Codex of Alchemical Engineering

Banta

http://www.kongregate.com/games/krispykrem/the-codex-of-alchemical-engineering#game_instructions

An entertaining flash game that actually requires the use of ones brain.

This guy has made some other games that can be found here.

Geo

Ummmm.....why isn't this in the Thing of the Day thread?

Walker

I think this one deserves it's own thread, as you can post level solutions. Like my solution to Sal Ammoniac: b,7,9;m,8,6,90,2,cll22oll;m,4,9,90,2,clorwwww;m,10,9,90,2,cdroluww;

MrRoboto

Bureau of Steam Engineering was fun, its a shame its so short.

...

Fun game, I like my Oil of Vitriol:
c,3,11;t,5,13;t,7,11;b,4,9;m,3,13,180,1,crolww;m,5,11,270,1,olclll;m,1,9,0,2,orucdl;m,5,6,90,2,cr1olw;m,3,3,0,2,orwcl2;

Aqua fortis: c,13,9;t,11,11;t,9,9;b,6,7;c,5,13;b,3,10;m,3,7,90,2,cdl1uorw;m,11,9,180,1,ollwcrrw;m,13,11,90,1,crrwollw;
m,7,5,90,1,rr11ollc;m,3,13,180,1,crrluodl;m,1,10,0,2,orcwwlww;m,9,7,90,1,crwowlww;

Apreche

This game is hot. Why isn't it on the front page of kongregate?

TheWhaleShark

b,7,9;m,8,6,90,2,cll22oll;m,4,9,90,2,clorwwww;m,10,9,90,2,cdroluww;

My design is more efficient by 4 cycles, but uses 4 more symbols: b,6,9;m,6,6,90,2,wwwjcrr11oll;m,4,9,90,2,cdloruww;m,10,9,90,2,crolwwww;

EDIT: Also, this game is fantastic.

Apreche

Here my litharge. I might have been able to get it done in fewer steps, but I mostly go for fewest mechanisms, not fewest steps. I like to keep it clean.

b,4,11;b,10,11;m,1,11,90,1,cuuloddrww;m,13,11,90,1,crolwwwwww;m,7,11,90,1,curwwrrord;m,10,7,90,3,wwjwwwwcrroll;m,13,3,180,1,wwwwwjwwwwcuuodd;

Also, just so people know. If you try to go for the least possible cycles, you will learn about Pipelining.

...

Haematite: p,9,11;b,4,11;m,13,11,90,1,cjcruodlw;m,9,13,180,1,cjcrwowlw;m,1,11,90,1,cjwwwwwwwcluwdor;m,7,11,0,1,cjllruodrcllorrc;m,7,5,270,1,cjwwllcrr1owwwww;
The first two actions for all manipulators are just an 'initialization' and skip instruction. So it can be done in 2 cycles less. Also, the top manipulator can be done in 7 symbols less, but this is prettier.

EDIT:

My design is more efficient by 4 cycles, but uses 4 more symbols:

I did it in 22 symbols and 32 cycles.
b,7,9;m,7,6,90,2,wwwjcrroll;m,4,9,90,2,culord;m,10,9,90,2,crolww;
EDIT: Did it in 18, 31 further down the page.

TheWhaleShark

My litharge:
b,10,10;b,3,10;m,7,10,90,2,crolww;m,4,7,90,2,wwjclorww;m,1,10,90,2,cdloru;m,13,10,90,2,wwwwwjcdrolu;
m,11,1,90,2,wwwwwwwwwwwjcr1wol;m,10,7,180,2,wwwwjcl22or;m,11,7,90,2,wwwwwwwwjcllorr;

It's all one continuous bit of code, I just had to break it up. Methinks that means it's not as efficient as it could be.

EDIT: While my litharge takes fewer cycles, I like Scott's more. It's got more clever usage of manipulators.

EDIT2: Cut out a bunch of unnecessary symbols. 59 symbols, 41 cycles:
b,3,10;b,10,10;m,1,10,90,2,cdloru;m,4,7,90,2,wwjclorww;m,11,1,90,2,cr1wol;m,11,7,90,2,wwjcllorr;
m,10,7,180,2,wwwwjcl22or;m,13,10,90,2,wwwwwjcdrolu;m,7,10,90,2,crolww;

Luke Burrage

Pretty fun. I'm up to Litharge but probably won't bother going further. It is starting to feel like work not play.

Litharge
b,7,7;b,3,10;m,1,10,90,2,cdlourww;m,7,10,90,2,jcrw2rorr;m,13,11,90,1,crolwwww;m,11,7,180,2,olucrdww;m,7,5,90,1,c22rrorr;

Luke Burrage

I just checked out the other Litharges posted here, it seems my 41 symbols + 46 cycles = 87 result is top so far. Go me.

