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As robots can currently do that farming job just fine there is no need to rush that, but it would be a cool thing to have.

 

As for PR... if I would do some research for a new server on whether to use ComputerCraft or OpenComputers, then OC would win by far. However most people don't do extensive research and just install what their friends are using. This leads to the problem of "critical mass" of users, so basically you need a certain amount of users to get more users. And that requires some convincing first, because as we know mass is lazy by default.

 

That's my general summary.

 

They perfectly fill the gap between bulky and slow robots and... nothing, which makes them again a great idea and feature.

 

I do wish however that they would be able to at least break blocks breakable by hand, for example to have a farm run by drones. As long as they cannot use tools, robots would still be very relevant.

 

Micro-computers are as well a great addition for those tiny redstone setups where I can't be bothered to use complicated circuit setups (mostly because I am a much better programmer than circuit designer ),

 

I think this mod needs a lot more attention, you seriously need a good PR manager!

Indeed Lua OOM, otherwise there would already be a bug report.

 

Normal scans run just fine memory-wise, but when I tried to make an incremental median scan code it turned out that the data size of a table is far beyond what one would assume when counting the bytes. It is possible to squeeze it all into a string of bytes, however that makes the whole code much slower as of the lack of native bit-shift operations.

I think most of you already wrote one, but just to save some time for others who are still working on it: here is a completely functional and tested vector math library for OpenComputers: http://pastebin.com/24JW5Ccz

 

Free of license, which is probably the main argument to use it instead of others.

 

Note that vector math is done "in-place" which means the actual vectors change during operations instead of returning a new vector with the result values. This shouldn't be any issue for your actual coding, but saves the garbage collector some time.

I've been playing around with the Geolyzer a few days ago, and I do really like the concept, however I can't seem to find any practical use as of yet.

The results are very unreliable

I tried several things to clear up the noise from the data, however I either run into OutOfMemory problems or very unreliable results. The average range that still gives some reasonable valid results seems to be 16 blocks, beyond that it really gets messy. Which feels kind of strange for a device that has a 32 block standard radius and could go way beyond that.

It is not really portable

Now visualizing that with a Holprojector does make a great addition to every house, however the fact that I need to setup a power-source, a PC, Screen, Keyboard, Geolyzer and Holoprojector and that this thing really draws power while running makes it to stationary to carry around. I could probably setup some scanning array somewhere down in my mine, but by the time I have that up and the scan completed, I probably already have cleared the scanned area by hand. And sadly it cannot be put into a robot.

Is there something I am doing wrong with this thing or is this just work in progress?

True. One could always make the program even more perfect.

The one thing that concerns me on resources is the replay issue with OpenComputers. Should I ever finish my perfect mining program, then all I need to do on any server is to download and run it for unlimited resources. Which means I then basically played through the game.

I think the cost in the "dumbed down" version is already extremely high. I even play with the Thermal Expansion ore doubler (I don't like it but then I just cannot ignore it either ), and still I run out of gold frequently and I haven't even built much so far.

Maybe I give that hardmode a try some day... maybe even add Terrafirma Craft and start from there...

I was playing around with OpenComputers the other day and built a robot with the absolute minimum specs, so basically the lowest possible setup you can craft. And to my surprise it wasn't even able to run, because it crashed with an out of memory error either during boot or right after it.

I am not sure if this is an oversight or by design, as you could still put a very minimal self-made OS on a floppy to setup a computer for a very minor task. On the other hand, maybe the smallest RAM size should be upped to 256KB? I know I can just change it for myself in the config, but I am thinking about the default setup that most people will probably run.

And then I can't really think of a reason why I would ever build the 2-chip RAM modules instead of the 3-chip ones. For like one bar of iron and 3 redstone dusts I get a 50% RAM upgrade. I could understand if someone doesn't have the diamonds for the T3 modules, but then it still feels like wasting diamonds as you can't just upgrade them later.

Wiki can now be edited again! =)

I took the request to learn some OC coding and came up with this: http://pastebin.com/1HT8k0jn

It does basically the same, except that it switches resolution to display the time as readable as possible on the screen (when outside the terminal) and it reacts on mouse clicks.

