Recipe

A Recipe is a data structure in the Neo World Program. Its primary purpose is to allow Players to transform Items or Inventory Items into other Items or Inventory Items using game-like crafting mechanics.

Recipes are static; once loaded from the spreadsheet, they do not change in any way. Thus, the saver module will never make changes to the Recipes sheet. As a result, the Recipes sheet can be freely edited without edit mode being enabled.

This article will impose two terms. Crafting is the act of transforming two Inventory Items into up to two Inventory Items using the craft command. Processing is the act of transforming one or more Items into zero or more Items using an Object. Every Recipe is either a crafting-type Recipe or a processing-type Recipe, but not both.

Attributes

Recipes have relatively few attributes. Their behavior is entirely static, incapable of changing. These attributes simply serve to provide instructions for Alter Ego to follow. Note that if an attribute is internal, that means it only exists within the Recipe class. Internal attributes will be given in the “Class attribute” bullet point, preceded by their data type. If an attribute is external, it only exists on the spreadsheet. External attributes will be given in the “Spreadsheet label” bullet point.

Ingredients

• Spreadsheet label: Ingredient Prefab(s)
• Class attribute: Array<Prefab> this.ingredients

This is a comma-separated list of Prefab IDs. When Recipes are loaded, Alter Ego will automatically convert these to actual references to the Prefabs. Ingredients determine what Items or Inventory Items are required for the Recipe. Multiple Recipes can have the same list of ingredients. There are different sets of rules for ingredients, depending on the Recipe’s type.

Crafting-type Recipes:

• Must have exactly two ingredients and
• Can have two of the same Prefab as ingredients.

Processing-type Recipes:

• Must have at least one ingredient,
• Can have infinitely many ingredients, and
• Must not have more than one of the same Prefab as ingredients.

Note that the final rule only applies due to the way Items with the same Prefab ID are concatenated with the quantity attribute. If the Items are on two different rows of the spreadsheet due to having some difference between them, such as different numbers of uses or different descriptions, then processing-type Recipes can be carried out with multiple of the same Prefab as ingredients. However, because this will rarely be the case, processing-type Recipes with more than one of the same Prefab as ingredients should be avoided.

Uncraftable

• Spreadsheet label: Uncraftable?
• Class attribute: Boolean this.uncraftable

This is a Boolean value indicating whether or not this Recipe can be reversed. If this is true, then the uncraft command can be used to convert the product into its ingredients. If this value is false, then the Recipe cannot be reversed.

Note that in order for a Recipe to be uncraftable, it must be a crafting-type Recipe with only one product. Crafting-type Recipes with two products cannot be uncraftable.

Object Tag

• Spreadsheet label: Requires Object with Tag
• Class attribute: String this.objectTag

This is a simple phrase that determines which Objects can be used to process this Recipe, if any. There are no rules for how Object tags must be named, but a single Recipe can only have one Object tag. The presence of an Object tag determines the type of each Recipe. If an Object tag is given, it will be a processing-type Recipe. If no Object tag is given, it will be a crafting-type Recipe.

The tag should match exactly the Recipe tag of any Objects that can be used to process this Recipe. For example, a Recipe with the Object tag “blender” can only be processed by an Object with the Recipe tag “blender” when it is activated.

Duration

• Spreadsheet label: Wait Duration
• Class attribute: Duration this.duration

This is a string which determines how long the Recipe will take to process before it is completed. This can only be given for processing-type Recipes. This should consist of a whole number (no decimals) with a letter immediately following it, with no space between them. There is a fixed set of predefined units that correspond with each letter. They are as follows:

So, a Recipe that should take 30 seconds to process should have a duration of 30s, one that should take 15 minutes should have a duration of 15m, one that should take 2 hours should have a duration of 2h, one that should take 1.5 days should have a duration of 36h, and so on.

Products

• Spreadsheet label: Produces
• Class attribute: Array<Prefab> this.products

This is a comma-separated list of Prefab IDs. When Recipes are loaded, Alter Ego will automatically convert these to actual references to the Prefabs. Products determine what the ingredients will be turned into upon completion of the Recipe. There are different sets of rules for products, depending on the Recipe’s type.

Crafting-type Recipes:

• Must not have more than two products and
• Can have two of the same Prefab as products.

Processing-type Recipes:

• Can have any number of products and
• Can have multiple of the same Prefab as products.

Note that although processing-type Recipes with multiple of the same Prefab as ingredients are typically not allowed, the same does not apply to products. A processing-type Recipe can produce as many of the same Prefab as desired.

