Please select target conditions first by clicking on the 'Breeding target' button.
Animal evolution
Selection pressures:
Mutation type:
Selection type:
Show fitness ranking:
Initial state:
Environment settings
Mottle size:
20
Colouring:
500
Colour A:
Colour B:
Colour C:
Animal options
Colour palette:
Overview
Select the headings at the top of the settings panel to model Evolution or Selective Breeding. You will see how the colouring and patterning of the animals changes over time in response to the environment (evolution) or your decisions (selective breeding).
General instructions
Environment settings: adjust the background colouring and the mottle-size slider.
Initial state: toggle this on to show the initial population and compare against the current one.
Generate animals: click this button to regenerate 10 new animals.
Population fitness (initial and current) is displayed at the top-right of the simulation panel.
Hovering over any animal displays its current genes and overall fitness.
The current generation is displayed at the bottom of the simulation panel.
Evolution instructions
Advance evolution step-by-step by clicking the Step 1 button, or automatically by toggling Auto-evolution mode.
Toggle selection pressures on or off to choose what gets selected for. Toggling both off removes selection pressures and results in genetic drift.
Toggle mutation type between Guided (weights mutations toward matching the background, less accurate but neater for learners) and Random (more accurate but slower).
Toggle selection type between Absolute (four fittest always selected, more children for fitter animals, less realistic but neater) and Probabilistic (fitness improves chance of selection but does not guarantee it, more realistic but slower).
Toggle Show fitness ranking to show or hide each animal's rank.
Selective breeding mode
Manual selective breeding: select the two animals with the most desirable features, click Step 1 to confirm the selection, and continue through the steps until the next round of selection. Repeat for several generations until the desired characteristics are seen.
Auto-breeding mode: click Breeding target to choose the characteristics you want to breed for, then toggle Auto-breeding mode to automate selection of the two individuals whose characteristics most closely match the target.