Show HN: Interactive Equation Solver https://ift.tt/0tDfpsE

Show HN: Interactive Equation Solver Hey HN Here's a demo of an interactive equation solver for sympy/Python: https://youtu.be/O837G7cj5fE?si=6YjfNFviozCLSYut The example is a simple kinematics exercise from a college physics text. I'd be curious to know if there are any other systems like this. Code is in a branch here: https://ift.tt/RfWoJiy... January 31, 2026 at 04:31AM

Show HN: Phage Explorer https://ift.tt/dcOBPwF

Show HN: Phage Explorer I got really interested in biology and genetics a few months ago, just for fun. This was largely inspired by the work of Sydney Brenner, which became the basis of my brennerbot.org project. In particular, I became very fascinated by phages, which are viruses that attack bacteria. They're the closest thing to the "fundamental particles" of biology: the minimal units of genetic code that do something useful that allows them to reproduce and spread. They also have some incredible properties, like having a structure that somehow encodes an icosahedron. I always wondered how the DNA of these things translated into geometry in the physical world. That mapping between the "digital" realm of ACGT, which in turn maps onto the 20 amino acids in groups of 3, and the world of 3D, analog shapes, still seems magical and mysterious to me. I wanted to dig deeper into the subject, but not by reading a boring textbook. I wanted to get a sense for these phages in a tangible way. What are the different major types of phages? How do they compare to each other in terms of the length and structure of their genetic code? The physical structure they assume? I decided to make a program to explore all this stuff in an interactive way. And so I'm very pleased to present you with my open-source Phage Explorer: phage-explorer.org I probably went a bit overboard, because what I ended up with has taken a sickening number of tokens to generate, and resulted in ~150k lines of Typescript and Rust/Wasm. It implements 23 analysis algorithms, over 40 visualizations, and has the complete genetic data and 3D structure of 24 different classes of phage. It actually took a lot of engineering to make this work well in a browser; it's a surprising amount of data (this becomes obvious when you look at some of the 3D structure models). It works fairly well on mobile, but if you want to get the full experience, I highly recommend opening it on a desktop browser in high resolution. As far as I know, it's the most complete informational / educational software about phages available anywhere. Now, I am the first to admit that I'm NOT an expert, or even that knowledgeable, about, well, ANY of this stuff. So if you’re a biology expert, please take a look and let me know what you think of what I've made! And if I've gotten anything wrong, please let me know in the GitHub Issues and I'll fix it: https://ift.tt/vaiS4Q0 https://ift.tt/hWbJlDX January 31, 2026 at 02:22AM

Show HN: The Freak Circus Game Online – Yandere Horror Visual Novel https://ift.tt/g6Aw7ZQ

Show HN: The Freak Circus Game Online – Yandere Horror Visual Novel https://ift.tt/04PYgaR January 30, 2026 at 03:24AM

Show HN: ÆTHRA – Writing Music as Code https://ift.tt/m9W0x8g

Show HN: ÆTHRA – Writing Music as Code Hi HN I’m building ÆTHRA — a programming language designed specifically for composing music and emotional soundscapes. Instead of focusing on general-purpose programming, ÆTHRA is a pure DSL where code directly represents musical intent: tempo, mood, chords, progression, dynamics, and instruments. The goal is to make music composition feel closer to writing a story or emotion, rather than manipulating low-level audio APIs. Key ideas: - Text-based music composition - Chords and progressions as first-class concepts - Time, tempo, and structure handled by the language - Designed for ambient, cinematic, emotional, and minimal music - Interpreter written in C# (.NET) Example ÆTHRA code (simplified): tempo 60 instrument guitar chord Am for 4 chord F for 4 chord C for 4 chord G for 4 This generates a slow, melancholic progression suitable for ambient or cinematic scenes. ÆTHRA currently: - Generates WAV audio - Supports notes, chords, tempo, duration, velocity - Uses a simple interpreter (no external DAWs or MIDI tools) - Is intentionally minimal and readable What it is NOT: - Not a DAW replacement - Not MIDI-focused Why I made it: I wanted a language where music is the primary output — not an afterthought. Something between code, emotion, and sound design. The project is open-source and early-stage (v0.8). I’m mainly looking for: - Feedback on the language design - Ideas for musical features worth adding - Thoughts from people into PL design, audio, or generative art Repo: < https://github.com/TanmayCzax/AETHRA > Thanks for reading — happy to answer questions or discuss ideas. January 30, 2026 at 01:59AM

Show HN: Mystral Native – Run JavaScript games natively with WebGPU (no browser) https://ift.tt/Duiwx85

