benstopics

6 ms·

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by benstopics 7mo ago
Weird... DNS is either not updated everywhere yet or some alias needs added. Every variation I can think of loads fine for me...
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Show HN: PowerBasilisk: Open x64 PowerBASIC in Rust generates LLVM(github.com)
3 points by benstopics 7mo ago|5 comments
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by benstopics 7mo ago
In my last post about Wall Street Raider, I was asked a lot about why I hadn't tried to use AI to port the game to another programming language. The truth is that the original creator, Michael Jenkins, is still helping with the project
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by benstopics 7mo ago
March 12!
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by benstopics 7mo ago
No, I had considered Microprose, Kitfox, Hooded Horse. I reached out to some but I should have been reaching out a year or two ago. I didn't think I would need one, I still don't think I NEED one... But would have been nice. But I
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by benstopics 7mo ago
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. Wall Street Raider will be released to Early Acces on March 12, 2026. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3525620/view/5951738...
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Is there any questions in particular you're curious about details-wise? I can certainly try to answer or reach it to MJ.
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Sorry for LLM flavor in the article. It's valid criticism and I will rewrite it when I get the chance. I just wanted to share the story and I didn't have time to write it completely from scratch, plus I'm not that great of a
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Maybe as DLC!
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by benstopics 7mo ago
It is a cult and you should run while you still can. I would say to get to the point I'm so now I had to understand 40-50% of it. Let's face it, I work as a software developer and I don't remember half of the code in the proj
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Most people enjoyed it. It is the same as the game. Most people like the remaster direction, a subgroup vehemently dislike specific design decisions and they don't always overlap. The more people that learn about the game the volume of
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I did that on purpose, I thought it needed to be reiterated. See, you're blaming the AI but that was me. I did not specify a word count. Maybe I should have let the AI write the whole thing? Like I said I am not a great writer, especia
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Still using PB compiler. Tried to reach out to the company that bought the right to it and killed it because I wanted to extract the parser from it and make it target LLVM to be cross platform, but after a year of trying to contact them I g
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by benstopics 7mo ago
The code is not a mystery anymore! I'm going to rewrite the article from the feedback I received here. Because I do understand the code now, but it still has been been rewritten even though I could now. This is so Micheal can still add
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Manual smoke testing and touching the original code as little as possible, for now. I am working on an automated testing solution although it will require a lot of backend changes in order to do create fixtures.
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by benstopics 7mo ago
https://wallstreetraiderwiki.com/index.php?title=Running_on_...
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I did exactly that originally. But here is the reality. Michael only knows BASIC and he has felt the agency to continue patching and working on the code, adding features even, since it is still BASIC. When others tried to port it to C++ be
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I agree honestly. I just wanted to get the story out and share it and I'm swamped IRL. But I'm going to go back and clean it up when I get the chance. I do appreciate the constructive feedback from everyone and I will do better.
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I honestly get it. I wouldn't have made that comment but I get why it was made. It tells me I need to go back and put some more effort into it and clean it up. You know, in-between working 80 hours a week at the prompt factory and work
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Good eye! I hope to go back and finish editing it. But it's better use of my time to work on the game itself. But hey, I did all the research at least which took me years so. I just wanted to share the story instead of listing bullet p
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Join Discord there is a channel dedicated to instructions on contacting him. He no longer sells the game except mailing him a check. A completely unrelated factoid... He LOVES $30 Amazon gift cards...
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Haha sometimes I think he is with the things he tells me.
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I referenced a LOT of articles and case studies on legacy rewrites and ports in that first year. It is definitely a challenge that even with LLM still exists and I am happy to add to the body of knowledge surrounding the subject.
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Sure, it's 2026 I used Claude to write a lot of it. But tell me this. Do you know which paragraphs I wrote?
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I think it will definitely need refactored in order to do an overhaul like that. But the best way I can answer your question. WSR does not claim to simulate real markets. It probably leans too much into fundamentals for our time, at least f
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I understand the code now after working with it for so long. I even improved the options code to use Black-Scholes so I have a few tricks up my own sleeve. The reality is, now that I have mastered the codebase structure and BASIC... Why wou
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by benstopics 7mo ago
I continue to advocate for the fact that Michael's code is not bad at all. There are some anti patterns in it for sure, what engineer hasn't fallen into those traps. The fact is Michael is an infinitely better programmer than many
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by benstopics 7mo ago
The feat was done before Claude Agent which is why it was so challenging. Although I admit I am a heavy user now circa the past two weeks. We shall not discuss my Claude Code experience lest I have another mental breakdown at work and my em
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by benstopics 7mo ago
No line numbers but you can use numbers as goto labels. It uses Dynamic Dialog Tools which is a Win32 wrapper which most of my "job" is gutting out those calls, implementing Single Responsibility in functions and plugging in Elect
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by benstopics 7mo ago
Functions yes, and actually PowerBasic does have OOP. Michael didn't use it but it's there. No line numbers except for goto labels, but gosub is the challenge for transpilation.

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