Creating a full MAM (including crystals)

[mikelquintana.94]

I recently got to have my full make all machine (MAM) up to milestone 7, that is, including pin pushes. I made my MAM without taking into account the mechanics of crystals and now I'm kinda stuck with how to proceed to implement crystals. There are so many things to take into account, particularly when you consider both pin pushes and 4-quadrant crystal shapes all at the same time.

What are your suggestions for creating a full MAM? Any tips and recommendations are welcome.

[CaptainFlint]

There are different types of MAM you can make. The Random Operator Level shapes generated by the game are very limited. For example, ROS#1 cannot have different crystal colors within one layer, and also they cannot have gaps below a crystal. You can find the exact list of limitations that ROS shapes have on the game's Discord channel.

Therefore creating a MAM that can build all the ROS shapes is not that hard. There is even a term used for this type of MAM: ROSMAM and CROSMAM (respectively, for ROS#0 which cannot have crystals, and ROS#1 which can).

A MAM that can create absolutely any possible shape in the game is usually called TMAM (or "True MAM"), and it is indeed an extremely difficult task!

P. S. The algorithm used by the game to generate ROS shapes is, in short:
* generate a 1 layer base shape
* if crystals are allowed, pass it through a crystal generator
* repeat the following steps 4 times in insane scenario, or 3 times otherwise:
** generate a 1 layer base shape
** maybe pass it through a pin pusher
** stack it on top of what was previously generated
** if crystals are allowed, maybe pass the result through a crystal generator

[VictorNet]

Hello,

I advise you to generate free pines by making a 4-quarter crystal that you pin and then pass through a left-right interchange so that you break the crystal and you're left with a 4-quarter pine shape.

Use these pins when you need them, and also where you need a crystal. The crystal will replace the pins, so you won't be stuck when you're asked for a shape with a 4-quarter crystal at the top of the shape.