...

Currently working on Brimstone, I got an awesome idea, hopefully I can get it to work.

EDIT: FINISHED! And it's awesome, 72 symbols, 40 cycles, Brimstone:
t,9,11;c,7,13;c,11,9;t,7,9;b,3,6;m,3,2,90,3,cl1owr;m,1,6,0,1,owwc11;m,1,9,90,1,wwclor;m,1,13,0,1,clorww;m,7,11,270,1,orrcll;
m,9,13,0,1,cllorr;m,11,11,270,1,llcrro;m,9,9,0,1,rrollc;m,3,11,270,2,uoddcu;m,3,4,90,2,wcdouw;m,7,6,180,2,olcwwr;m,4,9,0,2,clwowr;
Anyone out there who wants to try and do it faster or with less symbols?

70 symbols, 46 cycles, Aqua Regia:
c,13,9;t,11,11;t,9,9;b,7,11;b,4,9;c,1,9;b,3,11;m,9,13,0,1,uuwcddo;m,13,11,90,1,crrollw;m,7,9,0,1,crwroll;m,11,9,180,1,ollwcrr;
m,8,13,0,2,dloruwc;m,4,13,180,2,cdroluw;m,3,7,90,3,cddouuw;m,7,5,90,1,crrollw;m,1,11,0,1,orwcrrr;m,5,7,0,1,owrwcl2;

Walker

My Aqua Fortis solution.

c,1,9;t,3,11;t,5,11;c,13,9;b,9,11;b,7,7;m,1,11,90,1,crrruuoddr;m,13,11,90,1,cllluodlww;m,9,
13,0,1,uucddrrror;m,9,9,90,1,llollwwwc2;m,5,7,90,2,dloruucdww;m,11,7,180,1,wwc2uodwww;m,7,5,90,1,wwwwwclloll;

71 symbols and 64 cycles. Not the most efficient thing in the world, and I probably could have brought the cycles down a lot by improving that last manipulator, but I was ready to move on.

TheWhaleShark

So I've taken a look at the later stages whose solutions people have posted.

Fuck this game. It's awesome, but fuck it.

Walker

So I've taken a look at the later stages whose solutions people have posted.

Fuck this game. It's awesome, but fuck it.

I can definitely imagine it becoming incredibly tedious if the difficulty keeps going up at this rate.

Apreche

I can definitely imagine it becoming incredibly tedious if the difficulty keeps going up at this rate.

I think the reason that the game gets tedious is because unlike in computer programming, it doesn't allow simultaneous action. There is no reason I shouldn't be able to rotate a manipulator 90 degrees while simultaneously extending that manipulator and rotating the piece it is holding. The fact that you have to do these three movements sequentially really makes things more work for the player than they would otherwise have to be.

Apreche

Here's my awesome oil of vitriol. I put a newline in it to prevent wordwrap.

c,9,13;t,9,9;t,7,11;b,5,7;m,3,13,180,1,crrorrwwww;m,5,11,90,1,wwjcrruuolldd;
m,11,13,0,1,crrorrwwww;m,9,11,90,1,wwjcrrorrwwww;m,9,7,90,1,wwwwwjcrur2orrdd;

Nine Boomer

Wow, is the music in this game non-sequential or something? I had it playing in the background for a long time, and I only ever really noticed any looping about 2-3 times.

Edit: Also, I can't seem to figure out the second level. There's no tool for reversing the glyphs before I put them back on, and no space to have two of those claws handle it. I don't know if that means I just suck, or if it's supposed to take a long time.

TheWhaleShark

Wow, is the music in this game non-sequential or something? I had it playing in the background for a long time, and I only ever really noticed any looping about 2-3 times.

Edit: Also, I can't seem to figure out the second level. There's no tool for reversing the glyphs before I put them back on, and no space to have two of those claws handle it. I don't know if that means I just suck, or if it's supposed to take a long time.

You can either have one manipulator rotate the bound atoms, thus reversing their orientation, or you can figure out how to set them up in the reverse orientation, and it'll rotate into position when you have a manipulator take it away.

...

Here's my awesome oil of vitriol. I put a newline in it to prevent wordwrap.

Man, that design is huge and slow.

Edit: Also, I can't seem to figure out the second level. There's no tool for reversing the glyphs before I put them back on, and no space to have two of those claws handle it. I don't know if that means I just suck, or if it's supposed to take a long time.

