[Tutor] design ideas?

[Thomi Richards]

hey there all... I'm working on a project with python, and id appreciate
some design answers..

The project is an artificial life simulator, very similar to matrem, but
in python. basically the program runs through a series of steps, in a
loop, until the user does something:

1.- processes animals, and moves them, one by one
2.- processes terrain, and moves it, a tile at a  time
3.- updates graphics stuff.

there are several problems with this, the first is, this program needs
to be able to run at top speeds of 50 cycles a second. it will have over
65'000 things to calculate each turn, and the speed will obviously
depend on the users computer, but what kind of things can i do to speed
up the python program?? im just a beginner, and this will be a HUGE
challenge, so ill probably post here many times before its done.

-- 
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
 -- midsummer nights dream.
Thomi Richards,
thomi@imail.net.nz