Design Memory PlatformCells mutate under the original per-type scaling rules from the 1994 genome (Fig 3.27) rather than free per-axis mutation. In particular, domes mutate with uniform XYZ scaling so they stay spherical-proportioned at any size.
Rebuild the mutation engine around the original 8-parameter typed genome: cell type, XY movement, XYZ scale factors, and rotation, with type-specific growth constraints (e.g. columns grow in Z only, domes uniform XYZ, slabs in XY).
Each script version's filename and header self-document the change (e.g. a few words describing the update), so the first few lines explain what changed.
Maintain two linked logs (Decisions D###, Pivotal Moments P###) with JSON as the source of truth and Markdown views generated from it.
Keep the five current cell names (cube, pyramid, dome, wedge, cylinder) and apply per-type scaling rules during mutation: dome mutates with uniform XYZ (all axes locked together); cylinder keeps X and Y equal with Z free (a true round column); cube, pyramid and wedge mutate freely per axis.
The canonical expansion of GAAD is 'Genetic Aided Architectural Design', applying to both the 1994 thesis and GAAD Rebirth.
Build a standalone script (run in a fresh Blender file) that reconstructs the selected-parent lineage (the 'genetic path' of the thesis) by reading the Replay/G001... JSON files. It rebuilds each generation's chosen parent as full 3D geometry, one stage per generation, stacked in a single vertical column with Gen 1 at the top descending downward and vertical gutters between rows.
Every on-screen label - stage labels in the main generator and row labels in the Forward Evolution Tree - shows the bare variant id in 'G001_S006' format, identical to the variant_id stored in the JSON. No friendly 'Gen N / Stage S' text and no A/B/C stage letters.
Build a standalone companion 2D readout (HTML/PNG) that reads the replay folder, walks the selected-parent lineage, and writes one row per generation: generation number, variant id, a plain-English 'what changed' headline, and a 'from the data' column showing shape-mix shift plus total floor area (m2) and total volume (m3). Floor area and volume are SUM OF PER-OBJECT footprints/volumes, shown as the absolute total with the change from the previous generation beside it. Per-shape maths: cube w*d and w*d*h; pyramid w*d and (w*d*h)/3; cylinder ellipse pi*(w/2)*(d/2) and *h; wedge (w*d) and (w*d*h)/2. DOMES ARE EXCLUDED from the area/volume sums for now (remarked out in code, flagged in the readout), pending D018. Domes still generate and render normally.
Domes are KEPT and trimmed to a true HEMISPHERE cap sitting flat on the stage (no buried lower half). Domes are locked CIRCULAR in plan: width = depth = diameter, so a dome is defined by a single size. Floor area = pi * r^2 (the circle on the stage). Volume = (2/3) * pi * r^3 (hemisphere). Domes are now INCLUDED in the evolution-summary sums (INCLUDE_DOMES_IN_SUMS = True). This also resolves the long-parked dome hemisphere-trim.
Maintain a living roadmap (gaad_roadmap.md): next-days fixes (close D018 dome question, tree connector 0.2, summary PNG export), next-weeks first new capability (Scoring), then a beyond-1.0 vision carrying the research questions and the 'AI learns from design evolution' principle. Arc: Generate -> Select -> Record -> Replay -> Summarise -> Score -> Learn -> Design Intelligence.
The champion (parent) stage is highlighted by a glowing GREEN SQUARE FRAME tracing the stage perimeter, sitting just above the surface, on a neutral stage. Revised from the original hovering ring (which clashed with tall objects on the stage): an edge frame stays clear of all geometry. Label stays the bare variant id; status shown visually.
Each Forward Evolution Tree stage gets a hovering HUD-style pill caption, billboarded to face the camera (aligning with the D020 green-ring language: lifted off the ground, readable from any orbit angle, modern). Content is a bold change HEADLINE (e.g. 'shed 1 form, more cubes') over a faint METRICS line (floor area m2 / volume m3). Captions use a NEUTRAL accent (cool white/grey); green is reserved only for the live champion marker so that signal stays rare and strong. The change/headline/metrics are derived from the same replay-diff logic as the Evolution Summary, so the tree and the report tell one story from one source. Blender = intuitive quick-read; Markdown/HTML = formal report.
Reading Experiment 3.6A showed that the tall-spike-then-enveloping-dome trajectory was an intended, documented experimental result, not a bug. The original genome locked dome scaling to uniform XYZ; the Blender port's spindle was a port error.
The original 1994 thesis itself was located: cover confirms the title 'Digital Evolutions' by Miles Walker, with the back-cover abstract (Goldberg epigraph, Complexity from Simplicity, 3rd/4th-dimension exploration, Growth Generator, 'the penetration of one body with another').
The Forward Evolution Tree script (D015) ran successfully against a real 10-generation replay folder, reconstructing the selected-parent lineage as a vertical 3D column in Blender: nine stages, Gen 1 to Gen 9, each rebuilt from the recorded JSON with its chosen stage labelled, domes correctly uniform.
With the Evolution Summary deriving floor area, volume, shape mix and per-generation deltas from the replay data, it became clear these metrics are the raw material for scoring/fitness of generations - measuring designs, not just displaying them.
Realised GAAD is fundamentally about recorded design lineage, with 3D geometry only the first medium; and that this very Claude project has been running as a GAAD tree in text - problem space, options, selected parents, decisions and pivotal moments as Design Memory. 'Doing GAAD to GAAD'.