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Let it Snow

Snowfall on Linux console

dumitrustamadumitru.stama
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  • Project files on GitHUB
  • Youtube simulation
Software
ongoing project
linux framebuffer amd64 rdrand simulation

This project is submitted for

  • The 1kB Challenge

This project was created on 12/04/2016 and last updated 8 years ago.

Description

I never knew a full HD screen has soooo many pixels. I knew the actual numbers but to fill it pixel by pixel it's a hard job !
Remember this next time you play your favourite game at 60fps, your video card is a true hero, a miracle of recent years technology.

My project sets up a snowfall simulation using the frame buffer in Linux console mode. The snowflakes collide with each other and other objects and pile up in time. There is a Youtube video linked on this page where you can actually see it in action for ~30 minutes.

I used AMD64 assembly and "rdrand" instruction so you need a fairly recent processor to replicate it. I know, I know, NSA and other agencies have supposedly back-doored this instruction but I am not using it for cryptography :).

Project is not yet optimised at algorithm level but it's already 1000 bytes in binary form (ELF headers don't count according to HAD 1KB contest rules since they don't add functionality)

Files

img.png

This is how it looks like at full resolution

image/png - 34.47 kB - 12/04/2016 at 17:53

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  • Second screenshot

    dumitru.stama • 12/11/2016 at 03:14 • 2 comments

    Here is another screenshot after letting the program run on the TV for one night.
    Almost there... :)

  • Screenshot

    dumitru.stama • 12/04/2016 at 17:50 • 0 comments

    Here is how it looks like in FullHD (the screenshot is in the files section).

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Eric Hertz wrote 12/08/2016 at 15:43 • point

Hah, cool! Got some ideas brewing from this, thanks :)

  Are you sure? yes | no

Yann Guidon / YGDES wrote 12/04/2016 at 19:26 • point

This brings back the nostalgia of the old xsnow program...

Next version : add pines and let Santa slide on his sleg :-)

Furthermore, no need of a special instruction to generate (pseudo-)random numbers. I think there is an "entropy pool" that will limit the rate of generated numbers to preserve "randomness" but you don't need that. A simple LFSR works. But if you are after code size, check the documentation carefully about the rate of execution of this opcode.

  Are you sure? yes | no

dumitru.stama wrote 12/04/2016 at 19:46 • point

:) I don't think there is enough space for that but I still have to optimize the implementation. Maybe I can squeeze a few hundred bytes out and put some sprites.
I choose rdrand because it spits out a random number (pseudo) in 4 bytes and it simplifies things a lot

  Are you sure? yes | no

Yann Guidon / YGDES wrote 12/04/2016 at 20:24 • point

By next version, I mean for a larger one. Though the xsnow sprites are low-res and easily compressible and could add some bonus points in the contest :-)

  Are you sure? yes | no

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