Okay. Thanks to Chris Rowett, Golly 4.0 will be able to support [Rule]Super and [Rule]History extensions automatically, without needing to install custom rule tables, for many other classes of two-state rules besides Life. In preparation for that, and with apologies to the inevitable group of people who liked the old colors better ... I've made some changes to LifeSuper colors.
I kept most of the colors that muzik suggested, but restored some of the functionality that I think [R]Super is going to need. It seemed better to have states 1-6 be recognizable as LifeHistory colors, since their functionality is the same as in LifeHistory.
Also, based on some preliminary experience with using LifeSuper over the last few months, it's useful for certain states to be instantly recognizable, and have a nice short easy color name. Some states you can just think of as "state 15", "state 17", etc., but some are really key functional states, and you need to be able to think about a glider "going through a purple boundary and then a red boundary", not just "going through a greenish boundary that looks the same as State 12 but has a totally different function".
So... the state-8 no-trail barrier is now purple, with hot pink for the state-7 ON version of that type of marked boundary, instead of the previous confusing green/white pairing. Gliders with trails that go through a purple barrier now turn white. Originally I had them turning pink, but even I could tell that that was a painful color choice for such a common cell type -- clashed with almost everything else. But then the marked ON color in LifeHistory was too close to white, so I changed that color to pink instead -- a color that's close to the red of an OFF marked cell.
I think that makes both of those boundaries a little more intuitive -- overlaps between spaceships and boundaries look reasonably intuitive. Hard-refresh your browser to make sure you have the latest LifeViewer, to see the new colors here:
Code:
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x = 100, y = 20, rule = LifeSuper:T100,20
20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.
10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$2.M17.10D40.10H19.M$3.M16.10D40.
10H$3.M16.10D40.10H19.M$4M16.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.
10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D40.10H$20.10D
40.10H!
#C [[ GPS 20 AUTOSTART THUMBNAIL THUMBSIZE 3 WIDTH 800 HEIGHT 480 LOOP 1000 ]]
LifeHistory colors 1-6 are otherwise back to their old standards, for better or for worse -- except that the blue of State 2 is now a somewhat brighter blue in LifeSuper. It seemed like a good idea to be able to tell Super apart from History, generally, pretty much at a glance -- and also it seems important for the "trail" state to not fade into the background as much as it does in LifeHistory. In [Rule]Super it's a deliberate choice whether you use a trail or no-trail state for spaceships, so presumably when you choose to show a trail you'll want to see it clearly.
Again, white is now the default lowest-common-denominator no-trail state, and it seems to be easy to identify in a crowded pattern. Yellow and cyan had to get swapped around to avoid confusion with standard LifeHistory colors, and the old purple state 20 was changed to silver to avoid confusion with the distinctive purple no-trail boundary states.
Comments, Anyone?
I don't think any of these changes came out looking too bad. I haven't really tried to summon my internal interior decorator to properly judge the aesthetics of the whole package, because I just don't think I have an internal interior decorator. If anyone has aesthetic color judgments to share, or just ideas about how tweaking the colors could improve the functionality of [Rule]Super rules, please post them here.
Fair warning, though: I'll be quite likely to make any adjustment that seems to be getting universal support from commenters (unless I really really don't like it). But most suggestions that there seem to be disagreement about, will probably not be implemented (unless I really really like them).
Sample suggestion: I'm thinking of maybe moving the color of state 21, one of the no-trail ON colors, a little farther away from green and closer to yellow (but still paler than state-5 yellow, and probably still basically yellow-green). I'm finding that in a crowded field of gliders it's not easy on all types of monitors to tell the state-21 gliders apart from the state-23 gliders.
EDIT: Or maybe the right thing to do is move state 23 to a significantly darker green, more like the old state 8, so that it's distinguishable from both state 21 and the new state 1 that matches LifeHistory green.
EDIT2: Never mind, that green was too close to both the new state-1 green and the state-12 OFF trail green that has never changed. Running out of colors here, need a different idea.
Code: Select all
x = 268, y = 267, rule = LifeSuper
4.W$5.2W248.W$4.2W247.2W$254.2W10.W$265.W$265.3W2$245.W$245.W.W$245.