Show HN: Mystral Native – Run JavaScript games natively with WebGPU (no browser) Hi HN, I've been building Mystral Native — a lightweight native runtime that lets you write games in JavaScript/TypeScript using standard Web APIs (WebGPU, Canvas 2D, Web Audio, fetch) and run them as standalone desktop apps. Think "Electron for games" but without Chromium. Or a JS runtime like Node, Deno, or Bun but optimized for WebGPU (and bundling a window / event system using SDL3). Why: I originally started by starting a new game engine in WebGPU, and I loved the iteration loop of writing Typescript & instantly seeing the changes in the browser with hot reloading. After getting something working and shipping a demo, I realized that shipping a whole browser doesn't really work if I also want the same codebase to work on mobile. Sure, I could use a webview, but that's not always a good or consistent experience for users - there are nuances with Safari on iOS supporting WebGPU, but not the same features that Chrome does on desktop. What I really wanted was a WebGPU runtime that is consistent & works on any platform. I was inspired by deno's --unsafe-webgpu flag, but I realized that deno probably wouldn't be a good fit long term because it doesn't support iOS or Android & doesn't bundle a window / event system (they have "bring your own window", but that means writing a lot of custom code for events, dealing with windowing, not to mention more specific things like implementing a WebAudio shim, etc.). So that got me down the path of building a native runtime specifically for games & that's Mystral Native. So now with Mystral Native, I can have the same developer experience (write JS, use shaders in WGSL, call requestAnimationFrame) but get a real native binary I can ship to players on any platform without requiring a webview or a browser. No 200MB Chromium runtime, no CEF overhead, just the game code and a ~25MB runtime. What it does: - Full WebGPU via Dawn (Chrome's implementation) or wgpu-native (Rust) - Native window & events via SDL3 - Canvas 2D support (Skia), Web Audio (SDL3), fetch (file/http/https) - V8 for JS (same engine as Chrome/Node), also supports QuickJS and JSC - ES modules, TypeScript via SWC - Compile to single binary (think "pkg"): `mystral compile game.js --include assets -o my-game` - macOS .app bundles with code signing, Linux/Windows standalone executables - Embedding API for iOS and Android (JSC/QuickJS + wgpu-native) It's early alpha — the core rendering path works well & I've tested on Mac, Linux (Ubuntu 24.04), and Windows 11, and some custom builds for iOS & Android to validate that they can work, but there's plenty to improve. Would love to get some feedback and see where it can go! MIT licensed. Repo: https://ift.tt/7yOgSma Docs: https://mystralengine.github.io/mystralnative/ https://ift.tt/7yOgSma January 27, 2026 at 03:33PM

Show HN: Externalized Properties, a modern Java configuration library https://ift.tt/SBZXDiE

Show HN: Externalized Properties, a modern Java configuration library Externalized Properties is powerful configuration library which supports resolution of properties from external sources such as files, databases, git repositories, and any custom sources https://ift.tt/bqG50IK January 27, 2026 at 04:37AM

Euro Truck Simulator 2: 1.58 Update Open Beta

We're happy to announce that the Euro Truck Simulator 2 1.58 Open Beta is now available for players to try out and test. If you decide to take part in this Open Beta, we would like to ask you to help us by reporting any issues or bugs you may encounter in the appropriate section of our official forums.

Your feedback and reports are really valuable to our team, and we truly appreciate you taking the time to help us in improving the game. Now, let's dive in and see what the 1.58 Open Beta has to offer.

Driving Academy - Double Trailer Handling

This update will introduce a new module for Driving Academy, called Double Trailer Handling. This time, our team took a deep dive into how we could pass on more hands-on know-how about handling trucks with two trailers, better known as doubles. We've put together a set of challenging scenarios that guide players step by step through forward driving, manoeuvring, and reversing with doubles.

The experience is split into three chapters, beginning with forward-driving manoeuvres, then easing players into the techniques needed to reverse double trailers. From there, it shifts into more lively, real-world-inspired scenarios where you can really put your newly gained skills to the test.

Just like in the previous modules of Driving Academy, we have prepared a reward for you! Completing all the scenarios in this chapter will reward you with an adorable wiener dog toy - named Frankie - for your truck cabin, ready to ride along with you. Keep in mind that this reward is tied to the in-game profile you used to complete this chapter. You can read more about the new module here.

Thanks to your feedback, we've also adjusted an achievement in the second module of Driving Academy, Truck Driving Proficiency. To unlock the "Nerd of the Road" achievement, you now need to obtain three stars in only 15 scenarios instead of 23. This change will be active in the Open Beta, but on Steam, the achievement may still show the previous info until a few days before the official update release.