Initiated Description

• Spreadsheet label: Message When Initiated
• Class attribute: String this.initiatedDescription

This is a description that indicates when a Recipe has begun being processed. When a Player activates an Object that can process this Recipe and all of the ingredients required for it are contained within the Object, they will receive a parsed version of this string. See the article on writing descriptions for more information. Note that unlike most other data types, the this keyword does not refer to the Recipe, but rather the Object processing the Recipe. For example, in the description <desc><s>You begin filling up the GLASS in the <var v="this.name" />.</s></desc>, the variable <var v="this.name" /> would be replaced with the name of the Object processing the Recipe.

Crafting-type Recipes will never use this text because they are completed instantaneously.

Completed Description

• Spreadsheet label: Message When Completed
• Class attribute: String this.completedDescription

This is a description that indicates when a Recipe has finished being processed. When a Player crafts two Inventory Items together or an Object finishes processing a Recipe that they initiated by activating the Object and they are still in the same Room as the Object, they will receive a parsed version of this string. Just like the initiated description, the this keyword refers to the Object processing the Recipe. However, in crafting-type Recipes, the this keyword does refer to the Recipe itself.

Uncrafted Description

• Spreadsheet label: Message When Uncrafted
• Class attribute: String this.uncraftedDescription

When a Player uncrafts an Inventory Item, they will receive a parsed version of this string. Because uncraftable Recipes cannot have an Object tag, the this keyword will always refer to the Recipe itself.

Row

• Class attribute: Number this.row

This is an internal attribute, but it can also be found on the spreadsheet. This is the row number of the Recipe.

Crafting

Crafting is a simple game mechanic that uses Recipes. It makes use of the craft Player method. Whether the action is initiated by a Player or by a moderator, the rules are the same:

• The Player must have Equipment Slots named “RIGHT HAND” and “LEFT HAND”.
• The Player must have two Inventory Items, one equipped to their RIGHT HAND and one equipped to their LEFT HAND.
• There must be a crafting-type Recipe whose ingredients are the Prefabs underlying the Player’s two held Inventory Items.

If all of the above requirements are met, the Player will craft the two Inventory Items together.

First, Alter Ego checks to see if any of the ingredients are also products. If that is the case, it then checks if the Inventory Item only has 1 use left. If so, the Inventory Item will be replaced with its next stage. If it doesn’t have a next stage, it will simply be destroyed. If the Inventory Item has a limited number of uses but it has more than 1 use left, its number of uses will be decreased by 1.

As an example of the above condition, suppose there is a crafting-type Recipe whose ingredients are a CLEAN GLASS and a JUG OF ORANGE JUICE, and whose products are a GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE and a JUG OF ORANGE JUICE. The JUG OF ORANGE JUICE has 6 uses. Each time it is used to produce a GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE, its number of uses decreases by 1. If its number of uses decreases to 0, then it will be replaced with its next stage, an EMPTY JUG OF ORANGE JUICE, at which point it can no longer be crafted.

The respective Inventory Items will then be replaced with the properties of the product Prefabs. When Inventory Items are replaced, any Inventory Items contained inside them will be recursively destroyed. If there is only 1 product, then the second ingredient will simply be destroyed, and only the first ingredient will be replaced. If there are 0 products, then both ingredients will be destroyed, and no products will be created.

Once the ingredients are finished being crafted, Alter Ego will send the Player the Recipe’s completed description. Additionally, if any of the product Prefabs are non-discreet, Alter Ego will narrate the Player crafting them.

Uncrafting

Uncrafting is a simplified reversal of the crafting mechanic. It makes use of the uncraft Player method. Whether the action is initiated by a Player or by a moderator, the rules are the same:

• The Player must have Equipment Slots named “RIGHT HAND” and “LEFT HAND”.
• The Player must have one Inventory Item equipped to their RIGHT HAND or LEFT HAND.
• The Player’s other hand must be empty.
• There must be a crafting-type Recipe whose only product is the Prefab underlying the Player held Inventory Item.

If all of the above requirements are met, the Player will uncraft their held Inventory Item.

First, Alter Ego checks the Recipe’s ingredients to see if only one of them is discreet. If so, then the ingredient with the discreet Prefab will be ingredient 1, and the non-discreet Prefab will be ingredient 2. If both are discreet or both are non-discreet, ingredients 1 and 2 will be the ingredient Prefabs in alphabetical order by their IDs.

