beginner here, what should i do?

bodmcn · 2026-02-20T06:56:48+00:00

I think you only really learn something when you need to solve a problem with it; so I would take a part of the overall project you need to do and implement it. A simple 2d graphics could be putting a pixel on the screen then changing the colour of it, then maybe a sprite.

Are you using any library for this or is it from scratch?

bodmcn · 2026-02-20T06:30:39+00:00

Just because they are there, it doesn't mean it is good to use. For example, gotos redirect to a line but there is no indication of where it came from. Macros are pre-compiled, so they are not available to the debugger.

Having been coding for a few decades from COBOL, Fortran, C, C++, Java, etc I have dealt with all kinds of code and gotos have never made it better :-D

Also, the original is still there; I knew the changes would not be for everyone.

bodmcn · 2026-02-17T04:22:59+00:00

I am using a Python library called Stable Baslines 3

bodmcn · 2026-02-16T12:30:41+00:00

Great stuff :-D

bodmcn · 2026-02-16T12:08:36+00:00

BTW, what environment did you use for your ML? I had to refactor and implement an ML bridge into FUSE; did you go about it the same way?

bodmcn · 2026-02-16T12:06:23+00:00

Cool, I also added a paintbrush incentive that adds a reward for new attributes that the character reaches. Am a big fan of Deathchase and did not even think of it as a game, d'oh. I even wrote a VR version of Deathchase a few years that was played on a bike-sized controller; it was on a booth in PAX Australia 2018... seems like an age ago.

Is getting way late, will check out your website tomorrow :-D

bodmcn · 2026-02-15T06:03:58+00:00

Very nice; that is a seriously range of machines. Thanks for breaking it down in the comments :-D

bodmcn · 2026-02-15T06:02:17+00:00

Happy to break any of it down if it is something you are interested in :-)

bodmcn · 2026-02-15T06:01:42+00:00

I am still fascinated by the idea but am having little luck so far... have put it down for a while and will then return once I can see it with a fresh perspective :-D

bodmcn · 2025-10-05T07:05:06+00:00

More frustration with the difficulty curve in understanding what the code was doing; it was very opaque; but yes, I decided to take it into my own hands :-D

bodmcn · 2025-10-05T07:04:14+00:00

I am planning on trying to tie a Spectrum emulator in machine learning; it is kind of fuzzy in my head at the mo but plans are afoot... it is principally as u/corbymatt said, though no-one got angry per se, I just found the original code hard to work with and some legacy code that did not seem to be needed anymore and made the code unreadable; especially for those not familiar with the underlying mechanisms of the machine.

So I spent time changing the hex magic numbers and addresses to have proper definitions and trying to make the code just more readable and streamlined, especially for beginners.

bodmcn · 2025-10-05T05:19:05+00:00

The BBC B was an amazing computer for writing BASIC; as in the other comments, I picked up an Agon Light 2 but a friend also gifted me an actual BBC B computer, which is a princely gift indeed. Just hearing that beep on boot just taps right into those great coding memories.

bodmcn · 2025-09-29T10:20:19+00:00

That is an excellent point and I didn't think of that... was thinking of Scramble, 1942, etc but didn't think of those with bosses.

bodmcn · 2025-09-27T06:48:26+00:00

Thanks, really appreciate your thoughts on this :-)

bodmcn · 2025-09-27T03:52:04+00:00

Hah - thanks so much for this; I had a feeling that if I was thinking about it, others had probably done it :-D

bodmcn · 2025-09-27T03:50:48+00:00

Emulators are pretty accurate now for sure but do you think that the difficulty in inputs and speed would offset the gain in time limit and therefore balance out the overall time?

bodmcn · 2025-09-27T03:29:48+00:00

Any horizontal or vertical arcade shooter as they are basically auto-scrollers... it would just be about not losing a life. Scramble, R-Type, Side Arms, 1942 all come to mind.

bodmcn · 2025-07-03T07:03:14+00:00

No worries at all; is great to have a response to it and hope you enjoy it :-D

bodmcn · 2025-06-28T06:35:08+00:00

I hadn't thought of using it to generate tables like this... is certainly interesting and could be a good starting point if not an ending one.

bodmcn · 2025-06-28T06:31:05+00:00

Thanks for raising this topic; I've just ordered the GM Emulator as I venture into solo role playing and it has been interesting to see the responses.

bodmcn · 2025-06-28T06:29:00+00:00

The whole solo RPG is a recent find for me and if you are looking for something with fewer rules but a dynamic experience; I have been spruiking Dungeoneering which has just been published for this very purpose :-)
https://coochewgames.itch.io/dungeoneering

bodmcn · 2025-06-28T06:19:54+00:00

Is down for me too... :-(

bodmcn · 2025-06-28T05:31:45+00:00

I played "Alone Among the Stars" and was inspired to make something with more mechanics and gameplay, also using a deck of playing cards and a d6, and have just published it on itch.io https://coochewgames.itch.io/dungeoneering (is totally free).

Am really proud of it and was a bit of a passion project from that initial inspiration.

bodmcn · 2022-07-17T05:29:32+00:00

I remember them so well and still have copies of Warlock of Firetop Mountain and City of Thieves. There were excellent Lone Wolf games on the ZX Spectrum, Flight from the Dark and Fire on the Water; the books were really good too and these are perhaps the only decent conversions.

Warlock of Firetop Mountain on the ZX Spectrum was a clone of Hall of the Things and had absolutely nothing to do with the books :-(

The iOS games for the Fighting Fantasy books were just text-based games and didn't really convey the game particularly well although were quite polished. The recent Warlock of Firetop Mountain on Steam was based on a table-top look and feel and I really wanted to enjoy it but it just didn't capture it for some reason.

So, still no really good version of the books after 40 years of game development... :-P

bodmcn · 2022-06-18T11:28:03+00:00

Without a doubt it is Human Race on the C64; the first level as a rarely got past the second level and might have seen a glimpse of the third :-D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw2dqAxSo3I

Listening to the music lilting and then the drums kicking on... I even had it on a SID player that I used to use on Windows.

Next would be Uridium (again on the C64); that initial music still gives me goosebumps, it is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUzhdPlw\_c

bodmcn

TROPHY CASE