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by Solarsail 3051 days ago
As an aside, when I played that game I once made an octal data tape, capable of reading 3 bits of state from a single block in the tape (the "loop"). Used three read circuits next to the tape, which allowed it to detect an additional three states; Namely the block could be non conductor, simple conductor, or a piston block facing up / sideways / down. From there, timing data is enough to distinguish a "sticky piston" from a regular one, allowing for 8 different states distinguishable to the read head.

(Apologies if this is me-too ism)