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Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 24th, 2020, 5:00 am
by Eugleo
Hey, I lead a high-school programming class and GoL is our current project. Once we finish implementing the standard set if rules, I’d like to show my students some interesting variants that they could implement themselves.
I know of the color modifications, and of the changes to the BX/SY constants. Do you know of any other interesting modifications? They don’t even need to stay within the standard ruleset, as long as they are similar to the original GoL in implementation.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 24th, 2020, 5:29 am
by Schiaparelliorbust
Eugleo wrote: November 24th, 2020, 5:00 am
Hey, I lead a high-school programming class and GoL is our current project. Once we finish implementing the standard set if rules, I’d like to show my students some interesting variants that they could implement themselves.
First of all, welcome to the forums!
There are many rules that should be as easy to implement as CGoL. They're called outer-totalistic Life-like cellular automata and they use the rulestring syntax B/S. B stands for birth and S stands for survival. CGoL has the rulestring B3/S23 because cells get born when surrounded by 3 cells and survive if they are surrounded by 2 or 3 cells. All other cells die. With something like this, you don't need to implement dying from under/overpopulation. You could try HighLife (B36/S233) which has a somewhat common replicator with a 6-cell predecessor. In other ways it behaves similarly to CGoL but soups (random starting patterns) have different groups of objects because many small predecessors like the t-tetromino behave differently.
Code: Select all
x = 40, y = 29, rule = B36/S23
3$26b3o$25bo$25bo$25bo8bo$34bo$34bo9$12b3o$11bo$11bo$11bo!
Along with the replicator, I put the bomber, a spaceship based on the replicator.
Code: Select all
x = 53, y = 35, rule = B36/S23
16$34bo$13bo20bo$12b3o18bobo$33bobo$34bo!
Code: Select all
x = 53, y = 35, rule = B3/S23
16$34bo$13bo20bo$12b3o18bobo$33bobo$34bo!
The t-tetromino and and a honey farm predecessor evolve differently.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 24th, 2020, 6:08 am
by lemon41625
Eugleo wrote: November 24th, 2020, 5:00 am
Hey, I lead a high-school programming class and GoL is our current project. Once we finish implementing the standard set if rules, I’d like to show my students some interesting variants that they could implement themselves.
I know of the color modifications, and of the changes to the BX/SY constants. Do you know of any other interesting modifications? They don’t even need to stay within the standard ruleset, as long as they are similar to the original GoL in implementation.
In addition to outer-totalistic life-like cellular automaton, you can also try higher-range outer totalistic cellular automaton. These rules make use of a larger neighbourhood and are also fairly easily to implement. The only thing that needs to be adjusted is the neighbourhood and maybe the birth and survival conditions to get an interesting rule.
Some examples of such rules include
Code: Select all
x = 0, y = 0, rule = R2,C2,S2,B3,9,10,NN
b!
#C [[ RANDOMIZE ]]
which uses the following neighbourhood
Code: Select all
0 0 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 0
1 1 0 1 1
0 1 1 1 0
0 0 1 0 0
and
Code: Select all
x = 0, y = 0, rule = R2,C2,S5-9,B7-8,NM
b!
#C [[ RANDOMIZE ]]
which uses the following neighbourhood
Code: Select all
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
and
Code: Select all
x = 0, y = 0, rule = R3,C2,S6-10,B3,8,N+
b!
#C [[ RANDOMIZE ]]
which uses the following neighbourhood
Code: Select all
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 1
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
You can also try out
Generations rules such as
Brian's Brain or Frogs (Birth on 3,4 neighbours, Survival on 1,2, 3 States) where cells take time to die and transition into refactory states.
For example,
Code: Select all
x = 0, y = 0, rule = /2/3
b!
#C [[ RANDOMIZE ]]
and
Code: Select all
x = 0, y = 0, rule = 12/34/3
b!
#C [[ RANDOMIZE ]]
Some other extensions you can try out also include the
Extended Generations,
BSFKL and
INT rulespaces.