Oh wow, it's not that hard, 18 symbols and 31 cycles are enough. So yeah, you just suck. TheWhaleShark already gave all the useful information, so have a quick solution instead:
b,6,8;m,7,6,270,1,ollcrr;m,7,12,180,2,cruodl;m,10,8,90,3,cwrowl;

Nine Boomer

You can either have one manipulator rotate the bound atoms, thus reversing their orientation, or you can figure out how to set them up in the reverse orientation, and it'll rotate into position when you have a manipulator take it away.

That's just crazy talk.

Have a quick solution instead:
b,6,8;m,7,6,270,1,ollcrr;m,7,12,180,2,cruodl;m,10,8,90,3,cwrowl;

Wow, I must suck if I haven't thought of that. How will I survive the third level?

Here's my first attempt at the third level.
t,6,11;b,4,9;m,4,11,90,1,cjllco;m,10,7,90,1,wwwcrol;m,10,11,90,1,crrowww;m,7,7,0,1,wwwwwwwwwwwwwcluor;m,5,7,0,2,wwwwwcrdocluuo;

Ooh, and my final solution:
b,6,9;t,7,11;m,7,13,180,2,cdruuodl;m,6,13,0,3,clorwwww;m,7,7,90,1,wwjwwcllorr;

...

There's probably space for improvement, but for now all I saw is one cycle less, making 86 symbols, 69 cycles, Vertigris:
t,13,9;t,11,7;b,6,9;p,9,11;b,1,6;m,1,9,90,3,wwwwwjwwwclldourrw;m,13,7,180,1,odlcru;m,13,11,90,1,crrollwwwwww;
m,10,13,270,1,urcldo;m,9,13,270,1,wwlcro;m,7,11,270,1,wjwwrclo;m,10,9,270,1,cluodr;m,9,9,180,1,uodwwc;m,4,9,
0,2,wcdouw;m,2,2,90,2,luodrc;m,5,6,180,2,lwwcro;

,0,1,wwwwwwwwwwwwwclu

THIS IS NOT NICONICO! Also, release and then grabbing again? That's 2 cycles wasted, you could've used those two cycles to turn reverse the atoms, that way they'd end up oriented the correct way. Not to mention that you forget to return one manipulator to its initial place. God, did you even read any of the instructions and action descriptions before going into that attempt? Such blatantly stupid programming that wouldn't even get you to level 2!

b,6,9;t,7,11;m,7,13,180,2,cdruuodl;m,6,13,0,3,clorwwww;m,7,7,90,1,wwjwwcllorr;

*cringe* Go optimize that one, I already see 3 useless symbols that can be stripped.

Wow, I must suck if I haven't thought of that.

This fact has hereby been thoroughly established.

Apreche

Try this on Aqua Fortis. There's a huge bug.

I put some Aqua Fortis into the goal area, but it doesn't disappear!

c,11,11;t,9,9;t,7,11;b,4,9;c,1,9;b,3,7;m,4,5,90,2,wwwjcdou;m,6,7,180,1,crol;m,4,11,270,1,wwwjcuod;
m,1,11,0,1,lorrclww;m,1,7,90,1,clor;m,7,9,180,1,olcr;m,9,11,270,1,clor;m,11,9,180,1,olcr;m,13,11,90,1,crolwwww;
m,4,13,180,2,wjcruoldww;m,9,6,180,2,crol;m,11,3,180,1,2uodc2;

...

70 symbols, 80 cycles, Black Powder:
c,3,11;t,1,9;t,3,7;b,5,9;m,13,9,90,3,cdrowwwwluwwww;m,8,9,180,1,ollcwrr;m,6,7,90,1,cl1r1ow;m,6,6,0,
2,wwwrwcll1orwww;m,3,9,0,1,ollcwrr;m,1,11,90,1,cllowrr;m,9,13,180,3,oddwcuu;m,5,11,90,1,cllowrr;
_{edit: prettified}

Try this on Aqua Fortis. There's a huge bug.

You put a complete Aqua Fortis molecule in the area AND the salt component of the next molecule. It's not a bug, just a dumb goal check. I mean, an earlier solution you gave did not have the whole molecule inside the goal area, yet it did disappear. Since then I've been using that weakness to my advantage.

Apreche

You put a complete Aqua Fortis molecule in the area AND the salt component of the next molecule. It's not a bug, just a dumb goal check. I mean, an earlier solution you gave did not have the whole molecule inside the goal area, yet it did disappear. Since then I've been using that weakness to my advantage.

