Holy cow. I didn't even know this was coming. Can't wait to work on the sounds for this stuff. 
Thats pretty awesome :).
PS -- Whats the 'FC' that he refers to in the first sentence?
Alblacka says to stop the hype as the cpus will only perform simple functions..
DUH!
What does a cpu in a computer do? Simple functions. Its the software which does the special stuff 
Well, redstone only does an incredibly basic function. On or Off. Even the "basic" functions in the electrochips are far greater than anything redstone offers. Not to mention that fact that people have constructed working PCs with redstone including modems, GPU, Ram, the works. I think Alb is underestimating his own creation here. 
YO DAWG, we heard you liked computers, so we put a computer in your computer, so you can compute while you compute!!
On a more serious note:
If the electro chips go so far as to become mini computers (IE CPU's, GPU's etc.), that would be amazing!
Course though, Alblaka is free to do as he wishes.
This will need a new series of data transfer cables (seriously, idk why 
is able to transfer EU at very low resistance and High voltage - should be replaced by some glowstone lapis superconductors or something.)
They would obviously not connect to power cables and would be required to control these useful blocks that Al talked about.
And would also be used when transferring any type of data between storages or to the CPUs and would be crucial when placing consoles (actually called Terminals IRL).
This would again require there to be switch boxes and Netting/Sub-netting.
What'll be awesome is if this allows us to control our entire operations from a single console, therefor using a command to activate power to a completely separate place off site, or such. Allowing us to create "control rooms" essentially. Especially if proper querying is doable with various devices (power supply queries, chest inventories, etc.) its all plausible but doubtful, but damn wouldn't it be cool if.
To what regard this will allow features and such is completely unknown at the time, but I get the feeling once this is done some IC2 modders will have a blast messing with it doing what Al decides not to. I do agree, Al is highly underestimating his own design potentials here, even if he only does what the blog post says as a fraction, it'll be infinitely more expansive than what Redstone allows.
I understand its a very simple system, but given us players, we're renowned for taking simple and creating amazing things with it. Look at what we've done with redstone!
[Note] Al don't read past this point, this is me rambling in my own head with concepts. I figure most isn't possible but the possibilities (if they are even that) are so awesome.
=
Also given that we can put text in GUIs (something I never knew was doable), wouldn't it be possible then to name Kernels and call them when you want them as long as they're connected to your system? Couldn't you save your databanks by name and save scripts by name and call them appropriately as well? I must look at my own source and tinker around a bit with this concept..
Actually, latter part is what i had intended. Placing a kernel permits to name it. All other parts would probably be labeled by numbers.
Eventually i will even manage the libary to be capable of storing "alias"'s... thus you could name "RedstoneCore3" into "ReactorControl" or stuff.
Actually, latter part is what i had intended. Placing a kernel permits to name it. All other parts would probably be labeled by numbers.
Eventually i will even manage the libary to be capable of storing "alias"'s... thus you could name "RedstoneCore3" into "ReactorControl" or stuff.
You disregarded my advice! xD
But in any way, that's awesome, it means control rooms WILL be possible. I could construct an entire field of stuff with a control tower and then order it from there. That kind of stuff is what has me intrigued. (That and the fact that what you don't do, I'm sure some modders will)
So many possibilities.. *raises hands towards the sky*
@ Alblaka
Will this sort of thing be working with Redpower or entirely incompatible?
(its a much more advanced (compact and complex) form of redpower logic isnt it?)
@ Alblaka
Will this sort of thing be working with Redpower or entirely incompatible?
(its a much more advanced (compact and complex) form of redpower logic isnt it?)
One major use of Electronics will be to control EU and redstone flow.
If i implent Electronics somewhow, you can be sure to get some redstone thingy.
My current intention is a block which can read in or write out redstone specifically on either on it's 6 sides.
Wheres the blog link? I don't see it here: http://wiki.industrial-craft.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
Wheres the blog link? I don't see it here: http://wiki.industrial-craft.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
it's here: http://www.industrial-craft.net/
FYI: Eloraam is making the same (similar) thing:
Redbus – Technical
Written on October 16, 2011 by Eloraam in RedPower
So, I just had the first sign of life from Control:
This time around, it’s not a mockup. It’s running a short 6502 assembly program that initializes the Redbus, sends the text to the display, and updates the cursor position.
Now for the gory technical details. This is for the people who actually know what an assembler is and want to do something with it. If you’re not one of those, don’t worry! You won’t need to know this to use the computer blocks in-game.
The Redbus controller is really simple. It opens a 256 byte memory window starting at 0×200, which is mapped directly into Redbus address space. There’s also a single byte at 0×300 which determines which device (of the 256 possible devices) to connect to.
The screen interface currently works like this:
Byte 0 – The screen row to select for the memory window.
Byte 1 – Cursor horizontal
Byte 2 – Cursor vertical
Byte 3 – Cursor off/on/blink
Byte 16-55 – The characters on the currently selected display line.
The display is 40×25 monochrome text cells.
That’s what’s working right this second.
