Re: [stella] And now, for my next trick...

Subject: Re: [stella] And now, for my next trick...
From: Erik Mooney <emooney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 00:26:47 -0500
On Sat, 10 Mar 2001 20:49:06 -0800 (PST), Pete Holland wrote:

>I hope someone is skilled enough to figure out how to
>do this game.  I have never heard of it, but from what
>I can piece together here, it sounds intriguing. 
>Maybe this isn't a job for one programmer, but two or
>three working in tandem?  This sounds very complex, so
>maybe dividing the workload will not only get it done,
>but also bouncing ideas off each other for insight.

Well, doing a simple 32 x 30 Life grid using the playfield would be
child's play.  (or maybe 32 x 28 if you need stack space or temporary RAM
variables.)  Making a Life board bigger than can physically fit into the
2600 RAM is what Andrew is doing and what I'm saying is impossible :)

The 'game' version of Life is definitely a bit more complicated to do.  In
that, you have two colors of cells, with the same survival/creation rules.
When a cell is generated, it takes on the color of the majority of the
cells that spawned it.  Each player takes turns - each turn comprises
adding a cell of his color, deleting one cell of the opponent's color, and
advancing one cycle of the Life algorithm.  Game ends when one player has
no cells left.

I'm not sure if or how a two-color Life grid on the 2600 could be done,
though, barring the obvious of flickering and displaying each player's
cells on alternating frames.

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