Casting a Hex is quite difficult-- no wonder this art was lost to time! I'll have to re-read my notes carefully.
I can start a Hex by pressing Use Item/Place Block with a Staff in my hand-- this will cause a hexagonal grid of dots to appear in front of me. Then I can click and drag from dot to dot to draw patterns in the media of the grid; finishing a pattern will run its corresponding action (more on that later).
- Once I've drawn enough patterns to cast a spell, the grid will disappear as the media I've stored up is released. Holding Sneak while using my staff will also clear the grid, if I don't mind the chance of mishap. (It seems that the more media I've built up, the more likely I'll meet misfortune.)
So how do patterns work? In short:
Patterns will execute...
Actions, which manipulate...
The Stack, which is a list of...
Iotas, which are simply units of information.
+ Once I've drawn enough patterns to cast a spell, the grid will disappear as the media I've stored up is released. Holding Sneak while using my staff will also clear the grid, if I don't mind the chance of mishap. (It seems that the more media I've built up, the more likely I'll meet misfortune.)
So how do patterns work? In short:
Patterns will execute...
Actions, which manipulate...
The Stack, which is a list of...
Iotas, which are simply units of information.
First, patterns. These are essential-- they're what I use to manipulate the media around me. Certain patterns, when drawn, will cause actions to happen. Actions are what actually do the magic; all patterns influence media in particular ways, and when those influences end up doing something useful, we call it an action.
Media can be fickle: if I draw an invalid pattern, I'll get some garbage result somewhere on my stack (read on...)
@@ -967,13 +975,13 @@
It's interesting to note that the rotation of a pattern doesn't seem to matter at all. These two patterns both perform an action called Mind's Reflection, for example.
- A Hex is cast by drawing (valid) actions in sequence. Each action might do one of a few things:
Gather some information about the environment, leaving it on the top of the stack;
manipulate the info gathered (e.g. adding two numbers); or
perform some magical effect, like summoning lightning or an explosion. (These actions are called "spells.")
When I start casting a Hex, it creates an empty stack. Actions manipulate the top of that stack.
+ A Hex is cast by drawing (valid) actions in sequence. Each action might do one of a few things:
Gather some information about the environment, leaving it on the top of the stack;
manipulate the info gathered (e.g. adding two numbers); or
perform some magical effect, like summoning lightning or an explosion. (These actions are called "spells.")
When I start casting a Hex, it creates an empty stack. Actions manipulate the top of that stack.
For example, Mind's Reflection will create an iota representing me, the caster, and add it to the top of the stack. Compass Purification will take the iota at the top the stack, if it represents an entity, and transform it into an iota representing that entity's location.
So, drawing those patterns in that order would result in an iota on the stack representing my position.
- Iotas can represent things like myself or my position, but there are several other types I can manipulate with Actions. Here's a comprehensive list:
Numbers (which some legends called "doubles");
Vectors, a collection of three numbers representing a position, movement, or direction in the world;
Booleans or "bools" for short, representing an abstract True or False,
+ Iotas can represent things like myself or my position, but there are several other types I can manipulate with Actions. Here's a comprehensive list:
Numbers (which some legends called "doubles");
Vectors, a collection of three numbers representing a position, movement, or direction in the world;
Booleans or "bools" for short, representing an abstract True or False,
- Entities, like myself, chickens, and minecarts;
Influences, peculiar types of iota that seem to represent abstract ideas;
Patterns themselves, used for crafting magic items and truly mind-boggling feats like spells that cast other spells; and
A list of several of the above, gathered into a single iota.
+ Entities, like myself, chickens, and minecarts;
Influences, peculiar types of iota that seem to represent abstract ideas;
Patterns themselves, used for crafting magic items and truly mind-boggling feats like spells that cast other spells; and
A list of several of the above, gathered into a single iota.
Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. All spells, and certain other actions, require media as payment.
The best I can figure, a Hex is a little bit like a plan of action presented to Nature-- in this analogy, the media is used to provide the arguments to back it up, so Nature will accept your plan and carry it out.
@@ -1015,7 +1023,7 @@
3blue1brown
- Additionally, it seems that the mages who manipulated Psi energy (the so-called "spellslingers"), despite their poor naming sense, had some quite-effective lessons on vectors to teach their acolytes. I've taken the liberty of linking to one of their texts on the next page.
They seem to have used different language for their spellcasting:
A "Spell Piece" was their name for an action;
a "Trick" was their name for a spell; and
an "Operator" was their name for a non-spell action.
+ Additionally, it seems that the mages who manipulated Psi energy (the so-called "spellslingers"), despite their poor naming sense, had some quite-effective lessons on vectors to teach their acolytes. I've taken the liberty of linking to one of their texts on the next page.
They seem to have used different language for their spellcasting:
A "Spell Piece" was their name for an action;
a "Trick" was their name for a spell; and
an "Operator" was their name for a non-spell action.
Link here.
