Technology · Item
OWL-8 microcontroller
A programmable chip: 8 inputs, 8 outputs, one instruction every 50 ms; programmed with blocks, in C or in Owl assembly.
In the game
How to get it
At the grid: 256 bytes = a silicon on a circuit board, sealed in epoxy between 2 signal cables; 512 bytes = 4 silicon, 2 boards and a glowing part; 1 024 bytes = 16 silicon, 4 boards and gold. Place it, power it, right-click it to program it.
What it is for
Replace dozens of logic boxes: run a factory, a door code, a sorting line, a game on a screen, the brain of a satellite.
Why it exists
For those who love to program, and to keep big factories light: one chip instead of a forest of gates.
The same text the game shows in its progress tree and on the item's sheet (I).
The OWL-8 is a small, slow, programmable chip: it reads 8 inputs, writes 8 outputs and runs one instruction per turn (20 a second).
How to make it
| Memory | Recipe |
|---|---|
| 256 bytes | 1 silicon, 1 circuit board, 2 signal cables, 1 epoxy |
| 512 bytes | 4 silicon, 2 circuit boards, a glowing part, 2 signal cables, 1 epoxy |
| 1 024 bytes | 16 silicon, 4 circuit boards, 2 gold ingots, 2 signal cables, 2 epoxy |
| 2 048 and 4 096 bytes | see Large microcontroller |
Each size costs about twice the one below: memory is precious. The program, its variables and its stack all live in it.
Wiring
- 8 inputs (P0 to P7) and 8 outputs (Q0 to Q7), one byte each, on signal cables; a Reset socket.
- Power: 2 W plus 1 W per 256 bytes. Unpowered, it keeps its state and waits.
Programming it
Right-click the chip:
- Blocks (the default): drag blocks (events, control, pins, maths, variables, lists, serial, memory, functions), press Run on chip; the running block glows gold and the variables show their live values.
- Advanced: the same program in Owl C (no floats; 64-bit numbers) or Owl assembly, a file explorer, views of the assembly, binary and memory, and a debugger (breakpoints, step, registers, watch curves).
- An examples gallery (21 programs in all three languages) and a full documentation are inside.
- Your files are saved online, shared by all your games (2 MB per player).
Tips
- 20 instructions a second is slow on purpose: use WAIT and wait_change rather than busy loops.
- For lots of data, a Register bank; to show text and pictures, a Serial screen.
On the progress path
EA3Advanced electronicsSide quest
- BeforeEA2 · Automate a machine
- This stepEA3 · OWL-8 microcontroller
- NextEA4 · Serial screen
Sub-actions (counted in your progress)
- Large microcontroller
- Register bank and recorder — Register bank, Signal writer, Wall panel