The Rotator Cells change the direction of orthogonal cells. There are two classic rotator cells - the clockwise rotator cell (also called a CW rotator), and the counterclockwise rotator cell (also called CCW), but in some remakes, there is even a 180° rotator. Rotator cells rotate other cells in their respective direction (e.g. clockwise), and their function matters only for rotation-dependant cells. The current rotation of the rotator itself has no impact on the direction of a cell being rotated.
In case when a cell has multiple rotator cells next to it, the rotation is calculated as the sum of all the single rotations. This means that, for example, two clockwise cells rotate the cell 180°, or that one clockwise rotator and one counterclockwise rotator will cancel each other out.
When mirroring a creation, you will almost certainly need to swap CW rotators to CCW and vice versa.
Key Attributes
- Pushable
- Rotation-independent
- Updates between generators and movers in the update order. CW rotator goes first, CCW second
Uses in the Community
In contraptions, the rotators have many different uses. They can be used to:
- Guide streams of movers
- Rotate slide cells to allow them to be moved under a condition, like in a key where that condition is met every other tick, or a longboat which has a larger interval
- Orient generators correctly, like in an enemy transport or as a form of enabling/disabling them by preventing them from functioning
- Create nukes, by introducing seemingly random rotations of generators
- And certainly many, many, many more uses
In puzzles, these rotators also have many uses. Namely, they are often used for setting up timers, making obstacles more difficult to get past, or to get movers into position.
In vaults, they serve further uses. They are the key to solving simple vaults without immobile or trash cells (can-openable vaults), as they can make a row possible to push out of the way. In making vaults, they will often be used to set up small machines, like locks or timers. In solving vaults, rotators are invaluable. They will be used in many, many different ways to guide other cells through difficult passageways, balance the effect of other rotators, smuggle, and so much more.