Welcome to our maker news where we wrap up some fun and interesting stories in the maker world from the last few weeks. The video will come out on Fridays, but we are posting a topic here on Wednesdays to post the video’s sources and to collect any news from the community to potentially include in next week’s as well as just open up general discussion.
This week we looked at:
Doom Running on an SQL Database
Patrick Trainer has managed to get a playable version of Doom running entirely within an SQL database and it is one of the coolest demos we’ve seen in a while. Running Doom on unusual platforms has almost become a rite of passage for hackers and makers these days, and this one is especially creative not only in concept but execution. While a bit of JavaScript is used to handle keyboard input and orchestrate sections of SQL, all of the game logic, movement, and world state are processed in SQL. Even the graphics themselves are raycast and rendered as ASCII stored within the database!
Although this is technically just a “Doom-like” demo rather than the full game, you can get it running in your browser in just a few minutes. It’s a really fun experiment—go give it a try if you’re curious!
A Large Language Model… On a Commodore 64!
Matěj Vítkovjak has done something many would have thought impossible: he’s ported a large language model to the Commodore 64! It’s not a full LLM like ChatGPT, but a version of Meta’s open-source Llama 2 model, specifically the TinyStories variant. Imagine prompting a three-year-old to finish your story—this model will continue the text as best as it can using its limited vocabulary and the C64’s constraints.
Is it practical? Not really. Is it an incredible technical achievement to see a 2023-era language model running on a nearly 40-year-old home computer? Absolutely! If you have a C64 lying around, you can check out his repository to try it out yourself. He’s even made a working Bitcoin miner for the C64, if you’re really looking to push retro hardware to its limits.
Pro-Quality DIY Panels With a Home Printer
The YouTube channel Accidental Science has a fantastic and simple method for creating professional-looking control panels on a budget, using materials you probably already have at home. The process is straightforward: design your panel and print it out using a regular home printer. Next, varnish the front, paint the back white, adhere it to your enclosure using two-part epoxy, and then add another layer of varnish. There are a few more details involved (definitely worth watching the full video for tips and tricks), but this method allows makers to create polished, high-quality panels for their projects without expensive equipment. If you want your next project to look extra sharp, give this one a try!
And if you have any news from the maker world, feel free to post it below and we may include it in next week’s video, until then we will see you next week!
