Raspberry Pi Fallout Terminal PC -- Episode 373

So, it's been a year and a half, but I've still been plugging away at this. I've changed some of my approach, concentrating mostly on making use of my strengths (software) and less on my weaknesses (making new hardware). Here's what I'm working on:

• Using a Pi Zero W
• The aforementioned robco-os project (https://github.com/skwirl42/robco-os) - now includes the version of hack.py that runs inside it
• Cutting down the word list - mostly removing proper names
• Optimizing how the word list is read in - it was reading the whole file in at once, so I had it load it line-by-line and only adding the words of the correct length to the list
• A probably over-engineered python module written in C++ that directly accesses the framebuffer of the PiTFT to draw a console with a custom font (available at https://github.com/skwirl42/pitft-fbprovider - the 'pitft-only' branch of robco-os has an example of usage)
  • Requires the PiTFT to be set up as a framebuffer device
  • Loads a font in png format then draws text to the framebuffer with it
  • I know there's functionality built into linux to do these things, but I like that kind of low-level programming
• Keyboard input is being handled with the tcod (https://python-tcod.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html) module, as I already had that imported for the tcod version of console rendering
  • Could also be used for mouse input, since tcod is built on top of SDL and uses its event system
• Took apart a USB keyboard, traced its matrix, and I'll be using the controller board for a new physical keyboard with 14 keys
• To make room for the new keyboard, replacing the faceplate with cutouts for the keys, and in a more durable material (possibly metal - the PLA broke easily - possibly an inferior print)
  • Unfortunately, I don't have the CAD chops to design this myself, and certainly don't have the metalworking skills
• Use adhesive leatherette for the faceplate to match the in-game look

• Adding an external USB port coming from an internal USB hub - the external port will be where the power button was originally intended to be

I want to make use of the touchscreen, since I intend this to be a relatively general purpose machine. I've been exploring different tools for gesture recognition but haven't found one I'm happy with. The idea would be to use gestures for text input and to enter commands beyond what's available from the physical keyboard. The adafruit page suggests using xstroke, but it hasn't had an update in ages and works best when the desktop is available (it won't be in my project). Another option I'm considering is $-family of gesture recognizers (Impact of $-family) since there's a python module for the $Q variant. It has the problem of not being able to differentiate gestures based on orientation, so a line drawn left-to-right matches a template of a right-to-left (or up/down) gesture.

All this while also working at my day job programming video games. I don't know if I'd get this post deleted or whatever for plugging the game I'm working on, so I won't. But my linkedin profile lists my employer, and it's not much of a jump to find out what we're currently working on.

Wow James, I'm stoked you're still going strong on this! Also, you can definitely post the game you're working on. It's only spam if that's the only thing you do post, but you're actually sharing and contributing to the community as a great example.

I love Fallout, so having a little terminal of my own sounded like just the thing. Eventually I'd like to be able to play holodisk games through the pseudo-OS I'm working on, but for now it's just a text console. I've been dying to make a fantasy game console for years, and so maybe I can do that with this environment.

I'm working on PGA Tour 2K21, and am pretty stoked that one of the recent gameplay trailers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH8K1R7t59o ) shows off some of my work. I implemented the replays and highlights during PGA Tour mode, and then some of my colleagues made them look great. I'm not gonna mention the last project I helped ship, because it bombed hahaha

I love Fallout, so having a little terminal of my own sounded like just the thing. Eventually I'd like to be able to play holodisk games through the pseudo-OS I'm working on, but for now it's just a text console. I've been dying to make a fantasy game console for years, and so maybe I can do that with this environment.

I'm working on PGA Tour 2K21, and am pretty stoked that one of the recent gameplay trailers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH8K1R7t59o ) shows off some of my work. I implemented the replays and highlights during PGA Tour mode, and then some of my colleagues made them look great. I'm not gonna mention the last project I helped ship, because it bombed hahaha