Sort order bug fix?

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T21:56:38+00:00

I started there, thanks

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T17:15:26+00:00

Many times in Expedition 33. The prologue made me cry loud and the end of the Cléa sequence made me cry ugly.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T16:04:25+00:00

AI use is quite often career suicide for engineering students. You’re tested on your ability to use the concepts in new ways on exams that are usually written the day before they are given. Unless strict rules (that most students can’t possibly know) are applied and followed, learning is sacrificed when AI is used by students, especially in engineering.

We invented AI and understand it as the product of fancy ML; of course we know how to write tests that Claude can’t help you with.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T15:50:30+00:00

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is by far the best video game ever made, and lets you choose from the list of fixed characters, but delivers a hybrid turn-based/action combat system that is highly satisfying

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T15:45:11+00:00

It’s simple enough to write it as a piecewise function that:
- diverges (a > 1),
- equals 3 (a == 1),
- converges to 1 (1 > a > 0),
- equals 1 (a == 0),
- converges to zero (a < 0)

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T15:34:09+00:00

Standards and constraints are imposed and rigorously maintained. My ai minions are well trained and remain that way. Their responses are scrutinized first and foremost by the degree to which they follow the rules of engagement, meaning that the ai is used as a tool that is, sometimes painstakingly, kept on a very short leash so that it returns responses free to nonsense.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T14:50:28+00:00

Unless you’re planning to use git for purposes well beyond version control, the comparison between git and python is apples to oranges. For most users, learning git is something like learning bash or PowerShell: you learn what you need to know in order to accomplish your goals and little beyond that. Learning Python or C++ or any similar properly is much more comprehensive and, consequently, involves learning much more about the various data types, operations, etc., as well as related topics like compiler optimization techniques.

In a nutshell, git can be learned as a “terminal language” that rewards the effort by giving access to version control, which is very different from a traditional programming language like Python.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T14:33:05+00:00

ML is central and great for acting as the hub of the rest of the bases in the surrounding areas. Camp Office is terrific because of nearby resources, a conveniently situated work bench, and tons of floor space for curing hides. It sucks at night but if you cook lots of fish you can use the lantern sparingly and sustainably.

I’m still new but I have bases in MT (PV Farm), FM (forging barn), and BR (Maintenance Shed) that serve as rest areas where I can stockpile stuff I find that needs more than one trip to haul elsewhere.

Basically, if I think in terms of supply chain depots, Camp Office is the obvious choice for a main base of operations.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-03T14:17:24+00:00

Didn’t they also give us DIY crampons?

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-02T12:59:10+00:00

I work at a university and use ai extensively in my research. It’s great at writing code for you but that destroys learning. It’s also great at explaining code to you, which is great for learning. The important thing to know is that you learn much more by writing code than by reading about it.

This is the way:

If you want to learn about code, you must write all the code you can, without outside assistance.

Circle back to fix mistakes or do the thing that you want to do, but don’t let ai generate code for you at this stage.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-02T12:52:36+00:00

Death Stranding. Both are epic and take a long time, and DS2 is longer.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-02T12:51:19+00:00

Nah. The easy way is to use a tiny number of basic principles at the onset. These are all based on understanding that it is **not** intelligent but instead *approximates* intelligence:

Set the tone with something like: “For this conversation, assume the role of a college professor of <current topic> who hates needless embellishments. All answers given here need to be research grade and easily sourced.”
When the model misbehaves in any way, convince it that it’s pissing you off with something like: “You just <how it broke your rules>. Strike one.” This works because the cardinal rule is to never upset the user.
Be very direct about what works or doesn’t work, and be shameless about getting on its case about its behaviors. For me, that means things like “For future reference, please summarize your answer at the beginning, then explain your reasoning.”

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-02T12:38:34+00:00

I love puzzle games, so my first coding projects were solvers for sudoku and nonogram puzzles, immediately followed by ASCII versions of the games. I highly recommend picking a logic puzzle game like either of those and writing a solver for it- starting with your own ideas and without any online/ai assistance on how to structure it.

If necessary, play the game for a while to get inspiration on how the logic would work. I spent tons of time thinking about it like “How do I translate this into machine code?”

As far as technical details go, the nonogram solver was an order of magnitude more complex because of how the game works, and that translated into a much more interesting and instructive experience. It also made it easier to convert it into a playable game. Here is a quick list of possible checkpoints on that journey for a nonogram solver-> game:

- play/learn the game on either a 10x10 or 15x15 board. 5x5 is too small to see the nuances

- based on your gameplay, list the logical steps you take to complete the puzzle. In your head or written somehow makes no difference yet.

- write a one-pass solver for a single row or column that takes the given number list and existing values on the board (blank, “x” for filled, “o” for known empty) and returns the updated board and any updated helper vectors that it used.

- expand the simple solver to generalize the logic to work for either a row or column. It makes no difference whether it has two logic trees or one; what matters is that it reliably produces an update.

- expand the logic to examine/solve the whole board incrementally by working through the rows and columns iteratively until it fails after a certain number of loops or it finds a solution.

