Fun with Cellular Automata

The SuperCollider code is stolen from redFrick’s blog post about cellular automata. All I have added is the SynthDef, one line at the top to set sound variables and one line in the drawing function to make new synths based on what blocks are coloured in.
Ergo, I haven’t really got anything to add, but this is still kind of fun and Star-Trek-ish

(

SynthDef(sinegrain2, {arg pan = 0, freq, amp, grainDur; var grain, env;

 env = EnvGen.kr(Env.sine(grainDur * 2, amp), doneAction:2); // have some overlap
 grain= SinOsc.ar(freq, 0, env);


Out.ar(0,Pan2.ar(grain, pan))}).add;

)


//game of life /redFrik
(
// add sound-related variables
var grainDur = 1/20, lowfreq = 200, hifreq = 800, lowamp =0.005, hiamp = 0.085, rows = 50, cols = 50;


      var envir, copy, neighbours, preset, rule, wrap;
        var w, u, width= 200, height= 200, cellWidth, cellHeight;
        w= Window("ca - 2 pen", Rect(128, 64, width, height), false);
        u= UserView(w, Rect(0, 0, width, height));
        u.background= Color.white;
        cellWidth= width/cols;
        cellHeight= height/rows;
        wrap= true;                     //if borderless envir
        /*-- select rule here --*/
        //rule= #[[], [3]];
        //rule= #[[5, 6, 7, 8], [3, 5, 6, 7, 8]];
        //rule= #[[], [2]];                                             //rule "/2" seeds
        //rule= #[[], [2, 3, 4]];
        //rule= #[[1, 2, 3, 4, 5], [3]];
        //rule= #[[1, 2, 5], [3, 6]];
        //rule= #[[1, 3, 5, 7], [1, 3, 5, 7]];
        //rule= #[[1, 3, 5, 8], [3, 5, 7]];
        rule= #[[2, 3], [3]];                                           //rule "23/3" conway's life
        //rule= #[[2, 3], [3, 6]];                                      //rule "23/36" highlife
        //rule= #[[2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8], [3, 6, 7, 8]];
        //rule= #[[2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8], [3, 7, 8]];
        //rule= #[[2, 3, 8], [3, 5, 7]];
        //rule= #[[2, 4, 5], [3]];
        //rule= #[[2, 4, 5], [3, 6, 8]];
        //rule= #[[3, 4], [3, 4]];
        //rule= #[[3, 4, 6, 7, 8], [3, 6, 7, 8]];               //rule "34578/3678" day&night
        //rule= #[[4, 5, 6, 7], [3, 5, 6, 7, 8]];
        //rule= #[[4, 5, 6], [3, 5, 6, 7, 8]];
        //rule= #[[4, 5, 6, 7, 8], [3]];
        //rule= #[[5], [3, 4, 6]];
        neighbours= #[[-1, -1], [0, -1], [1, -1], [-1, 0], [1, 0], [-1, 1], [0, 1], [1, 1]];
        envir= Array2D(rows, cols);
        copy= Array2D(rows, cols);
        cols.do{|x| rows.do{|y| envir.put(x, y, 0)}};
        /*-- select preset here --*/
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [1, 0], [0, 1], [1, 1]]+(cols/2); //block
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [1, 0], [2, 0]]+(cols/2); //blinker
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [1, 0], [2, 0], [1, 1], [2, 1], [3, 1]]+(cols/2); //toad
        //preset= #[[1, 0], [0, 1], [0, 2], [1, 2], [2, 2]]+(cols/2); //glider
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [1, 0], [2, 0], [3, 0], [0, 1], [4, 1], [0, 2], [1, 3], [4, 3]]+(cols/2); //lwss
        //preset= #[[1, 0], [5, 0], [6, 0], [7, 0], [0, 1], [1, 1], [6, 2]]+(cols/2); //diehard
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [1, 0], [4, 0], [5, 0], [6, 0], [3, 1], [1, 2]]+(cols/2); //acorn
        preset= #[[12, 0], [13, 0], [11, 1], [15, 1], [10, 2], [16, 2], [24, 2], [0, 3], [1, 3], [10, 3], [14, 3], [16, 3], [17, 3], [22, 3], [24, 3], [0, 4], [1, 4], [10, 4], [16, 4], [20, 4], [21, 4], [11, 5], [15, 5], [20, 5], [21, 5], [34, 5], [35, 5], [12, 6], [13, 6], [20, 6], [21, 6], [34, 6], [35, 6], [22, 7], [24, 7], [24, 8]]+(cols/4); //gosper glider gun
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [2, 0], [2, 1], [4, 2], [4, 3], [6, 3], [4, 4], [6, 4], [7, 4], [6, 5]]+(cols/2); //infinite1
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [2, 0], [4, 0], [1, 1], [2, 1], [4, 1], [3, 2], [4, 2], [0, 3], [0, 4], [1, 4], [2, 4], [4, 4]]+(cols/2); //infinite2
        //preset= #[[0, 0], [1, 0], [2, 0], [3, 0], [4, 0], [5, 0], [6, 0], [7, 0], [9, 0], [10, 0], [11, 0], [12, 0], [13, 0], [17, 0], [18, 0], [19, 0], [26, 0], [27, 0], [28, 0], [29, 0], [30, 0], [31, 0], [32, 0], [34, 0], [35, 0], [36, 0], [37, 0], [38, 0]]+(cols/4); //infinite3
        //preset= Array.fill(cols*rows, {[cols.rand, rows.rand]});
        preset.do{|point| envir.put(point[0], point[1], 1)};
        i= 0;
        u.drawFunc= {
                i= i+1;
                Pen.fillColor= Color.black;
                cols.do{|x|
                        rows.do{|y|
                                if(envir.at(x, y)==1, {
                                        Pen.addRect(Rect(x*cellWidth, height-(y*cellHeight), cellWidth, cellHeight));
    // the new line
    Synth.new(sinegrain2,[freq, x.linexp(0, cols, lowfreq, hifreq), amp, y.linexp(0, rows, lowamp, hiamp), pan, 0, grainDur, grainDur])
                                });
                        };
                };
                Pen.fill;
                cols.do{|x|
                        rows.do{|y|
                                var sum= 0;
                                neighbours.do{|point|
                                        var nX= x+point[0];
                                        var nY= y+point[1];
                                        if(wrap, {
                                                sum= sum+envir.at(nX%cols, nY%rows); //no borders
                                        }, {
                                                if((nX>=0)&&(nY>=0)&&(nX<cols)&&(nY<rows), {sum= sum+envir.at(nX, nY)}); //borders
                                        });
                                };
                                if(rule[1].includes(sum), {     //borne
                                        copy.put(x, y, 1);
                                }, {
                                        if(rule[0].includes(sum), {     //lives on
                                                copy.put(x, y, envir.at(x, y));
                                        }, {    //dies
                                                copy.put(x, y, 0);
                                        });
                                });
                        };
                };
                envir= copy.deepCopy;
        };
        Routine({while{w.isClosed.not} {u.refresh; i.postln; (1/20).wait}}).play(AppClock);
        w.front;
)


Published by

Charles Céleste Hutchins

Supercolliding since 2003

One thought on “Fun with Cellular Automata”

  1. Happy Birthday!!! Was it only the East Bay that got snow on 13 Feb 1976? Did it snow in Cupertino too? I have often wondered. Many Happy Returns, truly. J.

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