InvaderZ

Games

browser shooter game

SHOW HN2018

Legend

InvaderZ

Space invaders, but the invaders evolve with genetic algorithm

github.com

#genetic algorithm#space invaders#evolutionary game#browser game

253points
69comments
#120of 2,155 in 2018
Top 6%of 2018 by points

How HN took it

CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments

4 positive, 19 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 7 critical, out of 32 comments about the project. Thread score -0.08.

Idea: 3 for, 2 againstDesign: 1 for, 3 againstExecution: 0 for, 2 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Interesting evolving-enemy concept and human-in-the-loop fitness idea.

    From 2 comments
    • I really liked how you justified the gameplay with story re: "When a InvaderZ dies, they upload their progress to the mothership, so it can generate more InvaderZ like the ones…
      spicytunacone on HN
    • This is very cool work! I particularly like the idea of a "human in the loop" as objective function for the GA. Yes, it's slow and I didn't end up playing more than a few rounds,…
      disqard on HN
  • Code looks clean.

    From 1 comment
    • Of course, but I'm just saying there are so many of them and they are so hard to shoot due to the slow bullet time and only one bullet, that the left to right movement is not…
      NickBusey on HN

Objections

  • Fitness by distance survived is partly random when many invaders fire at once with a slow single bullet.

    From 2 comments
    • While this is very cool, using the distance each invader survives as the fitness score seems like maybe not the best choice for this scenario. With so many invaders spawning at…
      NickBusey on HN
    • The problem is that "over many plays" would be like thousands at this tempo. I played up until generation 20 or something and it was still completely random who I decided to kill…
      Kiro on HN
  • Too slow and hard for the player, making evolution hard to see.

    From 3 comments
    • Live demo here: https://victorribeiro.com/invaderz/ I'm finding that I can barely last 7 generations to be able to see it 'evolving'. Handicapping the player by waiting for the…
      nacs on HN
    • Cute, but way too slow to be fun.
      dbg31415 on HN
    • 63 generations later, I didn't get the impression the invaders were getting any better. Not consistently anyways, they would kind of vascillate between moving a lot and not much…
      newnewpdro on HN
  • Invaders hug the walls or can be gamed by shooting easy ones last.

    From 2 comments
    • Live demo here: https://victorribeiro.com/invaderz/ I'm finding that I can barely last 7 generations to be able to see it 'evolving'. Handicapping the player by waiting for the…
      nacs on HN
    • Yup, it seems like you can game it by looking for the easiest one and waiting till the very end to hit it.
      ReverseCold on HN

Requests

  • Support WASD or other keyboard layouts besides arrow keys.

    From 2 comments
    • Suggestion: support 'a' for left and 'd' for right.
      mywittyname on HN
    • The problem if you use "a" and "d" is that it will only work with qwerty keyboards. In azerty for instance the equivalent would be "q" and "d". So for a small demo it's probably…
      laurent123456 on HN
  • Show genome or population evolution visualisation.

    From 2 comments
    • I played through 70+ generations before I stopped, and it certainly seemed like they were getting more jiggly as it went on, albeit, very slowly. It would be nice if there was…
      jonathankoren on HN
    • Yeah I get that, but I’d like more insight into the the semantics. Like “horizontal speed 16”, “move fequency 11” etc.
      jonathankoren on HN
  • Faster bullets or no one-bullet limit.

    From 1 comment
    • Of course, but I'm just saying there are so many of them and they are so hard to shoot due to the slow bullet time and only one bullet, that the left to right movement is not…
      NickBusey on HN

Questions

  • Is there a playable demo or is the site down?

    From 2 comments
    • Is there a playable demo?
      rambojazz on HN
    • Not working for me "victorribeiro.com’s server IP address could not be found"
      O_H_E on HN

Alternatives named

  • Warning Forever

    From 1 comment
    • I really liked how you justified the gameplay with story re: "When a InvaderZ dies, they upload their progress to the mothership, so it can generate more InvaderZ like the ones…
      spicytunacone on HN
  • Quantum Pilot

    From 1 comment
    • Cool stuff. Check out Quantum Pilot where the enemies literally mirror your previously recorded actions. Steam / Android / iOS
      hellbanner on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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