If you start the program the resolution will be changed and the time can be started and stopped by clicking on it. Note that if you are not inside the terminal you can shift-right-click the time-text on the screen (must hit the actual text to work!). Press space (inside the terminal) to stop the program and reset the resolution.

Also works as code example if you are new to Lua.

On my way to learn OC I decided to write a simple clock program that displays the current ingame time on the screen.

You can download it from pastebin: 29GbdXf4

 

If you run it, the resolution will be reduced so the time is displayed as big as possible when watching the screen block. If you press space the program is terminated (and the resolution reset).

Also works as tutorial on events.

You are looping a creation of a table in your tankUpdate function, which should be handled by the GC, but is unnecessary.

Replace line 36 with:

if not tank then tank = {} end

and line 43 with:

if not tank[key] then tank[key] = {} end

Alternatively create the structure once outside that loop if the tank components are fixed.

Interesting way of playing OC: combine the work of others.

Sadly OC isn't yet that popular as CC is, so the amount of code you can simply download is limited, however the influence of CC on OC is strong, so most turtle programs can be easily converted to robot code. It should even be possible to write a simple wrapper for the CC functions that remap them to OC robot functions.

Maybe a project for someone with some time on his or her hands.

I wonder why screen updates take so much bandwith? After all all you need to send is the screens content (easy way) or the delta (more difficult but even less data). But even sending the complete content is a minor amount of data that can as well be easily compressed to less what fits in 1-2 TCP/IP packets. Now if you limit those updates to 2 or 4 times a second the bandwith would be almost non-existent.

So much for my imagination, what are the real reasons those had to be limited?

Programming in Lua

Although the online version is slightly outdated, it is free and does cover all the basics including some ideas and techniques which are surprising and ingenious even to the experienced programmer. If you feel like, there is also an updated version and translations available, as printed or eBook (see link above).

This book explains everything you need to know about Lua, starting with the first "How to print 'Hello World'", loops, advanced techniques with tables, threading, and some dirty but brilliant tricks you might not have been aware of even as an experienced programmer.

This is very confusing... so there is a robot API and a robot API, both do the same, but they are different?

Have I mentioned that the documentation could use some clarification?

Currently closed as of lack of interest. If anyone likes to play, please comment then I'll reactivate it.

TL;DR
Running OpenComputers and other mods on a high-speed server, including MyTown for world protection.

Download Forge 1.6.4
Download mod-pack
Server: arstwo.de

Details

Welcome to my new server!

OpenComputers is a great mod and someone just has to host it on a fast and reliable server, and I just happened to have one available, so I did.

I added several mods that go well together with OpenComputers, like Project Red, Thermal Expansion, Galacticraft as well as several more, to give you the full experience and possibilites. Also uses MyTown for world protection and as a clan system.

Complete mod list:

Rules

• Don't be an ass. (no griefing, no flaming, no hating, no harrassing, no hacking, nothing illegal)
• All your contraptions and machines must ensure that the server is not lagging. Admins will remove all that do without compensation! If in doubt: ask.
• No stealing. World protection will keep most stuff safe, but that doesn't mean a runaway robot is yours.

Installation

• Download Forge and run the installer.
• Create a new profile in the Minecraft Launcher and make sure to select the installed Forge version and give it its own directory. (Also remember that directory)
• Run the game once to make sure everything works and to have it create the directories, the exit it.
• Download and unzip the mod-pack into the directory (as in 2.). This should overwrite the existing mods and configs folder. If not make sure you use the correct directory.
• Run the game again, select multiplayer, add a new server with address "arstwo.de" and join
• Say "Hi" and have fun!

Because either I am completely missing something or it is heavily outdated.

 

Just started with OpenComputers and it took me a while to figure out why most of the documented functions just weren't working. Turned out the documentation is just plain wrong.

 

Example:

Wiki:

robot.forward()

Actually:

robot.move(sides.forward)

I don't mind the code update, but without a proper documentation there is hardly anyone going to use this mod.