2W9$250.S$17.S230.2S$18.2S229.2S$6.S10.2S$7.S$5.3S2$27.S$25.S.S$26.2S
9$22.O$23.2O212.O$22.2O211.2O$236.2O10.O$247.O$247.3O2$227.O$227.O.O$
227.2O9$232.U$35.U194.2U$36.2U193.2U$24.U10.2U$25.U$23.3U2$45.U$43.U.
U$44.2U9$40.pA$41.2pA176.pA$40.2pA175.2pA$218.2pA10.pA$229.pA$229.3pA
2$209.pA$209.pA.pA$209.2pA9$214.W$53.W158.2W$54.2W157.2W$42.W10.2W$
43.W$41.3W2$63.W$61.W.W$62.2W9$58.S$59.2S140.S$58.2S139.2S$200.2S10.S
$211.S$211.3S2$191.S$191.S.S$191.2S9$196.O$71.O122.2O$72.2O121.2O$60.
O10.2O$61.O$59.3O2$81.O$79.O.O$80.2O9$76.U$77.2U104.U$76.2U103.2U$
182.2U10.U$193.U$193.3U2$173.U$173.U.U$173.2U9$178.pA$89.pA86.2pA$90.
2pA85.2pA$78.pA10.2pA$79.pA$77.3pA2$99.pA$97.pA.pA$98.2pA9$94.W$95.2W
68.W$94.2W67.2W$164.2W10.W$175.W$175.3W2$155.W$155.W.W$155.2W9$160.S$
107.S50.2S$108.2S49.2S$96.S10.2S$97.S$95.3S2$117.S$115.S.S$116.2S9$
112.O$113.2O32.O$112.2O31.2O$146.2O10.O$157.O$157.3O2$137.O$137.O.O$
137.2O9$142.U$125.U14.2U$126.2U13.2U$114.U10.2U$115.U$113.3U2$135.U$
133.U.U$134.2U3$130.pA$3W15.3O15.3pA15.3S15.3U15.3W15.3O18.pA.pA12.3U
15.3S15.3pA15.3O15.3W15.3U15.3S$2.W17.O17.pA17.S17.U17.W17.O19.2pA12.
U17.S17.pA17.O17.W17.U17.S$.W17.O17.pA17.S17.U17.W17.O22.2pA11.U17.S
17.pA17.O17.W17.U17.S$9.3S15.3U15.3W15.3O15.3pA15.3S15.3U12.pA.pA18.
3O15.3W15.3U15.3S15.3pA15.3O15.3W$11.S17.U17.W17.O17.pA17.S17.U14.pA
2.2pA14.O17.W17.U17.S17.pA17.O17.W$10.S17.U17.W17.O17.pA17.S17.U14.UpA
.pA.pA15.O17.W17.U17.S17.pA17.O17.W$136.pA$133.2U.pA.pA$134.U2.2pA$
132.W.W$132.2W$130.2W$129.W.W$125.2W2.W$125.W.W.WU$127.W$125.W.W.2U$
125.2W2.U$129.S.S$130.2S!
#C [[ THUMBNAIL THUMBSIZE 2 AUTOSTART Y 104 Z 8 TRACKLOOP 36 0 -1/4 ]]
EDIT3: Or maybe it's actually okay to have states with similar colors that do different things -- they can easily be distinguished by their behavior:
Code: Select all
x = 90, y = 89, rule = LifeSuper
10.2A48.2W$10.2A14.A33.2W14.W$24.3A47.3W$8.6A9.A34.6W9.W$7.A5.A9.2A
32.W5.W9.2W$8.2A.2A45.2W.2W$5.3A3.A7.A12.2A21.3W3.W7.W12.2W$5.A2.5A5.
A.A8.2A2.A21.W2.5W5.W.W8.2W2.W$8.A8.A2.A8.A3.A.A22.W8.W2.W8.W3.W.W$6.
A.A.2A6.2A10.3A.A.A19.W.W.2W6.2W10.3W.W.W$6.2A2.A21.A3.A19.2W2.W21.W
3.W$10.A.A15.3A.A3.A.2A20.W.W15.3W.W3.W.2W$.2A8.2A14.A2.A.A.A.A.2A11.
