Belated Pattern of the Year 2014 competition

[77topaz]

As previously discussed here, I am now starting a belated Pattern of the Year competition for 2014. It will be using the same voting system etc. as the 2017 competition, which I'll re-state once the voting starts.

Here are the entries that have already been collated (see also the wiki):

• #01 Centipede (by Chris Cain): a large, engineered spaceship which moves at 31c/240 using a unique reaction.
• #02 Dart and crab syntheses (by Martin Grant, Mark Niemiec, Michael Simkin, Ivan Fomichev, Tanner Jacobi, and Brett Berger): glider syntheses for small spaceships that previously did not have them.
• #03 Half-baked knightships (by Adam P. Goucher, Chris Cain, Dave Greene, and Ivan Fomichev): large, engineered spaceships that move obliquely with displacement (6,3) and various periods using the half-bakery reaction.
• #04 Pufferfish (by Richard Schank): a p12 c/2 puffer that was used to make the first wholly high-period c/2 spaceship.
• #05 Spiral growth (by Dave Greene): a self-constructing pattern that grows in an outward spiral.
• #06 Switch engine ping-pong (by Michael Simkin): a 23-cell quadratic growth pattern, which as of February 2018 remains the smallest known.
• #07 Syntheses for all 17- and 18-bit still lifes (by Martin Grant, Mark Niemiec, and Matthias Merzenich): self-explanatory.
• #08 Waterbear (by Brett Berger and Ivan Fomichev): a large, engineered spaceship, which moves at (23,5)c/79 and is thereby the first (and, as of February 2018, the only) fast oblique spaceship.
• #09 Weekender distaff (by Ivan Fomichev): the first 2c/7 orthogonal rake, consisting of a long chain of weekenders perturbing debris.

From the time of posting, I will allow a period of 48 hours (which could be extended if there is sufficient interest) for people to propose any additional entries before the voting starts.

Additional entries (EDITed into the post):

• #10 Honey thieves (by Matthias Merzenich): the smallest known p17 oscillator, and the first one with a known glider synthesis.
• #11 p27 billiard table oscillator (by Matthias Merzenich): an oscillator in which p5, p8 and p3 rotors phase shift each other.
• #12 LCM oscillators (by Noam Elkies): oscillators featuring multiple rotors that interact in complicated ways.

[Sokwe]

There were quite a few new oscillator discoveries in 2014, some of which should be nominated:

• Honey thieves (by Matthias Merzenich): the smallest known p17 oscillator, and the first one with a known glider synthesis.
• A p27 billiard table based on several phase shifts (by Matthias Merzenich):

  Code: Select all

  x = 29, y = 29, rule = B3/S23
  9bo$7b5obo5b2o4b2o$bob2obo5b2o4bo2bo3bo$b2obob2o2bo3b2o2b2obo4bo$6bo2b
  5o2bobo2b2o2b2o$6bo2bo5bo2bobo$4bo4b6o3b2obob4o$2b3ob3o6b3o3bo3bobo$bo
  3bo3bo3b2o3b2obo5bo$bobo2bobo6bo2bobob3o2b2o$2b5ob7obobo3bob2obo$7bo8b
  obo3bobo2bo$4bo2bo2b5obobo3bobobo$3bobobobo6bobobobobob2o$3bo2bobobobo
  3bobobobo2bo$b2obobobobobo6bobobobo$2bobobo3bobob5o2bo2bo$bo2bobo3bobo
  8bo$bob2obo3bobob7ob5o$2o2b3obobo2bo6bobo2bobo$bo5bob2o3b2o3bo3bo3bo$b
  obo3bo3b3o6b3ob3o$2b4obob2o3b6o4bo$8bobo2bo5bo2bo$2b2o2b2o2bobo2b5o2bo
  $2bo4bob2o2b2o3bo2b2obob2o$3bo3bo2bo4b2o5bob2obo$2b2o4b2o5bob5o$19bo!

