Topic

Has anyone figured out alchemical compunds from scratch?

I tried mixing about ten compounds and then I gave up and copied the information from the Wiki. Was I missing something? Is there a logical way to do it, other than trying every possible combination? You'd have to work through many thousands to find them all by trial-and-error.

Posted 17 months ago by Tanga Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Look at the pictures of the compounds in the encyclopedia (http://beta.glitch.com/items/), and count the number of each element.
    Posted 17 months ago by Varaeth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • lol @ Varaeth... Thats how I did it, just checked out the pictures and counted the number of colours (elements) needed for each.
    Posted 17 months ago by BumbleBeez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I actually messed around with my test tube once and came up with one real (albeit simple) compound. But @Varaeth is right. Visual reference is the easiest.
    Posted 17 months ago by Spellbound Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I tried a few times at first but couldn't stand to lose elements when I got things wrong. I was so new and so resource/energy poor that it really was a downer. Eventually I found the element  info on the wiki and haven't experimented since then.

    But I have to say I'm curious about the earlier Glitches who must have burned through an amazing amount of elements in the search for a better no-no powder.
    Posted 17 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • LOL, @The Cat Face. Formulating compounds from elements fortunately consumes no energy. Just time. :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I did find a number of them by trial and error.  I made a list of possible combinations and then tried each one.  I think I found all but 3 of the compounds.  I then "cheated" and checked the Encyclopedia.
    Posted 17 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yah, I've been doing as many by guessing as I can, and have actually found quite a few. Maybe I'll look at the wiki once I'm stumped.
    Posted 17 months ago by Muncey Mango Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Fokian i know that now but at the time i was so new it seemed that everything i did took me from 60 to 0 in under 5 seconds.
    Posted 17 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Try prime numbers :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Fokian took me from 61 to 2 in under 5 seconds. better? ;)
    Posted 17 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cool. Did it work? I think I noticed all the formulas were primes. I wouldn't bet on it, but it was noticed it was common in the game in another thread. I even gave an essay on them. :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The thing about experimenting with this is that you don't have to get the numbers exactly right. If you simply put in enough of the right elements, you will discover something.

    For example, suppose some compound uses 5 red and 2 sparkly (this is made up, both because I can't remember any real ones and to avoid spoiling surprises). If you experimented using 6 red and 2 sparkly and 3 green, you could discover this compound, even though you put in too much stuff. Couple notes: the extra will be wasted (not such a big deal), and if more than one compound can be made with what you put in, I think you still only learn one compound at a time (no clue how the game decides which one).
    Posted 17 months ago by larky lion Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Why not try 200 of each red, blue, green and sparkley?
    Posted 17 months ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, you can, but I am pretty sure you can only discover one compound at a time, and you lose the excess. If that's fine with you, go for it. But I might recommend starting with say 10 or 20 of each ;)
    Posted 17 months ago by larky lion Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ok, get this.. did "discover" a "new" compound.. Eventually got rid of it since there was no way I could see to make it useful.  Am I missing something?
    Posted 17 months ago by Joni Mitchell Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Princess, once you get the skill needed to use the beaker, you will get recipes for making powders from compounds, and powders can be quite nice. As far as I can tell, compounds are not very useful on their own, so it would be reasonable to put off discovering the compounds until you can make powders.
    Posted 17 months ago by larky lion Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks Larky, I have a beaker and have made several of the powders, but I came up with an unfamiliar (not identified) compound in my inventory.  It was not listed with any recipes or in the glitch-strategy wiki, so it seemed to be useless.
    Posted 17 months ago by Joni Mitchell Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There's at least one compound that is useless atm. The one I remember is Diabolical Acid, but there may be more. You're not missing anything, Princess Fi :)

    @Tanga, no, I looked it up in the wiki when someone else asked about it in global. When it came time for me to discover the compounds, I remembered how complex they looked and said, 'No way am I doing this without a guide.'

    But I think I'll try on my own after the reset, armed with larky's knowledge :D Thanks, larky!
    Posted 17 months ago by Millie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just counting the numbers of elements in the encyclopedia is a far easier way to get it done.  While it seems as if alchemy should be a creative part of the game, it really isn't; however, staff has said that more alchemical skills (potion-making!) and recipes will be available in the future.
    Posted 17 months ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just wish I could do anything withe the 20000 reds I have lol
    Posted 17 months ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @larky lion oooohhhhhhhh.......i had no idea i could exceed the amounts and still discover something. ty! there are still compounds I don't have, so back to the drawing board for me!
    Posted 17 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Larky, Yep, that was it! Diabolic Acid :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Joni Mitchell Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just started adding all four items in increments of 5, and discovered several compounds as a result. It's not that difficult, there's no risk of blowing yourself up (yet). Remember, one of the nice things about Glitch is that you can explore with very little risk.
    Posted 17 months ago by TK-855 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think I got all of them except one by trial and error, and then I finally peeked at the wiki.  Some of them were easy - first three, look at the picture in the quest...then it pretty much tells you 2-3 more...then the rest were trial...after a while, I figured if I just did something like 5, 5, 5, 5 and then 10, 10, 10, 10, it gave me most of them...but yes, I trashed a lot of elements...but since I had been mining, I had a lot...
    Posted 17 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • xoxJulie -  I always have far too many of them (red elements) so, instead of having them destroyed I donate them to a shrine.
    Posted 17 months ago by MzMunchken Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Every time I had a quest requiring a compound I hadn't "discovered" yet, I just followed the links in the in-game info boxes for the powder, then for the compounds required until I saw a picture of the compound's molecular structure, and counted the amount of each component.

    Pretty much the same thing as y'all with the Wiki, only without going out to the Wiki.

    I had no idea you could just fling stuff at the wall in excessive increments and almost guaranteed have something stick! Perhaps I'll try that tomorrow after going mining for a bit.

    I've also noticed that crushing a single unit of each mineral will give consistent results. Until I realized that, I was fairly inefficient at amassing sufficient quantities of things...
    Posted 17 months ago by Vortexae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Huh. I never thought of counting the elements in the pictures. Oh well.
    Posted 17 months ago by Tanga Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I, too, looked them up in the encyclopedia and counted what I saw in the pictures.  A typo and some confusion is what taught me that extras will still lead to discoveries if there's something to discover! 
    Posted 17 months ago by Magic Monkey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • When I've needed as-yet undiscovered elements for a powder I didn't need to look at the wiki picture - there is a visual picture in the recipe and I did it like that, once I figured that out! 

    I did the initial quest for elements just by trial and error. No doubt I wasted a lot of elements but I have to say, it was the singlemost fun thing I have ever done in the game. Don't just copy the wiki ppl! You are robbing yourselves of fun :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Violet Subscriber! | Permalink
  • me too xoxJulie!

    i'm always wasting reds when i crush. it makes me sad.

    one time in choru, i found a project that needed elements and i got to donate all of my reds! it was a good day. :)
    Posted 17 months ago by mileena Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just threw a bunch of elements in for the first two, at varying numbers, then I started looking at the pictures on my quest.

    Realizing not all of them used all the components and thinking about similar RL sciency stuff, I decided to try the third by counting the numbers and colors in the picture.

    Since then I have done it that way when I have needed an element but haven't discovered it yet.

    ETA: I have never gone to the Encyclopedia to look up any of the compounds. Just used the pictures on the powders or from the quests when I'm asked for specific ones.
    Posted 17 months ago by Little Miss Giggles Subscriber! | Permalink