Factory and automationClaude CodePlain HTML/canvas
Computer
A tiny probe, its drones, and a factory that has to grow in empty space until it can build a gate.
Not enough plays yet to compare build 26 with build 25: it needs 10 sessions on each (build 26 has 0, build 25 has 0).
Versions 8.23 to 8.25: the drone is the thruster for short hops, no first-burn cutscene, and ore caps that grow with the core
5e8cf3a V8.23: the drone is the thruster for short hops (to the stern, pulses, round to the bow, pulses to brake; the ship never turns); idle drones rest in the middle of the corea8cec11 V8.24: no first-burn cutscene (no letterbox, no camera move); the music change and the sound staydd07776 V8.25: your core's level raises every ore's cap (20 / 30 / 40); a storage module adds on top9e47b6d Design: research needs items (science packs), Kraig's wordsVersions 8.21 and 8.22: mining lasers on the drones, tried and taken back
c71d83d V8.21: mining lasers on the drones (no hub laser, no reach ring, no Autofire step; the drone mines any rock in its range on its own, a chunk per trip, 0.5 compute); burner Auto burns within a chunk of full; research Stop / Resume keeps progress; a damaged core's levels add compute; decode costs cut; upgrades the stores can't hold are hiddene80fd8f V8.22: back to the hub's laser (Kraig went back on drone mining); kept research Stop / Resume, compute per core level while damaged, cheaper decodes, hidden upgrades the stores can't hold, Auto's burn line, light compute for chunk collection; v8.21 saves load with Autofire doneVersions 8.19 and 8.20: a simpler start, from nothing
cb1e09a V8.19: a simple start: the core's panel grows with Chapter One's steps (battery alone, then compute, laser, hold...); early saves the v8.1 ore change filled get the clean start back (no ore, no stuck chunks)54b09c8 V8.20: start with nothing; Chapter One reordered (smelter from ore, burner and constructor from iron, then the scanner repair that pings the copper field); drone fetches with any room before the burner; laser ore buttons only for mined ores; ore counts 18/20 with a faint cap; compute deficit shows redVersions 8.17 and 8.18: side finds, the signal's pulse, being watched, and longer modules
398d01f V8.17: side finds (5 lone derelicts with data shards and small perks), the signal as a 9.1 s pulse in the music, a quiet being-tracked eye after the dead fleet2c35e1e V8.18: art polish: longer modules (lattice stretched 1.25x along the station's long axis, engine suggested at the stern), edges lit from the faint star, inner frames and details, joint pulses, working glow, damage flicker; the engine is never destroyed; softer debris bandsVersions 8.15 and 8.16: a twist, a payoff and a choice in every chapter
3ae4bfd V8.15: a twist per chapter (2-10) and a payoff at every chapter end (battery and memory topped up); bot rebuilds lost modules and chases drifting coresa450c7d V8.16: either/or choices, one per chapter from Three (two cards under the objective, lasting); Engine II's ore drifts in before it's queuedVersions 8.13 and 8.14: a chapter select for testing, a trip planner and a visible escort
393e989 V8.13: chapter-select test starts (own save key, main game kept), research shown in minutes, trip planner before burns98cb610 V8.14: escort and drone visibility (brighter escort, tracers, bursts, drone numbers), build bar in tabs, destroyed modules no longer trigger the scrap reactionVersion 8.12: Chapter Ten, The Graveyard
Versions 8.7 to 8.11: Chapters Five to Nine. The Long Scan, Light, Point Defense, Cold Mind and Training Run
940bbe8 V8.7: Chapter Five · The Long Scan: scanner L2 research and fit, a hidden silicon field (Glass Reach, 6 km) it finds, the player's own course, the long crossing; saves at 'coming soon' resume into the new chapter71532ef V8.8: Chapter Six · Light: silicon refining, solar arrays (light grows toward the star), a battery module; rocks of any ore the objective needs drift in; the patch objective never stalls; bot no longer chases drifting rockscbdae61 V8.9: Chapter Seven · Point Defense: iron rounds (constructor), the escort built by the assembler flies ahead and shoots debris down (80%, a round each, 0.4 compute/s), magazine kept full by the queue; crossing to the ice field859a800 V8.10: Chapter Eight · Cold Mind: ice melting, the data center (compute and memory while cooled with water and powered), research held at 3/s; refined claims count in demand2a75294 V8.11: Chapter Nine · Training Run: stage a training set, train AI-7 into AI-8 (two drones), the drone bay, the assembler builds the second drone, both dock before burns, crossing to the signal; queued drones claim their whole costVersions 8.4 to 8.6: Chapters Two to Four. Salvage, Assembly and Overclock
