized into several key components:

• Animal: Base class for all creatures
• Fluffles: Implementation of the specific animal type
• DNA: Handles genetic traits, inheritance and mutation
• World: Manages the terrain, resources, and population
• Simulation: Controls the overall simulation flow
• Renderer: Handles the terminal-based UI
• Logger: Records events for analysis

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.