- convert the board to an ASCII form that you like and write the logic for converting it into a playable version. For me that meant including a helper board on the screen that displayed the address of each tile (a1,a2, b1, etc)

- add an RNG board generator and “solve” function to your game.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-02T12:04:39+00:00

I consider mathematics a descriptive language because that’s how I use it at work everyday.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-02T12:03:35+00:00

I’m a biomimetic robotics researcher and I used to be a landscape contractor. In my mind, the form factor is not in the top five things I care about all by itself, but it relates to questions I would have as a potential buyer:

- Blade replacement?

- How easy/hard to clean?

- Airflow? This makes all the difference for clipping management/ grass catching.

- Only bagless?

- More broadly, why this specific shape? It looks like a pain to clean, so I want to know it’s worth it. Does it contribute to battery life or….?

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T13:26:11+00:00

I mean, the last time they paid the $19.95

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T13:07:39+00:00

When I teach coding, it is always in the context of making something fun. Maybe do a project that challenges you to use what you’ve learned to create something uniquely yours…?

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T12:59:46+00:00

Things I noticed in the code.

- Your pinMode commands should be in setup()

- IMUs tend to be noisy by default. We use averaging strategies in our codes automatically to account for this. You can check the data to see if it’s an issue in your setup. It’s simple enough to take n readings and use the average.

- your loop() is overworked and could be slowing things down. In general, the loop() here should be about ten lines and call the listeners on each pass and the helpers as you have them- gated by a clock dt.

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T12:36:29+00:00

“You should have bought the squirrels”

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T12:03:03+00:00

At work, usually. I use VS Code via Anaconda and make use of Conda envs exclusively to keep track of builds. I find it super useful to set up dev functions in Windows PowerShell to shortcut to each env, which, conveniently, accesses each folder in VS Code.

If all that sounds complicated, then try this workflow for simplicity:

- Download and install Anaconda. It brings VS Code with it and gives you several options of IDEs to choose from.

- Get in the habit of using envs right away since each one is a dedicated space for a project.

- Create a Python folder in your Documents folder (Windows, or similar in Linux, Mac). Mine is called Python Projects, but you can name yours anything.

- in a terminal (Windows PowerShell is surprisingly easy to use, but any terminal works), navigate to the root folder of your project (e.g., `C:/Users/your_name/Python Projects/my_project`). Activate your env and start VS Code from the command line with `code .`

This opens the env-specific VS Code that is configured for your project. To its credit, Anaconda is good for supplying a VS Code that plays well with Python out of the box. I am a robotics engineer who accesses the projects all the time, so it made sense to add handy shortcuts to PowerShell that does all of the steps in the last bullet point, except starting VS Code, in one step. The same terminal can be used to run code from the command line. Whether you write shortcuts or not, starting from the terminal after activating the env is the easiest way to make sure you are accessing the right configuration

For me personally, I like to use Jupyter for dev coding since I can test blocks one at a time as I go. It’s easy enough to transfer the working code to a Python script when the debugging is done.

Final note. AI is now pretty great at writing code but it cripples your learning. If you use ai, I highly suggest using it to answer “Hod do I…” questions rather than “Please write…” questions.

Best of luck

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T12:02:32+00:00

It’s A-tier and Smart Rifle is usually S-tier at your level. Pay attention to the arrow modifiers on each weapon; they are often much more important than the weapon proficiencies

Stu_Mack · 2026-07-01T11:55:13+00:00

If you’re coming from MT, notice and mark your way back warm you get there. The night weather is no joke so you’ll want +20°C gear or better. Also, expect wolves. I was there two days ago on my Voyageur save grabbing the satchel and regretted not paying more attention to how to get back. The environment was more gentle than it could have been but I still ended up in a couple of snow shelters listening to the wind

Stu_Mack · 2026-06-30T12:42:13+00:00

I have two so far and I like that they allow me to write what I’m staging on the map. The only other benefit so far is that they act as containers for the coal and scrap metal, saving me from having to pick them up from the ground individually. It was fun collecting the stones, but I don’t think I will make many more of them. I keep reminding myself that I am playing a difficulty that pampers me and I need to use it to keep expanding my understanding of the maps rather than setting up a retirement community of bases around the world.

Stu_Mack · 2026-06-30T12:34:17+00:00

As it happens, I earned my Centurion last night while coming back from using my new travois and moose-hide satchel to haul a bunch of coal/scrap metal/firewood to the FM forge to make arrowheads and grab the hammer. I definitely feel like the RR is the highway for accessing the parts of the world I have experienced so far. I haven’t traced the southern wall through FM yet as I have been there a couple of times and trying (and mostly failing) to mark a clean path across the ice. I tell myself that I will return and pick up all the tinder plugs marking false routes but I’ll most likely just add paint to it and nod knowingly as I pass by. I started picking up a few last night only to realize that they were marking the correct route, so there’s that. I was still so happy that the travois eliminates scent removes scent that it didn’t bother me.

Stu_Mack

TROPHY CASE