GOL-010 · technical companion
Pivot Life
Standard Life grows beneath isolated local pivots whose neighbor counts select different rotations or mirrors, while overlapping transformation claims honestly rest.
At a glance
- geometry
- Square lattice + local 3 × 3 transforms
- neighborhood
- Moore · 8 adjacent cells + two-cell claim radius
- states
- Dead / alive + pivot and transform evidence
- update
- Synchronous Life + disjoint local transforms
- renderer
- Canvas 2D
What to explore
The experiment should compose ordinary Life with visible local rearrangement without allowing execution order to decide which pivot controls shared cells. Different neighbor counts should be able to express different transformations, making the composer a map from local situation to local motion rather than a single global effect switch.
Rules, update order and replay
Pass one computes a complete configurable Life proposal from the frozen binary board. Living and dead cells independently qualify as pivot candidates from that same frozen board. A candidate claims the centered 3 × 3 Moore block only when no other candidate center lies within Chebyshev radius two; that radius is required because blocks centered two cells apart still overlap. Every competing candidate rests. Bounded-edge candidates without a complete block rest; toroidal claims wrap. Accepted claims are disjoint and apply the clockwise turn, counterclockwise turn, horizontal mirror, or vertical mirror assigned to the pivot's frozen neighbor count, then commit atomically. State includes occupancy, pivot status, transformed-block evidence, and generation. Evolution uses no RNG. Replay requires full state, configuration, topology, profile, and the seed/ density or starter. Reset clears event evidence and rebuilds occupancy.
Reading the simulation
The renderer distinguishes ordinary Life, accepted pivots, overlap-rest claims, bounded-edge blocks, and transformed positions. Inspection outlines the proposed 3 × 3 block and surrounding 5 × 5 exclusion area, then reports ordinary result, trigger match, count-mapped action, competing candidates, and exact claim result. Legend and inspector text provide the same explanation independently of color.
Reproduce an opening
Download the example above, open the simulation, expand the controls, then use Share & reproduce → Import JSON. The example uses authored rules and a fixed seeded starting field; it is independent of the site’s editable default composition. Import starts paused at Step zero.
Share links and JSON reproduce the configured starting conditions, including hidden layers rebuilt by Reset. They do not save an evolved board, hand-painted cells, speed or display preferences. Determinism applies to the same rule version and Step sequence; real-time playback rates vary by device.
Larger fields and more involved rules can reduce playback speed. Read the configuration format and automated-access guide for compatibility details.