2W8.2W14.W2.W.W.W.W.2W$2.A24.2A2.2A.A.A15.W24.2W2.2W.W.W$2.A.A30.2A
15.W.W30.2W$3.2A48.2W3$7.2A22.A25.2W22.W$6.A2.A20.A.A23.W2.W20.W.W$7.
A.A20.A2.A23.W.W20.W2.W$8.A22.2A25.W22.2W$15.A49.W$16.A49.W$14.3A18.
2A27.3W18.2W$3.2A30.A.A15.2W30.W.W$3.A.A.2A2.2A24.A15.W.W.2W2.2W24.W$
2A.A.A.A.A2.A14.2A8.2A11.2W.W.W.W.W2.W14.2W8.2W$2A.A3.A.3A15.A.A20.2W
.W3.W.3W15.W.W$3.A3.A21.A2.2A19.W3.W21.W2.2W$3.A.A.3A10.2A6.2A.A.A19.
W.W.3W10.2W6.2W.W.W$4.A.A3.A8.A2.A8.A22.W.W3.W8.W2.W8.W$6.A2.2A8.A.A
5.5A2.A21.W2.2W8.W.W5.5W2.W$6.2A12.A7.A3.3A21.2W12.W7.W3.3W$27.2A.2A
45.2W.2W$15.2A9.A5.A32.2W9.W5.W$16.A9.6A34.W9.6W$13.3A47.3W$13.A14.2A
33.W14.2W$28.2A48.2W10$10.2A48.2W$10.2A14.A33.2W14.W$24.3A47.3W$8.6A
9.A34.6W9.W$7.A5.A9.2A32.W5.W9.2W$8.2A.2A45.2W.2W$5.3A3.A7.A12.2K21.
3W3.W7.W12.2S$5.A2.5A5.A.A8.2K2.K21.W2.5W5.W.W8.2S2.S$8.A8.A2.A8.K3.K
.K22.W8.W2.W8.S3.S.S$6.A.A.2A6.2A10.3K.K.K19.W.W.2W6.2W10.3S.S.S$6.2A
2.A21.K3.K19.2W2.W21.S3.S$10.A.A15.3K.K3.K.2K20.W.W15.3S.S3.S.2S$.2A
8.2A14.K2.K.K.K.K.2K11.2W8.2W14.S2.S.S.S.S.2S$2.A24.2K2.2K.K.K15.W24.
2S2.2S.S.S$2.A.A30.2K15.W.W30.2S$3.2A48.2W3$7.2A22.K25.2W22.S$6.A2.A
20.K.K23.W2.W20.S.S$7.A.A20.K2.K23.W.W20.S2.S$8.A22.2K25.W22.2S$15.A
49.W$16.A49.W$14.3A18.2K27.3W18.2S$3.2A30.K.K15.2W30.S.S$3.A.A.2A2.2A
24.K15.W.W.2W2.2W24.S$2A.A.A.A.A2.A14.2A8.2K11.2W.W.W.W.W2.W14.2W8.2S
$2A.A3.A.3A15.A.A20.2W.W3.W.3W15.W.W$3.A3.A21.A2.2A19.W3.W21.W2.2W$3.
A.A.3A10.2A6.2A.A.A19.W.W.3W10.2W6.2W.W.W$4.A.A3.A8.A2.A8.A22.W.W3.W
8.W2.W8.W$6.A2.2A8.A.A5.5A2.A21.W2.2W8.W.W5.5W2.W$6.2A12.A7.A3.3A21.
2W12.W7.W3.3W$27.2A.2A45.2W.2W$15.2A9.A5.A32.2W9.W5.W$16.A9.6A34.W9.
6W$13.3A47.3W$13.A14.2A33.W14.2W$28.2A48.2W!
The bottom two oscillators show some of the things that are supposed to happen when different with-trail states or different no-trail states get mixed. Combinations of with-trail states default to the "least common denominator" state 1; combinations of no-trail states default to state 13, which is plain white.