CA Finder (GPU Edition)

This is a cellular automaton simulator running as a shader on your GPU. The controls require a keyboard.

It’s a fairly capable simulation, but I haven’t taken the time to give it an approachable interface. The idea was to make a tool that would let me make images of tiling patterns quickly.

But you can totally use it too! If you’re not familiar with the concept of a cellular automaton, it might help to brush up first. Or just start hitting buttons and see what happens.

If you take any cool screenshots, feel free to share them with me. I love seeing how people use tools like this.

Controls

C: Increment color palette (decrement with Shift + C)
D: Increase pixel density (decrease with Shift + D)
I: Increase cell inertia (decrease with Shift + I)
N: Increase neighbor range (decrease with Shift + N)
R: Change rules (completely randomized)
S: Scramble pixels (useful if a simulation gets stuck in a single state)
V: Change neighborhood type
W: Change weight distribution
Space: Pause / play simulation
?: Show this info pane
Esc: Hide this info pane

Note: not everything is configurable from this interface. To make deeper tweaks, follow the README and start running the code locally.