LifeSuper is a multistate rule with a total of 26 cellstates, created in 2020. This rule extends LifeHistory with additional states for advanced annotation.
For any 2-state range-1 cellular automaton (up to MAP rules) specified by a rulestring [R], a rule [R]Super can also be defined with the same additional states. This class of rules is supported in LifeViewer and in version 4.0+ of Golly via "Super" algorithm, and patterns can be saved in extended RLE format.
x = 60, y = 69, rule = LifeSuper
28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$M2.M24.HD28.DH$4.M23.HD28.DH$M3.M23.HD28.DH$.4M
23.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.
HD28.DH$O2.O24.HD28.DH$4.O23.HD28.DH$O3.O23.HD28.DH$.4O23.HD28.DH$28.
HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$Q2.Q
24.HD28.DH$4.Q23.HD28.DH$Q3.Q23.HD28.DH$.4Q23.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.H
D28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$S2.S24.HD28.DH$4.S
23.HD28.DH$S3.S23.HD28.DH$.4S23.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD
28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$U2.U24.HD28.DH$4.U23.HD28.DH$U
3.U23.HD28.DH$.4U23.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.
DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$W2.W24.HD28.DH$4.W23.HD28.DH$W3.W23.HD28.DH$
.4W23.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$
28.HD28.DH$pA2.pA24.HD28.DH$4.pA23.HD28.DH$pA3.pA23.HD28.DH$.4pA23.HD
28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH$28.HD28.DH!
#C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]]
#C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 ZOOM 4 GRID OFF X 10 Y 0 AUTOSTART T 0 PAUSE 1 T 168 PAUSE 1 LOOP 169 ]]
Several lightweight spaceships drawn with "no trail" higher-numbered ON states are converted to state 1 and begin to leave trail made of state-2 cells after crossing a boundary made of state-4 and state-8 cells, and subsequently are converted to state 13 and stop leaving trail after crossing another boundary (click above to open LifeViewer)
An engineered diehard presented using the LifeSuper rule; different parts of the pattern are color-coded according to their function[1] (click above to open LifeViewer)
An 83-glider synthesis for a still life with colour-coded components, portraiting all seven no-trail states (click above to open LifeViewer)
Description
LifeSuper has a total of 26 states, where odd states are considered to be ON and even states are OFF:
States 0 through 6 behave identically to the corresponding states in LifeHistory for backward compatibility.
State 0: default background OFF state, as in Life.
State 1: default ON state with "history" trail, as in Life.
State 2: history/trail/envelope: shows whether a dead cell was ever alive.
State 3: marked alive; changes to state 4 if it turns OFF, then back to state 3 if it turns ON again.
State 4: marked dead; changes to state 3 if it turns ON.
State 5: start alive; enters state 4 upon death, then to state 3 if it turns ON again.
State 6: boundary; never changes state, and all adjacent living cells die in the next tick.
States 7 through 12 are trail states, and boundary markers for transition to no-trail states.
State 7: with state 8, this state provides a boundary beyond which moving patterns will not leave trails.
State 8: with state 7, this state provides a boundary beyond which moving patterns will not leave trails.
State 9: the second of three states that leave different-colored trails when they turn OFF.
State 10: envelope/history state for state-9 ON cells.
State 11: the third of three states that leave different-colored trails when they turn OFF.
State 12: envelope/history state for state-11 ON cells.
States 13 through 25 are no-trail states and non-permanent label states.
State 13: patterns remain in this state as they evolve, but leave no trail.
State 14: vanishes in one tick (spreads to state-16 neighbors).
State 15: patterns in this state leave no trail.
State 16: this cell state decays to state 14 if touched by an ON state or an adjacent state-14 cell).
State 17: patterns in this state leave no trail.
State 18: label state, switches to state 22 if a neighbor is state 22.
State 19: patterns in this state leave no trail.
State 20: label state, switches to state 18 if a neighbor is state 18.
State 21: patterns in this state leave no trail.
State 22: label state, switches to state 20 if a neighbor is state 20.
State 23: patterns in this state leave no trail.
State 24: label state that is close in color to an OFF cell, but converts to state 18 if touched by an ON cell.
State 25: patterns in this state leave no trail.
All combinations of states behave identically to Life except for state 6, which acts like the LifeHistory grey cells.
Unlike Immigration, LifeSuper is not a "majority wins" rule; any mixture typically becomes almost entirely state-1 cells with a few state-13 cells on the edge and almost none of the other on states.
States 18, 20, and 22 together, considered to be off by the Life algorithm, form their own cellular automaton unrelated to Life, a type of rock-paper-scissors cellular automaton. Unlike in other rules of this category, cells have a threshold of only one neighbour to be changed, so interaction between two waves cannot result in anything except an impasse, and all patterns made with only these states will settle into a period-1 or period-3 configuration.