  A central p5 rotor and 4 auxiliary p8 rotors phase shift each other. This would ordinarily result in a p17 oscillator, but p3 rotors at the outer edge shift the p8 rotors twice, creating a complicated p27 oscillator.
• Least common multiple oscillators by Noam Elkies:

  Code: Select all

  x = 108, y = 37, rule = B3/S23
  51b2o38b2o$51bo39bo$42b2o4b2obo30b2o4b2obo$42bo2b2o3bo31bo2b2o3bo$43b
  2o38b2o2$43b2o38b2o$6bo3b2o30bobobo3b2o30bobobo3b2o$7b2ob2o30bo3b2obo
  2bo29bo3b2obo2bo$5bobo9b2o24b4o10b2o24b4o10b2o$6bo10bo34bo4bo34bo4bo$
  2o2b3o4b2obo3b3o24b2o3bo3bo3b3o24b2o3bo3bo3b3o$2o9b2ob4o2bo24bo5bob5o
  2bo24bo5bob5o2bo$18bo28bo10bo28bo10bo$11b5o2b2o26b2o3b5o2b2o26b2o3b5o
  2b2o$10bo5bobo2bo28bo5bobo2bo28bo5bobo2bo$6b2o3b2o2b2o3b2o24b2o3b2o2b
  2o3b2o24b2o3b2o2b2o3b2o$6bo2bobo5bo28bo2bobo5bo28bo2bobo5bo$8b2o2b5o3b
  2o26b2o2b5o3b2o26b2o2b4obo$3b2o4bo11bo2b2o17b2o4bo11bo2b2o23bo$3bobobo
  2b4ob2o4bobobo17bobobo2b4ob2o4bobobo21bo2b5obo9b2o$5bob2obo2bob2o3b2ob
  o21bob2obo2bob2o3b2obo23b3o3bobo5b3o2b2o$4b2o2bo7bo4bobo20b2o2bo12bobo
  26bo10bo$6bobo11bo2bobob2o17bobo8bobo3bobob2o20b2o9bobo$4b2o2b2o6b2o2b
  ob2ob2obo15b2o2b2o6bo4bobob2obo27b2ob2o$5bobo2bob2o2b2o6bo20bobo2bob2o
  2bo3bo3bo31b2o3bo$5bob2obob2o12b2o17bob2obob2o3bo8b2o$6bo3bo16bo18bo3b
  o16bo$7b2obob2o4bobo2bo2bo20b2obob2o4bobo2bo2bo$8bobo2bo4b6o2b2o20bobo
  2bo3bob5o2b2o$8bo2bo5bo30bo2bo$9b2o6bob3o27b2o5bob4o$16bo5bo33bo5bo$
  17b2o2b2o34b2o2b2o$12b2obobo34b2obobo$12bob2o2bo33bob2o2bo$17b2o38b2o!

  The rotor interaction in these oscillators is much more complicated than in typical LCM oscillators.

I looked through my moving object collection, but I didn't see anything else of note from 2014.

[77topaz]

There were quite a few new oscillator discoveries in 2014, some of which should be nominated:

• Honey thieves (by Matthias Merzenich): the smallest known p17 oscillator, and the first one with a known glider synthesis.
• A p27 billiard table based on several phase shifts (by Matthias Merzenich):

  Code: Select all

  RLE

  A central p5 rotor and 4 auxiliary p8 rotors phase shift each other. This would ordinarily result in a p17 oscillator, but p3 rotors at the outer edge shift the p8 rotors twice, creating a complicated p27 oscillator.
• Least common multiple oscillators by Noam Elkies:

  Code: Select all

  RLE

  The rotor interaction in these oscillators is much more complicated than in typical LCM oscillators.

I looked through my moving object collection, but I didn't see anything else of note from 2014.

Nice, those are some interesting patterns! I've added them to the main post.

[77topaz]

Entries are now closed; I'll make the voting thread!

EDIT: It can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3282

[Apple Bottom]

Entries are now closed; I'll make the voting thread!

Just for the future, you may want to leave these threads open a little longer than 48 hours. It's been three years -- surely there's no rush now.

[77topaz]

Just for the future, you may want to leave these threads open a little longer than 48 hours. It's been three years -- surely there's no rush now.

Okay, I'll do that for the 2012 and 2013 competitions. But, in this case, because there was already a list of entries from the earlier iteration of the competition and no-one responded in this thread except Sokwe (who did so soon after I opened the thread), I thought no-one else wanted to nominate anything (and I did say I'd extend the nomination period if there was sufficient interest).