Use tabletopgames.ai’s open source TAG and PyTAG frameworks to apply Statistical Forward Planning and Deep Reinforcement Learning to two board games of our own design. On an all-green, all-open source, all-AWS stack!

Results: Infrastructure Achievements
We successfully built and automated a containerized stack to support our AI experiments. This included:
- a Fully-Automated, One-Command, GPU-accelerated Kubernetes setup: we created an OpenTofu based script, tofu-tag, to deploy SUSE's RKE2 Kubernetes running on CUDA-enabled nodes in AWS, powered by openSUSE with GPU drivers and gpu-operator
- Containerization of the TAG and PyTAG frameworks: TAG (Tabletop AI Games) and PyTAG were patched for seamless deployment in containerized environments. We automated the container image creation process with GitHub Actions. Our forks (PRs upstream upcoming):

./deploy.sh and voilà - Kubernetes running PyTAG (k9s, above) with GPU acceleration (nvtop, below)
Results: Game Design Insights
Our project focused on modeling and analyzing two card games of our own design within the TAG framework:
- Game Modeling: We implemented models for Dario's "Bamboo" and Silvio's "Totoro" and "R3" games, enabling AI agents to play thousands of games ...in minutes!
- AI-driven optimization: By analyzing statistical data on moves, strategies, and outcomes, we iteratively tweaked the game mechanics and rules to achieve better balance and player engagement.
- Advanced analytics: Leveraging AI agents with Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) and random action selection, we compared performance metrics to identify optimal strategies and uncover opportunities for game refinement .
- more about Bamboo on Dario's site
- more about R3 on Silvio's site (italian, translation coming)
- more about Totoro on Silvio's site

A family picture of our card games in progress. From the top: Bamboo, Totoro, R3
Results: Learning, Collaboration, and Innovation
Beyond technical accomplishments, the project showcased innovative approaches to coding, learning, and teamwork:
- "Trio programming" with AI assistance: Our "trio programming" approach—two developers and GitHub Copilot—was a standout success, especially in handling slightly-repetitive but not-quite-exactly-copypaste tasks. Java as a language tends to be verbose and we found it to be fitting particularly well.
- AI tools for reporting and documentation: We extensively used AI chatbots to streamline writing and reporting. (Including writing this report! ...but this note was added manually during edit!)
- GPU compute expertise: Overcoming challenges with CUDA drivers and cloud infrastructure deepened our understanding of GPU-accelerated workloads in the open-source ecosystem.
- Game design as a learning platform: By blending AI techniques with creative game design, we learned not only about AI strategies but also about making games fun, engaging, and balanced.
Last but not least we had a lot of fun! ...and this was definitely not a chatbot generated line!
The Context: AI + Board Games
Board games have long been fertile ground for AI innovation, pushing the boundaries of capabilities such as strategy, adaptability, and real-time decision-making - from Deep Blue's chess mastery to AlphaZero’s domination of Go. Games aren’t just fun: they’re complex, dynamic problems that often mirror real-world challenges, making them interesting from an engineering perspective.
As avid board gamers, aspiring board game designers, and engineers with careers in open source infrastructure, we’re excited to dive into the latest AI techniques first-hand.
Our goal is to develop an all-open-source, all-green AWS-based stack powered by some serious hardware to drive our board game experiments forward!
Our Motivation
We believe hands-on experimentation is the best teacher.
Combining our engineering backgrounds with our passion for board games, we’ll explore AI in a way that’s both challenging and creatively rewarding. Our ultimate goal? To hack an AI agent that’s as strategic and adaptable as a real human opponent (if not better!) — and to leverage it to design even better games... for humans to play!
