This project implements the classic Boids flocking simulation algorithm using the Rust programming language and the ggez game engine for visualization. It demonstrates agent-based simulation where simple rules for individual "boids" lead to complex emergent flocking behavior.
The simulation parameters are configurable via a boids.yaml file, and the core update logic is parallelized using rayon for improved performance.
- Classic Boids simulation implementing:
- Separation: Steer to avoid crowding local flockmates.
- Alignment: Steer towards the average heading of local flockmates.
- Cohesion: Steer to move towards the average position of local flockmates.
- Boundary avoidance (turning near screen edges).
- Configurable parameters (via
boids.yaml):- Screen resolution and window position.
- Number of boids.
- Behavioral factors (avoidance, matching, centering, turning).
- Speed limits and simulation delta time.
- Visual ranges (protection, visibility).
- Visualization using the
ggez2D game engine. - Boid color dynamically calculated based on velocity.
- Multi-threaded simulation update loop using
rayon. - Toggleable trails effect.
The simulation behavior can be tuned by editing the boids.yaml file located in the project root. Key parameters include:
resolution: Screen width (x) and height (y).position: Initial window top-left corner position (x, y) - Note: May not be respected on all OS/backends.boids: The total number of boids to simulate.boids_config: Contains detailed parameters for boid behavior:protected_range: Radius for separation rule.visible_range: Radius for alignment and cohesion rules.avoidfactor,matchingfactor,centeringfactor: Strength of the respective rules.turnfactor: How strongly boids turn away from screen edges.margin: Distance from screen edge where turning begins.maxspeed,minspeed: Boid speed limits.dt: Simulation time step multiplier.scale: Scale the boids size according to the protected_range value
- Rust: Install Rust and Cargo from https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install.
- ggez Dependencies: You might need to install dependencies required by
ggezfor your specific OS (e.g., ALSA development libraries on Linux for audio, potentially graphics drivers). See the ggez documentation for details.
- Clone the repository (if applicable) or ensure you have the project files.
- Navigate to the project root directory in your terminal.
- Build (Optimized Release):
cargo build --release
- Run:
The executable will be located in
cargo run --release
target/release/.
- Q: Quit the application.
- T: Toggle the visual trails effect ON/OFF.
This project relies on the following main Rust crates:
ggez: 2D game engine for graphics, windowing, and event loop.rayon: Data parallelism library for multi-threading the simulation update.serde/serde_yaml: For parsing theboids.yamlconfiguration file.kdtree: For efficient nearest neighbor searches (finding boid neighbors).rand: For random number generation (initial positions/velocities).uuid: For generating unique boid IDs.mint: For graphics type interoperability.
- Dakube dakube@gmail.com