Editing Ontology:P158 (section)

== Usage notes ==

An Item's wave sum is a [[User:Reversedragon/Wavebuilder/2410-22 wave-score|method of scoring]] the complexity of concepts within Wavebuilder. The wave sum for combining two elements is generally calculated by adding the two wave sums of the elements being combined, unless they are the same element, in which case one of them is treated as having a wave sum of 1.

An Item's wave sum should be an integer greater than or equal to zero. Almost all elements should have a wave sum of 1 or greater, but some system-internal concepts required for setting up the game may be given a wave sum of 0. The wave sum of any element can be reset within a Wavebuilder dictionary in the line combining two other elements to add the element, such that there can be a bunch of combinations inside the dictionary before ever getting to the first elements that have a wave sum of 1. An Item's wave sum will often be greater than its [[Ontology:P156|quilt score]] because it does not remove duplicates, but it will increase at a comparable rate.

In the earliest prototypes of Wavebuilder, wave sum was the only metric, until [[Ontology:P157|ply count]] was added to form a two-part wave score. Typically, when elements are sorted by wave score, they are first sorted by ply count and then by wave sum, so that elements which require other elements are always placed after elements that require fewer moves.


[[Category:Properties accepting an integer value]] [[Category:Wavebuilder]] [[Category:Wavebuilder mechanics ontology]]