Transport

Orbit radius20

Euclidean distance in grid units. At the boundary, influence is 1 / radius; outside it, zero.

Steering strength100%

Percent of the combined proximity influence. Zero keeps every heading fixed.

Movement distance1

Grid steps per turn. Starts at one; longer moves check collisions at every intermediate step.

Enable birth

Birth above0

Birth below3

0 < neighbors < 3: counts 1, 2. Endpoints are excluded. Editing one bound adjusts the other when needed.

Enable death

Death above3

Death below9

3 < neighbors < 9: counts 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Endpoints are excluded. Editing one bound adjusts the other when needed.

Birth search direction

Start behind the combined heading of the parent and its adjacent neighbors. Search around the original parent position. Tied claims retry their next available choice together.

Protect cells that can move

A successful grid step prevents death, even if a longer stride later blocks. Births avoid every occupied or traversed space. Newborns act next turn.

Blend all nearby headings, then round to eight directions. Cancellation and exact angular ties keep the old heading. Edits pause and preserve the field.

031GOL

Orbital Bloom

Travelers align nearby headings, reproduce behind their shared direction, and die by local crowding. Freedom to move can protect life.

Explore the collection Rules & reproducibility

Current composition

01Read every cell within radius 20 from the same frozen field. Weight = max(1, radius − distance) / radius.
02Average unit heading vectors by proximity. Blend with the current heading at 100% × min(1, total weight).
03Round to the nearest compass heading. Cancellation or tied directions retain the previous heading.
04Attempt 1 adjacent grid move. Occupied or contested destinations block. Headings still change when movement blocks.
05Death when 3 < Moore neighbors < 9. Any successful movement protects against death.
06Surviving parents reproduce when 0 < Moore neighbors < 3. Prefer behind the group heading, then search clockwise. One child per eligible parent, outside all movement paths.

Influence aligns direction, without pulling toward positions. Close cells may align, separate, exchange headings or jam. No continuous steering accumulates between turns.

Pause and enable Inspect cell for its values.

Experiment index031 / 100

Game of Life: Orbital Bloom

Paused · Toroidal

160 × 160 · generation 0

NNEESESSWWNWBirth outlineDeath cross

Nearby headings bend travel. New life forms behind the shared direction; crowding can end a cell’s journey.

Paint cells or enable Inspect cell. Arrow keys select; Enter paints; P plays/pauses; S steps.