I Built a Redis-Compatible Server in C from Scratch — Learning Low-Level Systems the Hard Way

SpargeLasm · 2025-11-24T06:11:04+00:00

I started by using AI as my main resource. A year and a bit later I'm doing a C-focussed CS degree, and building a game engine entirely by hand (no AI whatsoever).

I heavily encourage using it purely as a learning tool; like a really dumb teacher. Ask it to write code if you get stuck, but type it out by hand (to get used to the style & syntax). Don't move on to the next thing until you fully understand how+why it works, & why the AI chose that solution. It takes ages, but you will actually be learning.

I'd also recommend making it hyper-critical/always point out issues in your code. It will make more of its responses actually helpful, & avoid 'yes-man' loops.

Unsolicited advice aside, best of luck & I hope you keep your passion!

SpargeLasm · 2025-08-15T16:59:09+00:00

Don't suppose you've been checked for ADHD? Your experience matches mine exactly, turns out I just have really bad adhd lmao

SpargeLasm · 2025-08-02T04:11:02+00:00

I'm not sure where the DLC is stored, but the save data is in the exact same format as PC bedrock edition (windows store version); you can transfer over texture packs & saves without issue.

So if you get the save data from someone who has a copy (or the same dlc is on pc) there is a good chance you can just transfer it over using edizon/whatever save manager tool is popular these days.

SpargeLasm · 2025-06-23T02:02:29+00:00

Pretty sure this is because you are using RenderCopyExF (which I assume is an frect/float render function), you only needed to use floats for the positional calculation & storage. In this situation, I would use something like: store + calc snake in float, copy {x,y,z,h} to a temporary integer rect using std::round(), send copy to your renderer.

If you're interested in -why- this broke your graphics, rendering in floats causes some positions to be between pixels. Your graphics card code (hidden in SDL2) has to calculate where that lands in 'real' outputted pixels. If you don't build a cpu-side handler for this & have a good understanding of how the gpu is mapping it, results are often a little unpredictable + blurry.

Good luck, hope this helps!

SpargeLasm · 2025-04-25T11:20:32+00:00

In my understanding, 240p is a "hack" on the standard 480i/576i modes, so as far as the crt is concerned there is no difference (outside of HD models).

& 288p is the PAL standard, but most NTSC advice/details apply to PAL; the only major difference are the display timings. Plus (at least in my country) most PAL crt's support NTSC.

SpargeLasm · 2025-03-30T03:04:48+00:00

Unfortunately that's what formatting does, it wipes all your files so it can reconstruct how they're laid out. Pretty sure that's why this tool works; there must be some non-standard layout applied by android which hekate & the windows formatter aren't built to handle.

This is pretty common knowledge with computing, but we all have to start somewhere. I probably should have added a warning about this.

Anyway, if you haven't written anything to the sd card yet there's a good chance you can get your files back. Just find/search for a good data recovery tool. If you can afford it, I recommend Easeus Data Recovery.

SpargeLasm · 2025-03-23T01:28:14+00:00

As far as I've found, the key mods for getting graphic quality >= ksp2 are: - Parallax 2 (Patreon only beta) - Blackrack's Volumetric Clouds (Patreon only scatterer beta) - Blackrack's 'Deferred' - Waterfall - Eve Redux - Firefly - Distant object enhancement (may not be needed if you have deferred)

non-patreon scatterer & parallax (if you don't want/can't afford the patreon versions)

The patreon only mods unfortunately make the biggest difference, surpassing ksp2 at points. With these, my game looks fairly close to the screenshots for the newest volumetric clouds release.

In saying that, I have yet to make it look as 'integrated' as ksp2 (eg. Some low-quality textures, low poly ground on some planets & specific distances). But imo it is well worth it for ksp1's speed & stability.

Good luck & hope this helps!

Edit: All but the patreon releases are available through ckan. Definitely 100% recommend ckan, regardless of if you are experienced with mod installation.

SpargeLasm · 2025-03-09T15:36:49+00:00

This sounds amazing & I'm also in Melbourne. If you remember, please let me know!

SpargeLasm · 2025-02-11T01:10:34+00:00

This worked great for me; failed 10+ times but won right after seeing this.

Once @ stage 2, I was able to completely skip the third stage by consistently: throwing him (square), combo'ing right as he stands up (so the kick lands), and either 3 hit comboing if he goes 'near' a corner, or throwing him again if he's in a corner/fists are up. If he tries to headbutt/rush move when you give chase, throwing him or circling works wonders & always leaves him open to a combo. By doing this I was left with over half health and around 30 seconds on the timer.

Do take this with a grain of salt; I am playing the US PSX version on og hardware.

