Cellular automaton

Prototype of a game idea to take conway's game of life to the next level.

This game takes conway's game of life and adds new environments and cell types to the mix.

If people are interested in the project I will polish it and add more features such as resizing the grid, better editing tools better save management, undo redo, more types of cells etc.

Keyboard shortcuts:

Space - Toggle simulation pause

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - Select cell types 1 through 7

Escape - clear the grid

Cell types and rules:

a) Void is an empty cell it does not have any special properties

b) Standard is the tipical cell from conway's game of life

c) Parasite cells spread to healthy cells turning them into parasitic cells

1. If there is a standard cell nearby, turn into a standard cell as if the infected cell gets cured

2. If there is a standard or builder cell nearby turn it into a parasite cell as if the cell gets infected

3. If there are no other cells nearby, die

d) Builder cells are similar to standard cells but they only die of overpopulation if there are 5 or more neighbours, leading to them being able to spread exponentially and create structures

e) Brick cells are completely inert. They cannot die or reproduce which makes them good for splitting the grid, isolating cells

f) Water cells spread exponentially as if flooding the grid. Water changes the behavior of standard, parasite and sand cells.

1. Water cells allow standard cells to reproduce with only 2 neighbours instead of 3

2. Water cells grow into the spaces filled by other cells as if by killing them and spreading 

3. Water cells does not die from overpopulation

4. Any water cell spreads into all 8 directions each generation

5. If a parasite cell is in contact with water, it will not die from underpopulation and will not be overwritten by water

6. If sand is in contact with water it will spread to the water and overwrite it

g) Sand cells stick to other cells and spread into the water, ideal to drain water and cause wave reactions

1. If a sand cell has no neighbours it dies with 30% probability in the next generation

2. All neighbouring water cells are replaced by sand cells in the next generation