Guide chapters Getting started Nodes and connections Colours and spatial maps Boundaries and filling Text Multiple colonies Animation and export Scene files Reference Multiple colonies Several growing networks can approach, connect or compete for space. Separation prevents rival geometry from colliding.
On this page Cooperation and competition
Cooperating colonies Ember · 480 nodes
Two colored colonies attract and can join through validated component bridges.
Options, limits, and command Interaction.attraction: Signed steering: negative repels, positive attracts.allow_join: Permit bridges between the specified colonies.target_bridges: Requested number of validated inter-colony connections.Joining is a permission, not a guaranteed connection; ownership survives a join.
python -m graph_ics render --example cooperate --palette ember --seed 7 --output examples/output/cooperate-ember.png Coverage: 150/150 tiles contain nodes. Tile occupancy is not exact area coverage.
Seed 7. 2,182 placement attempts; 1.28s growth. Stop: target reached.
Repulsion and hard separation Forest · 480 nodes
Colony headings turn away while an explicit rival gap separates rings and full strokes.
Options, limits, and command Interaction.attraction=-0.3: Signed steering: negative repels, positive attracts.clearance=10: Hard minimum separation between rival visible geometry.Colony.weight: Relative share of growth attempts, not guaranteed territory.Repulsion alone does not guarantee clearance; weights grant attempts, not area.
python -m graph_ics render --example compete --palette forest --seed 7 --output examples/output/compete-forest.png Coverage: 150/150 tiles contain nodes. Tile occupancy is not exact area coverage.
Seed 7. 2,278 placement attempts; 0.46s growth. Stop: target reached.
Choose competing colonies for separate territories, or cooperative growth where connections are allowed. Clearance and repulsion serve different purposes: clearance rejects collisions; repulsion steers approaching growth away.
Colony settings and separation rules
Python colony API
graph_ics