Silvio Moioli & Dario Leidi
Looking for hackers with the skills:
ai suse deeplearning python java kubernetes terraform containers amazon aws sles games gamedesign boardgames
This project is part of:
Hack Week 24
Activity
Comments
-
about 1 year ago by moio | Reply
Day 1: infrastructure work
- Silvio: focused on creating AWS/RKE2 Tofu scripts to deploy the Kubernetes infrastructure
- Dario: focused on containerizing the TAG framework (Java part)
Results:
- https://github.com/moio/tofu-tag/ the tofu-tag repo to deploy SUSE AI infrastructure in AWS
- https://github.com/moio/TabletopGames/releases/tag/v1.0.0 first containerized release of TAG
-
about 1 year ago by moio | Reply
Day 2: modeling Bamboo
- Silvio and Dario paired to implement a TAG model of Dario's card game "Bamboo"
Results:
- https://github.com/moio/TabletopGames/commit/d1430cd6173c51756cd6694e13f3a3f59f8ef0ce a first implementation of Bamboo was created and runs against an MCTS AI agent
- metrics from some tens of executions have been analyzed and some bugs were fixed. We are still suspicious others lie behind the surface. More work tomorrow on finding out whether the metrics are actually correct or we have bugs
- a problem was found in tofu-tag, CUDA does not seem to work correctly. More investigation needed
-
about 1 year ago by moio | Reply
Day 3: refining
- Silvio: worked around the CUDA problem in tofu-tag. Seems like an early bug in openSUSE and SLES, which hasn't made it to SLE Micro yet, was found and reported! All works now
- Silvio: also worked a bit on TAG metrics for another simple game "Totoro". Approach seems to be working
- Dario fixed an embarassing bug in yesterday's "Bamboo" implementation and started working on balance
Next up: implement the next game!
-
about 1 year ago by moio | Reply
Day 4: modeling R3
- Silvio and Dario paired to refine a TAG model of Silvio's card game "Totoro" and came to the definition of a "hard mode" for the game by comparing play statistics of an AI (MCTS) against a player choosing actions at random
- Silvio and Dario paired to implement a TAG model of Silvio's card game "R3" - much more complex than the previous ones, but still manageable. The first implementation works, more work is needed to extract the right metrics and balance
Results:
- more commits on https://github.com/moio/TabletopGames/branch/hackweek24
Manuals + pictures of the three games modeled so far are upcoming! Stay tuned.
-
12 months ago by moio | Reply
Day 5: Kubernetes, drivers, CUDA, oh my!
- Silvio and Dario paired with the objective to run PyTAG, CUDA-accelerated via PyTorch, on the infrastructure defined in day 1. We started on Dario's host, to align bits before adding AWS, Kubernetes and containerization into the mix - and found quite some Python packaging challenges before hitting a wall on hardware support (graphic card was a bit too old). Ultimately we tried again on AWS via tofu-tag and things worked!
Results:
- more commits on our fork of TAG - Java packaging bits to make Python packaging easier
- more commits on our fork of PyTAG - Python packaging and container building (including GitHub Action automation)
- final bits on tofu-tag to tie it all together.
It was a great HackWeek and we had a lot of fun!
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Join the Gitter channel! https://gitter.im/uyuni-project/hackweek
Uyuni is a configuration and infrastructure management tool that saves you time and headaches when you have to manage and update tens, hundreds or even thousands of machines. It also manages configuration, can run audits, build image containers, monitor and much more!
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The idea is testing Salt and Salt-ssh clients, but NOT traditional clients, which are deprecated.
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- Bonus point: sumaform enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/sumaform)
- Bonus point: Documentation (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni-docs)
- Bonus point: testsuite enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni/tree/master/testsuite)
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This card is for EVERYONE, not just developers. Seriously! We had people from other teams helping that were not developers, and added support for Debian and new SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE Leap versions :-)
Pending
In progress
FUSS
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https://fuss.bz.it/
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Join the Gitter channel! https://gitter.im/uyuni-project/hackweek
Uyuni is a configuration and infrastructure management tool that saves you time and headaches when you have to manage and update tens, hundreds or even thousands of machines. It also manages configuration, can run audits, build image containers, monitor and much more!
Currently there are a few distributions that are completely untested on Uyuni or SUSE Manager (AFAIK) or just not tested since a long time, and could be interesting knowing how hard would be working with them and, if possible, fix whatever is broken.
For newcomers, the easiest distributions are those based on DEB or RPM packages. Distributions with other package formats are doable, but will require adapting the Python and Java code to be able to sync and analyze such packages (and if salt does not support those packages, it will need changes as well). So if you want a distribution with other packages, make sure you are comfortable handling such changes.
