CyberLoader

CyberLoader is a tiny, dependency-free Windows batch “terminal screensaver” inspired by netrunning UIs and street-level cyberpunk. The default experience is a rolling activity log in one window: each tick it runs a random inline module from text\, ascii\, loaders\, or effects\, printing RUN / OK lines. A sequential gig storyline (text\story\*.bat) can inject GIG / SCAN / STREET beats between ticks so a fixer job unfolds over time.

It still ships fullscreen cycle mode as CL_UI_MODE=classic, which clears the screen each loop and runs one random module from each category.

No installers, no runtimes, no bundled executables, no PowerShell in the default path: double-click CyberLoader.bat and go.

Demo (what you will see)

Log mode (default, CL_UI_MODE=log)

• The main window keeps appending lines (no full-screen clear each tick).

• Each tick: RUN … inline module … OK (from text\, ascii\, loaders\, or effects\).

• The console re-launches once with START /MAX (default) so the log fills the screen. Set CL_MAXIMIZE_MAIN=0 for a normal window.

• Storyline: if CL_STORY_ENABLED=1, after each tick there is a CL_STORY_CHANCE (0–99) roll to advance one beat from text\story\*.bat (sorted by filename). State is stored in %TEMP%\CyberLoader_story.idx (override with CL_STORY_FILE). After the last beat, the arc wraps to beat 1.

• Log jitter: CL_LOG_JITTER_MAX adds random leading spaces so lines are not always flush-left (0 = off).

Classic mode (CL_UI_MODE=classic)

Each cycle clears the screen, prints a header, then (by default) runs one random module from each of text, ASCII, loaders, effects (short hex-style dump in effects\hex_stream.bat).

Loaders use Unicode full block (█) for filled progress segments and ASCII - for empty segments inside [ ]. Set CL_CHCP_UTF8=1 (default in new installs) so chcp 65001 runs at startup and those bars render correctly; if glyphs break on your host, set CL_CHCP_UTF8=0 and consider editing loaders to use # instead.

Timing uses ping to localhost, not busy loops, so CPU stays low.

Features

• Pure .bat on stock cmd.exe

• Modular content: drop files into folders

• Optional gig arc under text\story\

• No hardcoded drive paths (%~dp0)

• Config-driven via config\settings.bat (auto-created from settings.example.bat)

• Native COLOR “ink rotation” when CL_INK_MODE=rotate (no ANSI escape codes)

Installation

1. Clone or download the repo.

2. Run CyberLoader.bat.

3. If config\settings.bat is missing, it is copied from config\settings.example.bat.

Stop: close the window or Ctrl+C.

Run at startup (optional)

Shell:startup — Win+R, shell:startup, add a shortcut to CyberLoader.bat.

Task Scheduler — run cmd.exe /c "C:\full\path\to\CyberLoader.bat" at logon.

Customization

| Variable | Purpose |

|----------|---------|

| CL_UI_MODE | log (default) or classic |

| CL_LOG_PAUSE_SEC | Pause after each log tick |

| CL_LOG_JITTER_MAX | 0 = flush left; 1–72 = random indent cap |

| CL_STORY_ENABLED | 1 = storyline on |

| CL_STORY_CHANCE | 0–99, odds per tick to play next story beat |

| CL_STORY_FILE | Optional path to story index file |

| CL_INK_MODE | rotate or off |

| CL_INLINE_TEXT_BIAS | Roll 0–9; values ≥ this pick ascii/loaders/effects (7 ≈ 70% text) |

| CL_READ_PACE_MIN_SEC / CL_READ_PACE_MAX_SEC | Random pause between lines inside modules |

| CL_MAXIMIZE_MAIN | 1 = one-time START /MAX |

| CL_TITLE / CL_COLOR | Window title and COLOR |

| CL_CHCP_UTF8 | 1 = UTF-8 for █ bars and clean Unicode text |

| CL_CYCLE_SLEEP_SEC / CL_PHASE_PAUSE_SEC / CL_RUN_MODE | Classic UI pacing |

| CL_HEADER / CL_SHOW_EXIT_HINT / CL_TURBO | Banner, hints, test mode |

Text encoding: Use ASCII hyphen (-) in echo lines, not a Unicode em dash (—). Saving UTF-8 em dashes without chcp 65001 often shows as ΓÇö in cmd.

Module system

| Folder | Role |

|--------|------|

| text\*.bat | Chatter, scanner lines, media blurbs (log + classic) |

| text\story\*.bat | Ordered gig beats; each should call "%ROOT%modules\core.bat" LogLine "…" |

| ascii\*.bat | Simple ASCII visuals |

| loaders\*.bat | Fake jobs with [████------]-style bars |

| effects\*.bat | Short effects (e.g. hex dump lines) |

Rules: no @echo off at the top of modules; end with exit /b 0; between lines use call "%ROOT%modules\core.bat" ReadPace where pacing matters.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Performance

• Pacing via ping, not spin loops.

• No network, no extra runtimes.

License

MIT — LICENSE.

Name note

The folder may still be named Chippin_In on disk; the project name is CyberLoader.