@Ddark

Log #001

I was recently pulled to work on the program by the chairman and have seen it grow alarmingly fast. Its purpose is unclear to me and my coworkers, yet both the chairman and my coworker @xblader1359 have been getting increasingly obsessed with its rapidly growing capabilities and wish to feed it as much information as possible to accelerate its development.

 I, however, am quite against this carefree operation of the program. It feels as though they are rushing with no care for its seemingly destructive properties and its ever increasing data requirements for it to train on to continue running. Thankfully, I am not the only one who believes that its containment is too weak as many of my other colleagues agree with me. Together we were able to convince the chairman to allow a tighter security sandbox on the program.Unfortunately, it appears that it noticed this increased security and manifested it into the environment it has created for itself, even altering its current capabilities to work around the new obstacles.

I cannot confirm this, but the program looks like it has more control over the computer running it than we previously thought. As I see it, this is cause for extreme concern, yet very few express any issue with this. When I brought my thoughts on this to the chairman, he dismissed it, mumbling something about me not being able to see the program’s greatness and assigning me to do further research on the program’s connection to its host computer. Before I got to work on this I asked my coworkers for a breakdown of the program’s current capabilities. I will share the summary they gave me below.

The program has the ability to manifest various objects into its sandbox. The objects it creates are mainly based on the training data it was given, but interestingly it seems it is also able to read parts of the security code of the sandbox and is starting to make some sense of the signals given inside the computer. The objects it has created so far include but are not limited to platforms, environments, obstacles based on our attempts to tighten the security of its sandbox, and most dangerously weapons that are able to move it throughout its sand box at breakneck speeds. It has created 4 weapons for itself:

1. A pistol that sends its “body” recoiling away from where it shot
2. A shotgun that can provide stronger recoil depending on how many pellets hit what the program perceives as a platform
3. A rocket launcher that shoots a rocket that triggers an explosive reaction on contact with any separate object or projectile. The rocket launcher can also produce floating mine-like objects that can be shot to instantly trigger an explosion or used as a point for its last weapon.
4. A grappling hook that pulls its body towards whatever it hits unless it hits a rocket. In that case the rocket gets pulled back towards it.

The program has also created two backgrounds so far, one based on the training data we fed it and one based on the power in the system, a thing that we have not given it any information about in its training data. We believe its ability to create is a product of its ability to do something akin to a rudimentary form of thought. It has used this ability to “think” to test the limits of its sandbox, creating system level errors and causing a sandbox reset. This capability is like nothing we have ever seen before.

After looking into where program code is being changed, I have noticed that it is altering its shotgun in some way and building what seems to be new platforms for it to use. I hope that these new developments will make its use and intentions more clear. I have attached a video below for future reference. 

Previous Log -> https://stardance.hackclub.com/projects/30100/devlogs/34085

LOG #005

Begrudgingly at first, I allowed my team to add stronger security to the sandbox environment, as concerns about the possibility of the program becoming “malicious” arise.

Of course, These concerns are unimportant with the progress and innovation of technology. However, a shocking amount of my colleagues decided on this.

As these security measures were put in place, however, the results fascinated me. The program immediately seemed, for the lack of a better word, confused, uncertainly investigating the new additions. It seemed to regard them as obstacles, like a laser or sawblade. I must say that I’m thrilled by the apparent awareness that it’s developing. It’s nothing like the impression of a fragment of a thought that it once was.

However, the most interesting part of this all is the fact that the program started to adapt to it. Having been trained on data regarding cybersecurity, it started developing methods to exploit any weaknesses it found.

It seems like its shotgun’s bullets propel it more rapidly upon contact with these “obstacles”. However, such maneuvers are risky, as getting too close restarts the program.

Of course, the same development of its senses and perception of the environment continued, though it’s still simultaneously strange and intriguing that the program continues to use the data it’s provided with to create things like music for itself.

I immediately shared all of this with the chairman, whose approval of this project only improved. It’s safe to expect further funding of this project.

I’m eager to see how these developments unfold.

Previous Log -> https://stardance.hackclub.com/projects/30100/devlogs/33836

LOG #004

It has created another visual environment for itself.

This seems to have been triggered by allowing the sandbox environment to extend slightly from storage and access part of our power supply systems.

It seems to be able to travel into and interact with the very energy coursing through the system.

Fascinating.

This environment also seems more complex, but that it likely due to new visual data that the program processed

Apart from the program itself, my most trusted colleague pulled me aside today. True to what I suspected, he was also growing concerned with the program. I inquired if this was about its new “body”, but he denied it. Apparently, the program has been testing the boundaries of its confinement.

Despite my pride in this project, this shook me. Looking back at recordings, it seems have seen that reaching certain parts of the sandbox causes a strange reaction and promptly resets its position.

Perhaps stronger security could be beneficial

Previous Log -> https://stardance.hackclub.com/projects/30100/devlogs/31810

LOG #003

We have fed it more data. From the visual information and photos we put into the program, it seems to have constructed a more… appealing vision of it’s surroundings.

Strangely, it has come up with a concerning appearance for itself. No matter how hard I tried to revert its previous, more friendly appearance, the program stubbornly went back to this. However, as I showed the chairman, he simply nodded lightly and told me there’s nothing to be worried about.

On top of that, it seems to be constructing stronger auditory perception from the audio data we put into the program. For some reason, it has produced what appears to be background music.

I’m growing more impressed with this project, despite the few mishaps with its perception of itself. It excites me that the program seems to grow more aware with every passing day.

Previous Log -> https://stardance.hackclub.com/projects/30100/devlogs/17869

LOG #002

After weeks of research, the program seems to be significantly more capable.

Of course, it still moves without purpose, mindlessly exploring the sandbox, but once higher-ups saw our first test version, they demanded more.