Renault Trucks T Update

This update brings a major refresh to the Renault Trucks T! We are adding two brand-new interiors - Anthracite and Carbon 2024 - featuring a digital dashboard and camera mirrors. Under the hood, the truck can be equipped with two new DE13 Turbo Compound engines: the DE13 TC 440 Euro 6e and DE13 TC 480 Euro 6e.

On the visual side, truckers can enjoy two new Smart Racer paint jobs, as well as a set of facelifted exterior parts for both the base truck and its tuning DLC. These include nine new front grilles with an updated logo, new DE13 front and side badges, and THE BOSS roof grilles, which can now be painted in any custom color.

Scania R & S Update

We are adding several new customization options to the Scania R and S, in the base game as well as the Mighty Griffin Tuning Pack! Front bumpers will now be available in three different sizes and also come in three color variants, so you can better match your setup. Bumper lights have been moved to their own locator, and a new fog light type has been added, meaning you can now mix and match them more easily with other front parts.

We are also adding a new front fender with radars, and you can now change it independently from the steps under the cab. At the rear, you can use a new type of fender cover as well, available in three color variants. The steps themselves have their own locator as well and now include an additional variant, giving you more choice. You can also choose between two new underlit front logo variants to add a nice lighting touch to the front.

On top of that, new roof lights have been added, including a dedicated version for the V8, along with new front mid lights to complete the setup. We hope you will enjoy making your Scania R & S even more unique!

IVECO S-Way 6x2 Update

In this update, we are also expanding the IVECO S-Way with a brand-new 6x2 chassis featuring a steerable and liftable middle axle. Alongside this addition, the entire truck model has received general bug fixes and optimisations. We hope truckers will be happy to have more flexibility when configuring their beautiful S-Way!

Map Changes in Preparations for Coaches

As we prepare for the implementation of the Coaches DLC for ETS2, we also need to make several adjustments to the map to accommodate coaches and bus stations. In this update, you may notice a number of smaller changes, such as new signs or road markings, as well as larger modifications. These include newly added areas in selected cities featuring larger bus stations and terminals.

Vehicle Behaviour Physics Update

As we prepare the ground for the arrival of new vehicle types through upcoming content for ETS2 and ATS, such as Road Trip and Coaches, we've revisited and significantly refined the in-game physics simulation, including how vehicles behave, how they respond to your inputs, and how collisions and contact with the world are handled. To make that possible, we had to take a major look "under the hood" and revisit some of the fundamentals of how physics is simulated in our games.

Some adjustments were made with these new vehicle categories in mind, often lighter, shorter, and in some cases more powerful than what our simulation was originally tuned for, but many of the improvements also benefit every vehicle, including the trucks you're already familiar with. The goal throughout all of this has been simple: to improve realism and responsiveness, while keeping the core truck driving experience you know and love fully recognizable, just better refined.

One of the first areas addressed was throttle response, which is now properly calculated from a throttle torque engine map. Combined with a more realistic level of engine resistance when you're off the throttle, this makes coasting feel more natural and gives cruising a smoother, more believable flow. 

Beyond engine response, the update also includes mechanical improvements that add extra nuance to how trucks behave on different surfaces. Wheels now camber when going off-road in a way that better reflects how a solid axle suspension behaves, and turning wheels also incorporate caster. These are subtle details, but they contribute to a more authentic feel when the terrain gets uneven or when you move away from perfectly flat roads. The audio you hear whilst driving has also been refined, with turbocharger sounds now reflecting more accurately what the engine is doing, making the overall driving feedback feel more connected.

Another change that you may notice is that the engine now revs slightly to build up torque before pulling away, and a hill start assistant was introduced to support those situations and make them feel more reliable.

For keyboard users, a new optional double-tap throttle control system allows smoother control, holding the key applies partial throttle for easier cruising, while double-tapping gives full acceleration when needed. You can read more about this particular topic here.

Tutorial Redesign & Contextual Hints

We are introducing a redesigned tutorial focused on a new system of contextual hints. The goal is to introduce the game and its features to new players more organically by presenting helpful information at the right moment, rather than relying solely on a single, linear tutorial flow.

Initially, this system will incorporate prompts from the current first job tutorial, complemented by a selection of newly created hints. These prompts are designed to appear naturally during gameplay, helping new players understand core mechanics while allowing experienced drivers to stay focused on the road.

Route Advisor Redesign

One of the most visible changes coming with the 1.58 update is the complete redesign of the Route Advisor. In fact, the current Advisor, as you know, is being removed and replaced with an entirely new widget-based system.