That's really broken. There was a period of time in which the Aqua Fortis was alone in the goal area before the salt entered. Notice how the manipulator that pushed the Aqua Fortis in is already pulling away by the time the next one is coming along? Anyway, I was able to fix it by changing the way I put the aqua fortis in the goal.

c,11,11;t,9,9;t,7,11;b,4,9;c,1,9;b,3,7;m,4,5,90,2,wwwjcdou;
m,4,11,270,1,wwwjcuod;m,1,11,0,1,lorrclww;m,1,7,90,1,clor;m,7,9,180,1,olcr;
m,9,11,270,1,clor;m,11,9,180,1,olcr;m,13,11,90,1,crolwwww;
m,4,13,180,2,wjcruoldww;m,3,3,90,3,cddouu;m,5,5,270,1,2olcrw;

Apreche

Haematite

b,5,9;p,9,11;m,1,3,0,2,cuod;m,1,9,90,3,cwwwwwwldoru;
m,7,11,90,1,wwclor;m,13,11,90,1,curold;
m,9,9,180,1,uoldcr;m,6,6,90,2,wwwwcll11oll;

...

No, it's just the way the game is programmed. The goal only checks on cycle change. In the same way spawn points take 2 cycles to spawn a new element. On the first cycle change the manipulator grabbed the element, but has not yet moved, so the spawn is not 'emtpy', then the manipulator moves in the next cycle making the spawn point 'empty', the spawn point notices this on the cycle change and spawns an element. In a similar manner the goal area checks on the cycle change for any molecules that

That's really broken. There was a period of time in which the Aqua Fortis was alone in the goal area before the salt entered. Notice how the manipulator that pushed the Aqua Fortis in is already pulling away by the time the next one is coming along?

Dream on Scott:

You dropped the finished molecule into the goal area AND the salt component of the next molecule. It's not broken, that's just how the game is programmed, the goal area and spawn points check on cycle change whether the correct molecule has been dropped in the area (in a dumb way I agree), or whether there's no element over the spawn point. Besides, your final solution at 70, 56 is still uselessly complex since my simpler method does it with 5 less manipulators, 16 less symbols and 3 less cycles.

Apreche

Now I see the stupidity. The molecule is indeed completely within the area, alone, one step before the salt of the next molecule enters. However, the manipulator has not yet let go of the finished molecule, so it doesn't register in the goal.

However, this points out a contradiction. The finished molecule does not count as being in the goal because a manipulator is holding it. However, the salt that is blocking it from disappearing is also being held by a manipulator, yet it counts as being in the goal. A total contradiction.

This game I think just needs better rules. Also, they should have made the components and goal in square shapes to match the grid, rather than circles and ovals. The goal seems to be calculated as a square, they should draw it as one.

...

Now I see the stupidity. The molecule is indeed completely within the area, alone, one step before the salt of the next molecule enters. However, the manipulator has not yet let go of the finished molecule, so it doesn't register in the goal.

This is correct.

However, this points out a contradiction. The finished molecule does not count as being in the goal because a manipulator is holding it. However, the salt that is blocking it from disappearing is also being held by a manipulator, yet it counts as being in the goal. A total contradiction.

Eh, no? The salt and the element are both held and released at the same time. There is no contradiction Scott, just stop trying to blame the game for your bad design and just follow the rules and limitations set by the developer.

This game I think just needs better rules. Also, they should have made the components and goal in square shapes to match the grid, rather than circles and ovals. The goal seems to be calculated as a square, they should draw it as one.

I agree with this, it would eliminate stupid bugs like elements being accepted while they are not completely in the goal area.

Also, that's a nice Haematite, it uses 2 symbols less, but two cycles more than the non-silly and optimized version of the Haematite I posted earlier, which does it in 48 symbols and 69 cycles:
p,9,11;b,4,11;m,9,13,180,1,crwowl;m,13,11,90,1,cruodl;m,1,11,0,1,rwwwwwwcludo;m,7,5,270,1,llucdrr1owww;m,7,11,0,1,llrorcllorrc;

Apreche

Eh, no? The salt and the element are both held and released at the same time. There is no contradiction Scott, just stop trying to blame the game for your bad design and just follow the rules and limitations set by the developer.

There is a contradiction. I changed the code to not push the first finish molecule forward, and instead to let go of it sooner. Even though it doesn't push it forward, it is still within the goal area with no manipulator holding it. The infringing molecule has a manipulator holding it at that moment.

It is obvious based on the way the game functions that the program loop is checking for goal completion between each iteration. The result of this is that the graphics of the game do not accurately match the internal workings. In mid-loop it appears as if a molecule has been dropped, and the new one is only halfway there. Thus, there is a period of time at which visually it appears as if there is a lone goal molecule in the goal area. However, the check for victory does not happen until the end of the loop.

I think a good way to remedy this would be pretty simple. Since a drop action must precede a score, then checks for score should be made at the very beginning of a drop action, rather than a the end of it. This makes the graphics of the game match the reality, and also allow for more efficient and clever designs that bring the next molecule right up the goal area as the previous molecule is disappearing.