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NeuroTrace

A cyberpunk-themed medical hacking simulator built natively with Lazarus FPC. Purge polymorphic viruses from neural pathways using a tactical command terminal!

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README

🧠 NEURO-TRACE 2088

Holographic Medical Hacking Simulator

Step into the role of a digital neuro-surgeon in NEURO-TRACE 2088. This cyberpunk-themed medical hacking simulator challenges you to diagnose, isolate, and purge polymorphic viruses from a patient's neural pathways before their vitality flatlines.

Built entirely from scratch using native Lazarus Free Pascal (FPC), the game ditches traditional point-and-click mechanics in favor of a tactical Command Line Interface (CLI) working in tandem with a custom-rendered holographic map.

NEUROTRACE

✨ Technical Features

This project serves as a showcase of what native FPC desktop applications can achieve without relying on heavy game engines:

  • Custom UI & BGRABitmap Rendering: Features a borderless multi-window architecture with custom components (TCyberButton), CRT scanlines, parallax cellular dust, and 3D glowing nodes rendered entirely on a TPaintBox.
  • Real-Time Audio DSP: Integrates the BASS Audio Library to process live FFT spectrum data, driving the dynamic waveform visualizer at the bottom of the screen.
  • Persistent Economy (SQLite): Uses TSQLite3Connection to manage a local database that saves player profiles, operational logs, and Black Market inventory.
  • Procedural Topologies: Brain node generation utilizes a Constant Density Vogel Spiral algorithm, ensuring optimal neural network density scaling across different difficulty levels.

🎮 The Core Loop (How to Play)

Your objective is to neutralize all viral threats hiding inside the patient's brain without destroying healthy tissue.

  1. Initiate Scan: Type DIAG in the Terminal to load a patient. The system will give you a rough frequency of the camouflaged virus (e.g., ~800 HZ).
  2. Break Camouflage: Type ISOLATE [FREQ] (e.g., ISOLATE 800). If your guess is within a 50Hz margin, the virus's camouflage is stripped for 15 seconds, turning the infected nodes red.
  3. Execute Threat: Quickly locate the yellow ID numbers floating above the red nodes on the hologram. Type PURGE [ID] (e.g., PURGE 12) to destroy the virus.
  4. Avoid Malpractice: Guessing blindly and purging a healthy (green) node destroys real brain tissue, resulting in a fatal -25% Vitality penalty.
  5. Stabilize: Clear all active threats to stabilize the patient, win the session, and earn +150 Credits.

💻 Terminal Command Reference

Command Description Example / Syntax
DIAG Initiates a diagnostic session and loads a new patient. -
ISOLATE Strips virus camouflage based on targeted frequency. ISOLATE 400
PURGE Destroys a specific node by its ID. PURGE 42
MARKET Opens the Black Market catalog. -
BUY Purchases system patches or scripts using Credits. BUY SHIELD
AUTOPURGE Executes a smart script to instantly destroy 1 virus. -
PROFILE Displays player stats, Credits, and active inventory. -
HELP Lists all available commands. -
DISCONNECT Severs the neuro-link and returns to the Idle state. -

🛒 The Black Market

Spend your hard-earned Credits in the Terminal (while Idle) to upgrade your hacking capabilities:

  • OVERCLOCK (500C): Permanently extends the ISOLATE reveal duration from 15 seconds to 30 seconds.
  • SHIELD (800C): Absorbs one accidental misfire, preventing the fatal -25% penalty if you purge a healthy node.
  • AUTOPURGE (100C / Charge): A single-use smart script. Type AUTOPURGE mid-session to instantly locate and destroy 1 viral node without needing its ID.

🛠️ Compilation & Requirements

To build this project from source, ensure your development environment meets the following requirements:

  1. Lazarus IDE & Free Pascal Compiler (FPC) (Latest version recommended).
  2. BGRABitmap package (Installable via the Lazarus Online Package Manager).
  3. BASS Audio Library (bass.dll for Windows, or .so for Linux). Place the library file in the same directory as the compiled executable.

Download Binary Release

☕ Support the Project

If you find NeuroTrace helpful and want to support its ongoing development, consider buying me a coffee or sending a tip. Any support is deeply appreciated!

💡 Your support keeps the momentum going!
Every contribution directly fuels my passion, energy, and motivation to continuously build, maintain, and release even more useful open-source desktop applications for the developer community.

Open the .lpi project file and press F9 to build. The SQLite database (neurotrace.db) will be automatically generated upon the first launch.

Developed with Lazarus / Free Pascal.