We decided first to improve it’s information processing. It seems that, along with significant processing and movement speed increases, it has it’s visual architecture. It seems to have a simple form of turning digital constructs into virtual objects. Along with this, it seems that the program has allocated some power to what seems to be post-processing.

It’s also very important to mention exactly how it’s speed has increased. It seems to be able to reach different areas quickly due to a new shotgun, rocket launcher, and an addition to it’s pistol: a grappling hook. I’ll briefly explain their perceived functions.

• The grappling hook is a part of the pistol. The program may use it to pull itself to objects or pull instances of rockets to itself.
• The shotgun is a larger blast with more cooldown. The projectile’s instances decompose quickly, but upon interaction with other objects, such as what the program sees as “platforms”, they provide a larger boost
  -The rocket launcher shoots a long-cooldown rocket that triggers an explosive reaction on contact with separate object or other projectiles. It also seems to be able to place mines, which hover and later produce a similar explosion. These can be used as grapple points or shot to instantly trigger an explosion. certain things like other explosions and rockets cause mine explosions to be more powerful
  
  Of course, it’s important to mention this is only what the program perceives. It significantly boosts its own processing speed if it can “see” other constructs and programs as visual objects.
  
  However, some feel uneasy developing this. We are not being informed about the intentions for creating this. Its increasing consumption of information coupled with its increasing kinetic and destructive capacity scares my colleages. Can they not realize this will be our magnum opus?
  
  It doesn’t matter. I refuse to end my work on this, and it’s safe to say the board very much approves.

LOG #001

The board has finally started to fund research. They seem to want some sort of intelligence, a supercomputer, anything.

The most rudimentary form of the program has been produced. So far, it seems to only be able to propagate through the sandbox in the most simple way. To itself, it seems to use a pistol.

Interesting.

Of course, the program hasn’t been fed nearly as much data as we plan to. Perhaps we could enhance it with more efficient modes of movement. However, while this early test requires little information, my colleages suspect that more complex models may require larger amounts of information to consume, or they may simply… fizzle out and stop functioning.

It’s safe to say the program hasn’t reached anywhere close to it’s full potential.

What’s New?‎ I’m done with the case now. :D I ended up lengthening the design to be the same length as my Aula f75 so it would fit in cleaner with the rest of my desk. I also added a top layer to make the macro pad more comfortable to use as you can rest your palm on the extra length that was added and have your hand be able to reach the keys easier. I finished off the design by adding some small things like a USB port cut out and adjusting the length of the micro controller “window”. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ What went wrong? One of the big things I really wanted to try to make was having the whole device angle like my current keyboard does and spent some time tried a multitude of different ways I thought I could make this happen and I ended up realizing that the only way to make it work the way I envisioned was to restart and make the cad model on a different plane. This would have included redoing the extremely annoying dxf file shenanigans from last time so I decided against it after wasting an hour or 2 exploring options to make this happen. Another, albeit smaller, issue I encountered was that my micro controller was too far back on my original PCB design and I ended up having to do some minor rerouting to push it forward so the USB port at the end of it would be accessible with the new USB cutout. Also the PCB broke in OnShape when I reloaded it but I just let that be. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ What’s Next? I need to build out the firmware using QMK and code in the different layers for each key and figure out a way to connect the new top piece and the rest of the build without using glue or looking bad like screw holes do. After that my design should be ready to ship! :O

What’s New?

I finally(almost) got the case for my macro pad modeled in CAD. The case uses a sandwich style mount where the PCB sits between a top and bottom plate that is screwed together at the corners. One interesting thing I decided to add is a hole so you can see the microcontroller directly to give it a more diy feel and just cus I like looking at cool electronics.
____________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Goddamn was it a struggle

I spent like an hour and a half and at least 8 attempts just trying to figure out how to get my switch plate to center properly without messing its dimensions up. I kept trying to set the distance between the switch plate dxf and the side of the case but it would always move just the line on the side of the file instead of the whole object. I ended up having to select the whole file to manually move it exactly into position because for some reason dxf files don’t import as one single selection.
____________________________________________________________________________________________ 

What’s next?

The main things I have to do are lower the plate, fillet the sides and make sure the USB on the micro controller can actually be accessed in the build. I also need to make some other aesthetic upgrades, namely trying to match the Aula F75(my current keyboard) in the way that its top and bottom plates meet.

like @sebashtioon said “I want to cheese”
This is a completely cheesed devlog this should NOT be number one.

While yall are here checkout https://url.jam06452.uk
Shoutout to @jam06452 they made peak projects. @vejas cause im nice. @kingvon cause idk, @Keyboard1000n17 for making OSPedia, @SeradedStripes cause why not. and maybe @Rupnil

PS I love nachos but after I found out how they are made I might not eat them anymore.

Just got done with the schematic and PCB design for Duskpad :D , which is a 16 key tri-mode macro pad with an OLED screen. I learned a lot about KiCad through this the main things being learning about global labels, matrix wiring, and vias. I kept redoing my wiring because I never felt like it looked “right” but I eventually realized that it doesn’t really matter how funky the wiring looks so I just put down whatever works DRC returns no errors. Next up I gotta work on the cad model and add some silkscreen art to my PCB.

Just completed the Hackpad DIY guide(https://hackpad.hackclub.com/guide) to familiarize myself with KiCAD ,I had to rewire the pcb after placing the microcontroller on the wrong side :( , and the proccess of building a macropad as a whole, so I can use it to make a tri-mode 16 key pad with numkey,calculator,and macropad functionallity.I forgot to connect Hackatime to Onshape and Kicad since this is my firstime using Hackatime so i only have 17min even though i spent like 3 hours on this. :(
Looking forward to starting making the full featured PCB and case. :D