Next, the Player’s held Inventory Item will be replaced with the properties of ingredient 1’s Prefab, and any Inventory Items contained inside of it will be recursively destroyed. The Prefab of ingredient 2 will then be instantiated in the Player’s free hand. Note that even if the original Inventory Item had a limited number of uses, both of the ingredients will be created with the default number of uses of their respective Prefabs.

Alter Ego will then send the Player the Recipe’s uncrafted description.

If either of the ingredients are non-discreet, Alter Ego will narrate the Player uncrafting them. If only one of them is discreet, then the Narration will be as follows:

• [Player displayName] removes [ingredient 1 singleContainingPhrase] from [ingredient 2 singleContainingPhrase].

If both ingredients are non-discreet, then the Narration will instead be:

• [Player displayName] separates [product singleContainingPhrase] into [ingredient 1 singleContainingPhrase] and [ingredient 2 singleContainingPhrase].

Processing

Processing is a complex game mechanic that uses Recipes. It makes use of the processRecipes Object method.

Recipes can be processed in an Object as long as that Object is activated and has a Recipe tag that matches the Recipe’s Object tag, regardless of how the Object was activated. There are four ways an Object can be activated:

• By a Player using the use player command,
• By a moderator using the object moderator command,
• By a Puzzle or Event’s solved/unsolved or triggered/ended commands using the object bot command, or
• By being loaded from the spreadsheet with its activation state being set to true.

While an Object with a Recipe tag is activated, Alter Ego will attempt every second to find a Recipe that can be processed by the Object. In order to determine this, it looks for all Items contained in the Object, as well as any Items contained inside those Items (recursively). Next, it checks all Recipes whose Object tag matches the Object’s Recipe tag. For each Recipe, it compares the list of Items contained within the Object (including child Items) to the Recipe’s ingredients list. If an exact match is found, it begins processing the Items. If the list of Items in the Object does not exactly match any Recipe’s ingredients list, Alter Ego collects a list of all Recipes whose ingredients can all be found among the Object’s Items. When it finishes, it chooses to process the Recipe that uses the highest number of Items contained in the Object; i.e., the Recipe that will leave the fewest Items unprocessed.

If Alter Ego finds a Recipe that it can process using the Object, it will begin processing the Recipe. If the Object was activated by a Player, whether forcibly or by their own will, they will be sent the Recipe’s initiated description. However, even if the Object was not activated by a Player for the current Recipe being processed, it will still be processed. If a Recipe was already being processed and a different one that uses more of the Object’s Items is found, then it will be canceled in favor of the new one.

A Recipe being processed means that the Object’s process variable has been assigned, and that Alter Ego will decrement the process’s duration by 1 every second. When the duration reaches 0, the Items are processed.

Alter Ego checks that all of the Items required for the Recipe are still contained in the Object. If it is, it then checks to see if any of the ingredients are also products. If that is the case, it then checks if the Item only has 1 use left. If so, the Item will be replaced with its next stage. If the Item has a limited number of uses but it has more than 1 use left, its number of uses will be decreased by 1. This follows the same logic as in crafting-type Recipes.

If all of the Items are still in the Object, it destroys all of them regardless of quantity. So, even if a Recipe with multiple ingredients only requires 1 of a certain ingredient, all copies of that ingredient will be destroyed. Items contained inside of an ingredient will be recursively destroyed as well.

Then, all of the products are instantiated inside the Object. The only exception is that if an Item that is both an ingredient and a product has a limited number of uses and would reach 0 uses and its Prefab does not have a next stage, it will simply be destroyed.

If the Recipe being processed has only one ingredient and only one product, the quantity of the product will match the quantity of the ingredient. This is why the use of cooking utensils in Recipes is discouraged. For example, if a Player wants to cook 3 RAW EGG Items simultaneously using the same Object, they will be unable to do so if the Recipe also includes a FRYING PAN as an ingredient. In such a scenario, only 1 COOKED EGG would be produced. However, if the only ingredient is 1 RAW EGG and the only product is 1 COOKED EGG, then the Player can cook as many RAW EGG Items into an equivalent number of COOKED EGG items in a single processing cycle.

Once Items are finished being processed, the Player who activated the Object and started the process will be sent the Recipe’s completed description, if it was a Player who did so and they are still in the same Room as the Object. If the Object is set to automatically deactivate, it will be deactivated. If not, it will continue attempting to process Recipes with the Items contained inside it, which may include the Items instantiated during the previous process.