jonikorpi

jonikorpi, 9 months ago to random

Some annoying news: unfortunately I have to declare my current game project failed. It was supposed to be an open-world turn-based tactics game, but I couldn’t get the core game loop to work.

Should have done this sooner, but it was perpetually on the edge of working and I was stubborn. (Might try again in like decade, when I have more experience!)

It’s not a total loss though: I’ll repurpose most of these visuals, the world generator, and the UI for a new project. Thanks for following along!

jonikorpi, 7 months ago to random

Does anyone have ideas how to make a Macbook Pro 16” (2019, i7 9th gen, Radeon Pro 5300M) just… run better? The CPU and especially the GPU feel like they’re immediately throttling whenever I actually use them.

• these have little to no effect: different charging ports, clamshell vs. open, disabling Turbo Boost
• pmset -g thermlog says CPU’s not throttling
• plugging in a charger in addition to the charge-capable external monitor seems to delay throttling… a little bit

jonikorpi, 14 days ago to random

Sooo how do we protect the web from AI-enshittification? A new search engine? Perhaps powered by human curation? Easier self-publishing via better social media? Something else?

jonikorpi, 1 year ago to gamedev

#screenshotsaturday #gamedev

jonikorpi, 11 months ago to random

Fellow graphics programming nerds: any ideas for how to turn noise (I’ve got gradient, value, and cellular) into a shape with sharp ”tips”, like conifer trees?

I’ve tried:

• pow(noise, someHighNumber), but it doesn’t help with the rounded tips
• 1 - abs(noise), but it only creates long ridges, while I’d like more or less freestanding shapes

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

Advice for newcomers: don’t bother with the official Mastodon apps. Try these instead!

Web: https://elk.zone
iOS/macOS: https://tapbots.com/ivory/
Android: https://tusky.app (haven’t used this one myself, but people seem to mention it a lot)

(See replies for more options)

jonikorpi, 5 months ago to random

Thinking of abandoning hex grids for terrain, in the future at least. They’re such a headache to interpolate and subdivide properly. Makes it difficult to do big open-worlds, which are one of the main goals I have.

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

Itching to set up some kind of self-hosted ActivityPub thing. I really like Mastodon, but relying on the benevolence on instance admins makes me nervous, with the current atmosphere of large social network self-destructions.

Is it still too early for self-hosting though? Mastodon (and Calckey, Wildebeest) both seem to have thick, complex tech stacks. Doesn’t seem sustainable as a solo hobbyist?

jonikorpi, 10 months ago to random

Are there any other good drawing-based productivity apps like Muse? (I like it, but my apparently aging devices are too slow for it.) https://museapp.com/personal/

I’ve also tried Miro, but it seems more focused around rigid shapes. I just want to draw, but like… in a structured, task-and-project-management-y way?

jonikorpi, 6 months ago to gamedev

Normal reloading vs. hot reloading changes on save.

Annoyed I didn’t implement hot reloading sooner, because it creates so much less cognitive load. It saves time and CPU/GPU power too, but the real benefit is not constantly wiping out what you’re trying to look at and focus on.

#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #webgl

My WebGL game and a code editor side-by-side. I repeatedly one line in a shader file, which blends the hexagon terrain tiles to rectangles and back. Every time I save, the game reloads with a jarring flash to white and has to regenerate the entire visible world, which takes several seconds.
Same as the previous video, but the changes I make take effect almost instantly, without a jarring reload. I also change world’s windiness and fogginess a few times.

jonikorpi, 9 months ago to gamedev

New dynamic camera setup! Found a nice blend of isometric-ish viewing and top-down-ish targeting.

#screenshotsaturday #gamedev

video/mp4

jonikorpi, 9 months ago to random

Are there any project management apps made for individuals?

