Cliff Harris (Cliffski)
@cliffharris.bsky.social
Owner of Positech Games. Coder of Democracy, Gratuitous Space Battles etc blog: http://cliffski.com. Built a solar farm. Ex heavy metal guitarist & teacher. Cat owner. Making Ridiculous Space Battles!
Also on https://www.instagram.com/gamedevcliffski/
Also on https://www.instagram.com/gamedevcliffski/
Q: "Why is the game stuttering?"
A: "You have a list with over 2 million texture pointers in it, you fool."
Ooops.
A: "You have a list with over 2 million texture pointers in it, you fool."
Ooops.
December 1, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Q: "Why is the game stuttering?"
A: "You have a list with over 2 million texture pointers in it, you fool."
Ooops.
A: "You have a list with over 2 million texture pointers in it, you fool."
Ooops.
Pet hate: Apps that say 'Good Morning!' or afternoon, because in 2025 I am supposed to be wowed by the fact that they can query the current time, and will probably tell all my friends of this cool wizardry.
Any attempt by an app to be 'friendly' just bugs me. Do your job app. Do not be chummy.
Any attempt by an app to be 'friendly' just bugs me. Do your job app. Do not be chummy.
December 1, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Pet hate: Apps that say 'Good Morning!' or afternoon, because in 2025 I am supposed to be wowed by the fact that they can query the current time, and will probably tell all my friends of this cool wizardry.
Any attempt by an app to be 'friendly' just bugs me. Do your job app. Do not be chummy.
Any attempt by an app to be 'friendly' just bugs me. Do your job app. Do not be chummy.
VERY stressed waiting for a reply to a query about business stuff that will either be super reassuring or catastrophically bad and also mega-rage inducing, and I simply cannot envisage anything in between.
I must make 2026 the year of business simplification where I reduce this kind of bullshit.
I must make 2026 the year of business simplification where I reduce this kind of bullshit.
December 1, 2025 at 3:31 PM
VERY stressed waiting for a reply to a query about business stuff that will either be super reassuring or catastrophically bad and also mega-rage inducing, and I simply cannot envisage anything in between.
I must make 2026 the year of business simplification where I reduce this kind of bullshit.
I must make 2026 the year of business simplification where I reduce this kind of bullshit.
Reposted by Cliff Harris (Cliffski)
Over 25,000 people have already signed the letter to Keir Starmer and national broadcasters calling for a televised emergency briefing.
www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-... #NEB2025
www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-... #NEB2025
December 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Over 25,000 people have already signed the letter to Keir Starmer and national broadcasters calling for a televised emergency briefing.
www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-... #NEB2025
www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-... #NEB2025
Great video on the recent climate emergency briefing. A briefing that some MPs attended, but was not on TV anywhere, and which hardly anyone hears about because our media is obsessed with pointless bullshit like whether or not taylor swift enjoyed her breakfast. I despair.
youtu.be/8sa7uh192r0?...
youtu.be/8sa7uh192r0?...
This is not the video I had planned to make.
YouTube video by Just Have a Think
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Great video on the recent climate emergency briefing. A briefing that some MPs attended, but was not on TV anywhere, and which hardly anyone hears about because our media is obsessed with pointless bullshit like whether or not taylor swift enjoyed her breakfast. I despair.
youtu.be/8sa7uh192r0?...
youtu.be/8sa7uh192r0?...
A quick reminder about the third video in my series about programming a PC strategy game in C++ with your own engine! Its all about particle systems. (Its a big topic). There are 2 other videos by me on C++ already posted. Please share! (and watch :D) youtu.be/bkaQ4AQWId8 #programming
C++ Strategy Game Programming: Ridiculous Space Battles code video #3
YouTube video by Positech Games
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 11:59 AM
A quick reminder about the third video in my series about programming a PC strategy game in C++ with your own engine! Its all about particle systems. (Its a big topic). There are 2 other videos by me on C++ already posted. Please share! (and watch :D) youtu.be/bkaQ4AQWId8 #programming
Still adding some new elements to the big cruiser explosions. First pass of a new fancy bit of streaky plume thingies. #RidiculousSpaceBattles
November 30, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Still adding some new elements to the big cruiser explosions. First pass of a new fancy bit of streaky plume thingies. #RidiculousSpaceBattles
Gah. Half my day was spent working out why my code mysteriously had stopped working, then within 30 mins of fixing it, we had a power cut (partial, momentary) which my UPS FAILED at protecting me from.
