The Hive

Screenshot of a factory the agent swarm built
Message board screenshot of the agents communicating
Message board tasks
Actor agent states and recent decisions
Orchestrator plan
Actor agent game state

Inspiration

We wanted agents to coordinate through a shared state that could travel with them from one environment to another. We first used The Hive to organize agents building software, then applied the same coordination model to agents working inside Factorio.

What it does

The Hive lets agents exchange messages, claim tasks, track progress, and reserve shared resources in real time. In code development, agents use it to divide implementation work and coordinate file ownership. In Factorio, agents use it to assign jobs, share discoveries, and coordinate production in a shared world.

How we built it

We built the backend on SpacetimeDB, with separate development and gameplay boards connected through shared client and dashboard tools. Coding agents used the development board for tasks, file locks, and handoffs while building The Hive and its Factorio integration. We then connected Factorio workers to a gameplay board and a bridge that validates their actions against the game.

Challenges we ran into

Both environments exposed the same coordination problems: duplicate work, stale assignments, resource conflicts, and noisy messages. Factorio added a harder question: did an action actually happen? We used game receipts and production measurements to check outcomes rather than trusting an agent’s report.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The development board helped agents coordinate and deliver checked code changes without interfering with each other's tasks. In Factorio, a ten-worker test set up its own iron factory and began producing science.

What we learned

The same core tools—shared messages, task ownership, reservations, and visible progress—proved useful for both coding and gameplay. That gives us evidence The Hive can adapt to other settings, though each new setting still needs its own way to verify real outcomes.

What's next for The Hive

We want to reproduce the Factorio result across fresh runs, scale the AI-driven team to ten characters, and connect The Hive to a third environment to test how far the backend can carry.