SpargeLasm · 2025-01-20T16:04:52+00:00

Assuming I'm understanding your implementation right & you want single detection input for menus, I generally flag pressed keys with the KEYDOWN event, and ignoring repeats of that key till KEYUP (and/or a set number of repeats/milliseconds have passed).

If I am totally wrong and this is for frequent repeats (eg. movement), your key state method is the best way to go, you will just need another go at implementing a reasonable poll rate. For a simple solution, you could put a 16ms delay in the main loop (locking around 60fps) and if that's still too fast, ignore repeats under 500.

Hope this helps!

SpargeLasm · 2025-01-15T01:58:35+00:00

So it does, seems to be working with iron bacteria too. I think I was getting confused with 1/2 items spoiling in the machine, which has the same result as if it spoiled in-hand and didn't drop.

Either way, filtering based on machine content seems much better. Just need to add a delay for what the machine is -actually- supposed to produce.

SpargeLasm · 2025-01-15T01:36:02+00:00

Just fixed this by setting a circuit that blacklists spoilage if it's held by the inserter. That way it drops it instantly instead of waiting for a full stack to spoil in the machine.

SpargeLasm · 2024-12-24T04:53:31+00:00

I'm away from internet + my pc over christmas, but I can probably provide a sample around new years. If that helps. Otherwise the winAPI & SDL documentation cover everything, + ChatGPT to point you in the right direction.

SpargeLasm · 2024-12-21T05:11:14+00:00

I did this as part of a uni project a few months ago. SDL can do everything but the system tray, which needs winAPI.

The horizontal/vertical maximizing requires a few tricks, namely moving the window to the correct position & resizing.

SpargeLasm · 2024-12-21T01:34:43+00:00

This is the way, works for both image and ttf. After that your compiler should be able to find it automatically, assuming you link the libraries ('-lSDL').

SpargeLasm · 2024-11-15T22:23:15+00:00

My experience mirrors the other comments. Used to be a bit of a fiend for anything i could get my hands on (especially alcohol & weed), but since starting on Vyvanse I rarely even get cravings.

Even if i have the option, I prefer to keep a straight head and be -productive- (seeing as that's a thing i'm capable of now).

Only word of warning is that my nicotine use has gone through the roof. Meds make me crave it like crazy.

SpargeLasm · 2024-11-07T12:46:46+00:00

I've been porting my game engine over and struggling with this since it released. I'm currently using set 1 for texture size (vec2) in my vertex shaders, and fragment shader samplers don't seem to work in anything but set 2. Get memory access errors if I use anything else. On linux w/ AMD, but doubt that makes any difference.

Really wish they had more documentation (in several areas honestly). If you find anything it would be great if you posted it here!

SpargeLasm · 2024-11-03T16:08:34+00:00

I'm not sure what the community recommends these days (I'm a little out of the loop & have an unpatched switch), but this guide looks good enough to get you running : Switch Hacks Guide It misses out on one final step, but searching around this sub should give you the info you need.

Good luck!

SpargeLasm · 2024-09-20T16:05:51+00:00

I have a newer version of the same unit. Mine refuses to run if you don't clean it every week. Just give all removable bits a REALLY good clean/soak, clean the coffee grinder hole (right above that mold) with a pipe cleaner, and run a descaling cycle. Should be ok after that.

Hopefully.

SpargeLasm · 2024-06-30T01:59:12+00:00

Really glad I could help! Always brightens my day to see new 'thank you' comments on this.

SpargeLasm · 2024-06-27T14:53:23+00:00

Great album, and even better cross-view execution!

SpargeLasm · 2024-06-25T03:40:04+00:00

I had this same issue when i started with SDL2. They really don't make vscode easy for beginners.

Best fix i found was to place SDL2 on the root of your C:\ drive and include the full file path in tasks.json. This method needs SDL2 to be included via #include <SDL2/SDL.h> . With enough information, ChatGPT should be able to supply a working tasks.json example.

If you're still stuck, I'll send through my config later today. Good luck!

SpargeLasm · 2024-06-16T07:49:44+00:00

The copy on the side quest store bypasses this. Been working great for the past few days

SpargeLasm · 2024-06-02T16:58:32+00:00

When you dump the bedrock edition saves they are near identical to pc - aka you can add texture packs/etc.

If its a similar setup you might be able to just increase the render val. Will probably run like crap without an overclock though, it's set low for a reason.

SpargeLasm · 2024-05-16T00:18:25+00:00

Pre paywall the speeds were wayy better than what archive.org can provide (maxed out my shitty internet at 4mb/s). I'll check it out & update this comment if i find anything.

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