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On Fri, 18 May 2001, Henry Swanepoel pressed some keys and this came out:
> Our idea was to use some form of neural network encoded into the driver 
> (as native methods) that could be hooked on to NPC objects in the DB 
> with suitable values given to each to specify it's behavioural class.  
> Because of the complexity, the neural net would have to be made very 
> modular to allow it to be used most effectively in the DB environment.

	I don't believe a neural network alone will be very intelligent - the
self-organisation involved is far too "anything goes" to be very meaningful. It
*is* possible to build a intelligence from an NN, but to have it emerge on its
own is terribly unlikely - probably impossible with most/all training methods
used.

	This isn't to tell you not to do it - just to give you some advice from
someone who's been there. It may save some headaches.

> We have, however, not yet passed the initial idea stage yet, as there 
> are other smaller issues that I've been trying to sort out first, hoping 
> to get the bulk of the world running before we actually start mucking 
> around with the driver and the hassle with developing this network 
> (which I have no experience with - I will have to learn very fast. ;)

	http://www.dontveter.com/bpr/bpr.html - this should help you a lot.

> Languages shouldn't be a problem.  English is technically my second 
> language, but I normally don't have a hassle with that.  As long as we 
> can correspond in English (or Afrikaans ;)...

	Heh, yeah. It's the creatures themselves that will likely develop their
own language - unless, perhaps, if humans teach them to speak (I didn't realize
that possibility) - but the subject matter must be consistent with the VR -
talking about cars in a medieval environment just won't do - *unless* it can be
related to the environment somehow ("well, a car is *like* a horse and wagon -
without the wagon...").

-- 
Steve