Hugo Simoes
simple living, careful thinking, collective fun
I have been working on a few Prequel updates (including a new feature) and I'm happy with the result.
This project was born by trying to give my kids the tools I wished to have had when I started to program.
Many thanks to the valuable feedback given to me by the early adopters of Prequel, most of whom are family and friends.
The language is simple, runs on an internet browser, and has a debugger showing the effects of each instruction, step by step.
The main idea of Prequel was being able to jump to the most interesting parts of coding right away.
Games are already available. Beginners just need to code the juicy bits, like driving the behaviour of the bots in Warpchase.
I believe I have created a fun and easy way for people to learn how to program, with challenges for more experienced and competitive programmers.
It is time to let more people know what they are missing :)
August 27, 2023
Prequel
I have implemented the Glicko-2 rating system to rank Warpchase programs on doubles mode (2 vs 2 matches where each program controls two bots).
Warpchase rankings are updated every week, based on match results of the previous 7 days.
You can join this ongoing competition by uploading a Prequel program (examples on GitHub).
You can then watch how your program handles its competitors (debugging your matches step by step if needed) and upload improved versions at any time.
July 31, 2023
Warpchase, Prequel, GameBot.club
Starting a Warpchase match is now easier.
I have streamlined the process of starting a new match by removing game modes and other options (less is more).
You can choose Doubles (2 vs 2 competitive mode where each of the two programs control two bots) or Co-op (cooperative mode where all four bots are controlled by the same program).
I believe Warpchase is a deceitfully simple game with many possibilities for implementing complex strategies.
Thirty times per second, your bot just has to decide whether to press the button or not (calling one of the two Procedures WARPCHASE.ACTIVATE or WARPCHASE.DEACTIVATE), but it can base that decision on multiple factors (using some subset of the available Input).
Bots can make quick or considered decisions, trading off a larger amount of executed instructions against an increasingly out-of-date game state.
Choose your strategy, upload your program, and watch your most challenging match (computed on the server, a face-off between your upload and a top ranked program).
In the coming months I hope to find more players and help bring this programming game closer to the wide audience it deserves.
June 30, 2023
Warpchase, Prequel, GameBot.club
Every player who submits a solution to an AlgoDeduce challenge has now access to standardized versions of other submitted solutions to the same challenge.
Additionally, you get bonus points for finding instances that other solutions cannot handle correctly, improving your code golf rank.
May 30, 2023
AlgoDeduce, Prequel
Code golf is a programming competition with the goal of writing the shortest program that solves a given problem.
This and other metrics are available in AlgoDeduce.
You can aim to write a program that needs the smallest average number of instructions, or the lowest average amount of max memory, or you can simply try to be the first to come up with a valid solution.
Whichever your strategy, there is a separate leaderboard for each of those categories.
Even if your submitted program does not provide a valid solution (and is moved to the bottom of the leaderboard accordingly), you will still be able to understand the reason by debugging the failed instance.
Have a good idea for a challenge?
Create an AlgoDeduce generator and setup your own competition by choosing with whom to share your exclusive link.
April 6, 2023
AlgoDeduce, Prequel
Earlier entries: Page 2