6 ms·

Turing Complete is a game about computer science

148 points by mvdwoord 5y ago

mordae 5y ago
I've recently finished the game, except for the assembly challenges, and apart from the sometimes too aggressive hand-holding (let me make my own instructions as soon as possible), it's a lot of fun. I've gifted a copy to my sister, who appreciated it helping her understand boolean algebra for her high school assignments.
- lobocinza 5y ago
  Mileage may vary. I have read reviews on Steam and one of the criticisms was that the game didn't give enough instructions. Quoting a player (as I haven´t played it, yet): "The problem with this game is that it doesn't teach you. It just shows you puzzles and wants you to figure them out."
tonfreed 5y ago
I love this game. I feel like I understand computers way better after playing through it.
mvdwoord 5y ago
I have started playing it this weekend and it is tons of fun! Still in beta, but the author(s) seem to update regularly fixing bugs and extending the game. https://steamcommunity.com/app/1444480 https://steamcommunity.com/app/1444480
- mordae 5y ago
  They sometimes release multiple versions in the same day, based on feedback. They recently modified the byte adder to accept and produce the carry bit and replaced the flip-flop with SR-latch.
- tonfreed 5y ago
  Yeah, keep in mind there's been a couple of times where he's just deleted components completely and fucked up some circuit designs. It's 90% stable, just be aware it's still being actively worked on.
matbatt38 5y ago
If you like this kind of games, i highly recommend MHRD.
- rg111 5y ago
  Pardon my ignorance, but what is MHRD?
  - teddyh 5y ago
    I assume they mean https://store.steampowered.com/app/576030/MHRD/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/576030/MHRD/
fab1an 5y ago
If you're into these types of games, I'd also recommend taking a look at the Zachtronics ones, in particular EXAPUNKS and Shenzen I/O, where you use pseudo-assembly to solve puzzles: https://www.zachtronics.com https://www.zachtronics.com
- MaxikCZ 5y ago
  And TIS-100! I find it most focused on programming aspect, thus best
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    Agreed, I'd personally put TIS-100 above both EXAPUNKS and Shenzen I/O.
  - mvdwoord 5y ago
    I have also played TIS-100 and can also heartily recommend!! I should revisit that game and finish the last levels. :D
- xkriva11 5y ago
  "KOHCTPYKTOP: Engineer of the People" is harder to run now because it is a Flash game. There are two alternatives: In JavaScript: https://kohctpyktop-sandbox.netlify.app/ https://kohctpyktop-sandbox.netlify.app/ In Pharo: https://github.com/pavel-krivanek/PharoChipDesigner https://github.com/pavel-krivanek/PharoChipDesigner
thaliaarchi 5y ago
Sounds like the Nand to Tetris course, gamified. https://www.nand2tetris.org/ https://www.nand2tetris.org/
- rustnote 5y ago
  This course is what made me fall in love with computer science.
scotteh 5y ago
Just in case it interests anyone, it sounds similar to NandGame (http://nandgame.com/ http://nandgame.com/), which is an online game where the challenge is to progressively build a microprocessor, starting from simple logic gates. Show HN thread from a few years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17508151 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17508151
- tonfreed 5y ago
  Very similar at the start, yes.
hyperstar 5y ago
can this be played on linux? what is the meaning of `steamos + linux'? if `+' stands for combination, how does one combine two operating systems? or is `+' simply an unconventional `and'?
- drekipus 5y ago
  Steamos is Linux, so it's saying it can play on both
  - hyperstar 5y ago
    > both does that mean steamos and non-steamos linux or steamos (which is a linux)? it would be nice to know whether playing this required installing a new operating system.
    - Aeolun 5y ago
      Even if it is only windows you could still (more likely than not) play it on Steam on linux. I don’t even bother with the distinction any more. Just check protondb beforehand.
    - circularfoyers 5y ago
      It means the game has a native version for Linux that will run on all Linux distros (what you referred to as a Linux). SteamOS is based on Debian (or most recently Arch) and Valve only officially supports Steam on Ubuntu LTS. But Steam will run on pretty much any distro you want.
- mixedmath 5y ago
  I play it on linux. It runs just fine on my Ubuntu+awesomewm without me having to run through any hoops.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
horsellama 5y ago
very cool! from logic gates to assembly...is there something stopping from implementing C and eventually a lisp?
jimthom 5y ago
I thought I was going to play the game for free. Little did I know, I was redirected to Steam.
afranchuk 5y ago
Based on the demo video, it looks like one step "missing" is that you don't manually implement the assembler in machine code. For those of you who have played: is this true? If so I totally get the omission, but I'm just curious.
mtreis86 5y ago
I've been playing this a bunch, one assembly puzzle left. All in all it is an excellent game. I've been studying assembly, mainly from the book, Systems A Programmer's Perspective. Which is an excelleng book, but this game really brought together what I was learning in there. I will be going back and starting it the book again. As for the game, the developer has been extremely active, puts out multiple patches a day, and is very responsive on bug reports. I've submitted a couple myself. The game still has some rough edges, occasional crashes and the like, but there is only one developer working on it and those things do take a bit of time to track down. There are a bunch of additions planned for it, 64bit width components, and a number of new puzzles. I look forward to that. The end state of the game leaves you with a sandbox and a number of the community of players have created some very interesting things, such as pipelined registers and a synth in there. Just about every puzzle has been solved with an ASIC of some sort too.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
merricksb 5y ago
Discussed here 15 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28735441 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28735441 (201 points/42 comments)
- ASalazarMX 5y ago
  Ben Eater's breadboard computer is mentioned there, and unfortunately I couldn't reply to say thanks because the thread is too old. For us programmers how the hardware works feels like magic, and his videos demystify that magic. The best educational value is seeing how he troubleshoots hardware problems.

