Version 2.1.0 Release - Big Improvements

Sharks v. Fish is an Art Project by Thzom Wilson.
The theme: Movement and Colours.
Project home:  https://gpoamusements.itch.io/sharks-v-fish

August 1, 2022

There were several things I was unhappy with in Sharks v. Fish. For example:

1. Palette control. The simulation generates art procedurally and randomly. The result was that colours were all over the place. They clashed sometimes with ugly combinations.  So, I studied RGB vs Hue-Saturation-Brightness-Contrast relationships (i.e math) and learned to tame the wild colours. I now throw a lot of graphics processing at the GPU by making heavy use of pixel shaders. This improves the emotional experience significantly. The background sea blending animation is infinitely dynamic and even hypnotic.

2. My AI grouping behaviour was not generating the visual patterns (or anti-patterns) I envisioned. It turned out my theories and algorithms were correct...they just needed to be tuned. Parameters have been greatly adjusted painstakingly (keeping both species alive while simultaneously grouping in mesmerizing ways is difficult).

There are many improvements. It is easier to figure out what is happening with new visual cues.

All the fish and all the sharks will die. Their only purpose is to deliver the project theme: Movement and Colours.

Sit back and watch. The simulations will run forever with greatly varying displays of luminous brilliance to delight the viewer.

I am satisfied with the current state of Sharks v. Fish. It's been a lifetime project, but I believe I've finished it (though I would like to port it to Linux someday...).

I'm a programmer, not an artist. Therefore, I must train computers to be artists. Please enjoy my obsession and let others know.

Project main page: https://gpoamusements.itch.io/sharks-v-fish

Click below to download Sharks v. Fish for free.