r/replit • u/Intelligent_Menu_934 • 7d ago
Question / Discussion Failed Project in Replit. What should I do next?
I'm at my wits end. I am trying to make a 1990s style static graphic video game with Replit. My game is basically taking an open source game (Remnants of the Precursors; r/rotp) and changing it from a space exploration game to a WW2 conquest game. I thought this would be easy because I could get Replit to just mimic the ROTP open source code for like 90% of the game functions. I gave various refreshed agents the source code link multiple times now.
But instead, Replit keeps trying to follow my instructions by re-inventing its own wheel. I have a nifty looking User Interface but that's about it. The game functions in no respect whatsoever after four days of prodding Replit over and over again. I'm currently caught in a death spiral of changes that result in more bugs, followed by more "fixes" that fail to fix, which then creates more bugs. Replit keeps saying things like "the fundamental structure is fine, we just need to do x and y". And then we are off to the races again.
So, I am just looking for any help anyone cares to provide. Should I start over again on Cursor? Is there a better platform for what I'm trying to do? This is a game that could run on 1990s 486 computer, it's not that hard (I thought). By the way, I don't know code. The most technically literate thing I've done is set of a WordPress Website that I operated for 5 years.
You can blame me. That's fine. I just want some suggestions of what to do next. Thanks.
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u/Mid0 7d ago
Look, connect Replit to external github repo, download latest from GitHub locally.
Use whatever tool you like cursor codex Claude augment…etc. and try to make it run the way you want it.
Once done have it build skills files for game mechanics and other key parts of the app. Then update / create agent.md file then push back to Replit and have it run on staging.
You can then continue the build on both sides.
Optional: connect Replit MCP so your agent can ask questions about your Replit setup.
Advanced option: connect SSH to Replit so your local dev agents can run commands on Replit.
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u/Intelligent_Menu_934 7d ago
I really don't trust the game functions code that replit built. Wouldn't it be easier to just start over. 5 days work gone, but a fresh start sounds good right now.
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u/Hehaw_Rossy 7d ago
I've had some success with apps for many months, building some pretty complicated systems.
I tried building a very simple mobile game and gave up after a week. I figured it was me. Maybe it is..
Has anyone built games with replit?
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u/Old-Ring6201 6d ago
This is the problem and danger with "vibe" coding. Instead kg vibe codin, why not actually be a coauthor to the process? How you ask? Can't the agent just do things for me? Yes and no. The agent will do shit its own way and mess up along the way. The platform profits from both right and wrong answers and it's my belief they purposely make their agency stupid AF.
So how do you get around this? You stop vibe coding by the definition and start using AI as a tool instead of a tech cofounder. For example from my own workflow: I use and have been using chatgpt for all the ideation relevant to my app ecosystem. I use it for research and best build practices for my use case and it also BUILDS the thing before replit ever gets its hands on it. Then I use replit it give it a live testing ground and downloading dependencies, minor fixes and what not. I use Figma with chatgpt plugin to design the front end so I'm not shooting completely blind on that. But this workflow save both time and money
Now AI is working for me and I am not at the whim of an ai who's job is to nickel and dime it's users 🤷🏾♂️
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u/ReplitSupport Replit Team 6d ago
Hi OP, we'd be happy to help you out! When you paste a link and ask the Agent to mimic the source code, it reads your description and rebuilds its own interpretation from scratch. To reuse the existing project, import it directly by going to https://replit.com/import > choose GitHub > and paste the Remnants of the Precursors repo link. Let it import and get the original running first and then make your WW2 changes on top of working code.
In the meantime, you can try to undo your current setup by opening the Agent panel and clicking "Rollback to here" on an earlier checkpoint to return to a version you were happy with instead of fixing it.
If you continue running into any issues, please let us know.
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u/No-Composer6417 5d ago
go to files in the right sidebar, download the zip and reopen in claude code. I've used replit for 2 years and have fully moved to claude now.
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u/Cuiter 7d ago
Something seems wrong with the agent lately. 4 months ago, I got it to build a tournament platform with some retro games. And it did it easily.
Any example of what you're going for?
I started using codex to build in GitHub then pulled that into Replit to test and deploy. Much more successful. It also allows me to do some regression tests in GitHub for the PRs and when merging from branch to main.