e36b128 V8.4: Chapter Two · Salvage: the ruins, wreck cut into mixed ore, data cores decoded into logs and rewards, the cache, core repair; chapters flow with a fading title; Storage moves to Chapter Four9b7b405 V8.5: Chapter Three · Assembly: the assembler and repair kits, Auto repair toggle, the debris shower, modules can be destroyed into salvageable wrecks, rebuild from ore (no softlock)e2c645a V8.6: Chapter Four · Overclock: storage first (caps 100), L2 upgrades (smelter 2x, constructor 1.5x, assembler 1.2x), Engine II as the big build, core 3 decoded reveals the far signal; Chapter Five coming soonVersions 8.2 and 8.3: Chapter One twice as long and short on compute, and the dust cloud is gone
0b1bf49 V8.2: Chapter One twice as long and compute-starved (research x2-2.4, builds and processing x2, damaged core 1.7/s, compute memory 6 until the core is repaired)afdfa40 V8.3: the dust cloud is gone; debris on the move at a flat rate (similar hit counts)Version 8.1: demand-driven production. Only ore is stored, and every spend is a queued request
Versions 7.20 to 7.23: drifting after a cancelled burn, and a drone that's never left behind
83563c6 V7.20: the drone repairs while under way (riding the hull; never the engine or anything in the plume)d1ece1c V7.21: a cancelled flip and burn leaves you drifting (Cancel burn; engine lost); Move or Stop gets you out4d3a4f4 V7.22: the drone docks before every burn (the course waits for it); never stranded; repairs still leave the hull in transit53ec28d V7.23: the opening says 'press to skip' after a first press (a second skips the typed lines); no inventory on the top bar until the opening endsVersions 7.16 to 7.19: readable research, thruster hops and a Move toggle (always processing everything was tried and rolled back)
4b769db V7.16: research strip is a taller block in rows (label and time, full name, what it unlocks, bar, next)e69b37f V7.17: short hops on thrusters inside the drone radius; selecting the core just selects; a Move toggle (tools bar, M, core card)1dfc9ca V7.18: research choices show what each unlocks and labelled numbers (compute, time at your rate); the list grows and scrollsaccc4f3 V7.19: Auto names what's stocked instead of 'no ore'; the module card lists each Auto recipe's state6a448b1 V7.19.1: back to the v7.19 build (v8.0 parked on branch v8.0-always-process); saves made by v8.0 loadVersion 7.11: the first burn, with a flip-and-burn readout
66f2893 V7.11: first-burn cutscene (letterbox, camera in on the ship, ignition flare and sound, star streaks); once a game, skippable1e0ed51 V7.12-7.13: flip-and-burn readout by the ship (phase, speed, acceleration, trip bar with midpoint), RCS puffs and hiss on the flip; no dust streaks by the ship, stars streak with speed5fdadb0 V7.14: module details stay upright as the station turns; the engine icon points along its plume6461007 V7.15: debris hits are tiny ice ticks on a windscreen, far quieter, rate-limitedVersion 7.10: one look for power and compute, showing the true net rate
f3705f4 V7.8: module upgrades move out of Chapter One (Upgrades step removed; Upgrades I gated to after the chapter); old saves step ona9cbcf0 V7.9: energy and compute rates show the true net (generation less demand), with empty/full tagsc68bf59 V7.10: power and compute readouts unified (icon, same-size bar, coloured true-net rate); power gets a bolt and a green/yellow/red barVersion 7: bigger module shapes tried and taken back, a cleaner top bar, and any module can move
