Monday, April 30, 2007

Proposal: Goldberg Machine, take 3

Self-Killed
—Seebo

Adminned at 30 Apr 2007 11:43:32 UTC

Create a new Dynastic Rule “The Machine” with the text:

Rube Goldberg machine or device is any exceedingly complex apparatus that performs a very simple task in a very indirect and convoluted way.  The Workers of Goldberg Technology are responsible for creating such a machine.  The Machine has many pieces that are divided into two sub-groups, Parts and Variables.

Create a new sub-rule of The Machine: “Parts”:

There exists a wiki page “Parts of the Machine” which is a list of all current parts of Goldberg Technology’s machine.  New Parts are added to the bottom of this page. Each piece has the following information:
*Name: The name by which the part is refered (and any abbreviations by which it may be refered)
*Crafter: The name of the worker(s) that are responsible for adding the device to the machine, and the wiki page.
*Initiator: The requirements that must be met for this Part to take effect.
*Effect: What changes are made to the Variables Page when this Part is initiated.
*Date Added: What date the part is added

The Effect the Part is limited to the wiki page “Machine Variables” and my effect no other aspect of the gamestate.  A Part may not affect a Variable that is not currently on the “Machine Variables” wiki page.

Whenever any Part is Activated it’s Effects take place in the order by which they are listed.  If any effect would Initiate another Part, then that Part is initiated, in the order (from Top to bottom) that the Parts appear on the wiki.  The machine is considered “running” while any Part is causing an Effect and continues running until no more Parts remain to take effect.

While the Machine is Running it is possible that it becomes trapped in a loop, which is described as the same pattern of actions happening more than 3 times.  In the event that the Machine is trapped in a loop, the machine is considered broken and all effects are stopped, and the most recently added Part is removed.

Create a new Sub-rule of Machine: “Variables”:

There exists a wiki page “Machine Variables” which is a list of all the changing parts of the machine.  Each variable is tracked as follows:
*Name: The name by which the Variable is refered (and any abbreviations by which it may be refered)
*Creator: Who add this variable to the Machine
*Possible States: What the possible states the variable may be in, and the order by which the variable advances
*Current State: what the current state of the vaiable is.
*Date Added: The Date when the Variable was added

Add the following to the “Machine Parts” wiki page:

*Name: Master Switch
*Creator: Amnistar
*Initiator: Proposal with the title “Flip that Switch” is passed
*Effect: increase the energy output of the Outlet by 10.
*Date Added: Today


*Name: Electric Fork
*Creator: Amnistar
*Initiator: Outlet is set to more that 7.
*Effect: Ball on Ramp is set to “Pushed Down”
*Date Added: Today

*Name: Sonic Spoon
*Creator: Amnistar
*Initiator: Outlet is set to less than 5 but more than 2.
*Effect: Ball on Ramp is set to “At the Top”
*Date Added: Today

Add the following to the “Machine Variables” wiki page:

*Name: Outlet
*Creator: Amnistar
*Possible States: Energy Output 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9,10 (If increased beyond 10 resets back to 0).
*Current State: 0
*Date Added: Today

*Name:Ball on Ramp
*Creator: Amnistar
*Possible States: “At the Top”, “Pushed Down”
*Current State: “At the Top”
*Date Added: Today

Mkay, let’s give it a shot, feel free to edit ideas as you find it desirable :)

Comments

Hix:

30-04-2007 16:57:12 UTC

against lots of things I don’t like about the execution of parts “activating” variables (whatever “activating” means…).  Also, the definition of a loop strikes me as odd.  Who cares if the same pattern of actions (again, whatever an “action” is…) happens 3 times?  Consider this Part:

Name:  Cheese Overflow Controller
Initiator:  The State of the “Cheese in Basket” is greater than 30.
Effect:  Decrease the State of the “Cheese in Basket” by 1 and increas the State of the “Cheese on Floor” by 1.

A perfectly acceptable Part, I hope you’d agree.  But if the “Cheese in Basket” is 34 or greater, the same pattern of actions will take place more than 3 times (assuming that no other Parts are triggering), but still, it won’t be infinite, and thus doesn’t need to be stopped.  What really needs to be checked for repeats is whether the same collection of Variable States occurs.

Amnistar: he/him

30-04-2007 17:32:36 UTC

Alright, I was trying to make something that would fix infinate loopholes, but if you can word it better great, repropose with a better definition :p I’m not against other people proposing the idea, I just want to make sure it’s right when it gets first implemented.

Hix:

30-04-2007 17:40:24 UTC

Sure, I’m working on that right now.  I’d like to formalize “Running” vs. “not Running”, and phrase the infinite loop rule in terms of those, rather than defining “manual” and “automatic” changes (as we did in a previous dynasty).

Amnistar: he/him

30-04-2007 17:47:46 UTC

against S.K. in favor of Hix’s proposal.