3D Software Implementation of the Game Method for Modelling Forest Fires in MyGL Software Tool

A preliminary version of the 3D visualization software tool MyGL (My OpenGL Game of Life) v2.0, which is a continuation of the previously developed software tool MkBGFire for creating abstract game models of forest fires, is considered in the present paper. The standard John Conway's Game of Life uses two states for each cell in the model: 0 (dead) and 1 (alive). To enable simulation of forest fires, here, three states are used: 0 (normal cell or pre-fire state), 1 (cell currently on fire), 2 (cell has burned out). The transition between 0 and 1 is "heating the vegetation to ignition point". It reflects the number of time steps it takes for the cell to start burning. The transition between 1 and 2 is "burning out the vegetation". This is the number of time steps required for the cell to burn out completely. The OpenGL technology is used for 3D visualization of the cells. The primary focus is on cube cells, while hexagonal prisms have been considered for backward compatibility. Three algorithms are currently implemented. The feasibility of the MyGL software is illustrated with an example of a forest fire scenario.