@@ -1108,7 +1116,7 @@
>
A Stack, also known as a "LIFO", is a concept borrowed from computer science. In short, it's a collection of things designed so that you can only interact with the most recently used thing.
Think of a stack of plates, where new plates are added to the top: if you want to interact with a plate halfway down the stack, you have to remove the plates above it in order to get ahold of it.
- Because a stack is so simple, there's only so many things you can do with it:
Adding something to it, known formally as pushing,
Removing the last added element, known as popping, or
Examining or modifying the last added element, known as peeking.
We call the last-added element the "top" of the stack, in accordance with the dinner plate analogy.
As an example, if we push 1 to a stack, then push 2, then pop, the top of the stack is now 1.
+ Because a stack is so simple, there's only so many things you can do with it:
Adding something to it, known formally as pushing,
Removing the last added element, known as popping, or
Examining or modifying the last added element, known as peeking.
We call the last-added element the "top" of the stack, in accordance with the dinner plate analogy.
As an example, if we push 1 to a stack, then push 2, then pop, the top of the stack is now 1.
Actions are (on the most part) restricted to interacting with the casting stack in these ways. They will pop some iotas they're interested in (known as "arguments" or "parameters"), process them, and push some number of results.
Of course, some actions (e.g. Mind's Reflection) might pop no arguments, and some actions (particularly spells) might push nothing afterwards.
@@ -1134,7 +1142,7 @@
>
The names given to actions by the ancients were certainly peculiar, but I think there's a certain kind of logic to them.
There seem to be certain groups of actions with common names, named for the number of iotas they remove from and add to the stack.
- A Reflection pops nothing and pushes one iota.
A Purification pops one and pushes one.
A Distillation pops two and pushes one.
An Exaltation pops three or more and pushes one.
A Decomposition pops one argument and pushes two.
A Disintegration pops one and pushes three or more.
Finally, a Gambit pushes or pops some other number (or rearranges the stack in some other manner).
+ A Reflection pops nothing and pushes one iota.
A Purification pops one and pushes one.
A Distillation pops two and pushes one.
An Exaltation pops three or more and pushes one.
A Decomposition pops one argument and pushes two.
A Disintegration pops one and pushes three or more.
Finally, a Gambit pushes or pops some other number (or rearranges the stack in some other manner).
Spells seem to be exempt from this nomenclature and are more or less named after what they do-- after all, why call it a Demoman's Gambit when you could just say Explosion?
@@ -9280,15 +9288,15 @@
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- I only managed to find these five entries from this log.
Detonation #26
Location: Carpenter's North
Population: 174
Nodes Formed: 3
Node Distance from Epicenter: 55-80m vertical, 85-156m horizontal
Media Generation: 1320 uθ/min
+ I only managed to find these five entries from this log.
Detonation #26
Location: Carpenter's North
Population: 174
Nodes Formed: 3
Node Distance from Epicenter: 55-80m vertical, 85-156m horizontal
Media Generation: 1320 uθ/min
- Detonation #27
Location: Brackenfalls
Population: 79
Nodes Formed: 1
Node Distance from Epicenter: 95m vertical, 67m horizontal
Media Generation: 412 uθ/min
+ Detonation #27
Location: Brackenfalls
Population: 79
Nodes Formed: 1
Node Distance from Epicenter: 95m vertical, 67m horizontal
Media Generation: 412 uθ/min
- Detonation #28
Location: Greyston
Population: approx. 1000
Nodes Formed: 18
Node Distance from Epicenter: 47-110m vertical, 59-289m horizontal
Media Generation: 8478 uθ/min
+ Detonation #28
Location: Greyston
Population: approx. 1000
Nodes Formed: 18
Node Distance from Epicenter: 47-110m vertical, 59-289m horizontal
Media Generation: 8478 uθ/min
- Detonation #29
Location: Unnamed; village two days west of Greyston
Population: 35
Nodes Formed: 0
Node Distance from Epicenter: N/A
Media Generation: N/A
Note: inhabitants still affected in the normal way
+ Detonation #29
Location: Unnamed; village two days west of Greyston
Population: 35
Nodes Formed: 0
Node Distance from Epicenter: N/A
Media Generation: N/A
Note: inhabitants still affected in the normal way
- Detonation #30
Location: Boiling Brook
Population: 231
Nodes Formed: 4
Node Distance from Epicenter: 61-89m vertical, 78-191m horizontal
Media Generation: 1862 uθ/min
+ Detonation #30
Location: Boiling Brook
Population: 231
Nodes Formed: 4
Node Distance from Epicenter: 61-89m vertical, 78-191m horizontal
Media Generation: 1862 uθ/min
Conclusion: approx 60 needed for one node. Too few consumes them but does not provide enough energy for node formation. Little correlation between input count and breadth/depth.
Effects on inhabitants still consistently more severe than with single-target testing, especially the physical effects.
@@ -10075,7 +10083,7 @@
Like Archer's Distillation, but instead returns a vector representing the answer to the question: Which side of the block am I looking at? Costs a negligible amount of media.