2023 Day 17: Clumsy Crucible

[cantanima]

I should have finished this much earlier, but my breadth-first search made the mistake of returning as soon as it tried to enqueue a path to the destination, without considering that there might later appear a shorter path to the destination. Nothing was helping me figure that out, not even comparing to known solutions! Then I noticed that there was a large gap between my previously-considered level of heat loss (1043 or so) and the reported result (1060) and the proverbial went off.

I might add more later, but for now, here’s a quick 'n dirty visualization of parts 1 and 2. Brighter shades indicate more heat loss. I’d be curious to know if other participants likewise see a “bulge” in their data, or if there’s a different pattern.

[zertovitch]

@cantanima

I’d be curious to know if other participants likewise see a “bulge” in their data, or if there’s a different pattern.

Similar “bulge”, but on my data, the path for Part 1 goes left of it, then below it, while the path for Part 2 goes above it, then right of it.