Script Structure

There are three main patterns for structuring Lua chip scripts.

Pattern A: tick() Function

Define a global tick(dt) function. It's called every game tick automatically.

local LT = ic.enums.LogicType

-- Module-level code runs once at init
local threshold = 25.0
print("Script initialized, threshold = " .. threshold)

-- Called every game tick (~0.5s)
function tick(dt)
    local temp = ic.read(0, LT.Temperature)
    if temp ~= nil and temp > threshold then
        ic.write(1, LT.On, 1)  -- Turn on cooling
    else
        ic.write(1, LT.On, 0)  -- Turn off cooling
    end
end

• dt is the delta time in seconds since the last tick
• Module-level code above tick() runs once during initialization
• You can still use sleep() in module-level code (before tick is defined)

When to use

Best for polling patterns — reading sensors and writing outputs on a regular interval.

Pattern B: Infinite Loop with yield/sleep

Don't define tick(). Instead, use a while true loop with yield() or sleep().

local LT = ic.enums.LogicType

while true do
    local temp = ic.read(0, LT.Temperature)
    if temp ~= nil and temp > 25 then
        ic.write(1, LT.On, 1)
    else
        ic.write(1, LT.On, 0)
    end
    yield()  -- Wait until next tick
end

• yield() pauses until the next game tick
• sleep(seconds) pauses for a real-time duration

When to use

Best for sequential logic — airlock cycles, state machines, multi-step processes where the order of operations matters.

Pattern C: Hybrid

You can combine both: module-level init code, a main coroutine that yields, and a tick() function. Both the resumed coroutine and tick(dt) can execute in the same tick.

local LT = ic.enums.LogicType
local count = 0

-- This coroutine runs in parallel with tick()
while count < 10 do
    print("Counting: " .. count)
    count = count + 1
    sleep(1)
end
print("Coroutine finished!")

-- tick() keeps running even after the coroutine ends
function tick(dt)
    local temp = ic.read(0, LT.Temperature)
    ic.write(ic.const.BASE_UNIT_INDEX, LT.Setting, temp or 0)
end