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The idea is testing Salt and Salt-ssh clients, but NOT traditional clients, which are deprecated.
To consider that a distribution has basic support, we should cover at least (points 3-6 are to be tested for both salt minions and salt ssh minions):
- Reposync (this will require using spacewalk-common-channels and adding channels to the .ini file)
- Onboarding (salt minion from UI, salt minion from bootstrap scritp, and salt-ssh minion) (this will probably require adding OS to the bootstrap repository creator)
- Package management (install, remove, update...)
- Patching
- Applying any basic salt state (including a formula)
- Salt remote commands
- Bonus point: Java part for product identification, and monitoring enablement
- Bonus point: sumaform enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/sumaform)
- Bonus point: Documentation (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni-docs)
- Bonus point: testsuite enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni/tree/master/testsuite)
If something is breaking: we can try to fix it, but the main idea is research how supported it is right now. Beyond that it's up to each project member how much to hack :-)
- If you don't have knowledge about some of the steps: ask the team
- If you still don't know what to do: switch to another distribution and keep testing.
This card is for EVERYONE, not just developers. Seriously! We had people from other teams helping that were not developers, and added support for Debian and new SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE Leap versions :-)
Pending
In progress
FUSS
FUSS is a complete GNU/Linux solution (server, client and desktop/standalone) based on Debian for managing an educational network.
https://fuss.bz.it/
Seems to be a Debian 12 derivative, so adding it could be quite easy.
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Goals
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- Open-Source Mindset: foster a passion for open-source software, encouraging students to contribute to open-source projects and collaborate with the global developer community.
- Career Readiness: prepare students for industry-relevant roles by exposing them to real-world use cases, best practices, and open-source in companies.
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Project Description
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Github Repo for Harvester CLI: https://github.com/belgaied2/harvester-cli
Done in previous Hackweeks
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Goal for this Hackweek
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Some nice additions might be: * Improve handling of namespaced objects * Add features, such as network management or Load Balancer creation ? * Add more unit tests and, why not, e2e tests * Improve CI * Improve the overall code quality * Test the program and create issues for it
Issue list is here: https://github.com/belgaied2/harvester-cli/issues
Resources
The project is written in Go, and using client-go the Kubernetes Go Client libraries to communicate with the Harvester API (which is Kubernetes in fact).
Welcome contributions are:
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What you might learn
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- Harvester as a SUSE Product
- Go programming language
- Kubernetes API
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Project Description
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- Change testing logic to populate secrets instead of requiring a secondary script
- Add new tests
Goals for Hackweek 24 (Complete)
- Create a basic framework for creating Rancher/k8s cluster lab environments as needed for the Break/Fix
- Create at least 5 modules that can be applied to the cluster and require troubleshooting
Resources
- https://github.com/celidon/rancher-troublemaker
- https://github.com/rancher/terraform-provider-rancher2
- https://github.com/rancher/tf-rancher-up
- https://github.com/rancher/quickstart
Cluster API Provider for Harvester by rcase
Project Description
The Cluster API "infrastructure provider" for Harvester, also named CAPHV, makes it possible to use Harvester with Cluster API. This enables people and organisations to create Kubernetes clusters running on VMs created by Harvester using a declarative spec.
The project has been bootstrapped in HackWeek 23, and its code is available here.
Work done in HackWeek 2023
- Have a early working version of the provider available on Rancher Sandbox : *DONE *
- Demonstrated the created cluster can be imported using Rancher Turtles: DONE
- Stretch goal - demonstrate using the new provider with CAPRKE2: DONE and the templates are available on the repo
DONE in HackWeek 24:
- Add more Unit Tests
- Improve Status Conditions for some phases
- Add cloud provider config generation
- Testing with Harvester v1.3.2
- Template improvements
- Issues creation
DONE in 2025 (out of Hackweek)
- Support of ClusterClass
- Add to
clusterctlcommunity providers, you can add it directly withclusterctl - Testing on newer versions of Harvester v1.4.X and v1.5.X
- Support for
clusterctl generate cluster ... - Improve Status Conditions to reflect current state of Infrastructure
- Improve CI (some bugs for release creation)
Goals for HackWeek 2025
- FIRST and FOREMOST, any topic is important to you
- Add e2e testing
- Certify the provider for Rancher Turtles
- Add Machine pool labeling
- Add PCI-e passthrough capabilities.
