Switch Engine Spitter-Outter

[Awesomeness]

Okay, I've just found this forum, so hi guys! I've made little puffer thingy that periodically spits out switch engines, but I can never get it to grow quadratically by making block puffers. I thought I could, because you can see that a switch engine plus a block equals infinite growth:

rle:

Code: Select all

#CXRLE Pos=-11,-5
x = 16, y = 4, rule = B3/S23
11bobo$2o8bo$2o9bo2bo$13b3o!

I can never get it to work for me. Help please?

[Nathaniel]

To make it grow quadratically, you would also need something that creates switch engines on the fly, correct? I don't know off-hand of any such pattern.

[Awesomeness]

To make it grow quadratically, you would also need something that creates switch engines on the fly, correct? I don't know off-hand of any such pattern.

Yeah, I've made a pattern that does that... It's just I want to turn it into a quadratic grower. My pattern so far puffs along, creating a new switch engine every 32 generations with the puffer moving at a speed on c/2.

[Nathaniel]

I finally found what you seem to be looking for. In 1997, Helmut Postl created this pattern:

Code: Select all

x = 85, y = 164, skip = 5, fps = 20
58boo5b4o$56booboo3bo3bo$56b4o8bo$57boo5bobbo$$52boo9bo$50b5o8b3o$50b
oo4bo5bo3bo$50boo5b5o4bo$52boo4b4oboboo$55b3oboo3bo$61bobo$24boo$22boo
boo14bo$22b4o13boo24b4o$23boo15boo22bo3bo$18bo28b4o17bo$11boo6boo25bo
3bo13bobbo$7b4oboo12bo23bo$7b6o11boo20bobbo9boo$8b4o13boobboo24b4oboo$
29bobo23b6o$29bo26b4o5b4o$11bo52bo3bo$9boo30boo25bo$10boo29bobo11bobo
9bo$41bo22boo$54boo$54boo6boo3boo$54bo7bob3oboo$54boo7b6o$64b4o3$54b6o
$53bo5bo$59bo$6bo46bo4bo$4bobo48boo$5boo4$58boo$49b4o4b4o$48bo3bo4boob
oo$52bo6boo$48bobbo3$56boo$56bobo$56boboo$57boo$57bo$$15b4o$14bo3bo39b
oo$18bo38b4o$14bobbo22boo15booboo$39b4o16boo$39booboo$41boo$48b6o$47bo
5bo$53bo4boo$47bo4bo4b4o$49boo6booboo$59boo$17boo$16b4o32bo$16booboo
30b6o$18boo30bo3b8o$51boo8bo$52b3o6bo$53boo5bo$57boo$47b4o$46b6o$46b4o
boo$50boo5$26boo$24booboo$24b4o$25boo3$70b4o$69b6o$69b4oboo$73boo$27bo
$27boo$26bobo$79b6o$75b4o5bo$63bobo9boobo5bo$63boo10boobbo3bo$64bo16bo
$81boo$80b4o$80booboo$82boo$71b6o$70bo5bo$63boo11bo$62b4o4bo4bo$62boob
oo5boo7boo$64boo14b4o$80booboo$38b4o17boo21boo$37bo3bo16boo$41bo$37bo
bbo16boo$79boo$73b3o3bobo$70b3o6boboo$70bo9boo$70b3o7bo3$48b4o29boo$
47b6o19b4o4b4o$47b4oboo17bo3bo4booboo$51boo22bo6boo$71bobbo$$53bo$8bo
42bo3bob6o$8boo40b3o3bo5bo$7bobo40bo5bo5bo$38bobo9boboo3bo3bo$38boo11b
3o5bo$39bo19boo$58b4o$26bobo29booboo$26boo32boo$27bo21b6o$48bo5bo$b6o
34boo11bo$o5bo33b4o4bo4bo$6bo33booboo5boo7boo$o4bo25boo9boo14b4o$bboo
27bobo24booboo$16b4o11bo28boo$15bo3bo$19bo$15bobbo29boo$47bobbo$42b3o
13boo$41bobbo8bo5boo$41booboo3bo3bo4boo$49bo4bo3bo$51bo$$59boo$50b4o4b
4o$49bo3bo4booboo$53bo6boo$49bobbo!

It's a puffer that creates switch engines via a 4-glider collision, but also creates nearby blocks so that the switch engines become block-laying switch engines (as in your original post). The resulting pattern grows quadratically.

[apg]

For your information, Mitchell Riley discovered (rather than engineered) a switch engine puffer with only 38 cells:

x = 135, y = 41, rule = S23/B3
133bo$134bo$130bo3bo$131b4o4$130bo$131boo$132bo$132bo$131bo3$133bo$
134bo$130bo3bo$131b4o9$96bo$97bo$93bo3bo$94b4o8$3bo$4bo$o3bo$b4o!


It's got a lower population count than metacatacryst, a pattern nearly four orders of magnitude larger in area.