Resource Connections

transfer Resources

Individual Resources can move from Node to Node through a Machinations diagram via Resource Connections.

Resource Connections can transfer Resources at different rates. A Label beside the Resource Connection indicates how many Resources can move along the Connection in a single time step.

Set the Label of the Resource Connection in Functional > Label.

If a Resource Connection has no Label, its rate is considered to be 1. You can also make a Resource Connection transfer an unlimited number of Resources in a single time step by using the word all as the Resource Connection’s Label.

Resource Connections exemplified

Machinations shows the Resource flow by animating the movement of the Resources along the Resource Connections.

Any Connection leading into a Node is called an input to that Node, while any Connection leaving a Node is called an output of that Node.

The origin of a Connection is the Node where the Connection starts, and its Target is the Node where it ends.

A Resource Connection will blink if there are not enough Resources to be transferred (end of the video above), or if the Resources available can't be accepted by the Target (eg. in a colour coded diagram).

There are multiple rates at which Resources can flow in a diagram (apart from the examples presented in this article). For more depth, make sure you check out:

Shuffle Origin

Use the Shuffle Origin option in a Resource Connection's Functional panel to randomise the transfer of differently coloured Resources coming from the same origin Node.

By default, Resources from multiple Sources are transferred according to the LIFO principle (last in, first out). When using Shuffle Source, Resources will be transferred randomly from its origin to the target Node.

For emphasis, in the example above, we used Colour Coding.

Fractional Values

Machinations diagrams do not handle fractional values.

To emulate fractional values you can express your game's Resources in subunits, so that

1 subunit = 1 Resource

An analogy for this would be working with the amount in ¢ (cents) instead of the amount in $ (dollars). To work with transferring 3.14 Resources, you'd need to multiply the whole flow by 100, resulting in 314 Resources.