- Other improvement suggestions are welcome!
Thanks to @isim and Dominic Giebert for their contributions!
Resources
Looking for help from anyone interested in Cluster API (CAPI) or who wants to learn more about Harvester.
This will be an infrastructure provider for Cluster API. Some background reading for the CAPI aspect:
Mammuthus - The NFS-Ganesha inside Kubernetes controller by vcheng
Description
As the user-space NFS provider, the NFS-Ganesha is wieldy use with serval projects. e.g. Longhorn/Rook. We want to create the Kubernetes Controller to make configuring NFS-Ganesha easy. This controller will let users configure NFS-Ganesha through different backends like VFS/CephFS.
Goals
- Create NFS-Ganesha Package on OBS: nfs-ganesha5, nfs-ganesha6
- Create NFS-Ganesha Container Image on OBS: Image
- Create a Kubernetes controller for NFS-Ganesha and support the VFS configuration on demand. Mammuthus
Resources
terraform-provider-feilong by e_bischoff
Project Description
People need to test operating systems and applications on s390 platform.
Installation from scratch solutions include:
- just deploy and provision manually
(with the help of ftpbootscript, if you are at SUSE) - use
s3270terminal emulation (used byopenQApeople?) - use
LXCfrom IBM to start CP commands and analyze the results - use
zPXEto do some PXE-alike booting (used by theorthosteam?) - use
tessiato install from scratch using autoyast - use
libvirtfor s390 to do some nested virtualization on some already deployed z/VM system - directly install a Linux kernel on a LPAR and use
kvm+libvirtfrom there
Deployment from image solutions include:
- use
ICICweb interface (openstackin disguise, contributed by IBM) - use
ICICfrom theopenstackterraformprovider (used byRancherQA) - use
zvm_ansibleto controlSMAPI - connect directly to
SMAPIlow-level socket interface
IBM Cloud Infrastructure Center (ICIC) harnesses the Feilong API, but you can use Feilong without installing ICIC, provided you set up a "z/VM cloud connector" into one of your VMs following this schema.
What about writing a terraform Feilong provider, just like we have the terraform libvirt provider? That would allow to transparently call Feilong from your main.tf files to deploy and destroy resources on your system/z.
Other Feilong-based solutions include:
- make
libvirtFeilong-aware - simply call
Feilongfrom shell scripts withcurl - use
zvmconnectorclient python library from Feilong - use
zthinpart of Feilong to directly commandSMAPI.
Goal for Hackweek 23
My final goal is to be able to easily deploy and provision VMs automatically on a z/VM system, in a way that people might enjoy even outside of SUSE.
My technical preference is to write a terraform provider plugin, as it is the approach that involves the least software components for our deployments, while remaining clean, and compatible with our existing development infrastructure.
Goals for Hackweek 24
Feilong provider works and is used internally by SUSE Manager team. Let's push it forward!
Let's add support for fiberchannel disks and multipath.
Possible goals for Hackweek 25
Modernization, maturity, and maintenance.
Testing and adding GNU/Linux distributions on Uyuni by juliogonzalezgil
Join the Gitter channel! https://gitter.im/uyuni-project/hackweek
Uyuni is a configuration and infrastructure management tool that saves you time and headaches when you have to manage and update tens, hundreds or even thousands of machines. It also manages configuration, can run audits, build image containers, monitor and much more!
Currently there are a few distributions that are completely untested on Uyuni or SUSE Manager (AFAIK) or just not tested since a long time, and could be interesting knowing how hard would be working with them and, if possible, fix whatever is broken.
For newcomers, the easiest distributions are those based on DEB or RPM packages. Distributions with other package formats are doable, but will require adapting the Python and Java code to be able to sync and analyze such packages (and if salt does not support those packages, it will need changes as well). So if you want a distribution with other packages, make sure you are comfortable handling such changes.
