KGameOfLife

Patterns

Patterns are usually characterized by their behavior:

• Type I (still-lifes): these patterns have no births and no deaths, and never change.

• Type II (oscillators): these patterns evolve through a fixed sequence of states and eventually return to their original state.

• Type III (spaceships): these patterns evolve through a fixed sequence of states and eventually return to their original state, but translated in space, moving at a constant velocity.

• Type IV: these patterns constantly increase in population:

  • Type IVa (guns): these are oscillators which emit spaceships each cycle.

  • Type IVb (puffers): these are spaceships which leave behind still-lifes, oscillators, and/or spaceships each cycle.

  • Type IVc (breeders): these patterns increase their population quadratically:

    • MMM (moving/moving/moving) breeders: puffers which emit puffers which emit spaceships

    • MMS (moving/moving/still) breeders: puffers which emit puffers which emit still-lifes and/or oscilllators

    • MSM (moving/still/moving) breeders: puffers which emit guns which emit spaceships

    • SMM (still/moving/moving) breeders: guns which shoot puffers which emit spaceships

  • Other gun/puffer combinations which which expand at other rates

• Type V (unstable): these patterns evolve through a sequence of states which never return to the original state. Small patterns which last a long time before stabilizing are called metheuselahs.

Pattern examples