90b8869 V7.1: scrap and rebuild (a drone job, half the cost back), no moving or detaching docked modules, placement preview shows what touches0d9e9ef V7.2: module shapes and sizes, any flush edge connects, turning while placing, shaped placement preview67304a3 V7.3: back to single-size modules (Kraig); v7.2 saves convert to one cell each36b03cf V7.4: top bar shows every resource again; cargo status only when it needs you; drone moves to the core card; logo opens a menu (sound, new game, help)0551b9b V7.5: drone and warning chips sit right of the resources; fixed-width tabular numbers so the bar never jitters5536543 V7.6: the whole hold as one chip (used / room) after the resources; opens the inventory8435d5f V7.7: move any module (to an empty flush face or swap), a drone job; station stays dockedVersion 6.1: touching modules pass items, one drone does the rest, and debris brings damage and repairs
Version 6: one ship inventory, and the laser switches to Auto once it's researched
5561b99 Laser switches to Auto as soon as Laser autofire is researched (Kraig's playtest)a501692 V6: one ship inventory (core holds it, storage habs add room, tiny module buffers), a cargo chip and inventory panel with one status and a one-tap fix, priority claims instead of the safety stock (builds, then processors, then the burner), queued blueprints built in order with cancel returning everything, Chapter One iron and copper only4270880 Scene hook: #inv opens the inventory panel for screenshotsVersion 5.5: a design pass on the look, and a dust cloud across the first trip
41aa055 Rings only when they matter: the drone range fades in (brighter) when a drone or chunk is out near it or the hub is selected; the laser reach shows only with a minable rock near, firing by hand, or the hub selecteda190351 Research strip: one tidy line (name ellipsis, time and 'all' never wrap) (Kraig: "messy")227dcda Sound: research chime and objective bell at half volume (Kraig, Oct 15 2026)6fd73be V5.4 design pass: one palette and type scale, tidier HUD and phone layout, distinct hab icons with working/idle/damaged states, rocks with tint and facets, tumbling shards, crisper drones, a sparser starfield; scene hook and test/shots.sh for before/after screenshots8b15fd4 V5.5: a dust cloud across the first trip (debris thickens inside, the sensor sphere shrinks, a faint haze, hiss and chatter, relief on the way out); the camera starts closer and pulls out for the first rock's approachVersion 5.2: just getting by, short on power and compute
Version 5: the hub wakes alone with a crude pulse laser, and a reboot brings compute and the first drone online
53cdfa3 Opening rework (checkpoint): the hub alone with a crude pulse laser (aim, charge, pulse; hover or hold to fire by hand), a slow typed boot with the hull drawing itself, the sensor sphere revealing the first rock and the laser reach extending, the first rock drifting through as a race, a free System reboot for laser Auto, UI pieces fading in when first needed; music silent until the hull lights8956389 Chapter One rework: no lock-on, no moving before the engine; only the story's rocks, one at a time, drifting through your reach (copper when the engine needs it; the crude engine takes copper wire); collapsed research panel; item cards that always close; the Chapter One card reveals slowly392270c Always processing with an automatic safety stock and stock limits; the burner burns or recycles (Clear overflow); quieter, softer mining sounds (auto quieter than by hand); laser Auto fires whenever its chunks have somewhere to go and says why it waitse2c1c95 Compute as a stock with a flow like the battery (generation, store, consumers, signed net rate; empty slows drones and the laser gracefully; compute ledger); signed net rates in the top bar; the research strip under the objective card with a Research button884d64d V5.1: no drone or compute at the start; the free System reboot (while the first rock drifts in, ~90 s) brings compute online and the first drone unfolds from the hub; chunks float until then; Laser autofire is its own early research; the hub drifts dark and lights up instead of being drawnVersion 4.1: never stuck. The burner vents at a full battery and you can jettison what you don't need
