Scripting Language

[testtubegames]

This was a thought brought up in the suggestions thread, and I'm going to move the discussion here.

"What if we add a scripting language into the simulator, so players can code behaviors themselves"

As I said above, my instincts are telling me *not* to do a scripting language (scope creep and all). But even if it doesn't convince me to do it 100%, maybe there'll be some offshoots of the discussion I can add to the game anyway. Like, maybe there's a simple way to add a planet with a defined eccentricity - instead of just being able to launch circular orbits (wtg62's example).

One thing I'd like to do, for instance, is be able to put out objects at regular spatial intervals. (That's how I make the first 'example' arrangement, for instance.) Easy with code, hard with your hands. But one way to do it without having players actually code could be to have a 'snap-to-grid' option, where you control the spacing of the grid. Then you can 'bam bam bam' add a bunch of evenly spaced objects.

[exfret]

I always thought that you could just give away the words that make the code run and that's all. Does the fact you made it in unity change the programming language or the way you run it? Also, is the unity developer platform not free or something? I'm still confused about why open-source is such a big deal. I mean, they're just words, right? Right?

[robly18]

Exfret, here's what I see as one of the main problems with open source:
If I wanted to steal his game and say it was my own, I could do it easily. All I'd have to do would be remove the watermark and be done with it.

Honestly, if I ever make something similar I'd be glad to let you guys know and try to add that kind of stuff. Until then however, it sounds incredibly hard and if you'd have the skill to do something great with it you'd probably have enough skill to make your own game anyway.

[exfret]

Exfret, here's what I see as one of the main problems with open source:
If I wanted to steal his game and say it was my own, I could do it easily. All I'd have to do would be remove the watermark and be done with it.

Honestly, if I ever make something similar I'd be glad to let you guys know and try to add that kind of stuff. Until then however, it sounds incredibly hard and if you'd have the skill to do something great with it you'd probably have enough skill to make your own game anyway.

That's why I suggested putting the source code on a password-protected site and giving us the password via email. There are, of course, still plenty of security issues with this. Still, there's not many people who would find the source code, and if they do impersonate as GSim's founder, we're all here to testify against it. Even so, I agree with you robly, he probably shouldn't put the source code out. I'm just a little hopeful because I'm imagining how awesome it would be to mess with relativity. (I really want to mess with Velocity Raptor's source code).

[A Random Player]

If I wanted to steal his game and say it was my own, I could do it easily. All I'd have to do would be remove the watermark and be done with it.

But I'd be more clever! I'd add my own watermark to the game!

My original thought for the scripting language was that it could add things that might be deemed out of scope. For example, I'd always wondered how a spaceship would fare in a rapidly collapsing protoplanetary disc. (What about multiplayer!?!? That could make an interesting game.)
Though an useful thing you could add is orbits around a selected planet/star with full control of the 6 orbital elements. Perfect parabolas, large ellipses, objects precisely on opposite sides, Cruithne bean shapes with equal periods, could all be added. Then I could copy both you (for my 2D KSP if I ever work on it more) and the real solar system

Pre-Edit: Ninja'd by exfret. Relativity sim isn't actually that hard though.
Edit: sqrt(3)*1000 (==sqrt(3e6))th post!

[wtg62]

I'm sure if you tried your hand at some sorta mark-up language it would be possible.
As I said earlier in the suggestions thread, your save code (or at least in my view) does technically count as a mark-up language.
So *maybe* your skills will be able to create something like that. Doing it now would be overwhelming, yes, so definitely save it for later.

[testtubegames]

I'm sure if you tried your hand at some sorta mark-up language it would be possible.
As I said earlier in the suggestions thread, your save code (or at least in my view) does technically count as a mark-up language.
So *maybe* your skills will be able to create something like that. Doing it now would be overwhelming, yes, so definitely save it for later.

Fair point. And maybe at some level, I could take a small step by introducing some other syntax in the save/load codes.

So maybe you could have (very roughly): [x0:0, y0:0, xd:10, num:100, type:1, m:10] and that would make 100 objects of mass 10, starting at (0,0) and spaced (10,0) apart from one another. We agree, though, this is down the road if it gets added in.

(I really want to mess with Velocity Raptor's source code).

Haha, yeah. It's fun stuff. I hear what you're saying about playing around with things if you get the source -- an it's very cool to think about. But it seems like a can of worms I'm not ready to open. Words like 'open source' kinda need to be integrated into your project from the get-go... as it stands nothing I have really fits in the model of "give the code away to people so they can modify it." And frankly, given how embarrassingly ugly my code is, I'd hate to make anyone suffer through the titanic prospect of deciphering it.

[wtg62]

My code is ugly too.

Does that mean I can see it?