Nifflas

Nifflas, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to random

When an app asks for permissions, the OS should not only let you answer yes or no. Every category should have a "yes, but feed the app fake data" option.

Want my contacts for no reason? Have these generated fake ones! Wanna listen to my microphone? Here's random ambiance sounds! Location? I'm on a tiny 5x5m island!

Hell yeah! Put it all in your databases mfers!

Actively punishing services wins over boycotts any day. Didn't want that junk in the database? Don't ask for it!

Nifflas, 7 months ago to random

I'm so miserable playing Baldur's Gate 3. Got like 25 hours in it and I hate everything and suffer every moment, but I keep playing because I paid AAA money and I don't want to it to be wasted, and I keep hoping any encounter will not be total bullshit, but every single new thing surprises me in how much it can suck.

Never again touching a game like this.

Nifflas, 8 months ago to random

Have you ever wanted the experience of being confused and just asking "Why"? Here's a way you can get that experience right here, right now!

Simply, if you're on Windows, press:

Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+L

Nifflas, 5 months ago to random

Once, I had the idea to take the font I read social media in, replace one letter at a time with one of my own design, until I've replaced the entire alphabet, over several months.

I wanted to see if I could ease myself into reading my own alphabet. And you know what? It worked!

The attached image is how I read social media now, and I'm comfortable reading it this way!

Nifflas, 8 months ago to random

I suppose learning a new game engine is just something a game dev occasionally has to do. I wonder what's next for me. Godot? I just really need console build support tho and preferably not third party solutions.

Nifflas, 1 month ago to random

I've always felt prefab overriding is volatile and weird in Unity, for the decade I've used it, I never feel comfortable overriding fields in the scene 'cause they're easy to accidentally apply when changing a prefab, or accidentally override when I didn't mean to.

But, I've never been able to come up with a satisfying solution to this. To this very day, I never, ever, override a field in a prefab in a scene.

But sometimes I really need to. Anyone ever came up with a solution to this?

Nifflas, 2 months ago to random

Tip for engine devs: always implement things to make the least number of operations possible.

In Uurnog, I disable a GameObject hierarchy when leaving an area, so it doesn't simulate & render. Simple.

Then I wrote code saving and restoring rigidbody velocities as well as the full state of all particle systems. Just to undo resets I didn't actually ask Unity to perform.

It'd have been so much easier to set the velocities to 0 and clear the particle systems if that's what I actually wanted.

Nifflas, 8 months ago to random

I'm never getting a mac again. It's only a few years old, but doesn't support the latest macOS version. Multiple software DEMANDS updates that only run on newer macOS, so I can suddenly not use them anymore. Boooooooo.

Windows just doesn't have this problem.

Nifflas, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago) to random

Let's talk philosophical game dev nonsense!

Imagine three chests, a "bad, good and best" item. You don't know which is which, just pick one.

Okay, now take Mario Bros 3. It has this scenario, but through emulator you can find out, the item you get is (timer based) RNG. Which chest you chose is not the deciding factor.

Does it matter that the presentation doesn't match reality? That you couldn't have picked a better chest? Even though you had no basis for an informed decision either way?

Nifflas, 1 month ago to random

Jesus Christ, I'm in a situation where Unity's fake null check causes havoc.

I can't wait to switch to an engine that doesn't override the null equality check. I hate that thing so much :(

Nifflas, 7 months ago to random

New rule! Make more death positive art! I'm terrified of dying. No, not the process of dying. Not the pain. I'm terrified of non-existence. No, not the experience of non-existence because that's not an experience.

I want to exist! I want to experience! I don't want it to stop! I hate that my existence is so limited! I'd love to experience more art that helps me deal with my existence being just a brief range of time.

Nifflas, 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago) to random

Best superpower? You get $300, but for one year you have to live by this rule.

Pick one movie to watch. After that, you can only watch movies named or referenced in that movie (parody scenes count too). It's recursive, so if those movies mention other movies, you can watch them too.

If you break the rule by watching more than 5 minutes of a disallowed movie, you lose $300.