Note that
INT rules may be harder to implement as the next state of the cell depends not only on the sum of its neighbours but also the neighbour's relative positioning to the cell.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 24th, 2020, 8:36 am
by Hunting
lemon41625 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 6:08 am
Code: Select all
x = 0, y = 0, rule = R3,C2,S6-10,B3,8,N+
b!
#C [[ RANDOMIZE ]]
which uses the following neighbourhood
Code: Select all
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 1
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Give me credit for this one. =)
OP: Have you tried INT, Symbiosis, and the like?
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 24th, 2020, 9:06 am
by lemon41625
Hunting wrote: November 24th, 2020, 8:36 am
Give me credit for this one. =)
May I point out that it was Rowett who found this rule and not you (
https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic ... 550#p98806)? Perhaps you did rediscover it but Rowett probably found it first.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 24th, 2020, 9:31 am
by Hunting
Oh, I see, I confused it with my family of cross neighbourhood rules.
I just realized you were not here when I discovered my rocket rules.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 3:33 am
by Eugleo
lemon41625 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 6:08 am
Some other extensions you can try out also include the
Extended Generations,
BSFKL and
INT rulespaces.
Note that
INT rules may be harder to implement as the next state of the cell depends not only on the sum of its neighbours but also the neighbour's relative positioning to the cell.
Thank you very much, especially those at the end look very interesting — as in you (or rather, I) can tell the difference between them and the original GoL.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 3:35 am
by Eugleo
Hunting wrote: November 24th, 2020, 8:36 am
OP: Have you tried INT, Symbiosis, and the like?
I have not! My knowledge of CA is very limited I’ll check those out; hopefully they will be different enough from GoL that even a high-schooler would be able to tell the difference.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 3:39 am
by Hunting
Eugleo wrote: November 25th, 2020, 3:35 am
Hunting wrote: November 24th, 2020, 8:36 am
OP: Have you tried INT, Symbiosis, and the like?
I have not! My knowledge of CA is very limited I’ll check those out; hopefully they will be different enough from GoL that even a high-schooler would be able to tell the difference.
Well, most of us are younger than a high schooler - I'm 12, for example.
Don't forget to advertise LeapLife, the link in my signature, for me! =)
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 4:39 am
by Schiaparelliorbust
Hunting wrote: November 25th, 2020, 3:39 am
Well, most of us are younger than a high schooler - I'm 12, for example.
Don't forget to advertise LeapLife, the link in my signature, for me! =)
Eugleo wrote: November 25th, 2020, 3:35 am
I have not! My knowledge of CA is very limited I’ll check those out; hopefully they will be different enough from GoL that even a high-schooler would be able to tell the difference.
I think at least the basics of CA are easy to understand, though some higher-level concepts like
conduits,
universal computation and
construction,
syntheses, and
over-unity reactions could be harder. LifeWiki is a great place to look.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 4:58 am
by Hunting
Schiaparelliorbust wrote: November 25th, 2020, 4:39 am
Hunting wrote: November 25th, 2020, 3:39 am
Well, most of us are younger than a high schooler - I'm 12, for example.
Don't forget to advertise LeapLife, the link in my signature, for me! =)
Eugleo wrote: November 25th, 2020, 3:35 am
I have not! My knowledge of CA is very limited I’ll check those out; hopefully they will be different enough from GoL that even a high-schooler would be able to tell the difference.
I think at least the basics of CA are easy to understand, though some higher-level concepts like
conduits,
universal computation and
construction,
syntheses, and
over-unity reactions could be harder. LifeWiki is a great place to look.
And
reverse caber tosser,
geminoid,
slow salvo, and the like.
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 5:03 am
by Schiaparelliorbust
I sill don't understand the reverse caber tosser. I should look at
the thread explaining it .
Re: Interesting variants and modifications to the basic ruleset?
Posted: November 25th, 2020, 1:26 pm
by bubblegum
A caber tosser is a glider bouncing between a G->2G and a receding Cordership. The RCT is a glider bouncing between an advancing Corderpuffer (known as the Sakapuffer) and a bit of moving circuitry, and somewhere is encoded a slow-salvo recipe in one glider.