Transport

Repeated ingestion

First absorb one-neighbor cells into hosts meeting the minimum below. When that stalls, a cell may be absorbed by its unique strongest adjacent host with more total nested contents and available capacity. Equal contents or tied strongest hosts wait. Commit each wave together and repeat before movement.

Host minimum neighbors4

Applies to isolated-neighbor ingestion. Default two; six is the largest possible host count beside a leaf. The nested-content comparison does not require this neighbor minimum.

Intake per host per wave4

Maximum direct neighbors accepted in one wave. Default eight accepts every eligible neighbor. Limited intake follows the host’s compass and CW/CCW sense.

Direct-child capacity38

Zero means unlimited. This limits direct children, not descendants. Lowering it retains existing contents and blocks further intake until there is room.

Ingestion wave limit53

Zero resolves all waves until no allowed ingestion remains. A positive limit stops after that many waves, before movement.

Cluster movement

Movement distance2

After ingestion, each Moore-connected cluster moves as one body, including single cells. Sum visible members’ unit compass vectors and round to the nearest of eight directions; exact halves round clockwise. Cancelled headings wait. Hidden contents do not vote. Default distance one; manual zero disables travel; randomization chooses 1–4. A boundary, another cluster or contested destination stops the whole body. Its own members can follow into vacated spaces.

Recursive deployment

Use topmost parent’s compass

When checked, the topmost parent starts a spiral: after each successful release, advance 45° from the direction used, following its CW/CCW sense. Pass that heading to the child and use it for the next sibling. Branches advance independently, even at compass stride zero. Personal compasses stay unchanged. When off, each deploying cell uses its own compass.

Deployment directions6

Search from the guiding compass in its CW/CCW sense. One means exact heading; eight searches every neighbor. Tied claims retry the next direction together.

Releases per host3

Zero releases every direct child that fits. A positive limit applies once to each host in this phase, including newly deployed hosts. Blocked contents remain stored.

Release order

Hosts release their children in simultaneous rounds. Released carriers deploy their own contents in the next wave, recursively. Deployment still happens when movement is blocked.

Aging births and deaths

Enable aging births and deaths

After deployment, remove expired cells still trapped inside another cell, then resolve births. Their outer host survives. If an expired cell contains descendants, they are removed with it. Clocks keep tracking while off; enabling applies their accumulated history. Off by default.

Trapped-cell timeout X8

A cell dies after more than X consecutive turns still contained without being released. X = 8 allows eight retained turns and expires on nine; X = 0 expires after the first. Check after deployment, so release on the deadline saves it and resets its clock. Visible cells do not age toward this death. Releasing a container does not reset its still-hidden descendants.

Birth delay Y8

After Y turns since birth or most recent ingestion, a visible survivor attempts one birth each turn in its own exact compass direction, before rotation. Ingestion resets this clock; giving birth does not. Empty space is required; competing claims all fail. Newborns start empty with fresh seeded compasses and act next turn.

Compass rotation

Compass stride0

Rotate every compass once at the end of each complete Step, including empty-handed and hidden cells. Only 0 or 1: zero holds the travel heading and can leave cells facing a permanent block; one turns by 45° per Step. This controls turning, not travel distance. Each cell’s seeded CW/CCW sense stays fixed.

Version fourteen restores complete-Step timing: ingestion, movement, recursive deployment, aging and rotation all finish in one Step. Version-thirteen saves retain their settings and adopt the restored timing. Version twelve corrects death to expire trapped contents, preserving their visible hosts. Version-eleven saves retain the toggle and X/Y values but adopt this corrected behavior. Version eleven adds optional aging births and deaths. Older saves load with this rule off and X/Y set to eight. Version ten moves connected clusters rigidly using their visible members’ aggregate heading. Older openings adopt this rule; trajectories may change. Version nine adds greater-content ingestion to stalled pairs and clusters. Older openings adopt this rule; trajectories may change. Version eight restores the pre-Life rules. Saves from versions six and seven retain their other settings and discard Life settings. Version five changes checked parent guidance from a fixed heading to spiral inheritance. Version-four saves retain their toggle; checked trajectories change. Earlier versions keep guidance off. Older saved openings adopt this movement rule: all visible cells move; compass strides above one become one. Version one also adopts repeated leaf ingestion.

036GOL

Nested Drift

Cells absorb isolated neighbors, then resolve stalled ingestion toward neighbors with greater nested contents. Remaining clusters move and unfold; optional aging adds births and trapped-cell expiration.

Explore the collection Rules & reproducibility

Current composition

01A cell with exactly one visible neighbor is absorbed when its host has at least 4 neighbors, within the intake and capacity limits. Equal-content pairs remain separate; unequal pairs can resolve by nested contents.
02Commit each ingestion wave together, remove absorbed cells, and recount. When leaf intake stalls, compare total nested contents: choose a uniquely strongest adjacent host with room. Exact ties wait. A host may be swallowed while accepting children; the entire resulting tree travels intact. Stop after 53 waves or when no eligible intake remains. Nested contents travel intact.
03Each connected cluster, including a single cell, attempts up to 2 unit steps in its rounded aggregate compass direction. Membership stays fixed during movement. Cancelled headings wait; external occupancy, bounds or contested destinations stop the whole cluster.
04Release oldest children first, searching 6 directions. Each host releases 3 children, then newly released carriers unfold recursively. Each deploying cell uses its own heading and CW/CCW sense.
05Aging births and deaths are off. Clocks still track time trapped and turns since ingestion.
06Rotate every existing compass 0 × 45° in its permanent CW/CCW sense, once per complete Step. Newborns begin rotating next turn.

Try Nested chains: five cells fold inward over two ingestion waves. The center holds two children, each holding a child. Movement and recursive unfolding follow. Total visible plus stored cells is conserved when aging is off.

Pause and enable Inspect cell in View & world for exact next-Step evidence.

Experiment index036 / 100

Game of Life: Nested Drift

Paused · Toroidal

160 × 160 · Step 0

Visible cellCarrying cellsDeployedNewborn

Gather, move, unfold. Gold marks carriers; cyan marks deployments; violet marks newborns.

Paint to change cells, or enable Inspect cell. Arrow keys select; Enter paints; P plays/pauses; S steps.