Frequently asked questions.
Short answers drawn from the project's documentation. They evolve with implementation decisions.
13 questions, answered to the point.
Open a question to read the answer. Each one restates a documented point — goals, determinism, scale, licence — with no promise and no shortcut.
What is LIVEX trying to demonstrate?
LIVEX builds a simulated world where autonomous entities (needs, memory, beliefs, utility) interact, and observes the collective structures that emerge from it: groups, exchanges, conflicts, propagation of knowledge. The project does not claim this emergence proves "intelligence": it provides observers and measurable metrics.
Does LIVEX prove that societies emerge "that way"?
No. A sign of emergence is a specific measure, not proof. ECHOS explicitly documents its limitations: the measurement categories reflect the developer's choices, and a rare phenomenon may go unnoticed.
Why is determinism so important?
Bit-for-bit determinism (same seed + configuration + engine version → same trajectory) is essential for repeatability: comparing two experiments by changing only one parameter only makes sense if everything else is reproducible.
Do the entities "communicate" with each other?
Yes, within the simulated world, via local, non-confidential and degraded pulses (seven types of messages). This is distinct from communication between components (SYNE ↔ ECHOS ↔ PRISM via WebSocket/HTTP).
Can you "cheat" by giving the world view to the entities?
Not by design: partial observability is a first-class feature. An entity only sees what its sensors perceive (range, line of sight), and its memory as well as its beliefs degrade. Anti-cheat is verified by tests.
Is there physical modelling (collisions, bodies, morphology)?
No. Entities are logical (position, velocity, health), with no detailed physical representation, and may overlap. The PRISM rendering stylises this model.
What is the target scale limit?
Performance targets exist for a later phase (notably 50 and 500 entities at target rates). Scaling beyond that is a research axis (spatial grid, culling).
Is LIVEX multiplayer?
Not in V0.2. PRISM envisages a future "player-inhabitant" mode (embodying an entity), but this is a distant evolution, not committed.
What is the difference between LIVEX, PRISM and PRISM-LDK?
LIVEX is the complete project. PRISM is its final Unreal project. PRISM-LDK is the Unreal plugin (technical name of the PrismLdk module) that exposes the SYNE contracts to Blueprints. LDK designates the plugin, not a separate product. The simulation engine remains decoupled from Unreal: SYNE makes the decisions and holds the authoritative state.
Why does a SYNE mock exist?
syne-mock is a lightweight Node.js server to advance Unreal integration without running the full .NET engine. It simplifies deliberation, social systems and pathfinding: it serves integration and interface tests, never scientific results.
What is the licence, and who owns the project?
GNU GPL v3.0 or later (GPL-3.0-or-later, see the LICENSE file) for SYNE, ECHOS, the Launcher, syne-mock and the site. The Unreal PRISM project remains subject to the Epic Games EULA and is not covered by the GPL. The repository is currently maintained by a single person. Contribution rules are in CONTRIBUTING.md.
What does LIVEX not seek to prove?
That a society formed without the designer knowing; that a metric equals proof of emergence; that the behaviours of entities reproduce real social facts.
Where are the ethical risks documented?
In ETHICS_AND_SCOPE.md (scope, risks, ethics), itself derived from Part 8 of the monograph.