hybriddog/simple_robots

Simple,programmable robots for Minetest(minetest_game)

simple_robots:Simple programmable robots

#ABOUT This is a mod that provides simple,programmable,robots.
They have a (hopefully) extremely simple programming language.
You have 64 spaces of "command memory" on the robot,each space containing 1 command.
Most importantly,robots cannot pass through anything except pure air.
If the air actually is a node(such as water),the robot will not pass though. If you detect water(you mine a block sucessfully yet you cannot move),place and then mine a block that is very quick to mine. Failing that,it's either not water,or you have to try again.

#GUIDE How to use Simple Robots:
Step 1.Obtain a Simple Robot,either by crafting or creative mode.
If you want to cheat one in,use "simple_robots:robot_simple_off".
Here's the recipe:

• s:Steel Ingot
• t:Stick
• m:Mese Crystal
• g:Glass

The recipe for a simple robot is:

sss
gmt
sss

Step 2.Right click on a Simple Robot that is off to modify it's program,or turn it on.

All commands have 1 field,but it may be unused.
Commands are divided into pages. Different robots have different pages.
At the moment,I haven't implemented tiers. Yet.

Step 3a.To edit a program,first,select the line you wish to edit from the left panel.
Step 3b.Then select the page of commands containing the command you want from the bottom.
For a full list,see COMMANDS below.
Step 3c.Find the command.This should be simple enough-the name for a given command is above that command's parameter.
Step 3d.Now write the parameter,if needed,and press "Set" right of that command's parameter.
Step 3e.Repeat Step 3's parts until you are done writing or modifying the program.

A example would be:
SELECT SLOT 1
FORWARD ELSE GOTO 4
GOTO 2
MINE ELSE GOTO 2
GOTO 2
This will mine with the tool in slot 1.
Note that as of the update in which you receive this version of the file,
the default slot is 1,this is set when you Reset the robot,
and thus SELECT SLOT 1 can be safely replaced with NOP.
(Removing it would mean you would have to decrement the line numbers.)

Step 4.Press Reset(goto 1) to start the robot.This will also reset the current slot to 1.
Step 5.To pause a robot's operation,right click on it. Right click on it again and press "Resume" to continue.
Step 6.To query where in the program a robot is,pause it,and look at the list on the left.
The current line is displayed with a >.
NOTE:Robots cannot perform computation directly.
However,you can write programs that perform operations based upon the presence of blocks.
Thus,it may be possible to create a program and a pattern that act as a Turing-Complete language.
For the case of "I want to be able to extend my farm",
use a block to stop the robot going further than the edge of your farm,
then program the robot to return if blocked
(by turning twice,going forward until it hits something,then turning back)
You will need another block at the start to show the robot where the start is.

#COMMANDS
##SCOUT NOP

Do nothing.

GOTO

Goes to a line. If the argument(aka parameter) is not present or is invalid,shuts down the robot. This is written elsewhere as "Failing that, shutdown."

FORWARD ELSE GOTO

Goes forward 1 block. If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

TURN LEFT

Turns left.

TURN RIGHT

Turns right.

UPWARD ELSE GOTO

Goes up 1 block. If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

DOWNWARD ELSE GOTO

Goes down 1 block. If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

##MINER MINE ELSE GOTO

Mines in front of the robot,using a item from the internal inventory.
Mining will place blocks and items into the robot's inventory, or drop them if they could not be stored. If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

MINE UP ELSE GOTO

Mines above the robot,using a item from the internal inventory.
Mining will place blocks and items into the robot's inventory, or drop them if they could not be stored. If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

MINE DOWN ELSE GOTO

Mines below the robot,using a item from the internal inventory.
Mining will place blocks and items into the robot's inventory, or drop them if they could not be stored. If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

PUNCH ELSE GOTO

Punches in front of the robot,using a item from the internal inventory.
Note that due to the unusual way using a tool works,this also doubles as a "use tool".
You can use this for lighting TNT if a torch is selected, using a hoe of farmland if a hoe is selected, rolling paint with paint_roller, and various other things. The only failure condition is if there's no node AND there's no tool.
If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

PUNCH UP ELSE GOTO

Punches above the robot,using a item from the internal inventory.
Note that due to the unusual way using a tool works,this also doubles as a "use tool".
You can use this for lighting TNT if a torch is selected, using a hoe of farmland if a hoe is selected, rolling paint with paint_roller, and various other things. The only failure condition is if there's no node AND there's no tool.
If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

PUNCH DOWN ELSE GOTO

Punches below the robot,using a item from the internal inventory.
Note that due to the unusual way using a tool works,this also doubles as a "use tool".
You can use this for lighting TNT if a torch is selected, using a hoe of farmland if a hoe is selected, rolling paint with paint_roller, and various other things. The only failure condition is if there's no node AND there's no tool.
If this fails, then goes to a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

##BUILDER PLACE ELSE GOTO

Places a item ahead of the robot from the internal inventory,
in the selected slot.
If the item couldn't be placed, then goto a line number.
Failing that, shutdown.

