Skip to content

Accrual Logic Blocks

Related Config File Sections:

Related How To Guides

"Accruals" are a type of Logic Block where you can trigger a new event based on a series of one or more other events.

Accruals are almost identical to Sequence Logic Blocks, the only difference being that the steps in an Accrual Logic Block can be completed in any order, and the steps in a Sequence Logic Block must be completed in the specific order they're listed.

An example might be if you have 3 different things which need to happen in your machine, and when they're all complete, some other event is posted which kicks off some kind of award mode.

You would use an accrual if these 3 events can happen in any order. If they need to happen in a specific 1-2-3 sequence, then you would use a sequence logic block instead. (And if you just need the same event to happen three times, then you would use a counter logic block instead.

For example, let's say you had a mode where you wanted three shots to be hit, in any order, and when they were all hit, you lit another shot. You'd use an accrual logic block like this:

##! mode: my_mode
accruals:
  name_of_my_logic_block:
    events:
      - shot1_hit
      - shot2_hit
      - shot3_hit
    events_when_complete: enable_winning_shot

There are much more settings (as you'll see below), but the basic logic block above (which is called "name_of_my_logic_block") will watch for the events shot1_hit, shot2_hit, and shot3_hit to be posted. Once all three of them have been posted once, this logic block will post an event called enable_winning_shot which you can use to play a show, light some other shot, play a sound, award points, etc.

Again, since this is an accrual logic block, those three events can be happen in any order. If one of them is posted twice, that's fine. It doesn't count as one of the other events nor does it "undo" the fact that it was hit.

Monitorable Properties

For dynamic values and conditional events, the prefix for accruals is device.accruals.(name).

value

: The state of this accrual as list. There will be one entry for every element in the accrual. For instance, if your accrual has three elements if will be a list of len three with index 0 for the status of your first element, 1 for the seconds and 2 for the third element. Elements will be 0 at the beginning and turn to 1 when completed.

enabled

: Boolean (true/false) which shows whether this accrual is enabled.

completed

: True if the block is completed. Otherwise False.

This is an example:

##! mode: my_mode
accruals:
  test_accrual:
    events:
      - shot1_hit
      - shot2_hit
      - shot3_hit
    reset_on_complete: false     # this is needed for the last event player
event_player:
  test_event{device.accruals.test_accrual.value[0]}: shot1_was_hit
  test_event{device.accruals.test_accrual.value[1]}: shot2_was_hit
  test_event{device.accruals.test_accrual.value[2]}: shot3_was_hit
  test_event{device.accruals.test_accrual.completed}: accrual_completed
# Note: For this last conditional logic to be able to evaluate as true, the accrual setting
# reset_on_complete must be set to No/False. Otherwise the accrual will reset instantly and this will never be true.
##! test
#! start_game
#! start_mode my_mode
#! mock_event shot1_was_hit
#! mock_event shot2_was_hit
#! mock_event shot3_was_hit
#! mock_event accrual_completed
#! assert_bool_condition False device.accruals.test_accrual.value[0]
#! assert_bool_condition False device.accruals.test_accrual.value[1]
#! assert_bool_condition False device.accruals.test_accrual.value[2]
#! post test_event
#! assert_event_not_called shot1_was_hit
#! assert_event_not_called shot2_was_hit
#! assert_event_not_called shot3_was_hit
#! post shot1_hit
#! assert_bool_condition True device.accruals.test_accrual.value[0]
#! assert_bool_condition False device.accruals.test_accrual.value[1]
#! assert_bool_condition False device.accruals.test_accrual.value[2]
#! assert_bool_condition False device.accruals.test_accrual.completed
#! post test_event
#! assert_event_called shot1_was_hit
#! assert_event_not_called shot2_was_hit
#! assert_event_not_called shot3_was_hit
#! assert_event_not_called accrual_completed
#! post shot3_hit
#! post shot2_hit
#! post test_event
#! assert_event_called shot1_was_hit 2
#! assert_event_called shot2_was_hit
#! assert_event_called shot3_was_hit
#! assert_event_called accrual_completed
#! assert_bool_condition True device.accruals.test_accrual.value[0]
#! assert_bool_condition True device.accruals.test_accrual.value[1]
#! assert_bool_condition True device.accruals.test_accrual.value[2]
#! assert_bool_condition True device.accruals.test_accrual.completed

Common Issues

We try to answer some common questions regarding logic blocks here. If you question is not answered please ask in the forum.

My block only works once. Why?

This is the default configuration of all logic blocks. To change it you first need to set reset_on_complete to True. As a result you blocks will reset when they reach the final step. However, that will not be enough in most cases because disable_on_complete is True by default. Unless you have some enable logic to re-enable the block later, you probably want to set disable_on_complete to False.

When should I used logic blocks and when should I use shots/show_groups?

There is no definitive answer to this question. Generally, it depends on your usecase. Shots and shot_groups serve a very specific usecase. Basically, they implement a sequences of switch hits which trigger lights along the way. If you want to stay within that specific usecase then go with shots because it will be more convenient. If you plan to extend your mode to use more advanced features then go with logic blocks. For instance if you got conditions in your logic (i.e. on how many balls are locked). Another clear indicator for logic blocks would be if your logic is triggered by other elements such as locks (and not just switches).

Something missing or wrong? You can fix it!

This website is edited by people like you! Is something wrong or missing? Is something out of date, or can you explain it better?

Please help us! You can fix it yourself and be an official "open source" contributor!

It's easy! See our Beginner's guide to editing the docs.

Page navigation via the keyboard: < >

You can navigate this site via the keyboard. There are two modes:

General navigation, when search is not focused:

  • F , S , / : open search dialog
  • P , , : go to previous page
  • N , . : go to next page

While using the search function:

  • Down , Up : select next / previous result
  • Esc , Tab : close search
  • Enter : go to highlighted page in the results