Working colony bot
Harvesters, upgraders, builders, spawn logic, Memory, and role-based behavior.
architecture What Makes It Worth Buying
Reserve Seat arrow_forward
Students get a game they care about and a portfolio artifact adults can understand.
They do not just watch lessons. They build roles, automate decisions, debug failures, use Git checkpoints, and explain how the colony system works under tournament pressure. Screeps gives them something to protect and improve while they learn real architecture habits.
Production habits
Git commits, README notes, bug reports, diffs, and recoverable development checkpoints.
Tournament-ready strategy
Students tune their colony for AutoNateAI capture-the-flag and explain what they would scale next.
verified About the Instructor
Learn from an engineer who has built AI and software systems across Microsoft, Citi, Veterans United, and Atomic Object.
Nathan Baker studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan and has spent the last five years building real software, AI workflows, and software architectures inside organizations where clarity and reliability matter.
He also taught Computer Security at the University of Michigan as an instructional aide. That mix of industry engineering and hands-on teaching shapes the program: students learn fundamentals, but they also learn how modern engineers plan, debug, use Git, collaborate with AI, and explain systems.
local_activity Live Cohort Seat
Reserve Seat arrow_forward
$369 for the full program
New cohorts run every so often. The next cohort opens Monday, August 3, 2026. Live sessions begin Tuesday, August 4, 2026. Includes Screeps setup help, cohort workspace access, Git repo guidance, Codex workflow coaching, dedicated AutoNateAI Discord access, and tournament-day support.
12 sessions, grouped by the system students are growing.
Because Screeps keeps running, students see the same pressures real software faces: changing state, feedback loops, dependencies, automation, failure recovery, and performance under competition.
Week 01
Setup and first code
Students meet the world, map the colony system, and see their first code become visible behavior they can protect and improve.
01Screeps Setup and System Map
Set up Screeps, connect the development workflow, and understand the colony as a software system with inputs, decisions, outputs, and feedback.
Live: Create the Screeps account or local environment, join the cohort server, create the first room, place the spawn, and map sources, controller, creeps, and memory.Homework: Capture a room screenshot and write what the spawn, source, creep, controller, and game loop do in the system.
02Variables, Values, and Colony State
Learn how variables store colony information and how state helps the bot remember what is happening each tick.
Live: Write the first JavaScript controlling a creep, store room and creep values, and watch how changes affect harvesting behavior.Homework: Add three meaningful variables to the Screeps bot and explain what each one controls in the colony.
Week 02
Functions and decisions
Students turn repeated actions into reusable behaviors and teach the colony to make choices when conditions change.
03Functions for Repeatable Creep Behavior
Learn how functions package repeatable behavior so the colony code becomes easier to scale.
Live: Refactor harvesting, transferring, and upgrading actions into named functions and use Codex to suggest improvements students can read and explain.Homework: Create two Screeps functions and write plain-English notes describing their inputs, behavior, and outputs.
04Logic, Branches, and Room Decisions
Use conditionals, comparisons, and simple validation so the colony can make decisions.
Live: Build if/else flows for empty creep storage, full creep storage, available energy, spawn capacity, and controller upgrades.Homework: Add one Screeps decision rule and document what should happen when the rule passes or fails.
Week 03
Git and debugging
Students learn how real builders protect progress, investigate failures, and recover working versions when a live system breaks.
05Git Checkpoints for a Living Bot
Use Git to save bot progress, compare changes, write useful commits, and recover from broken colony behavior.
Live: Initialize or update the Screeps bot repo, make clean commits, review diffs, and connect version control to real software teamwork.Homework: Push the Screeps repo and write a README section explaining what the bot can currently do.
06Debugging a Running Colony
Learn how to inspect errors, logs, stuck creeps, idle spawns, broken memory, and unclear AI suggestions before changing code.
Live: Diagnose real Screeps failures and practice turning room observations into precise Codex prompts.Homework: Open one repo issue describing a Screeps bug, the evidence, and the next fix to try.
Week 04
APIs, Memory, and roles
Students connect game objects, persistent memory, and role-based design to how software systems communicate, remember, and divide work.
07APIs, Game Objects, and Interfaces
Understand APIs by reading Screeps game objects, method calls, JSON-like data, and the interface between student code and the game world.
Live: Inspect creep, room, source, controller, and spawn objects, then model how external APIs use similar request and response patterns.Homework: Document one Screeps object or method as if it were an API: what it receives, returns, and changes.
08Memory, Data Flow, and Roles
Organize data so the colony can track creep roles, tasks, energy needs, and room priorities.
Live: Design simple Memory structures and connect harvester, upgrader, and builder roles to the functions and rules already built.Homework: Add or revise one Screeps Memory structure and explain why it helps the colony scale.
Week 05
Automation and Codex
Students use automation and AI support to improve the bot while staying responsible for the decisions their system makes.
09Automation Loops and Scaling
Learn how automation uses triggers, rules, and repeated actions to reduce manual work and scale the colony.
Live: Build spawn automation, role balancing, and simple repair/build priorities while discussing where automation helps and fails.Homework: Add one Screeps automation rule and note what should trigger it.
10Codex as a Screeps Build Partner
Use Codex to plan Screeps features, generate code, explain errors, and review work while keeping student understanding first.
Live: Run a guided Codex workflow: describe a bot improvement, inspect the generated code, test in Screeps, and commit only understood work.Homework: Use Codex for one Screeps improvement and write what changed, what was accepted, and what was rejected.
Week 06
Tournament prep and battle day
Students tune a battle branch and test the system against another colony under competitive pressure.
11Colony Architecture and Tournament Prep
Connect the Screeps bot pieces into a clear architecture and prepare the colony for AutoNateAI capture-the-flag rules.
Live: Create a simple colony architecture diagram, clean the README, capture screenshots, and prepare the tournament branch.Homework: Finish the final Screeps branch and write a short tournament strategy note.
12Tournament Day and Next Build
Battle student colonies head-to-head in AutoNateAI capture-the-flag, explain the architecture, review tradeoffs, and identify the next version.
Live: Students submit tournament branches, run Screeps capture-the-flag matches, watch colony strategies collide, and reflect on programming, Git, APIs, automation, and AI.Homework: Submit final repo link, Screeps match screenshots or clips, architecture notes, tournament reflection, and next-build plan.
Ready to put a student in the cohort?Seats include all 12 live sessions and the tournament capstone.
Reserve Seat arrow_forward