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I recall trying a few mods that made Kerbal Space Program programmable so you can automate your rocket (Some have used it to make SpaceX-style reusable boosters

I recall trying a few mods that made Kerbal Space Program programmable so you can automate your rocket (Some have used it to make SpaceX-style reusable boosters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqQy8cIVFY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqQy8cIVFY), and mods that provided a domain-specific language were more convenient than mods that used an existing conventional programming language. However the kOS language was still ultimately an imperative script, and too inflexible to be a complete programming language. It got me thinking about what kind of language would best be suited for the purpose of controllers (I was also writing PID controllers at the time), and I noticed there wasn't a language for it. I also recall a Minecraft mod called ComputerCraft where you program a "Turtle" (a la Logo) to perform automated digging actions, but the task of programming it in the easily-embedded Lua proved somewhat inconvenient for simple actions, if only for the ALGOL-style syntax. Another mod tried Forth, but get the sense that while one could be productive in Forth, it's a lot to learn. The developers have already incorporated it in a proof of concept game: https://bobthesimplebot.github.io/ https://bobthesimplebot.github.io/, but I could imagine RTS style games or mods where you not only have to scavenge for resources, you also program your bots to do your bidding, like Dwarf Fortress with programmable drones instead of independently-minded Dwarves.

cpdt 10y ago
> I could imagine RTS style games or mods where you not only have to scavenge for resources, you also program your bots to do your bidding, like Dwarf Fortress with programmable drones instead of independently-minded Dwarves. Sounds sort of like Screeps [1]. It's an MMO game where you write scripts in JS to control different robots (so, not logic programming, but still pretty fun with lots of depth). Parts of it are also open source [2]. [1] https://screeps.com/ https://screeps.com/ [2] https://github.com/screeps/screeps https://github.com/screeps/screeps
- rl3 10y ago
  The concept underlying Screeps basically amounts to my dream RTS. While I haven't played it yet, the only thing that worries me is the tick rate. The trailer videos all use the history replay feature so as to appear real-time, when in actuality you're talking a simulation tick rate of anywhere from 1hz (private server) to something like 0.25-0.5hz on regular/MMO servers. A normal RTS would probably sim in excess of 25hz, though Supreme Commander sims at 10hz and is perfectly fine. While the idea is fantastic, it kind of sounds like it's a bit similar to watching paint dry in practice. (Please correct me if I'm wrong; going off of Steam reviews alone here.)
  - SomeHacker44 10y ago
    Screeps is a lot of fun. (I've published my whole code on GitHub when I retired after about four months.) The tick rate on the main server is more than adequate. You can run your own server locally to test things at a faster tick rate.
ekidd 10y ago
I've actually been really impressed by Shenzhen I/O (http://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io/ http://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io/), which is a game where you have to program microcontrollers to build weird products. The built-in programming language is an ultra-simple assembly language, with either one or two registers, and about a dozen operations. Program length is limited to about 10 or 15 statements. There are external ROM and RAM modules which store about 20 values. Every challenge comes with a pre-made test suite. Something about these extreme restrictions and the simplicity make for excellent, puzzle-style gameplay. And I think you could add a Shenzhen I/O-like "microcontroller" to a lot of automation games (like Factorio: https://www.factorio.com/ https://www.factorio.com/) and it would work very well. I think that one of the problems with adding traditional programming languages to games is that there are no constraints to make it challenging, and that you can write fairly large programs. But a deliberately limited and simple language could be fun.
- contingencies 10y ago
  For an alternative introduction see my guide Junior Embedded Engineer's Manual at http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=780361834 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=780361...
jefurii 10y ago
> I also recall a Minecraft mod called ComputerCraft There's also OpenComputers https://github.com/MightyPirates/OpenComputers https://github.com/MightyPirates/OpenComputers

cpdt 10y ago

> I could imagine RTS style games or mods where you not only have to scavenge for resources, you also program your bots to do your bidding, like Dwarf Fortress with programmable drones instead of independently-minded Dwarves. Sounds sort of like Screeps [1]. It's an MMO game where you write scripts in JS to control different robots (so, not logic programming, but still pretty fun with lots of depth). Parts of it are also open source [2]. [1] https://screeps.com/ https://screeps.com/ [2] https://github.com/screeps/screeps https://github.com/screeps/screeps

rl3 10y ago
The concept underlying Screeps basically amounts to my dream RTS. While I haven't played it yet, the only thing that worries me is the tick rate. The trailer videos all use the history replay feature so as to appear real-time, when in actuality you're talking a simulation tick rate of anywhere from 1hz (private server) to something like 0.25-0.5hz on regular/MMO servers. A normal RTS would probably sim in excess of 25hz, though Supreme Commander sims at 10hz and is perfectly fine. While the idea is fantastic, it kind of sounds like it's a bit similar to watching paint dry in practice. (Please correct me if I'm wrong; going off of Steam reviews alone here.)
- SomeHacker44 10y ago
  Screeps is a lot of fun. (I've published my whole code on GitHub when I retired after about four months.) The tick rate on the main server is more than adequate. You can run your own server locally to test things at a faster tick rate.

ekidd 10y ago

I've actually been really impressed by Shenzhen I/O (http://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io/ http://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io/), which is a game where you have to program microcontrollers to build weird products. The built-in programming language is an ultra-simple assembly language, with either one or two registers, and about a dozen operations. Program length is limited to about 10 or 15 statements. There are external ROM and RAM modules which store about 20 values. Every challenge comes with a pre-made test suite. Something about these extreme restrictions and the simplicity make for excellent, puzzle-style gameplay. And I think you could add a Shenzhen I/O-like "microcontroller" to a lot of automation games (like Factorio: https://www.factorio.com/ https://www.factorio.com/) and it would work very well. I think that one of the problems with adding traditional programming languages to games is that there are no constraints to make it challenging, and that you can write fairly large programs. But a deliberately limited and simple language could be fun.

contingencies 10y ago
For an alternative introduction see my guide Junior Embedded Engineer's Manual at http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=780361834 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=780361...

jefurii 10y ago

> I also recall a Minecraft mod called ComputerCraft There's also OpenComputers https://github.com/MightyPirates/OpenComputers https://github.com/MightyPirates/OpenComputers