CRAY is probably one of the most useful elements ever added to The Powder Toy. Basically, what it does is make a beam of whatever length you want out of whatever particle you want, at any temperature you want. With that, one can make tiny logic gates, machines, factories and animations.

Basic Properties

CRAY is a purely electronic element, which means that it:

1. Is a solid.

2. Does not change state: you can't make gaseous or liquid CRAY by heating it up.

3. Does not conduct heat: the only way to change the temperature of a CRAY particle is to heat it or cool it using the mouse or console, or to use PROT(link and tutorial needed).

4. Is invulnerable to everything except SING, AMTR, DEST, BOMB and delete rays from itself.

5. Does not conduct electricity.

Note that all of the sensors (except INVS) and ARAY have the exact same physical properties. But CRAY's electronic properties are what make it really interesting.

Electronic Properties

When CRAY is SPRK-ed from any side (including diagonals) that is directly adjacent to (touching) the particle, it will fire its beam of particles in the opposite direction. However, its properties after that are determined by a combination of what conductor is sparking it, its tmp, its ctype, and even its tmp2.

ctype sets the type of particle that CRAY spawns in. A ctype of 0 (not set) means that it will set its ctype to the type of the first particle that touches it, including conductors.

tmp sets the 'range' of the beam, that is, a tmp value of one will spawn onepixel if the CRAY is free to do so (see beneath)

tmp2 is used to supplement the ctype when spawning LIFE type particles: since they are all one element with a different ctype, the game uses tmp2 to determine which type to make.

By default, CRAY spawns at 22.00°C with ctype, tmp and tmp2 set to 0. That means that it will fire a line 256 pixels long made out of whatever element it touches first.

When different elements SPRK the CRAY, it changes how it behaves:

PSCN "Delete Mode" Beam is always the same length as tmp. Will place particles in all empty space within this region. If there is a particle in the way of it, it will be deleted.

INST/INWR "Go through Everything Mode" The beam will ignore any particles in its path, spawning exactly as many particles as its tmp says. Will not delete anything. INST goes through walls, but INWR does not.

All other conductors "Normal Mode" The beam will stop as soon as it hits an obstacle. tmp sets the maximum number of particles it spawns.

special case: when CRAY with ctype SPRK is sparked by any conductor, the exact number of particles as the tmp will be deleted in the path of the beam. This means that is can delete from a great distance away, without spawning any new particles. note that is will NOT create electricity in conductors, use ARAY with INST/INWR for that.