PLACE UP ELSE GOTO

Places a item above the robot from the internal inventory,
in the selected slot.
If the item couldn't be placed, then goto a line number.
Failing that, shutdown.

PLACE DOWN ELSE GOTO

Places a item below the robot from the internal inventory,
in the selected slot.
If the item couldn't be placed,then goto a line number.
Failing that, shutdown.

##INVENTORY SELECT SLOT

Selects a slot. If the number in the parameter field is invalid,shuts down.

DEPOSIT SELECTED ELSE GOTO

Moves one item from the currently selected slot into a external storage in front of the robot. If only part or none of the stack was transferrable (too much in the target inventory,for example), then goto a line number. Failing that, shutdown. (Empty stacks do not cause a GOTO.)

DEPOSIT ALL BUT SELECTED ELSE GOTO

Moves most items from the 16-slot "internal" storage to a external storage in front of the robot, except for the selected slot. If not everything was transferred(for any reason,including there being no storage), then goto a line number. Failing that, shutdown. (A empty inventory does not cause a GOTO,as 'everything' was transferred.)

TAKE INTO SELECTED ELSE GOTO

Moves 1 stack from a external storage into the selected slot. The "stack" is gotten by going through the whole inventory, and taking items. The stack will be of the first type found,so 1 cobble followed by 1 sand and then another cobble will result in 2 cobble. If none of the stack was transferrable (already a full stack in the slot,for instance), then goto a line number. Failing that, shutdown. (Empty chests do not cause a GOTO.)

TAKE ALL AVOID SELECTED ELSE GOTO

Moves everything from a external storage into the internal storage. However, the selected slot is not used. If there wasn't enough room to fit everything, or the target inventory is missing, then goto a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

SWAP SELECTED WITH SLOT

Swaps the selected slot with the number in the parameter field. If the slot number is invalid, shutdown.

IF SELECTED EMPTY THEN GOTO

If the selected slot is empty,then goto a line number. Failing that, shutdown.

#AUTHORS Expand this if you contribute! Authors are:

gamemanj on GitHub,for original mod. HybridDog on GitHub,for adding place/dig sounds.

#FAQ
Why no variables?

I decided they may be too complicated. However, a pickaxe only lasts for so long. So,when it breaks, the robot can return, dump what it got into a chest,grab a new pickaxe, and continue mining.

I can't program the robots!

Maybe ask someone who can program them for help? Find the Minetest Forums thread this mod is in, as people who like the mod probably know how to use it.

I know Lua,and I want to expand this.

And you can do so(the license allows it).

The way you wrote the VM is weird.

I have to account for metadata that may not even be addressable by the same index after the operation. Course the code's going to be weird. I pass positions sometimes,metadata on others,depends on if movement is involved.

Why does creative mode mess with robots/How do I protect my server from robots/How do robots do all of this?

Essentially,all robots run as their owner by creating a entity,then using metatables to disguise it.
This includes area protection.
Robots can cause protection violations by any physical action apart from movement.
If a robot attempts to move into a protected zone,it will simply fail to do so, without a protection warning.
If a robot attempts to mine into a protected zone, it will cause a protection violation.(The robot will see it as a failure,which here means "undiggable/air")
If you are a server owner afraid of robots, simply ensure players can't get them unless they forfeit access to most server land.
(as in,whitelist certain places they can build) Robots can only work where the player that owns them can, so limiting the player limits the robots. This is by design-the robots are always under the player's orders.

Can someone take over my robot and blame it on me?

Not unless they can change the metadata, which requires admin abilities. The GUI will refuse anything sent by unauthorized players.

Using certain items with PLACE and MINE doesn't work/crashes the server.

No surprise there.Since the owner could be offline,a "fake player" is used. However,it's highly unlikely a crash could happen,as all player functions have no-operation functions by default. (See the dev documents on what get_player_name,etc return when used on a entity. However,some of these are overriden for hopefully obvious reasons.) If a crash does happen,then try using the item in the exact same manner a robot would. Should that replicate the crash,it's the item's fault,else,send details to the maintainer of this branch.

How is it this works with (insert inventory here), when Pipeworks had to perform overrides?

It is a unwritten rule that any inventory you want machines to access should be called "main". Hence, any node containing such a inventory is fully compatible.

What inspired this?

Indirectly,the OpenComputers Navigation library being abandoned due to the Microsoft buyup of Mojang,in favour of Minetest. I noticed a lack of turtles and computers on Minetest. Turtles are more important,as they can be used for automation purposes that "factory" and "pipe" mods cannot.

#LICENSE Copyright 2014 gamemanj

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.