20 votes

Orb.farm: A virtual ecosystem

12 comments

  1. [4]
    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link
    I used to do things like this in real life ... Once I sealed up a 30-gallon aquarium (mostly water-tight, probably not air=tight), left a bunch of plants to grow in it w/o disturbance (or adding...

    I used to do things like this in real life ...

    Once I sealed up a 30-gallon aquarium (mostly water-tight, probably not air=tight), left a bunch of plants to grow in it w/o disturbance (or adding anything to the system) for 2 years.

    Another time, I set up a 1 gallon globe fish bowl, growing a bunch of bamboo and one beta -- no food, no water changes (but open top, so free air exchange) ... both fish and plants survived for over a year w/o any input from me.

    My dream experiment was to put together something large enough to keep a mouse in. Never got there.

    6 votes
    1. [3]
      acdw
      Link Parent
      I don't think I even realized this was a possibility until I played this game. How did you get started? Did you do any research or did you just get it together and let it go? It sounds so cool!

      I don't think I even realized this was a possibility until I played this game. How did you get started? Did you do any research or did you just get it together and let it go? It sounds so cool!

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Eric_the_Cerise
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Well I did do a fair bit of research, but just as an enthusiastic layperson. BioSphere 2 is kind of what started it for me. Addendum: Aquaponics is another good place to start ... For 2 years, I...

        Well I did do a fair bit of research, but just as an enthusiastic layperson.

        BioSphere 2 is kind of what started it for me.

        Addendum: Aquaponics is another good place to start ... For 2 years, I grew hydroponic veggies on top of a 50-gallon aquarium, using the plants (and nothing else, no water changes) to keep the water clean for the fish in the tank.

        3 votes
        1. acdw
          Link Parent
          That sounds really cool :) Looks like I have a new hobby to research!

          That sounds really cool :) Looks like I have a new hobby to research!

  2. acdw
    Link
    I saw this over on Lobste.rs, and it is so relaxing! I really liked the comment over there about doing it in real life with a jar full of local pond water. Thanks for sharing it over here! One...

    I saw this over on Lobste.rs, and it is so relaxing! I really liked the comment over there about doing it in real life with a jar full of local pond water. Thanks for sharing it over here!

    One thing I want to discover is if I can break it out of the orb by building up stones and then erasing the glass.

    4 votes
  3. [2]
    Gibdeck
    Link
    Shit like this blows my mind. How did someone come up with it? How does it all interact... how was it programmed...so many questions.

    Shit like this blows my mind. How did someone come up with it? How does it all interact... how was it programmed...so many questions.

    4 votes
  4. [2]
    jcdl
    Link
    I checked this out earlier on my phone, and it was great, but I was disappointed to see it roasted my laptop in Firefox and ran like shit, but not in Safari.

    I checked this out earlier on my phone, and it was great, but I was disappointed to see it roasted my laptop in Firefox and ran like shit, but not in Safari.

    3 votes
    1. Pistos
      Link Parent
      It does seem very CPU-hungry, yes. Made my laptop very warm.

      It does seem very CPU-hungry, yes. Made my laptop very warm.

      3 votes
  5. [3]
    Kuromantis
    Link
    Does this work in mobile?

    Does this work in mobile?

    1. [2]
      asoftbird
      Link Parent
      Works for me on iOS though my phone did get uncomfortably hot after about 5 minutes.

      Works for me on iOS though my phone did get uncomfortably hot after about 5 minutes.

      3 votes
      1. Kuromantis
        Link Parent
        Huh. Tried it in my PC but it has half a gig of RAM so it unsurprisingly ran at 3-10 seconds per frame. Also my phone is android so no luck.

        Huh. Tried it in my PC but it has half a gig of RAM so it unsurprisingly ran at 3-10 seconds per frame. Also my phone is android so no luck.