I have posted a patch at
FS#11522 that adds support for configurations saved in several different formats as described here:
http://psoup.math.wisc.edu/mcell/ca_files_formats.htmlI have tested that DBLife (.L) and Life 1.05 configurations work well with this patch. RLE-type DBLife configurations seem to work well, as does a sample glider gun in RLE format on the psoup.math.wisc.edu page. However, many of the files saved from Mike Niemiec's site (as linked on the psoup site) seem to have problems. An initial investigation suggests to me that the files themselves don't correspond to the desired patterns.
If anyone is interested in this I would welcome feedback on the Flyspray page.