Instead of a single, fixed panel, information will now be presented through individual graphical widgets, each dedicated to a specific function. This approach allows for a cleaner on-screen experience and gives players more control over what information they want to see while driving. The widgets can be customized to better suit different playstyles and preferences, whether you prefer a minimal setup or a more information-rich HUD.

This redesign has been in development for some time and was frequently requested by the community. We previously showcased it exclusively to fans attending our third SCS Fan Day, and it has since undergone extensive internal testing, as well as senior external testing, with very encouraging results. As with all major changes, we will continue to closely monitor the Open Beta phase to collect your feedback, allowing us to incorporate it into future iterations and updates. Our ultimate goal is to ensure everything works smoothly and meets the expectations of the widest possible range of players.

Quick Info Feature

The Pause Screen has been completely reworked to better reflect how our games are played today. With this in mind, we took the opportunity to rethink the Pause Screen from the ground up and give it a clearer purpose, redesigning it into a Quick Info feature. The new design focuses on presenting key information in a structured and easily readable way, including controls, truck information, job details, and local regulations, all in one place.

As part of this change, some information that was previously shown directly in the Adviser has been moved to the Quick Info feature. This primarily includes job information, truck damage details, as well as options for truck settings and calling for service. This redistribution helps keep the on-road HUD cleaner, while still ensuring that all important data is only a pause away when you need it, and it also helps pave the way for future gameplay experiences such as Coaches and Road Trip.

Overall, the newly designed Quick Info fits naturally into the new UI direction of the 1.58 update and supports our goal of creating a more modern, flexible, and future-ready user experience.

Truck Configurator Improvements

The Truck and Trailer Configurator, along with the Explorer, are also receiving targeted improvements. While these screens are powerful, we recognize that their current form is not always optimal for controller or mouse use, with some functions being unclear, difficult to navigate, or lacking helpful tooltips and hints. A number of smaller issues have also been addressed as part of this update.

Rather than a complete redesign, our goal here is to refine and improve the existing UI. This means clearer navigation, better feedback, added hints where needed, and overall stability improvements, all while keeping the familiar structure intact.

These changes should make vehicle customization more accessible and enjoyable, whether you're fine-tuning details with a mouse or navigating menus from the comfort of a controller.

This is a fairly big set of changes, and we want to be transparent about that. We know acclimatising to these adjustments may take some time, and that feedback from the community is crucial. That's why the Open Beta phase will be especially important for us, allowing a broader audience to try these changes and share their thoughts.

All of these improvements are part of our long-term vision for American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2. They help us prepare the core of our games for exciting new projects that are yet to come, while also making everyday gameplay smoother and more enjoyable.

Management Screen Improvements

The 1.58 update brings a set of finishing touches to the existing management screens, including the Driver, Trailer, Truck, and Garage Managers. Rather than a major overhaul, these changes focus on refining what's already there by improving usability, clarity, and overall polish, while also addressing a number of smaller imperfections.

One of the practical improvements is better visibility of information related to hired drivers. Players will now be able to more easily track the progress of their drivers' skills, making it clearer how their team is developing over time. In addition, the currently selected skill training for each hired driver will be highlighted directly in the skills overview, allowing players to see it at a glance.

Alongside these refinements, we've also made incremental UX, UI, and controller-control improvements, as well as added clearer access to company-related information, such as the company name and logo, including options to edit them.

All of these adjustments are designed to make everyday management tasks smoother and more informative, enhancing the experience without changing the familiar structure players are already used to.

Changelog 

Gameplay

• Driving Academy - Double Trailer Handling

Vehicles

• Renault Trucks T Update
• Scania R & S Update
• IVECO S-Way 6x2 Update
• Vehicle Behaviour, Physics & Collisions Update

Map

• Map Changes in Preparations for Coaches

UI

• Tutorial Redesign & Contextual Hints
• Route Advisor Redesign
• Quick Info Feature
• Truck Configurator Improvements
• Management Screen Improvements

So enjoy all the new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, or crashes. It's completely okay if you want to wait for the final release. But if you're interested in helping us to get there faster, we'd appreciate all of your feedback on our forum and your bug reports in the dedicated section.

Please check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.

If you wish to participate in this Open Beta, you can find this version in the Experimental Beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas tab → Beta Participation drop-down menu → public_beta. No password is required. Sometimes you will have to restart your Steam client to see the correct branch name there.

source http://blog.scssoft.com/2026/01/euro-truck-simulator-2-158-update-open.html