Circuitry

by Cccel
Currently a very basic, in development, piece of software that will simulate simple circuits
ID:1282963
 
My first update! This one with a few 'bug fix's' and a nice new feature!

Parallel circuits are not in yet, but I have come a step closer to allowing their creation! Hopefully by tomorrow you should be able to easily creature circuits that branch off in all different directions. But for now, this update includes the ability to place multiple circuits on the same map, as well as a larger map.

The program will solve each circuit incrementally, doing one part of each and then moving onto the next, hopefully at what's a reasonable pace. The larger map hopefully allows for the ability to make larger circuits. (Not that there is a whole lot to play with yet.)

I also added in verb in the game to toggle the map lighting on and off, so that it can be light for circuit building, and dark for when you want to see your pretty lights light up. I also fixed the 'bug' with the positive block not appearing properly. As it turns out, I hadn't had the block illuminated so it was simply becoming dark.


Hope's for the next update:

Lights will not actually light up until the circuit has been proven to be complete.

As mentioned previously, parallel circuits.

As a side note, so far there have been twelve downloads that were not my own on the project, and when I saw this my jaw dropped for at least a minute, probably two, straight. I was surprised anyone had seen this, so I'm a little overwhelmed by even this incredibly small number.
Ah, I hope that's not due to any lack of explanation on my part. Perhaps I'll try to write a guide to it that makes a bit more sense.

That's somewhat of the idea. After I came up with the idea itself and started working on it the thought that it could become a game entered my head. I think if I do that, it will be after I get a program working to actually simulate circuitry. I've got a lot more to do. XD
Hmm.... we shall see, and thanks!
Updates are now going to be weekly, so that I can ensure some features are added each time, and aren't terribly buggy. I know I said a while ago there might be updates within a day, but they were terribly buggy and unusable. So, hence the wait and this post!

Though I may have somewhat promised parallel circuits, they aren't in yet. They ended up with one bug that kills the way the entire code works, and I need to work on that. But in the mean time, I have brought several other useful updates!

I changed the way the circuit will show you how it tests whether or not it is complete, and the way it shows you the path of the electron. Now, you are required to have a path from the positive side of the circuit, through the negative, and back through to the positive. I am not sure that will be a permanent change or not as of yet.

Now, there is a verb called "Show Electron Path" Which, after you have tested your circuit, will send a visual representation of the electron down the circuit, much like the program used to. But this allows the circuit to be checked much faster, so you know whether or not it works right away.

The UI is now integrated all into one window, but it's still somewhat clunky and you are only able to build one block at a time still. But thanks to a friend of mine, there is now a visual upgrade to the program. All of the icons aside from the positive and negative blocks, are courtesy of him.

Code has been created on that tells the program to pulse through the circuit repeatedly, so that you can destroy a part of the circuit at any time, but due to the changes in the way you are shown the path of the electron, this has not yet been implemented.

Hopefully, by next week, parallel circuits will be a step closer to being implemented. As well as better resistors. My next goal for the resistors is to have the current resistor base icon used, with a horizontal version included, as well as color bands that are on resistors in real life. These will be done so that there is an in-game guide to the colors, and you will select the color bands that are put on the resistor, to determine how much current it removes.

Next week I also hope to replace the placeholder variable current, with voltage and amps, which will be an extremely simple thing to do. But once parallel circuits are introduced, it will allow for many more circuitry items to be added into the program, so lets all hope that that part will come quickly.

I also removed the Retest verb, that now happens automatically every time you test the circuit.

Thanks for reading!