DELFS: Artificial Ecology Simulator

!!BETA VERSION!!

You are a researcher at the Institute of Emergent Systems, studying the evolution of virtual creatures.

Start with a single delf (digital evolving life form) and watch it multiply, mutate, split into divergent lineages, and adapt.

You do not control delfs directly. You shape the experiment and let evolution do the rest.

• Emergent behaviour. Feeding, attacking, sharing, scavenging, and other roles are not scripted — they emerge naturally from the same underlying systems.
• Autonomous brains. Each delf observes, chooses actions, learns, and passes some of that learning to its offspring.
• Functional bodies. Seven organ types define everything a delf can physically do, from sensing and movement to chemical reactions and egg production. The same organ type can evolve to serve very different roles.
• Artificial metabolism. Delfs consume compounds, break and form bonds, produce energy, transform matter, grow, and reproduce. No HP, no abstract resource bars, no predefined food — just artificial biology governed by strict chemical rules.
• Closed ecosystem. Matter never simply disappears or respawns. Bodies, waste, eggs, and remains all draw from the same material pool.
• Mutation and inheritance. Delfs build themselves according to genes that mutate across generations, altering organs, chemistry, perception, behaviour, and body structure.
• Gene expression. Reveal hidden variants, influence which traits are expressed, and create temporary or persistent epigenetic effects.
• Long-term evolution. Watch in real time or advance the culture until a major evolutionary or ecological change occurs.