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agaricus5
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File: Automatic Architect v1.3.xlsm (1.5 MB)
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icon Automatic Architect (v1.3) (+2)  
This is just a little Excel thing I programmed some time ago. It's crude, but I don't know: maybe people might be interested in using or developing it.

The Automatic Architect is a spreadsheet program that I designed to try to generate randomised room layouts for DROD. It's a modified Conway's Game of life, but with greater levels of control beyond the immediate 1-square radius zone of influence.

The instructions are contained in the file; click "Instructions" to view them. However, if you have any difficulties, please post back and I can give further instructions to you.

It's kind of clunky, and it may break your system if you have an old computer with low processing power or RAM! You also need Excel 97 or higher to run it.

The preset values already loaded give some reasonably good results; if anyone stumbles upon any other interesting parameters, please do post them here!

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[Last edited by agaricus5 at 02-05-2009 04:13 PM]
02-05-2009 at 04:11 PM
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hyperme
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
Just a small request, could you please put up a version that works with 2000 eithout having to convert?

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02-05-2009 at 06:55 PM
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agaricus5
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File: Automatic Architect v1.3.xls (7.6 MB)
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (+2)  
hyperme wrote:
Just a small request, could you please put up a version that works with 2000 eithout having to convert?
Doesn't it work in Excel 2000? I'm really confused with all the Office 2007 file-types!

What about this version? (you'll need to enable macros)

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02-05-2009 at 07:31 PM
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Pekka
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
The second version can be loaded to Open Office 2.4 Spreadsheet program, but if fails with "Err:523" in Iteration box when I click Begin Iterations. When I tried the first version, it just hung with the 'loading' progress bar filled half-way up.

I'll let you know if I get a better result with OO. I do have Excel on another computer, so I can just use it instead.
02-05-2009 at 08:21 PM
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Pekka
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
No luck with Open Office. :(

Now, since this is based on Cellular Automata by the looks of it, maybe a program that is made for exploring them could be useful. If you're willing to try this program, Agaricus5, I'd like to hear whether you can express your room creation algorithms in it easily, or at all? Does it have any particular shortcomings that could be fixed?

http://golly.sourceforge.net/

Many different types of CA are included: John von Neumann's 29-state CA, Wolfram's 1D rules, WireWorld, Generations, Langton's Loops, Paterson's Worms, etc.

... and:

The RuleTable and RuleTree algorithms let you plug in new rules.

02-06-2009 at 11:50 AM
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agaricus5
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
Pekka wrote:
If you're willing to try this program, Agaricus5, I'd like to hear whether you can express your room creation algorithms in it easily, or at all? Does it have any particular shortcomings that could be fixed?

http://golly.sourceforge.net/

Many different types of CA are included: John von Neumann's 29-state CA, Wolfram's 1D rules, WireWorld, Generations, Langton's Loops, Paterson's Worms, etc.

... and:

The RuleTable and RuleTree algorithms let you plug in new rules.

I had a go with it, but I had two major issues with it. First, to make new rules requires me to write it in a script language or C, neither of which I can do! The other problem is that the program seems only to focus on nearest neighbours, and not on any squares that are further out.

The algorithm in the spreadsheet counts the numbers of cells at each influence zone (e.g. direct neighbours, exactly 2 squares away, exactly 3 squares away, etc.) and makes decisions based on this information. It seems Open Office doesn't like my non-converging iterating functions, unfortunately.

Below is the example room that you would see if you ran the spreadsheet with the currently loaded variables.

Click here to view the secret text


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[Last edited by agaricus5 at 02-07-2009 07:02 PM]
02-07-2009 at 07:02 PM
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agaricus5
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
And actually, here's a better one:

Click here to view the secret text


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[Last edited by agaricus5 at 02-07-2009 07:07 PM]
02-07-2009 at 07:07 PM
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Pekka
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
OK, it seems best to keep using Excel since it's what works for you. It'll be interesting to see if it's possible to fit more terrain types, like pits and water, to this. I'll keep an eye out for what you come up with :)
02-08-2009 at 03:08 PM
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Jeff_Ray...
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (0)  
I'm really stumped... I tried pressing the buttons in the Control Page, but it keeps telling me that it can't load the macro. What's wrong?

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02-15-2009 at 02:57 PM
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agaricus5
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (+2)  
Jeff_Ray... wrote:
I'm really stumped... I tried pressing the buttons in the Control Page, but it keeps telling me that it can't load the macro. What's wrong?
I'm not sure. Do you have macros enabled? If not, you'll need to enable them (although I've forgotten how to do it in Excel 2003). However, you can still run the spreadsheet without the macros.

Make sure you have "maximum iterations" set to 1, and manual calculation on. Go to the "Control Page" spreadsheet.

1. Type 0 in the "load preset" and "begin iterations" boxes and 1 in the "reset spreadsheet" box.
2. Press F9
3. Type 1 in the "load preset" box and 0 in the "reset spreadsheet" box.
4. Press F9
5. Type 0 in the "load preset" box and 1 in the "begin iterations" box.
6. Press F9. The "iteration" box should begin to count upwards, starting with "1".
7. Now keep pressing F9 at a regular rate (make sure the "iteration" counter increases by 1 before pressing F9 again), and you should start seeing a room appear in the "direct room output" grid.

You can speed the simulation by setting "maximum iterations" to something like 50 or 100, although you will not be able to see all the intermediate stages.

Does this help? Can you run the spreadsheet yourself? If you run the version I attached and if it works, you should get the room I posted here. Let me know if you need any further help getting this to work; so far it seems like I'm the only person it actually works for!

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[Last edited by agaricus5 at 02-16-2009 01:32 AM]
02-16-2009 at 01:30 AM
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agaricus5
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icon Re: Automatic Architect (v1.3) (+1)  
Okay. For those who can't get the spreadsheet to work, you can find a not-quite-the-same, but nonetheless DRODified version of the Automatic Architect here.

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03-02-2009 at 02:58 AM
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