All open CPP files got shredded, so I had to work out what I had done AGAIN.
Bah. Stupid UPS.
All open CPP files got shredded, so I had to work out what I had done AGAIN.
Bah. Stupid UPS.
November 30, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Gah. Half my day was spent working out why my code mysteriously had stopped working, then within 30 mins of fixing it, we had a power cut (partial, momentary) which my UPS FAILED at protecting me from.
All open CPP files got shredded, so I had to work out what I had done AGAIN.
Bah. Stupid UPS.
All open CPP files got shredded, so I had to work out what I had done AGAIN.
Bah. Stupid UPS.
Wasted 3 hours today working out what was wrong when I had deleted a Z value float from my particle structure but not the #define for it. Everything worked great except random flickering whenever I drew a particle.
All the actual particle values were fine, so it took ages to work it out. #gamedev
All the actual particle values were fine, so it took ages to work it out. #gamedev
November 30, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Cliff Harris (Cliffski)
Store fees over 10%
November 30, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Store fees over 10%
So this guy was convicted of conspiring with drug cartels and Trump PARDONS him, but he openly carries out extra-judicial assassinations on anyone in a boat that he *thinks* *might* be smuggling drugs.
Anybody still supporting him needs their head examined. FFS edition.cnn.com/2025/11/28/p...
Anybody still supporting him needs their head examined. FFS edition.cnn.com/2025/11/28/p...
Trump says he will pardon former Honduran president serving sentence in drug-trafficking case | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump said Friday he intends to grant a “full and complete pardon” to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, a move that would erase a major US drug-trafficking conviction ...
edition.cnn.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
So this guy was convicted of conspiring with drug cartels and Trump PARDONS him, but he openly carries out extra-judicial assassinations on anyone in a boat that he *thinks* *might* be smuggling drugs.
Anybody still supporting him needs their head examined. FFS edition.cnn.com/2025/11/28/p...
Anybody still supporting him needs their head examined. FFS edition.cnn.com/2025/11/28/p...
Reposted by Cliff Harris (Cliffski)
Hurrah! I have just uploaded the third video in my series about programming a PC strategy game in C++ with your own engine! Its all about particle systems. (Its a big topic). There are 2 other videos by me on C++ already posted. Please share! (and watch :D) youtu.be/bkaQ4AQWId8 #programming
C++ Strategy Game Programming: Ridiculous Space Battles code video #3
YouTube video by Positech Games
youtu.be
November 28, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Hurrah! I have just uploaded the third video in my series about programming a PC strategy game in C++ with your own engine! Its all about particle systems. (Its a big topic). There are 2 other videos by me on C++ already posted. Please share! (and watch :D) youtu.be/bkaQ4AQWId8 #programming
Here are some new shots for #screenshotsaturday from my upcoming space auto-battler: "Ridiculous Space Battles". Wishlist it at store.steampowered.com/app/3607230/...
November 29, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Here are some new shots for #screenshotsaturday from my upcoming space auto-battler: "Ridiculous Space Battles". Wishlist it at store.steampowered.com/app/3607230/...
I've now owned my model Y for 3 years. Its a great car, if a tad ludicrously overpowered (I got the fast one). But in those 3 years many competitors have arisen. There is so much choice for decent EVs now, at least outside the USA.
But Elon went insane, so my next car will not be Tesla :(.
But Elon went insane, so my next car will not be Tesla :(.
November 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I've now owned my model Y for 3 years. Its a great car, if a tad ludicrously overpowered (I got the fast one). But in those 3 years many competitors have arisen. There is so much choice for decent EVs now, at least outside the USA.
But Elon went insane, so my next car will not be Tesla :(.
But Elon went insane, so my next car will not be Tesla :(.
Assuming all AI models are the same and all equally capable in all tasks is a ridiculous POV. But I see it routinely applied in order to make the claim that all AI sucks.
You wouldn't ask Taylor Swift to explain Quantum Mechanics, Stephen Hawking to play basketball, or me to sing a song.
You wouldn't ask Taylor Swift to explain Quantum Mechanics, Stephen Hawking to play basketball, or me to sing a song.
November 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Assuming all AI models are the same and all equally capable in all tasks is a ridiculous POV. But I see it routinely applied in order to make the claim that all AI sucks.
You wouldn't ask Taylor Swift to explain Quantum Mechanics, Stephen Hawking to play basketball, or me to sing a song.
You wouldn't ask Taylor Swift to explain Quantum Mechanics, Stephen Hawking to play basketball, or me to sing a song.
