board · 576 × 576grid · on
Hierarchical cellular automata ask what happens when Life-like local rules are no longer purely local. This demo keeps the cell grid, but lets small regions and larger districts feed back into the rule that each cell applies.
Patches keep a binary alive/dead state while 4 by 4 cluster zones and 12 by 12 district zones hold the aggregate memory. Each tick computes live-cell counts once per zone, classifies clusters as growth, stable, or cool, and marks districts as bloom or quiet. Those aggregate states then loosen or tighten the birth and survival conditions, producing patterns shaped by both immediate neighbors and regional momentum.