Monday, August 09, 2021

Proposal: Moving Parts

Quorum Reached. Passes 8-0—Clucky

Adminned at 09 Aug 2021 23:52:09 UTC

To “Machinery”, replace “Each Worker may have up to six Machines; this is tracked by a list that defaults to one Clink machine.”:-

Each Worker may have up to six Machines in their Line; this is tracked as an ordered list that defaults to one Clink machine. A Worker may add a new, Cold instance of a Machine to any position in their Line by paying that Machine’s Cost.

Add two Machines to the list in “Machines”:-

Spin
- Cost: one Energy
- Effect: Roll DICE10 and gain a Box containing the result of that roll.

Press
- Cost: one Energy
- Effect: Gain a Box containing any number from 1 to 5.

Remove “A Worker can spend one of their own Energy to roll a DICE10; they then gain a Box with the rolled number.” from Energy Cycles.

Give every Worker one Energy.

Making the Box-gain mechanic into a Machine, along with a non-random equivalent, and making the Cost of a machine also be the Cost of installing it for the first time.

Giving everyone +1 Energy so that they can install a Spin Machine for free as an equivalent of the status quo.

Comments

Josh: he/they

09-08-2021 10:44:19 UTC

How is the line going to track Hot/Cold status?

Kevan: he/him

09-08-2021 10:58:52 UTC

I don’t know, but it’s not that different to the situation we’re in now, where the ruleset says that we have “a list” of Machines and that each of those Machines “has a publicly tracked Heat status”.

I took the liberty of changing the Factory Layout’s one-line-per-machine Owner/Status table into a one-line-per-Worker table to better fit the existing requirement that “Workers have a list of Machines”, but perhaps I’m reading the idea of a list differently.

ais523:

09-08-2021 11:20:53 UTC

I don’t like the way that this basically enshrines into the ruleset the idea that “bigger box = better” – a Spin machine is now only useful if it rolls a 6 or higher, because otherwise you could have used Press instead. So this means that we can’t really create machines that give advantages for rolling low numbers, and thus makes the dynasty more luck-based.

Maybe Press machines should always roll a 5?

Kevan: he/him

09-08-2021 11:35:06 UTC

I’d assumed this would set up high numbers being powerful (they’re already better in the Clink) but unpredictable, while low numbers were weaker but easier to reliably produce. That seems a clearer path to explore than, if Presses were locked at 5, both high and low extremes being unpredictable and powerful, while 5s alone were weaker but reliable.

Lulu: she/her

09-08-2021 12:02:30 UTC

i like this proposal!

ais523:

09-08-2021 12:06:26 UTC

I agree with you about the likely effects of this proposal. However, if you set up a trade-off between “consistent strategy” and “strategy with random effects” in a nomic, then almost all the time, the best way to win is to use the random-effects strategy and get lucky. That isn’t automatically a bad thing, but I was hoping for a less luck-based play style.

ais523:

09-08-2021 12:08:47 UTC

Oh, and one other issue: this mandates the cost to buy a Machine is the same as the cost to activate that Machine, which seems like an odd restriction to have. I guess we can change that later if necessary, though (and it’s kind-of fun that you can use your low-numbered boxes to buy Clink machines).

Lulu: she/her

09-08-2021 13:26:03 UTC

why not just cut out the middle step and give everyone a Spin?

Lulu: she/her

09-08-2021 13:26:46 UTC

wait nvm

Lulu: she/her

09-08-2021 13:27:52 UTC

wait what about new joiners?  don’t they have to deal with not getting a free energy?

Kevan: he/him

09-08-2021 13:49:11 UTC

I threw the +1 Energy in so that this didn’t become a timing issue where players were under pressure to generate a box before the proposal enacted and made it more expensive.

I don’t think we need to maintain “generate two random boxes upon joining” as an inalienable right forevermore.

ais523:

09-08-2021 14:36:52 UTC

You could fix things for new joiners by making the default for Machine lists “Clink, Spin”, but it probably isn’t important ­– registering slightly earlier would have a similar effect in practice.

Lulu: she/her

09-08-2021 14:40:38 UTC

for

Janet: she/her

09-08-2021 15:02:30 UTC

for

Trapdoorspyder: he/him

09-08-2021 15:04:34 UTC

for

ais523:

09-08-2021 16:12:03 UTC

imperial

Josh: he/they

09-08-2021 17:29:44 UTC

for

Raven1207: he/they

09-08-2021 21:13:58 UTC

for

Clucky: he/him

09-08-2021 23:49:49 UTC

for