148 points by mvdwoord 5y ago

I've recently finished the game, except for the assembly challenges, and apart from the sometimes too aggressive hand-holding (let me make my own instructions as soon as possible), it's a lot of fun. I've gifted a copy to my sister, who appreciated it helping her understand boolean algebra for her high school assignments.

lobocinza 5y ago
Mileage may vary. I have read reviews on Steam and one of the criticisms was that the game didn't give enough instructions. Quoting a player (as I haven´t played it, yet): "The problem with this game is that it doesn't teach you. It just shows you puzzles and wants you to figure them out."

tonfreed 5y ago

I love this game. I feel like I understand computers way better after playing through it.

mvdwoord 5y ago

I have started playing it this weekend and it is tons of fun! Still in beta, but the author(s) seem to update regularly fixing bugs and extending the game. https://steamcommunity.com/app/1444480 https://steamcommunity.com/app/1444480

mordae 5y ago
They sometimes release multiple versions in the same day, based on feedback. They recently modified the byte adder to accept and produce the carry bit and replaced the flip-flop with SR-latch.
tonfreed 5y ago
Yeah, keep in mind there's been a couple of times where he's just deleted components completely and fucked up some circuit designs. It's 90% stable, just be aware it's still being actively worked on.

matbatt38 5y ago

If you like this kind of games, i highly recommend MHRD.

rg111 5y ago
Pardon my ignorance, but what is MHRD?
- teddyh 5y ago
  I assume they mean https://store.steampowered.com/app/576030/MHRD/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/576030/MHRD/

fab1an 5y ago

If you're into these types of games, I'd also recommend taking a look at the Zachtronics ones, in particular EXAPUNKS and Shenzen I/O, where you use pseudo-assembly to solve puzzles: https://www.zachtronics.com https://www.zachtronics.com

MaxikCZ 5y ago
And TIS-100! I find it most focused on programming aspect, thus best
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  Agreed, I'd personally put TIS-100 above both EXAPUNKS and Shenzen I/O.
- mvdwoord 5y ago
  I have also played TIS-100 and can also heartily recommend!! I should revisit that game and finish the last levels. :D
xkriva11 5y ago
"KOHCTPYKTOP: Engineer of the People" is harder to run now because it is a Flash game. There are two alternatives: In JavaScript: https://kohctpyktop-sandbox.netlify.app/ https://kohctpyktop-sandbox.netlify.app/ In Pharo: https://github.com/pavel-krivanek/PharoChipDesigner https://github.com/pavel-krivanek/PharoChipDesigner

thaliaarchi 5y ago

Sounds like the Nand to Tetris course, gamified. https://www.nand2tetris.org/ https://www.nand2tetris.org/

rustnote 5y ago
This course is what made me fall in love with computer science.

scotteh 5y ago

Just in case it interests anyone, it sounds similar to NandGame (http://nandgame.com/ http://nandgame.com/), which is an online game where the challenge is to progressively build a microprocessor, starting from simple logic gates. Show HN thread from a few years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17508151 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17508151

tonfreed 5y ago
Very similar at the start, yes.

hyperstar 5y ago

can this be played on linux? what is the meaning of `steamos + linux'? if `+' stands for combination, how does one combine two operating systems? or is `+' simply an unconventional `and'?

drekipus 5y ago
Steamos is Linux, so it's saying it can play on both
- hyperstar 5y ago
  > both does that mean steamos and non-steamos linux or steamos (which is a linux)? it would be nice to know whether playing this required installing a new operating system.
  - Aeolun 5y ago
    Even if it is only windows you could still (more likely than not) play it on Steam on linux. I don’t even bother with the distinction any more. Just check protondb beforehand.
  - circularfoyers 5y ago
    It means the game has a native version for Linux that will run on all Linux distros (what you referred to as a Linux). SteamOS is based on Debian (or most recently Arch) and Valve only officially supports Steam on Ubuntu LTS. But Steam will run on pretty much any distro you want.
mixedmath 5y ago
I play it on linux. It runs just fine on my Ubuntu+awesomewm without me having to run through any hoops.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

horsellama 5y ago

very cool! from logic gates to assembly...is there something stopping from implementing C and eventually a lisp?

jimthom 5y ago

I thought I was going to play the game for free. Little did I know, I was redirected to Steam.

afranchuk 5y ago

Based on the demo video, it looks like one step "missing" is that you don't manually implement the assembler in machine code. For those of you who have played: is this true? If so I totally get the omission, but I'm just curious.

mtreis86 5y ago

I've been playing this a bunch, one assembly puzzle left. All in all it is an excellent game. I've been studying assembly, mainly from the book, Systems A Programmer's Perspective. Which is an excelleng book, but this game really brought together what I was learning in there. I will be going back and starting it the book again. As for the game, the developer has been extremely active, puts out multiple patches a day, and is very responsive on bug reports. I've submitted a couple myself. The game still has some rough edges, occasional crashes and the like, but there is only one developer working on it and those things do take a bit of time to track down. There are a bunch of additions planned for it, 64bit width components, and a number of new puzzles. I look forward to that. The end state of the game leaves you with a sandbox and a number of the community of players have created some very interesting things, such as pipelined registers and a synth in there. Just about every puzzle has been solved with an ASIC of some sort too.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

merricksb 5y ago

Discussed here 15 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28735441 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28735441 (201 points/42 comments)

ASalazarMX 5y ago
Ben Eater's breadboard computer is mentioned there, and unfortunately I couldn't reply to say thanks because the thread is too old. For us programmers how the hardware works feels like magic, and his videos demystify that magic. The best educational value is seeing how he troubleshoots hardware problems.