Obviously there are tons of apps for ticking todo items, but what about research, moodboards, design docs? I’ve been trying to condense all of these into GitHub issues, but it’s a mess.

jonikorpi, 4 months ago to random

Every year I try a “better” task management system, and eventually end up limping back to plaintext markdown files. Hello again today.txt, devlog.txt, and design.txt.

jonikorpi, 14 days ago to random

Hmmmm… my Mac’s being weird. Time Machine randomly stopped being able to do a backup, and when I restarted the machine it kernel-paniced while trying to shut down. Still failing with the backups now.

jonikorpi, 3 days ago to random

Did a thing where this account can be discovered on here as @jonikorpi. Doesn’t seem very useful, because it’s a redirect that only applies to discovery, and doesn’t change the actual handle of the account. But if anyone else wants to do it, here’s a guide: https://guide.toot.as/guide/use-your-own-domain/

jonikorpi, 2 months ago to random

Trying to find a silent wall clock that everyone in the household likes. So deep down the hole I’m staring at Raspberry Pi + e-ink display builds.

jonikorpi, 9 months ago to gamedev

As I gear up to reboot the gameplay side of this project, I spent some time making the world map nicer. Zoomable UI goes zoom! #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

Camera smoothly zooming far out of a stylized island in the middle of an inland sea. The zoom-out reveals a watercolour-esque world map, with various colourful biomes.

jonikorpi, 8 months ago to random

After seeing a serious influx of gamedev people joining Bluesky this week, I kind of wish Mastodon would lean more into ActivityPub in its marketing. Maybe saying things like ”It’s a web standard, like HTML” would help people understand why it’s different and important.

jonikorpi, 9 months ago to gamedev

Trying to reconcile tile-based gameplay, timed turns, 3D camera, and simple usability is… a lot. Getting there though, hopefully!

#screenshotsaturday #gamedev

jonikorpi, 4 months ago to random

Me: “Right, I have a multiplayer backend, but need to replace it with a single-player one. Obviously it’s gonna be simpler and easier to make, so shouldn’t take long. 2 days tops?”

Me today, 8 days later: “ffffffffffffffff”

jonikorpi, 2 months ago to random

So I have this desk setup with a fancy standing desk, the Topo anti-fatigue mat that everyone recommends, and an expensive split ergonomic keyboard. And… I injured my back while using it.

What exactly do you want from me, universe?!

jonikorpi, 9 months ago to gamedev

Should my very stylized game use tone mapping and gamma correction? Seems like no? #gamedev

Tone mapping to me seems like a tool more for physically based/realistic rendering? With my art style it mostly just desaturates everything. (1st image, right half)

Gamma correction is important for SRGB colors, but I get the feeling it’s not always needed with Display P3? P3 already interpolates well, so correction kinda just brightens everything uselessly. (2nd image, right half)

Stylized rendering, evening, woodsy archiplago with a tall cliff, and a town alongside it. Right half of the picture is washed out.

jonikorpi, 4 months ago to random

Heh, whatever skeleton crew is still maintaining iTunes Store seems to not be doing so well. All of the music I’ve ever purchased is suddenly “hidden”, leaving it in a broken state in the Music app.

Needed to go to iTunes Store → Account → Downloads and Purchases → Hidden Purchases and use the awful, slow, utterly broken UI to “unhide” them. Had to manually click [Unhide] so many times I got rate-limited.
-_-

jonikorpi, 3 months ago to random

I know this is a long-shot, but does anyone happen to know the difference between the two versions of Leviathan Wakes's 10th anniversary edition?

ISBN 9780356517162 https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-Expanse-Prime-Original/dp/0356517160

ISBN 9780316333429 https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-10th-Anniversary-Expanse/dp/0316333425

Both look the same, but the first one is 200 grams heavier. I’m confused and unsure which one to buy.

jonikorpi, 2 months ago to random

Recovering from a back injury, really wishing we had some way to develop software while walking about, especially outdoors. Not looking forward to sitting/standing in one spot again for 90% of working hours.