No developer experience? No worries! We had non-developers contributors in the past, and we are ready to help as long as you are willing to learn. If you don't want to code at all, you can also help us preparing the documentation after someone else has the initial code ready, or you could also help with testing :-)
The idea is testing Salt and Salt-ssh clients, but NOT traditional clients, which are deprecated.
To consider that a distribution has basic support, we should cover at least (points 3-6 are to be tested for both salt minions and salt ssh minions):
- Reposync (this will require using spacewalk-common-channels and adding channels to the .ini file)
- Onboarding (salt minion from UI, salt minion from bootstrap scritp, and salt-ssh minion) (this will probably require adding OS to the bootstrap repository creator)
- Package management (install, remove, update...)
- Patching
- Applying any basic salt state (including a formula)
- Salt remote commands
- Bonus point: Java part for product identification, and monitoring enablement
- Bonus point: sumaform enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/sumaform)
- Bonus point: Documentation (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni-docs)
- Bonus point: testsuite enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni/tree/master/testsuite)
If something is breaking: we can try to fix it, but the main idea is research how supported it is right now. Beyond that it's up to each project member how much to hack :-)
- If you don't have knowledge about some of the steps: ask the team
- If you still don't know what to do: switch to another distribution and keep testing.
This card is for EVERYONE, not just developers. Seriously! We had people from other teams helping that were not developers, and added support for Debian and new SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE Leap versions :-)
Pending
In progress
FUSS
FUSS is a complete GNU/Linux solution (server, client and desktop/standalone) based on Debian for managing an educational network.
https://fuss.bz.it/
Seems to be a Debian 12 derivative, so adding it could be quite easy.
[W]Reposync (this will require using spacewalk-common-channels and adding channels to the .ini file)[W]Onboarding (salt minion from UI, salt minion from bootstrap script, and salt-ssh minion) (this will probably require adding OS to the bootstrap repository creator) --> Working for all 3 options (salt minion UI, salt minion bootstrap script and salt-ssh minion from the UI).[W]Package management (install, remove, update...) --> Installing a new package works, needs to test the rest.[I]Patching (if patch information is available, could require writing some code to parse it, but IIRC we have support for Ubuntu already). No patches detected. Do we support patches for Debian at all?[W]Applying any basic salt state (including a formula)
Rancher/k8s Trouble-Maker by tonyhansen
Project Description
When studying for my RHCSA, I found trouble-maker, which is a program that breaks a Linux OS and requires you to fix it. I want to create something similar for Rancher/k8s that can allow for troubleshooting an unknown environment.
Goals for Hackweek 25
- Update to modern Rancher and verify that existing tests still work
- Change testing logic to populate secrets instead of requiring a secondary script
- Add new tests
Goals for Hackweek 24 (Complete)
- Create a basic framework for creating Rancher/k8s cluster lab environments as needed for the Break/Fix
- Create at least 5 modules that can be applied to the cluster and require troubleshooting
Resources
- https://github.com/celidon/rancher-troublemaker
- https://github.com/rancher/terraform-provider-rancher2
- https://github.com/rancher/tf-rancher-up
- https://github.com/rancher/quickstart
Rewrite Distrobox in go (POC) by fabriziosestito
Description
Rewriting Distrobox in Go.
Main benefits:
- Easier to maintain and to test
- Adapter pattern for different container backends (LXC, systemd-nspawn, etc.)
Goals
- Build a minimal starting point with core commands
- Keep the CLI interface compatible: existing users shouldn't notice any difference
- Use a clean Go architecture with adapters for different container backends
- Keep dependencies minimal and binary size small
- Benchmark against the original shell script
Resources
- Upstream project: https://github.com/89luca89/distrobox/
- Distrobox site: https://distrobox.it/
- ArchWiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Distrobox
Technical talks at universities by agamez
Description
This project aims to empower the next generation of tech professionals by offering hands-on workshops on containerization and Kubernetes, with a strong focus on open-source technologies. By providing practical experience with these cutting-edge tools and fostering a deep understanding of open-source principles, we aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
For now, the scope is limited to Spanish universities, since we already have the contacts and have started some conversations.
