Always Moving Universal Constructors Challenge

[Gamedziner]

I realized that the existence of c/4 orthogonal and diagonal spaceships could imply construction using only spaceships. I challenge you all to make an engineered spaceship or rake using this principle.

[dvgrn]

I realized that the existence of c/4 orthogonal and diagonal spaceships could imply construction using only spaceships. I challenge you all to make an engineered spaceship or rake using this principle.

Can you be a little more specific? In various ways, codeholic's weekender distaff and caterloopillars construct things "using only spaceships" -- but not c/4 spaceships, of course.

How would c/4 diagonal spaceships be useful, in particular? I could imagine a fleet of c/4 orthogonal spaceships somehow carrying along a data loop made out of *WSSes, which would be repeatedly interpreted (in some unknown way) to construct some object, making a very high-period rake or puffer. That works because *WSSes move faster than c/4 orthogonally.

But c/4 diagonal ships just keep pace with gliders, and no finite signal moves faster than gliders diagonally, so there's no way to circulate or read any kind of data loop in that reference frame. (Right?)

[Gamedziner]

I realized that the existence of c/4 orthogonal and diagonal spaceships could imply construction using only spaceships. I challenge you all to make an engineered spaceship or rake using this principle.

Can you be a little more specific? In various ways, codeholic's weekender distaff and caterloopillars construct things "using only spaceships" -- but not c/4 spaceships, of course.

How would c/4 diagonal spaceships be useful, in particular? I could imagine a fleet of c/4 orthogonal spaceships somehow carrying along a data loop made out of *WSSes, which would be repeatedly interpreted (in some unknown way) to construct some object, making a very high-period rake or puffer. That works because *WSSes move faster than c/4 orthogonally.

But c/4 diagonal ships just keep pace with gliders, and no finite signal moves faster than gliders diagonally, so there's no way to circulate or read any kind of data loop in that reference frame. (Right?)

When I looked at the patterns you mentioned, I realized that they already qualify.

[dvgrn]

When I looked at the patterns you mentioned, I realized that they already qualify.

Time to adjust your challenge a little bit, then! The most likely slow diagonal ships to be able to carry a lot of construction data along with them would be Corderships. You can make information-carrying loops in various ways, like this for example:

Code: Select all

x = 197, y = 215, rule = B3/S23
33b2o$36b2o4bo$33b2ob4o3bo$30b5o4b4o$33b3o6bo$34bo$33b3o$40bo12b2o$40b
o12b2o7$61b2o$61b2o$51bo$49b2obo$35bob2obo9bob2o$34bo4b3o10bo$35bo5bo$
36bo3bo$37bobo$29bo$24bo2bobo2bo3bo$24bo4b2ob5o$24bo3bo4bobo2$26b3o$3b
2o22bo$6b2o4bo$3b2ob4o3bo$5o4b4o$3b3o6bo61b2o$4bo61b3o5bobo$3b3o60bo8b
o$10bo13bo42bo$10bo14bo$23bo2bo$26bo$23b2o$24bo$24b4o4b2o$25bo$25bobo
2bo$25bo4bo$21bo2bo3bo$19b2obobo3b2o$5bob2obo9b2obo2b2o$4bo4b3o9bob3o
64b2o$5bo5bo10bo59b3o5bobo$6bo3bo11b3ob3o2bo50bo8bo$7bobo14bob5o52bo$
26b2ob2o3$11b2o$11b2o85b2o$22bo75bobo$22bo76bo2$21b2ob2o2$21b2o$20bo3b
2o$20bo3bo81b2o$21bobo82bobo$22bo84bo6$114b2o$114bobo$115bo6$122b2o$
122bobo$123bo14$138b2o$130b3o5bobo$130bo8bo$131bo5$146b2o$146bobo$147b
o6$154b2o$146b3o5bobo$146bo8bo$147bo5$162b2o$162bobo$163bo6$170b2o$
162b3o5bobo$162bo8bo$163bo5$158b2o$154b2o3bo$143b3o7bo6bo$146b3o5bo3b
5o$146b3o6bo3bo$147bo11bo2bo$160b2o7b2o$169b2o5$170bo$170b2o$168b2o2bo
4b2o$166bo4b2o4b2o$167b2o25b2o$167bo26bobo$149b2o6bo2b2obo31bo$149b2o
5bo3bo3b2o$160b3obo$154bo7b2o$153bo2bo$152bo2bo$137bo14bo$137b4o6bo4b
3o39b3o$137bo3bo5bo46bo$195bo$139b3o$122bo$121bobo2$121bo2bo3bob3o$
123bo4bo$124bob2obobo43b3o$125b2o3bo46bo$126bo49bo4$105bo$103b2ob2o18b
2o$105bo$120bo5bo$118b3o3b3o$106b2o10b2o4b3o$105bo2bo11b4o$81bobo20b2o
3bo12bo$80bo2bo20bo4bo13bo$81bobo20bo3bo13b3o$97b2o6bo2bo13bobo18b3o$
97bobo6bo15b2o21bo$83bo13b3o44bo$82bob2o11bo2bo$82bob2o12bo$81bo3bo12b
o27b2o$82b4o40b2o6b2o$82b3o15bo36b2o$97bo36bo3b2o$97bo2bo34bob2obo$96b
3o40b3o$96b3o42bo$96bo2bo40b2o$97bobo$97b3o3$86b2o$86b2o7$94b2o$94b2o!

But while this is clearly a way of storing binary data, it will take some ingenuity to take the presence or absence of gliders in this kind of intermittent Corderrake glider stream, and turn them into something with universal construction potential.

Maybe turn the gliders so they fire forward or backward, and have multiple intermittent streams that combine to make INC, DEC, or FIRE instructions aimed at an elbow, depending on what combination of gliders is present? Not sure if that could be made to work or not.