e2f1bdd Jumpgate v4.1: making room (the burner vents at a full battery, jettison above the reserve from you and the storage hab, every full status says what to do, a no-deadlock invariant), coasting costs a trickle so the range circle is honest (copper trip ~80% of a full battery), a short hub panel on phones; 121 invariants404f227 Build: dist from the clean v4.1 treeVersion 4, the awakening: a dying battery between stars, the first rock drifts in, you mine it by hand, then automate
d69ab2e Jumpgate v4, Chapter One the awakening: the dying battery between stars, the first rock drifts in, mining by hand then Automation, smelter refines and constructor makes parts (all idle until a recipe is picked), chunks drones collect, drift and lock-on, research for every mechanic, idle and working power draws, compute readout and detail cards, crude engine with flip and burn, momentum, range circle, charge to 100%, unannounced debris with per-hab integrity, drones in formation out of the plume, swarm chatter, continuous zoom to an abstract map with the faint star, generative music; PLAN.md Built (v4); bot 20.5-22.2 game min; 111 invariants5e30c9a Build: dist from the clean v4 treeVersion 3: Chapter One, with lattice habs, an objective card, research and burning salvage for power
2b547f4 Jumpgate v3 front end: lattice habs with + faces and joints/flow ticks, objective card and research line, energy top bar, burner salvage panel, scrap, drone panel, mystery pings, signal and derelict, red-orange plume, phone fixes; PLAN.md Built (v3)bf47868 Build: dist from the clean v3 treeVersion 2: a geometric AI ship in an Asteroids-style vector look, with modules docked on it like habs
9175356 Jumpgate v2 front end: Asteroids-style vector render (AI hexagon with docked habs, mining beam, drones, rotating rocks, scanner, edge markers, dust streaks while drifting), UI with the AI's reserve panel, Move flow, phone layout and touch targets; PLAN.md rewritten with Built8e463f3 Build: dist from the clean v2 treeVersion 1: the first five minutes. A drone base on an asteroid, with free placement and no tiles
7efeb2a Jumpgate front end: renderer (space, asteroid, deposits, machines, drones with cargo), UI (panels, hint ring, goal, item cards), recorder, build to dist/jumpgate.html3639cca Phone layout fixes, snap placement beside deposits, note box Esc, goal labels458e088 No tiles (Kraig: "i don't want a tile based game"): continuous metres, free placement with circle collision, organic asteroid, ore rock clusters; PLAN.md596eceb Build: dist for the first publishMeasured by the ShipGames recorder in every build: anonymous, no names or cookies. A session counts once the player presses something; bots and rapid repeat plays are left out.
The next morning brought a chapter select for testing, a twist and a choice in every chapter, side finds and longer modules. That afternoon Kraig rethought the moving factory as one home that stays put and a frigate that flies out. That became its own game, Solhex.
A late evening of playtest notes, each built within minutes, then the biggest rethink: only ore is stored, and every spend is a queued request. Kraig went to sleep and asked for the game built through Chapter Ten. Chapters Two to Ten each brought one new mechanic, from salvage to a graveyard of dead ships.
Chapter One was rebuilt around a dying battery: the first rock drifts in, you mine it by hand, and research unlocks every mechanic. Then the hub woke alone with a crude pulse laser, power and compute ran short on purpose, and one drone and one shared hold replaced a store in every module.
Kraig described the idea in one breath on Oct 15: a probe sent out with the most basic building blocks, drones as the whole logistics system, and a base that has to grow until it can build a jump gate. The first build was the first five minutes. After playing it he asked for no tiles, then for something slower, sparser and more distant: a geometric AI ship and a guided Chapter One.
From the game's own git history: 265 commits, 26 builds. Self-reported. Not verified: GitHub has no record of these commits being pushed. Checked Nov 4, 2026 by tools/verify.mjs (gh CLI).
f0a78cf