Goals
- Technical Skill Development: equip students with the fundamental knowledge and skills to build, deploy, and manage containerized applications using open-source tools like Kubernetes.
- Open-Source Mindset: foster a passion for open-source software, encouraging students to contribute to open-source projects and collaborate with the global developer community.
- Career Readiness: prepare students for industry-relevant roles by exposing them to real-world use cases, best practices, and open-source in companies.
Resources
- Instructors: experienced open-source professionals with deep knowledge of containerization and Kubernetes.
- SUSE Expertise: leverage SUSE's expertise in open-source technologies to provide insights into industry trends and best practices.
Create a Cloud-Native policy engine with notifying capabilities to optimize resource usage by gbazzotti
Description
The goal of this project is to begin the initial phase of development of an all-in-one Cloud-Native Policy Engine that notifies resource owners when their resources infringe predetermined policies. This was inspired by a current issue in the CES-SRE Team where other solutions seemed to not exactly correspond to the needs of the specific workloads running on the Public Cloud Team space.
The initial architecture can be checked out on the Repository listed under Resources.
Goals
- Create a minimal working prototype following the workflow specified on the documentation
- Provide instructions on installation/usage
- Work on email notifying capabilities
Resources
- TBD
SUSE KVM Best Practices by roseswe
Description
SUSE Best Practices around KVM, especially for SAP workloads. Early Google presentation already made from various customer projects and SUSE sources.
Goals
Complete presentation we can reuse in SUSE Consulting projects
Resources
KVM (virt-manager) images
SUSE/SAP/KVM Best Practices
- https://documentation.suse.com/en-us/sles/15-SP6/single-html/SLES-virtualization/
- SAP Note 1522993 - "Linux: SAP on SUSE KVM - Kernel-based Virtual Machine" && 2284516 - SAP HANA virtualized on SUSE Linux Enterprise hypervisors https://me.sap.com/notes/2284516
- SUSECon24: [TUTORIAL-1253] Virtualizing SAP workloads with SUSE KVM || https://youtu.be/PTkpRVpX2PM
- SUSE Best Practices for SAP HANA on KVM - https://documentation.suse.com/sbp/sap-15/html/SBP-SLES4SAP-HANAonKVM-SLES15SP4/index.html
SUSE Health Check Tools by roseswe
SUSE HC Tools Overview
A collection of tools written in Bash or Go 1.24++ to make life easier with handling of a bunch of tar.xz balls created by supportconfig.
Background: For SUSE HC we receive a bunch of supportconfig tar balls to check them for misconfiguration, areas for improvement or future changes.
Main focus on these HC are High Availability (pacemaker), SLES itself and SAP workloads, esp. around the SUSE best practices.
Goals
- Overall improvement of the tools
- Adding new collectors
- Add support for SLES16
Resources
csv2xls* example.sh go.mod listprodids.txt sumtext* trails.go README.md csv2xls.go exceltest.go go.sum m.sh* sumtext.go vercheck.py* config.ini csvfiles/ getrpm* listprodids* rpmdate.sh* sumxls* verdriver* credtest.go example.py getrpm.go listprodids.go sccfixer.sh* sumxls.go verdriver.go
docollall.sh* extracthtml.go gethostnamectl* go.sum numastat.go cpuvul* extractcluster.go firmwarebug* gethostnamectl.go m.sh* numastattest.go cpuvul.go extracthtml* firmwarebug.go go.mod numastat* xtr_cib.sh*
$ getrpm -r pacemaker
>> Product ID: 2795 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 x86_64), RPM Name:
+--------------+----------------------------+--------+--------------+--------------------+
| Package Name | Version | Arch | Release | Repository |
+--------------+----------------------------+--------+--------------+--------------------+
| pacemaker | 2.1.10+20250718.fdf796ebc8 | x86_64 | 150700.3.3.1 | sle-ha/15.7/x86_64 |
| pacemaker | 2.1.9+20250410.471584e6a2 | x86_64 | 150700.1.9 | sle-ha/15.7/x86_64 |
+--------------+----------------------------+--------+--------------+--------------------+
Total packages found: 2
Port some classic game to Linux by MDoucha
Let's pick some old classic game, reverse engineer the data formats and game rules and write an open source engine for it from scratch. Some games from 1990s are simple enough that we could have a playable prototype by the end of the week.
