August 17th, 2024

Alien – CUDA-powered artificial life simulation program

ALIEN is a CUDA-based artificial life simulation tool that evolves digital organisms, offering real-time interactions and GPU acceleration. It serves educational, entertainment, and research purposes, requiring specific Nvidia graphics cards.

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Alien – CUDA-powered artificial life simulation program

ALIEN (Artificial Life Environment) is an artificial life simulation tool that utilizes a specialized 2D particle engine in CUDA to create and evolve digital organisms within a shared environment. The project focuses on simulating soft bodies and fluids, enabling real-time interactions and GPU-accelerated simulations. Key features include a physics and graphics engine that simulates various mechanics, an artificial life engine that supports genetic systems and neural networks, and extensive editing tools for organism design. ALIEN serves multiple purposes, including educational insights into evolution and complexity, entertainment through a game-like experience, and research into life-like structures and ecosystems. The system requires an Nvidia graphics card with compute capability 6.0 or higher and can be installed via an installer for Windows or built from source using CMake and vcpkg. Community support is available through a Discord server, and documentation is provided, though some may be outdated. Additional resources include an official website and a YouTube channel for further engagement with the project.

- ALIEN simulates artificial life using a CUDA-based 2D particle engine.

- It features real-time interactions, GPU acceleration, and supports multi-cellular organisms.

- The tool is useful for education, entertainment, and research in biological systems.

- Installation is available for Windows, with options for building from source.

- Community support is facilitated through Discord and other online resources.

AI: What people are saying
The comments on the ALIEN simulation tool reveal a mix of user experiences and inquiries about the software's capabilities and requirements.
  • Users share their experiences with evolving digital organisms, noting complex behaviors and structures formed by the creatures.
  • There are discussions about the software's compatibility, particularly regarding Nvidia graphics cards and potential use on AMD systems.
  • Some users express interest in similar projects and resources for beginners in artificial life simulations.
  • Questions arise about the functionality of the software, including how to navigate and control the simulation.
  • Links to videos and the official website are shared for further exploration of the tool.
Link Icon 14 comments
By @ur-whale - 8 months
The first thing I wanted is not trivial to find (vids on github don't load for me), so here's a bunch of links:

https://www.youtube.com/@alien-project/videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwbMGPkoJmg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9R6zrdl6jM

also: not entirely clear how this'll work on Linux, at first glance it looks like it is restricted to a Windows + NVidia setup. Happy to be proven wrong.

By @rdedev - 8 months
If someone is interested in building something like this but don't know where to start I would suggest https://natureofcode.com/

It's targeted towards beginners and uses a JS library but the ideas presented are general

By @tcsenpai - 8 months
I have a long running Alien simulation since some months (with power on and off based on my pc use).

I started with a "RGB Triad" Initial Setting preset. The incredible thing is that the three types of creatures are forming complex cell-like structures, with different approaches.

I have geometrical "crystals", long strings that try to eat others, spiked structures forming walls...is fascinating.

By @adin8mon - 8 months
I fondly remember a flash game that involved small particles with their own unique behavior. Each particle could collide, react, transform, or destroy other particle material. I can't remember the name of the website or game, but emergent gameplay is always such a joy to toy around with.
By @airstrike - 8 months
By @kinderjaje - 8 months
Amazing. I am fun of cellular automata and Conway game of life. This looks like a nice game.
By @InitEnabler - 8 months
Prety neat! Looks like AMD might be possibility as some folks are trying to run it: https://github.com/chrxh/alien/issues/99
By @f3b5 - 8 months
This is breathtaking. I watched a few videos, and am reminded of the alien evolution simulator that I am working on right now. But where my console-based program is crawling, this project is soaring through the sky!
By @andybak - 8 months
This looks great but how the hell do you pan the view?
By @oxide - 8 months
This is a fascinating piece of software. I played with it briefly, it's quite the little evolutionary sandbox.
By @BLKNSLVR - 8 months
Isn't this how Permutation City started?
By @anigbrowl - 8 months
I'm gonna have to get an external GPU aren't I ^_^