Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3772
Registered: 10-06-2005
IP: Logged

File: Disconnected Tar Blob Spawn.hold (1 KB)
Downloaded 50 times.
License: Public Domain

See attached hold.

If tarstuff expands, and the individual 1x1 squares it expands into (that would ordinarily form tar babies) together make a full 2x2 region, this creates a new blob of tarstuff in the case of tar and mud, but not for gel. This happens regardless of the connectivity of the gel.

I searched around for a while but can't tell whether this is on purpose or not.

____________________________
Quick links to my stuff (in case you forgot where it was):

disoriented
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2516
Registered: 08-07-2007
IP: Logged

I used this quirk in one of my entries in the Tenths contest.

____________________________
34th Skywatcher

Best to PM me, since I might miss your message on CaravelNet chat.

Nuntar
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5412
Registered: 02-20-2007
IP: Logged

This seems unintended, judging by TFMurphy's comments here. (The formation he describes does grow into a single connected blob of gel, and he uses that to justify "tar forms a new 2x2 blob" by a consistency argument, which is severely weakened if gel is known not to form a new 2x2 blob.)

____________________________
50th Skywatcher

TripleM
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1379
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Nuntar wrote:
This seems unintended, judging by TFMurphy's comments here. (The formation he describes does grow into a single connected blob of gel, and he uses that to justify "tar forms a new 2x2 blob" by a consistency argument, which is severely weakened if gel is known not to form a new 2x2 blob.)

Hm, I interpret TFMurphy's message in the opposite way, that this is intended, not unintended. Namely, that stable gel specifically only spawns if connected to existing gel, and that he was suggesting we *could* change tar to work in the same way.. but it could still lead to things 'growing through gaps' if connected from the other side, so it wouldn't really solve the fundamental issue.

Xindaris
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1745
Registered: 06-13-2015
IP: Logged

All the same, I personally at least would feel much better if tar, mud, and gel all did the same thing in this particular ambiguous situation...

____________________________
109th Skywatcher

Here are some links to Things!

---

[Last edited by Xindaris at 04-21-2016 10:44 PM]

Someone Else
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2398
Registered: 06-14-2005
IP: Logged

I actually am behind this behaviour - if it's not going to be connected to the gel mother, it shouldn't form a gel blob. Tar and Mud grow regardless of the connection, so it makes sense they'd form a blob.

kieranmillar
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3800
Registered: 07-11-2014
IP: Logged

I don't follow that logic. I'd expect the newly formed unconnected blob to not grow, but for it to still form. Ideally I would actually expect neither mud, tar, nor gel to form the unconnected blob but if we're stuck with the behaviour then I'd expect all growing blobs to expand in the same way.

Someone Else
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2398
Registered: 06-14-2005
IP: Logged

But then gel can cap off its growth. That doesn't seem weirder to you?

kieranmillar
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3800
Registered: 07-11-2014
IP: Logged

No, to me it seems like a natural and intuitive consequence of the combination of these two rules:

1) Gel only grows if the blob is connected to a mother.
2) Tarstuff is allowed to grow in such a way that it forms a new unconnected blob.

Tamsk
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 254
Registered: 03-21-2014
IP: Logged

The thematic rationale for gel's (and gel babies') different behaviour is that it has higher viscosity than tar or mud, right? Given that, it makes sense that gel babies would be more resistant to merging than other tarthings, as they're not being directly influenced to do so by a mother.