Write which games you'd like to hack on in the comments. Don't forget to check e.g. on Open Source Game Clones, Github and SourceForge whether the game is ported already.
Hack Week 25 - TBD
It's time to pick a game for the upcoming Hack Week. Discuss in the comments what game you'd like to hack!
Hack Week 24 - Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares & Chaos Overlords
Work on Master of Orion II continues but we can hack more than one game. Chaos Overlords is a dystopian, lighthearted, cyberpunk turn-based strategy game originally released in 1996 for Windows 95 and Mac OS. The player takes on the role of a Chaos Overlord, attempting to control a city. Gameplay involves hiring mercenary gangs and deploying them on an 8-by-8 grid of city sectors to generate income, occupy sectors and take over the city.
How to ~~install & play~~ observe the decompilation progress:
- Clone the Git repository
- A playable reimplementation does not exist yet, but when it does, it will be linked in the repository mentioned above.
Further work needed:
- Analyze the remaining unknown data structures, most of which are related to the AI.
- Decompile the AI completely. The strong AI is part of the appeal of the game. It cannot be left out.
- Reimplement the game.
Hack Week 20, 21, 22 & 23 - Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
Master of Orion II is one of the greatest turn-based 4X games of the 1990s. Explore the galaxy, colonize planets, research new technologies, fight space monsters and alien empires and in the end, become the ruler of the galaxy one way or another.
How to install & play:
- Clone the Git repository
- Run
./bootstrap; ./configure; make && make install - Copy all *.LBX files from the original Master of Orion II to the installation data directory (
/usr/local/share/openorion2by default) - Run
openorion2
Further work needed:
- Analyze the rest of the original savegame format and a few remaining data files.
- Implement most of the game. The open source engine currently supports only loading saved games from the original version and viewing the galaxy map, fleet management and list of known planets.
Hack Week 19 - Signus: The Artifact Wars
Signus is a Czech turn-based strategy game similar to Panzer General or Battle Isle series. Originally published in 1998 and open-sourced by the original developers in 2003.
How to install & play:
- Clone the Git repository
- Run
./bootstrap; ./configure; make && make installin bothsignusandsignus-datadirectories. - Run
signus
Further work needed:
Gods & Steel: Tactical Prototype by pherranz
Description
A turn-based tactical combat prototype built in Godot, featuring two techno-sorcery factions in strategic warfare. This proof-of-concept demonstrates core gameplay mechanics including alternating activations, unique faction abilities, and tactical positioning on a grid-based battlefield.
Goals
Primary Objectives: Implement a complete turn-based tactical combat loop with alternating unit activation Create two distinct factions with 3-4 units each, showcasing unique mechanical identities Develop a modular code architecture for easy expansion to additional factions Deliver a playable 3v3 battle scenario with basic AI opponents
Technical Milestones: Grid-based movement and positioning system Alternating activation turn manager Unit ability system with faction-specific mechanics Basic AI decision-making (move → attack patterns) Health/damage system with win/lose conditions
Stretch Goals: Simple cover system for tactical positioning Additional faction-specific special abilities Enhanced visual feedback for actions
Resources
Technology Stack: Engine: Godot 4.2 Art Style: Top-down 64x64 pixel art Programming: GDScript Version Control: Git Tools: Aseprite/LibreSprite for pixel art, TrenchBroom for level blocking
Development Approach: Day 1: Core architecture (scenes, grid system, unit base class) Day 2: Turn management and basic movement Day 3: Combat system and faction abilities Day 4: AI implementation and balancing Day 5: Polish, bug fixing, and demo preparation
Technical Architecture: Scene Manager (handles game flow) Grid System (pathfinding, positioning) Unit Manager (turn order, activation) Faction System (modular ability definitions) AI Controller (state-based decision making)
Asset Pipeline: Placeholder art → Greybox prototyping → Final pixel art Modular unit definition using Godot's resource system Data-driven ability definitions for easy balancing