Nifflas, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to random

If one were to take a variable, start at zero, and repeatedly add a random number to it (assume true randomness exists, the value is random from -1 to 10, and re-rolled every iteration)

If this process runs literally forever, would the number ever be either likely (edit: if your answer is that it's guaranteed, answer Yes) to reach 0 or lower again?

Nifflas, 8 months ago to random

I want to toot something but I don't know what. What a rough few days. Still trying to decide if I should proceed with my Unity project or not. I probably shouldn't unless they walk back on this AND restore Unity Plus.

Or, I take a break from making games/audio stuff and focus on getting the skills I'll need to be less dependent on a specific engine. I know I should learn more C++. I just... don't like C++. I like the idea of C++, but not the mess, inconsistencies, and header files.

Nifflas, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to random

I like Unity's Mathf.SmoothDamp, but anyone know fun alternatives that do the same thing but with different acceleration/deceleration characteristics (needs to be smooth tho)? Having more to choose between could be useful!

Edit: I'm not looking for an interpolation function using a time value like a lerp or a curve. I'm looking for something that's only aware of current value, speed, and target, like Mathf.SmoothDamp

Nifflas, 10 months ago to random

I'm gonna be stuck on an island 6 hours. It has a cafe and a forest. Give me quests! I'll complete as many as I can!

Nifflas, 10 months ago to random

Dilemma: I feel uncomfortable with PG-13 movies about war because they feel so sanitized and hide the horrors and brutality of it. But I also feel uncomfortable with really brutal movies about war when the violence feels enthralling like an action movie.

What are good movies about war that conveys how fucked up it all is? Ones that tells humanity to never do this shit again.

Nifflas, 8 months ago to random

Are there any ways to assign positive integers into two groups that have these properties?

A: Must be irregular & non cyclic
B: Must have roughly the same amount in both groups

Examples of things that only qualify into one category:

Prime/non-primes fails B
Even/odd numbers fails A

Nifflas, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to random

Best superpower? A mysterious entity lives with you. Which one do you choose?

A: It wants to be around you, always! It hates when you're not near. It can't really survive without you, it can't go out without you. Loves you tho.

B: It comes and goes. Does its own thing. Likes you but values its independence. Shows affection but can be an asshole too when it feels like. The entity doesn't belong to you, you belong to it.

Nifflas, 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to random

Best superpower? Humans are completely phased out of [thing], which is now completely performed by AI.

Nifflas, 3 months ago to random

Recommendation: Watch "Look Around You", one of the strangest and funniest TV shows ever made.

It makes it even funnier that we used to watch the educational films in school that it's poking fun at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBaVwwuErmU

Nifflas, 1 month ago to random

Weird question, but I need a very effective jumpscare sound. Like, one that will just terrify anyone if it shows up of nowhere.

(and yes, the person about to experience the thing will know it's a thing ahead of the thing, so they can chose to not experience the thing, so it's morally OK!)

How do I find such a sound? I've had bad luck on Freesound so far. License needs to be very permissive but I'm ok with crediting the maker ofc.

Nifflas, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to random

After reading a bit about it, I think I'm on team "don't block Threads".

If Threads unfortunately takes off, I can't ignore it. I'll resist, but in the end I need to do what's best for my work. I'd prefer not having to join their instance.

About potential "embrace extend extinguish", isn't the risk bigger that people simply mass adopt much earlier bc they can't use their instance of choice? EEE is a longer game.

About data collection: sure, it makes it easier for them, but it's public anyway.

Nifflas, 3 months ago to random

I've noticed lately Youtube is really into recommending people talking about how shit something is (usually a movie or a character).

Come on! I want to hear about how good something is. It's much more engaging to hear people talk about what they love.

Nifflas, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago) to random

Best superpower? All doors destinations are shuffled. So entering one door always means exiting another of similar size elsewhere in the world.

Links are persistent. Doors are unlinked if one door is destroyed, and will re-link with another door when possible.

The doors are stable and completely safe to use (100% accident prevention magic involved), but the ability can't be disabled.