Alchemy

This page covers the basics of the system of Alchemy itself. If you're looking for a guide focused on the actual item submission process, you may want to check out the Item submission guide as well.

Every item in the game of SBURB has a unique captchalogue code consisting of 8 different 6-bit characters. Each character corresponds to a different combination of those 6 bits, and when punched into a captchalogue card using the Punch Designix, it punches one hole for each bit.

Alchemy is the process of combining the codes of two items to produce a unique code, which corresponds to an item that shares properties of both component items. In short, item A + item B = item AB. Each pair of codes can be combined in two ways: AND (&&) and OR (||).

Codes and bits

The following is a list of characters and the bits they correspond to. It is helpful to take note of which characters have fewer bits and which have more so you can decide which is the best operation to use if you plan on using your combinations in future alchemizations.

Char	1	2	3	4	5	6
0
1	x
2		x
3	x	x
4			x
5	x		x
6		x	x
7	x	x	x
8				x
9	x			x
A		x		x
B	x	x		x
C			x	x
D	x		x	x
E		x	x	x
F	x	x	x	x
G					x
H	x				x
I		x			x
J	x	x			x
K			x		x
L	x		x		x
M		x	x		x
N	x	x	x		x
O				x	x
P	x			x	x
Q		x		x	x
R	x	x		x	x
S			x	x	x
T	x		x	x	x
U		x	x	x	x
V	x	x	x	x	x
W						x
X	x					x
Y		x				x
Z	x	x				x
a			x			x
b	x		x			x
c		x	x			x
d	x	x	x			x
e				x		x
f	x			x		x
g		x		x		x
h	x	x		x		x
i			x	x		x
j	x		x	x		x
k		x	x	x		x
l	x	x	x	x		x
m					x	x
n	x				x	x
o		x			x	x
p	x	x			x	x
q			x		x	x
r	x		x		x	x
s		x	x		x	x
t	x	x	x		x	x
u				x	x	x
v	x			x	x	x
w		x		x	x	x
x	x	x		x	x	x
y			x	x	x	x
z	x		x	x	x	x
?		x	x	x	x	x
!	x	x	x	x	x	x

Operations

AND will produce a code with all of the bits in common between the two components. The resulting code will have a bit only if BOTH codes share that bit. This can be easily visualized by overlaying one card above the other as if they were the same card; if one of the cards does not have a hole in a particular spot, the double card will not have a hole in that spot. Canonically, it usually produces an item with the combined function of both items. For example, Claw Hammer && Pogo Ride ==> Pogo Hammer, which functions as both a hammer and a pogo.

OR will produce a code with all of the bits of the two components. If either code has a bit, the resulting code will also have a bit in the same place. This is the result of punching a card once with one code, then punching the same card again with a different code; this double-punched card will have all of the bits that either card had. Canonically, it usually produces an item with the form of one component, and the function of the other. For example, Claw Hammer || Pogo Ride ==> Hammerhead Pogo Ride, which is a pogo ride that is shaped like a hammer (but cannot be used as an actual hammer).

Combining Three Items

Some items are created by combining three items, not just two. Because the same bits are involved, this is the equivalent of combining two items (A + B = AB) and combining the resulting code with the third item (AB + C = ABC). It is usually best to use one operation on the first combination, and the other on the second. Recipes of this nature are usually written as A && B || C.

The order of these combinations DOES matter due to the second operation being applied to both codes. In the example above, the only other way to get the same code is to || C with both A and B separately, then && the two codes so that the recipe looks like this: (A||C) && (B||C)

Be careful when combining two codes that share a component; if opposite operations were used, you may experience the anamoly known as code incest. See below for more on the subject.

Common Mistakes

A novice alchemist may run across an error or two due to not fully grasping the nature of the alchemy system just yet, such as finding two codes that do not interact (when combined, the produced code matches the code of one of the components, thus making the pair unable to be combined). There's no need to worry, these mistakes are common and easily forgiveable.

Self-combining

An item cannot be combined with itself using either method. The two codes are exactly the same, and so overlaying them or double-punching them will not change the resulting code at all.

The Perfectly ___ Objects

There are two objects in the game which have codes that do not interact with any other code in the game. These are the Perfectly Generic Object (00000000, no bits whatsoever) and the Perfectly Unique Object (!!!!!!!!, every bit possible). Overlaying the Perfectly Generic Object card over another card will result in a card that also has no bits, and attempting to punch a second code onto the Perfectly Unique Object's card will be futile as all of the holes have been punched already.

"Code Incest"

Occasionally, one might find two items that do not interact, even though they have different codes and seemingly different bits. This usually occurs as a result of what some call "code incest". The two components themselves had the same item as one of their components, or one of the items is made from the other, and so they have many common bits. They are essentially "code siblings" and they haven't enough differences between them to produce something new.

This usually tends to happen when both items were created with opposite operations.

Say you have three items: Item A, Item B, and Item C. You combine A && B to make AB, and A || C to make AC. Combining AB and AC will probably cause code incest because they share a common component, and thus produce only the codes of AB and AC.

There is a way around this that usually works: by switching the operation of the recipe of one of the two components (from && to || or vice versa) before combining them, so that they share the same operation, you will not only end up able to combine AB with AC, you will be able to combine AB with C to produce the same item: ABC. The final code will be all the 1's that the three components share (&&), or all the 0's that the three share (||).

Stability

Using too much of the same operation in a row to combine progressively stronger and stronger items can be a problem, because the codes will tend to gravitate towards either end of the "bit spectrum". Continually using && will retain fewer and fewer bits until the code degenerates into a Perfectly Generic Object. The opposite is true of ||; the number of bits will gradually increase until it becomes a Perfectly Unique Object.

Similarly, codes that have too many or too few bits but are still imperfect may be unable to interact with some codes, thus reducing the potential amount of combinations that can be made with that item. Having such a code renders an item "unstable".

If a user-submitted code is too unstable, the operation used to make it will often be switched by the developer creating the item, in order to keep the codes fresh and allow them to combine with as many other objects as possible.

Unexpected results

As the number of items increases, the chance of a combination resulting in an already existing code increases, resulting in an unexpected combination. Your Ultimate Death Ray may have taken several painstaking combinations to create, but another user might just so happen to find two random base items that combine to create it instantly. This is pure coincidence and is impossible to control, and thus it is one of the things that makes alchemy exciting and unpredictable.

The more unstable a code is, the more likely it might come about as a result of two completely unrelated items.

The Potted Plant

Seems innocent enough, but the potted plant has been known to show up in the most unexpected of alchemy recipes. And if you use it in one yourself, be prepared for a surprise. It will fuck you up the asshole.