There are a few things I’m going to change before this becomes final. The controller byte is likely moving to 0×400, so that the memory window at 0×300 can be accessed by external Redbus devices. This will allow almost effortless networking between devices on the same line. Also, it’s likely that register 0xFF on the Redbus will have special meaning – I’m currently thinking that writing to it will be the interrupt request signal, and reading from it will be a presence detect method.
Also, the display block is going to get a bunch more registers for handling its built-in keyboard.
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Welcome to the Future.
Written on October 15, 2011 by Eloraam in RedPower
So I’ve been feeling a little run down lately, with all the hard work of getting RedPower 2 out there and working in all the various cases. Especially considering how badly 1.8.1 broke Forge.
So today, being a Friday and being a good day for goofing around, I put on my mad hat and threw a mad tea party. By which I mean, I decided to do something fun for the pure fun of it.
I make no big secret of the fact that I have a full 3-tier tech tree planned for RedPower, stretching far into the technological future. It’s easy to lose sight of that fact when RedPower World just looks like another “ores and tools” mod, rather than the resources for future mods. The existing work on RedPower is Tech 1, and I’m just starting to inch into Tech 2 with Blue Alloy and the Blutricity system. It takes a while, though, because I have to clear all the prerequisites, figure out crafting paths to each planned milestone, and all that.
Today, though, I threw all of that to the wind. In the name of my own sanity, I broke ground on a new RedPower module: RedPower Control.
It’s a Tech 3 module.
The items to craft the items to craft the items required to craft these blocks don’t exist yet.
But that wasn’t going to stop me. Here’s some screenshots:
There are a lot of new blocks there, so here’s a brief rundown:
The CPU
The CPU block (on the left) contains a 6502 microprocessor, 8K of RAM, and a Universal Parallel Bus interface, with a stylish front-end modeled after the famous PDP-8.
The Backplane
Behind the CPU block is a trail of backplane blocks, which provide expansion for the CPU local bus. You can connect up to 7 backplane blocks, and each one represents the next 8k bank of the 64k address space.
8k RAM expansion
Currently the only expansion block you can add to the CPU local bus, it adds 8k more RAM to the computer. You can have up to 64k, but you will likely save one bank for a system ROM (to be added soon).
Ribbon Cable
The ribbon cable connects Universal Parallel Bus (UPB) endpoints. It comes complete with all the features you would expect in a RedPower wire.
Terminal Interface
A monitor modeled after the one Commodore sold with the C64, except this one is a UPB peripheral, and has a built-in keyboard. Right-clicking it opens the GUI, where you interact with the computer.
So let’s have some FAQ’s before anyone asks them:
Is this a real computer in Minecraft?
YES. This is a real 8-bit microcomputer like a family might have owned in the early 1980s. It’s based on the same 6502 microprocessor that drove the Commodore 64, and it supports up to a full 64k of RAM.
Does it work?
To be honest, I spent most of today doing up the art assets, getting the basic framework to work, and writing the console font rendering code. At the moment, it doesn’t do anything. But it will!
What does it run?
Whatever is on the system ROM. I haven’t finished that part yet. I plan to start by writing a FORTH interpreter, to get people started, but since the system is relatively simple and 6502-based, I expect other people will send in system ROM images that I can add to the default set. Who knows, maybe someone will write a BASIC interpreter eventually.
What can I do with it?
In addition to the various things that you can do with just a computer and a display, I plan to add a UPB-connected IO expander, which connects to a bundled cable. That way, you can control your world using a computer, if you’re not afraid to write a little software!
When is this coming out
This is a Tech 3 module. I may choose to release an early-adopters preview with temporary crafting recipes (probably involving diamond blocks), or I may wait until Tech 3.
Do the backplanes have to be behind the CPU
Yes. The local bus has to be *fast*, or using computers would cause considerable lag. Really, it’s for your own good.
Can I network them to make a cluster?
The UPB is multimaster capable, so you can put multiple CPUs on the same ribbon, but they can’t directly address one another. Still, a clever person might find a way to pass messages between CPUs this way, by using a shared peripheral of some sort
I fear Elo is biting off quite a bit.
I'm under the impression he's trying to basically recreate BC/IC in his own mod to create one super Technic mod. At least that seems to be his long term goal. Also his computing system seems way overcomplicated, only people with a serious understanding of computing will be able to do the most trivial of tasks using it, Al's seems to be more of a control system that's simplified.
I fear Elo is biting off quite a bit.
I'm under the impression he's trying to basically recreate BC/IC in his own mod to create one super Technic mod. At least that seems to be his long term goal. Also his computing system seems way overcomplicated, only people with a serious understanding of computing will be able to do the most trivial of tasks using it, Al's seems to be more of a control system that's simplified.
dont forget some of BTW!
dont forget some of BTW!
So its not just me that thinks he's trying to redo everything then?
So its not just me that thinks he's trying to redo everything then?
She*
She*
On the internet I just roll with the assumptions everyone is a he, easier that way and stops irrelevant discussions usually
But yea same difference.
