Script to solve the steampipe puzzle in "Vampire The Masquerade - Swansong"

red_salon_steam.py

"""
In scene 07 of the game Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong, you need to turn three valves
on three pipes, in order to set all three gauges to 12.

Each valve has a different effect across all three gagues.
If the gagues go over 12 they wrap around to zero.

Online guides suggest a specific sequence of turns, but this isn't a solution as it assumes
a known starting position.

I tried describing the problem to ChatGPT, requesting a python script to solve the problem,
and it gave an outline - but I ended up having to write the correct logic in turn_valve() myself.

"""

from collections import deque

# Define the effects of turning each valve
valve_effects = {
    'A': (2, 6, 2),
    'B': (4, 2, 2),
    'C': (4, 6, 2)
}

def turn_valve(gauges, valve, direction):
    effect = valve_effects[valve]
    new_gauges = []
    for g, e in zip(gauges, effect):
        if direction == 'clockwise':
            if g + e > 12:
                new_value = g + e - 14
            else:
                new_value = g + e
        else:
            if g - e < 0:
                new_value = 14 + (g - e)
            else:
                new_value = g - e
        new_gauges.append(new_value)
    return tuple(new_gauges)

def bfs(starting_gauges):
    queue = deque([(starting_gauges, [])])  # (current_gauges, sequence_of_turns)
    visited = set()
    visited.add(starting_gauges)

    while queue:
        current_gauges, sequence = queue.popleft()

        # Check if all gauges are at 12
        if all(g == 12 for g in current_gauges):
            return sequence

        for valve in valve_effects.keys():
            for direction in ['clockwise', 'anticlockwise']:
                new_gauges = turn_valve(current_gauges, valve, direction)
                if new_gauges not in visited:
                    visited.add(new_gauges)
                    queue.append((new_gauges, sequence + [(valve, direction)]))

    return None  # No solution found

def main():
    # Example starting values for the gauges
    starting_gauges = (10, 4, 10)  # Change this to any starting values between 0 and 12
    print(f"Starting gauges: {starting_gauges}")  # Print starting values
    solution = bfs(starting_gauges)

    if solution is not None:
        print("\nSequence of valve turns to reach (12, 12, 12):")
        current_gauges = starting_gauges
        for valve, direction in solution:
            current_gauges = turn_valve(current_gauges, valve, direction)
            print(f"Turn valve {valve} {direction}: New gauges = {current_gauges}")
    else:
        print("No solution found.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()