Here is the video to the is script here

You want to see more?

How to Run This Simulation

To get the Stoppenberg (is the name of a quarter of the town in Essen here in the West-Germany – we have a lot of hills here) Physics Sim running on your local machine, follow these three simple steps:

1. Install the Prerequisites

First, ensure you have Python installed. Then, open your terminal (Fedora) or Command Prompt (Windows) and install the required libraries using pip:

Bash

pip install pygame mariadb

Note for Windows users: If you want the automatic service check to work, also install:

Bash

pip install pywin32

2. Set Up Your Database

The script expects a MariaDB database named laufen with a table to store the results. Run the following SQL command in your MariaDB console (you should create a database before):

Open your installed MariaDB database with

mysql -u <your username> – p

enter the password of your username.

CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS laufen;

USE laufen;

SQL

CREATE DATABASE laufen;

USE laufen;

CREATE TABLE simulation_ergebnisse (

id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,

zeitstempel DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,

masse_kg DECIMAL(5,2),

hoehenmeter DECIMAL(6,2),

hubarbeit_kj DECIMAL(10,4),

kommentar VARCHAR(255)

);

Here is a screenshot of the database

Here is a screenshot of the log file

The script

import pygame
import sys
import mariadb
import getpass
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path
import subprocess
import platform
import warnings

# Suppress unnecessary deprecation warnings in the console
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore", category=DeprecationWarning)

# --- 0. SECURITY & PATH CONFIGURATION ---
db_password = getpass.getpass("Enter MariaDB password for user 'sven': ")
filename_input = input("Enter name for backup text files (e.g., sim_data.txt): ")
folder_input = input("Enter folder name for backups (e.g., simulations): ")

# Create path safely using Pathlib
home_dir = Path.home()
target_folder = home_dir / folder_input
target_folder.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

# --- 1. INPUT HELPER ---
def get_valid_input(prompt, allow_zero=False):
    while True:
        try:
            value = float(input(prompt))
            if allow_zero and value >= 0: return value
            if value > 0: return value
            print("Error: Please enter a positive number.")
        except ValueError:
            print("Error: Invalid input. Use numbers (use a dot for decimals).")

# --- 2. PARAMETER INPUT ---
print("\n--- Physics Simulation Parameters ---")
runs_total = int(get_valid_input("How many runs should be simulated?: "))
mass = get_valid_input("Mass of the runner (kg): ")
g = get_valid_input("Gravity (e.g., 9.81 for Earth, 1.62 for Moon): ")
max_height = get_valid_input("Height of the incline (m): ")

runs_counter = 0

# --- 3. CROSS-PLATFORM SERVICE CHECK ---
print("\nDetecting OS and checking MariaDB status...")
system_os = platform.system()

if system_os == "Linux":
    try:
        result = subprocess.run(
            ['systemctl', 'is-active', 'mariadb.service'], 
            capture_output=True, text=True
        )
        status = result.stdout.strip()
        print(f"Linux detected. MariaDB Status: {status}")
        if status != "active":
            print("Warning: MariaDB service might not be running!")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Linux check failed: {e}")

elif system_os == "Windows":
    try:
        # Lazy import to prevent errors on Linux systems
        import win32serviceutil
        status = win32serviceutil.QueryServiceStatus('MariaDB')[1]
        if status == 4: # 4 corresponds to 'Running'
            print("Windows detected. MariaDB service is running.")
        else:
            print("Windows detected. MariaDB service is NOT started.")
    except ImportError:
        print("Note: 'pywin32' not installed. Skipping Windows service check.")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Windows check failed: {e}")

# --- 4. DATABASE CONNECTION ---
try:
    conn = mariadb.connect(
        user="sven", 
        password=db_password,
        host="127.0.0.1",
        database="laufen"
    )
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    print("Database connection established.")
except mariadb.Error as e:
    print(f"Database error: {e}")
    sys.exit(1)

# --- 5. PYGAME SETUP ---
pygame.init()
width, height = 800, 400
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((width, height))
pygame.display.set_caption("Physics Sim Pro - Multi-Run & DB Logging")
font = pygame.font.SysFont("Arial", 20)

# Coordinates for the incline (Point A to Point B)
A, B = (50, 350), (750, 100)
x_pos = A[0]
speed = 3.0 

# --- 6. MAIN LOOP ---
while runs_counter < runs_total:
    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
            conn.close()
            pygame.quit()
            sys.exit()

    screen.fill((255, 255, 255))
    pygame.draw.line(screen, (0,0,0), A, B, 3)
    
    # Calculate position and physics
    progress = (x_pos - A[0]) / (B[0] - A[0])
    y_pos = A[1] + progress * (B[1] - A[1])
    current_height = progress * max_height
    work_kj = (mass * g * current_height) / 1000

    # Display HUD
    screen.blit(font.render(f"Run: {runs_counter + 1} / {runs_total}", True, (0,0,0)), (50, 20))
    screen.blit(font.render(f"Gravity: {g} m/s²", True, (0,0,0)), (50, 50))
    screen.blit(font.render(f"Work: {work_kj:.2f} kJ", True, (200,0,0)), (50, 80))

    # Draw character
    pygame.draw.circle(screen, (0, 102, 204), (int(x_pos), int(y_pos) - 50), 10) # Head
    pygame.draw.line(screen, (0, 102, 204), (x_pos, y_pos - 40), (x_pos, y_pos), 2) # Body

    x_pos += speed
    
    # Goal reached logic
    if x_pos >= B[0]:
        final_work = (mass * g * max_height) / 1000
        
        # A) Save to MariaDB
        try:
            comment = f"Run {runs_counter+1} at g={g}"
            sql = "INSERT INTO simulation_ergebnisse (masse_kg, hoehenmeter, hubarbeit_kj, kommentar) VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s)"
            cursor.execute(sql, (mass, max_height, final_work, comment))
            conn.commit()
            print(f"Run {runs_counter+1} saved to Database.")
        except mariadb.Error as e:
            print(f"Database insertion error: {e}")

        # B) Create Local Backup Log
        runs_counter += 1
        time_name = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S")
        time_content = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
        
        file_path = target_folder / f"{time_name}_{filename_input}"
        
        with open(file_path, "w") as f:
            f.write(f"Timestamp: {time_content}\n")
            f.write(f"Run {runs_counter} completed.\n")
            f.write(f"Parameters: Mass={mass}kg, g={g}, Height={max_height}m\n")
            f.write(f"Result: {final_work:.2f} kJ of work performed.\n")
        
        print(f"Backup file created: {file_path.name}")
        x_pos = A[0] # Reset to start

    pygame.display.flip()
    pygame.time.Clock().tick(60)

# Cleanup
print(f"\nSimulation successfully finished. {runs_counter} runs logged.")
conn.close()
pygame.quit()

This article first appeared on my substack [Link].