Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

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77topaz
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Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by 77topaz » March 7th, 2018, 11:02 pm

With the 2014 competition complete, we can now move on to another of the three years the POTY competition missed, 2013. The same voting system as the previous competition will be used.

There was no list of entries for this year yet, but I've collated a short list of entries based on LifeWiki pages for the year:
  • #01 CC semi-Snark (by Sergey Petrov): a small, Spartan 90˚ glider reflector which functions as a period doubler.
  • #02 Linear propagator (by Dave Greene): a large, engineered pattern which is arguably the first example of a replicator in Conway's Game of Life, depending on the exact definition of a replicator used.
  • #03 Loafer (by Josh Ball): the first c/7 orthogonal spaceship and, with just 20 cells, the smallest spaceship other than the glider and WSSes.
  • #04 Period-20 glider gun (by Matthias Merzenich): a true period-20 glider gun, the smallest true period known for a gun.
  • #05 Period-40 glider gun (by Adam P. Goucher, Matthias Merzenich, and Jason Summers): a true period-40 glider gun based on complicated reactions involving honey farm predecessors, period-5 and period-8 oscillators.
  • #06 Snark (by Mike Playle): a stable 90˚ glider reflector which, with 52 cells and a repeat time of 43, is both far smaller and far faster than previous such patterns.
From the time of posting, I will allow a period of one week (extended from the 48 hours of the previous competition based on advice by Apple Bottom, and which could be extended further if there is sufficient interest) for people to propose any additional entries before the voting starts.

EDIT: Additional entries:
  • #07 p29 reflectors (by Matthias Merzenich, Noam Elkies, and David Buckingham): the first known p29 reflectors.
  • #08 c/5 orthogonal wickstretchers (by Matthias Merzenich, Hartmut Holzwart and Jason Summers): the first c/5 orthogonal wickstretchers to be found. The moving ends were found by Matthias Merzenich and Hartmut Holzwart. The stationary end was found by Jason Summers as a stabilization for a p6 wick, but it was noticed that it could also stabilize the p12 wick used in the wickstretcher.
  • #09 Stable MWSS-to-glider converter (by Matthias Merzenich): the first fast MWSS-to-glider converter.
  • #10 p94 gun ("AK-94") and p22 pre-pulsar shuttle (by Mike Playle): A new catalyst by Mike Playle allowed the construction of a small p94 gun and a stable 11-generation pre-pulsar push.
  • #11 (Original) 16-bit still life synthesis project (by Martin Grant, Mark Niemiec, Matthias Merzenich, and Dave Greene): A project to synthesize all 16-bit still lifes. There was no dedicated thread, but the final synthesis in the project was posted here.
  • #12 New c/4 diagonal wickstretcher (by Matthias Merzenich, Jason Summers, and Paul Tooke): Paul Tooke found a partial stretcher in 2004, but a stationary fencepost for the p6 wick was not found until a major breakthrough was made by Jason Summers in early 2013.
  • #13 Standard spaceship eater (by Matthias Merzenich): a still life capable of eating every type of standard spaceship.
  • #14 Synthesis of French Kiss (by Martin Grant): One of the few small p3 oscillators with no previously-known glider synthesis.
  • #15 41-cell c/4 orthogonal ship (by Josh Ball): the second smallest known c/4 orthogonal ship at the time of its discovery.
  • #16 p7 sparker (by Karel Suhajda): a fairly strong p7 sparker found at a time when very few p7 sparkers were known.
Last edited by 77topaz on March 11th, 2018, 5:32 pm, edited 8 times in total.

Sokwe
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Re: Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by Sokwe » March 9th, 2018, 6:15 pm

Here are some patterns that should definitely be nominated:
  • p29 reflectors (by Matthias Merzenich, Noam Elkies, and David Buckingham): the first known p29 reflectors.
  • c/5 orthogonal wickstretchers (by Matthias Merzenich, Hartmut Holzwart and Jason Summers): the first c/5 orthogonal wickstretchers to be found. The moving ends were found by Matthias Merzenich and Hartmut Holzwart. The Stationary end was found by Jason Summers as a stabilization for a p6 wick, but it was noticed that it could also stabilize the p12 wick used in the wickstretcher.
  • stable MWSS-to-glider converter (by Matthias Merzenich): the first fast MWSS-to-glider converter.
  • p94 gun ("AK-94") and p22 pre-pulsar shuttle (by Mike Playle): A new catalyst by Mike Playle allowed the construction of a small p94 gun and a stable 11-generation pre-pulsar push.
  • 16-bit still life synthesis project (by Martin Grant, Mark Niemiec, Matthias Merzenich, and Dave Greene): A project to synthesize all 16-bit still lifes. There was no dedicated thread, but the final synthesis in the project was posted here.
Here are some other possible entries, but I want someone to second them before they are added:
  • New c/4 diagonal wickstretcher (by Matthias Merzenich, Jason Summers, and Paul Tooke): Paul Tooke found a partial stretcher in 2004, but a stationary fencepost for the p6 wick was not found until a major breakthrough was made by Jason Summers in early 2013.
  • standard spaceship eater (by Matthias Merzenich): a still life capable of eating every type of standard spaceship.
  • Synthesis of French Kiss (by Martin Grant): One of the few small p3 oscillators with no previously-known glider synthesis.
  • 41-cell c/4 orthogonal ship (by Josh Ball): the second smallest known c/4 orthogonal ship at the time of its discovery.
  • p7 sparker (By Karel Suhajda): a fairly strong p7 sparker found at a time when very few p7 sparkers were known.
-Matthias Merzenich

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77topaz
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Re: Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by 77topaz » March 9th, 2018, 7:18 pm

Thanks, that's a large and good list of suggestions! :) I've added your first set of entries, and I'll probably add the second set later as well if no-one objects.

I added "(Original)" in front of the 16-bit still life synthesis project, to help distinguish it from the 16-in-16 project ("efficient 16-bit still life synthesis project") that was an entry in the 2017 competition.

Sokwe
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Re: Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by Sokwe » March 9th, 2018, 11:30 pm

I have a few comments on the descriptions for the previous nominees:
  • It should be mentioned that loafer was the first c/7 orthogonal spaceship.
  • For the period-20 gun, just say that it was the lowest gun period at the time of its discovery. Personally, I think that the descriptions should be written as they would have been in 2013.
  • Matthias Merzenich and Jason Summers should also be credited for the p40 gun.
-Matthias Merzenich

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77topaz
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Re: Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by 77topaz » March 10th, 2018, 2:41 am

Sokwe wrote:I have a few comments on the descriptions for the previous nominees:
  • It should be mentioned that loafer was the first c/7 orthogonal spaceship.
  • For the period-20 gun, just say that it was the lowest gun period at the time of its discovery. Personally, I think that the descriptions should be written as they would have been in 2013.
  • Matthias Merzenich and Jason Summers should also be credited for the p40 gun.
All right, I implemented your suggestions.

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Re: Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by Apple Bottom » March 10th, 2018, 5:47 am

Sokwe wrote:Here are some other possible entries, but I want someone to second them before they are added:
Sure, I'll second those!
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77topaz
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Re: Belated Pattern of the Year 2013 competition

Post by 77topaz » March 11th, 2018, 6:34 am

Apple Bottom wrote:
Sokwe wrote:Here are some other possible entries, but I want someone to second them before they are added:
Sure, I'll second those!
Okay, I've added that set of suggestions as well! :)

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