How far are we from paying people to play a programming game, while using their code/solutions for solving problems?
Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
21–30 of 72 posts
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#22C# team did something similar when it first came out, I can't remember what it was called. You wrote a module and submitted the code to run on their servers. It was a similar 'critter' game where your code hunted for food, tried to reproduce, and competed with other code running in the same sandbox. There was a limited energy budget which was the main constraint on your code and meant you had to conserve energy and o…
Terrarium ... still has a repo at https://github.com/terrariumapp
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#23Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#24Really liked playing the beta (or was it alpha?) of this when it came out, but the pricing didn't really make sense for me. Paying per compute time works for businesses looking for flexible cloud solutions, but as an individual this makes playing the game much less fun (because you're constantly paying attention to the cost).
I wonder if they could pay for the service with recruitment ads targeted by demonstrated programming skill.
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
it would also make the game cheaper if you figure out less computationally intensive algos to win.
it would also make the game cheaper if you figure out les[s] computationally intensive algos to win. Yes but a player who was an absolute shite programmer could just throw their bank account at the problem. While my O(n) solution maybe eloquent, they can afford O(n^n) so provided our _players_ make the same outcome the algorithmic complexity is irrelevant if you can afford it. The game uses a soft turn based _ticks_…
> The game uses a soft turn based _ticks_ timer. So provided your O(n^n) solution can execute in 1 tick. Their is no difference.
I don't think you're giving your hypothetical shite programmer enough credit here.
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#26A lot of comments here are focusing on the pricing and ignoring the 'sandbox' part of the game's description. There is a leaderboard you can try to climb but it is reset monthly and isn't really shoved in your face. Beyond that you're free to set whatever goals you want and go about them however you wish, with the principles of other strategy games (harvest resources, build things, attack enemies, etc.) to give you ideas. It's really a game about you and your code and how it grows and evolves as your goals and strategies become more complex.
Screeps is definitely worth trying, if for no other reason than to learn javascript at a deeper level if you don't use it extensively. I do have a couple of issues though:
The first is that it is quite resource intensive considering its simple 2D visuals, both in the browser and the standalone client. I'm not sure if it is just poor optimization or the javascript runtime but it shouldn't make my machine hot. It'd be nice if this were addressed.
The second issue I have is the workflow, which doesn't lend itself well to source control. The ingame editor works well enough, but its idea of a "branch" is just a named copy of the code directory. I think there is a way to integrate with github but I don't want to upload everything to the cloud just to be able to track changes. It would be nice if this area were looked at and made more flexible so we could use our tools of choice.
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#27How far are we from paying people to play a programming game, while using their code/solutions for solving problems?
That's basically this, right:
https://www.starfighters.io/
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#28quite pricey for what it is, but well worth it if you've got a programming itch to scratch and like playing RTS games.
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#29Here's a neat map of screeps http://www.leagueofautomatednations.com/map
Re: Screeps – An MMO strategy sandbox game for programmers
#30If I put on my Product Manager hat: 1) Invest in good art 2) Tell me how long it takes to get up and running. Is there a walkthrough that can get me on the leaderboard in 10min? If so, I want to see it (and I don't want to pay).
To get on the leaderboard you need to buy the Steam version or a subscription.
There is a free one room sandbox at https://screeps.com/a/#!/sim however