Leviathan
(Published on 6. August 2023, 00:56 by Kafkapharnaum)
The first being that even just looking at this one will make all the others feel much easier, and the second, that some will indeed want to check some of these others, as ever since I solved Sktx's Eternal Life, I've fallen for this ruleset and been wanting to get them rated. There's always enough interest and good reactions that it doesn't feel like a futile endeavor, so I'm adding links here to all the Still Life puzzles: Sktx's, SSG's, dodomos's, and mine
Unsurprisingly, this one here has been tested and validated by Sktx, with my infinite thanks – and per his recommendation, I'll be providing two versions of the rules – one for simplicity and conciseness, the other for alignment with the other Still Life puzzles
Solving Castlevania beforehand should provide at least some useful insight for this one, but of course, nothing will beat just an outright high degree of familiarity with the ruleset
Normal sudoku rules apply: Place the digits 1 to 9 in each row, column, and 3x3 box
STILL LIFE
Shade some cells green ("alive cells") such that the – up to – eight cells neighboring each green cell contain exactly 2 or 3 other green cells and the neighbors of each 'unshaded' – or black/red/etc. – cell ("dead cells") do not contain exactly 3 green cells
DIAMONDS (short version)
– A diamond in the grid indicates the number of live cells OR dead cells in its neighborhood
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Ambiguity version – same rules really, just worded as per other minesweeper-type Still Life puzzles)
– A CIRCLED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in the SAME state as its own in its neighborhood, including its own cell
– A SQUARED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in a DIFFERENT state from its own in its neighborhood (therefore not including its own cell)
– A DIAMOND may act as either a CIRCLE, a SQUARE, or both at once
Solve on the CTC app
==== EXAMPLES ====
In Example 1, a 3x3 box with a Game of Life pattern is shown (green for Alive cells, grey for Dead cells). But the cells marked with a ! are unstable : they either are dead but with 3 alive neighbors, or alive but with less than 2 or more than 3 alive neighbors. Therefore this pattern is not a Still Life pattern, and can not appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
In Example 2, a 3x3 box is shown filled with digits and clues (circles and squares), the Game of Life pattern that is shown is stable, and all the clues are fulfilled. This could appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle. John Conway Game of Life
Solution code: The digits in the LIVE cells of row one (from left to right), followed by those in the LIVE cells of column six (from top to bottom)
Comments
on 6. September 2023, 18:38 by wullemuus
Looking at this monster (diamonds- honestly??) first I never thought that it would be possible to solve this- but yeah, another success :D. The only little mistake I made was to colour r7c4 wrong what was followed by a permutation. The hardest box was b4 for the placement of 8 and 9. The rest wasn't to hard and could be figured out step by step. Having solved more of these puzzles really warmed me up ... . I was really glad that there were no zeros to look for :D!
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That was fast, wut?! :O But yeah, you did solve both Suspended Animation and Sktx's There is still life in my sandwich beforehand of course, so I imagine that primed you quite well for this one haha. In any case, thank you so much for solving this one on top of all the others you already solved, I mean, I'm just lost for words at this point! :D
on 28. August 2023, 15:26 by Yann
Insanely brutally gorgeously mind-blowingly complex puzzle, and second hardest I've ever solved, right behind...Quite a mouthful (and I solved many hard puzzles : the 2 region geometries, filuta's twins, the arrow/group sum sudoku...)!
I don't remember a step (apart from the first digit and the solve after the point I told you in the last comment), but it is epic. Maybe I bifurcated a little (it depends on the definition in number of steps, I was at 5/6), but it takes nothing away from the beauty of this puzzle. I'll go watch the video walkthrough, just to see the intended solve path, but I really enjoyed it past that point, r3c2 was weirdly important.
Congrats on setting this beast, and I'll be honored to solve the evolving mind-bender. Those diamonds seem to do nothing, but they sure do !
Also, I would like you to note, that the first digit and the step after that were totally different, which may confuse future solvers, because the difficulty instantly ramps up after that, it feels a bit unfair.
And I'm sorry for flooding this comment section with 3 super-long ones
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Well I was waiting (and with limited hope, I must say) a third solve on this one to justify posting the evolving one, and you did it! So I'll be posting it in the coming days. Thanks a thousand for solving this one and for such a great comment, it's me who's honored! :D
Don't worry about the other messages, they are great to have as a setter. It's certainly true that the techniques required in this puzzle makes for a bit of an unfair path, which is why I put emphasis on the other Still Life puzzles first. I am absolutely humbled by those who can solve it afer having spent just a fraction of what I spent on this ruleset (let alone none XD), but I am thrilled to see that it can elicit that kind of reaction. Thanks so much again! Now I can only hope I'll be able to repay you by solving your *own* little monster! ;-)
on 8. August 2023, 19:19 by Sktx
I didn't think it woudl be possible to "ambiguate" the clues of Still Life sudokus, and yet you did it. Crazy puzzle, and crazy solve. Once you've made good progress in the grid you realize how carefully those clues are laid out... Amazing job, as a setter that had my hands on Still Life, I realize the insane amount of time this one must have taken to set. Incredible work !
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What a fabulous comment, on top of your testing this puzzle and providing feedback, I can't thank you enough!
It sure did take a while to set, but every second spent on this felt well spent as it is, quite simply, just so much fun and fascinating to explore that amazing ruleset of yours, the intricacies of which we've apparently both barely started to understand -- and by association, the genius of Conway's Game of Life! :D
