Here's a detailed prompt you can copy and paste directly into the Machinations AI: --- **PROMPT:** I am a student working on a game resource system design lab activity using Machinations. I need you to help me build a complete Machinations diagram for Super Mario. Please guide me step by step and help me place every node and connection correctly inside the Machinations tool. **Game: Super Mario** **Here is everything the diagram must include:** **Nodes to create:** 1. Source (double circle) — label it "Coin blocks" — set activation to Automatic (*) — output rate of +1 per interval — this represents coin blocks automatically generating coins as Mario plays 2. Source (double circle) — label it "? Block" — set activation to Interactive — this represents Mario hitting a ? Block manually 3. Pool (single circle) — label it "Coins" — set capacity limit to 999 — starting value 0 — this is where all collected coins are stored — it must have a hard cap of 999 meaning no more coins can enter once it hits 999 4. Pool (single circle) — label it "Lives" — starting value 3 — no cap needed — this stores Mario's current lives 5. Gate (diamond) — label it "? Outcome" — set type to Random (Dice / D6) — connect it to three outputs with these probabilities: 75% goes to the Coins pool, 20% goes to a Power-up Drain, 5% goes directly to the Lives pool as a 1-UP 6. Converter (triangle with vertical bar) — label it "100 coins = 1 life" — it should consume 100 coins from the Coins pool and produce 1 life into the Lives pool — set pull mode to Pull All so it only fires when exactly 100 coins are available 7. Drain (triangle + bar on right) — label it "Spend coins" — this is where coins are removed when the player spends them 8. Drain (triangle + bar on right) — label it "Lose life" — this is where a life is removed each time Mario dies 9. Drain (triangle + bar on right) — label it "Power-up used" — this is where the power-up resource from the ? Block gate disappears after being consumed **Connections to draw:** Resource connections (solid arrows): - Coin blocks Source → Coins Pool, rate +1 - ? Block Source → ? Outcome Gate, rate 1 - ? Outcome Gate → Coins Pool, probability 75% - ? Outcome Gate → Power-up used Drain, probability 20% - ? Outcome Gate → Lives Pool, probability 5% (this represents the 1-UP mushroom) - Coins Pool → Spend coins Drain (player triggered) - Converter output → Lives Pool, rate +1 - Lives Pool → Lose life Drain (player triggered) State connections (dashed arrows): - Coins Pool → Converter — condition: when Coins Pool equals 100, trigger the converter to fire — this automates the 100 coins to 1 life exchange - Lives Pool → End Condition — condition: when Lives Pool equals 0, trigger game over and stop the diagram **Special rules to apply:** - The Coins Pool must have a capacity of 999. Once it reaches 999 coins, the Source stops sending coins in. This is the limited resource constraint. - The Converter must be set to Pull All mode so it only activates when there are at least 100 coins, not before. - The ? Block gate must use random distribution so that each hit produces a different outcome based on the percentages above. - The Lives Pool starts at 3 and the diagram ends when it reaches 0. **Layout suggestion:** Place the nodes left to right in this order: Sources on the far left, Pools in the centre, Drains on the far right. Place the Gate below the ? Block Source. Place the Converter between the Coins Pool and the Lives Pool. Use colour coding if possible: green for Sources, blue for Pools, red for Drains, yellow or orange for the Gate, purple for the Converter. **What I need from you:** - Help me place each node one by one - Tell me exactly what settings to use for each node (label, activation mode, starting value, capacity, pull mode) - Tell me exactly which connections to draw and what type each one is (solid resource arrow or dashed state arrow) - Tell me what probability or rate to write on each arrow - Flag if anything looks wrong or missing once the diagram is complete - At the end, run a quick simulation and tell me what happens after 10 intervals so I can verify the system is working correctly
