I am currently trying to write some difficult code, or at least code that is dependent on specific scenarios on a number of different fronts.
e.g:
Combat code for this combination of creeps and this combination of creeps
Or evaluating the AI's decision making and execution process in a specific scenario, with so and so rooms, creeps, etc. present.
Unit tests can only take you so far with a live action environment like screeps.
What is the best way to develop and more importantly test and debug code like this?
I am aware of:
simulation room: high speed but extremely limited environment
custom: decently customisable and can simlulate combat with two players, but once more limited to only one room
private server: my current go to, but takes a long time to build an empire up to the point of having enough resources to put together everything needed for the scenario, not to mention even more code needed to 'prep' the scenario in a live environment.
The private server is pretty much the only viable option for me so far, since all my code is multi-room code, I am leveraging very little 'room-isolated' code.
One thought I had was that maybe the private server cli commands could be leveraged, to do things, like:
modify terrain
create creeps
build structures
set energy levels
Just these four things alone would make a huge difference. But I can't seem to find any documentation on the private server cli, except a literal handful of commands.
Are there private server commands that can help me achieve my goals?
Is there another viable alternative that I am missing here?