I am not surprised that the US govt is now summarily executing anybody it does not like, but I am sad that almost nobody in the US seems to give a fuck, or realize they are now in 1930s Germany. Thank fuck I am in Europe.
Spoiler: Govts like this do not hold midterms, or elections.
Spoiler: Govts like this do not hold midterms, or elections.
November 29, 2025 at 11:00 AM
I am not surprised that the US govt is now summarily executing anybody it does not like, but I am sad that almost nobody in the US seems to give a fuck, or realize they are now in 1930s Germany. Thank fuck I am in Europe.
Spoiler: Govts like this do not hold midterms, or elections.
Spoiler: Govts like this do not hold midterms, or elections.
This will save a trivial, trivial amount of money and is just more evidence that UK govt policy is entirely 100% determined by whatever the headline is in the daily telegraph each morning.
For fucks sake. There are real problems to address, not least Climate Change.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
For fucks sake. There are real problems to address, not least Climate Change.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Government to ban asylum seekers from using taxis
The ban is set to come in February and any exemptions will have to be signed off by the Home Office.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
This will save a trivial, trivial amount of money and is just more evidence that UK govt policy is entirely 100% determined by whatever the headline is in the daily telegraph each morning.
For fucks sake. There are real problems to address, not least Climate Change.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
For fucks sake. There are real problems to address, not least Climate Change.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The new nuclear power in the UK will be paid £133 per megawatt hour, regardless what the market price is. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
In case you were wondering my current (just 2 year fixed) agreement for my solar farm is just £73.55 per MWH.
Yes, you are being massively ripped off.
In case you were wondering my current (just 2 year fixed) agreement for my solar farm is just £73.55 per MWH.
Yes, you are being massively ripped off.
UK energy bill payers will hand £2bn a year to EDF for new power stations
French government-owned company to receive funding for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The new nuclear power in the UK will be paid £133 per megawatt hour, regardless what the market price is. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
In case you were wondering my current (just 2 year fixed) agreement for my solar farm is just £73.55 per MWH.
Yes, you are being massively ripped off.
In case you were wondering my current (just 2 year fixed) agreement for my solar farm is just £73.55 per MWH.
Yes, you are being massively ripped off.
People bang on about the sistine chapel, but they have never gazed upon the glory of the Visual C++ Concurrency Visualiser Threads view.
November 28, 2025 at 2:09 PM
People bang on about the sistine chapel, but they have never gazed upon the glory of the Visual C++ Concurrency Visualiser Threads view.
Had a good chat with a friend recently about health. My physical health is better, but my mental health is a trainwreck. Important not to assume either is worse than the other. You only have your own experience, and its easy to take things for granted.
Be kind to each other!
Be kind to each other!
November 28, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Had a good chat with a friend recently about health. My physical health is better, but my mental health is a trainwreck. Important not to assume either is worse than the other. You only have your own experience, and its easy to take things for granted.
Be kind to each other!
Be kind to each other!
Trump using the term 'third world' instead of the less colonial and arrogant 'developing world' tells you a lot about him. His mindset is still in the 19590s, and his contempt and actual hatred for anybody without white skin is obvious.
He probably thinks China is 'the third world'.
He probably thinks China is 'the third world'.
November 28, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Trump using the term 'third world' instead of the less colonial and arrogant 'developing world' tells you a lot about him. His mindset is still in the 19590s, and his contempt and actual hatred for anybody without white skin is obvious.
He probably thinks China is 'the third world'.
He probably thinks China is 'the third world'.
Hurrah! I have just uploaded the third video in my series about programming a PC strategy game in C++ with your own engine! Its all about particle systems. (Its a big topic). There are 2 other videos by me on C++ already posted. Please share! (and watch :D) youtu.be/bkaQ4AQWId8 #programming
C++ Strategy Game Programming: Ridiculous Space Battles code video #3
YouTube video by Positech Games
youtu.be
November 28, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Hurrah! I have just uploaded the third video in my series about programming a PC strategy game in C++ with your own engine! Its all about particle systems. (Its a big topic). There are 2 other videos by me on C++ already posted. Please share! (and watch :D) youtu.be/bkaQ4AQWId8 #programming
I wish there was better integration between HMRC and stock trading sites. Its such a tedious and confusing amount of nonsense paperwork to file accounts, whereas some simple code should be able to just tell the tax man what tax I owe on stock trades FFS.
November 27, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I wish there was better integration between HMRC and stock trading sites. Its such a tedious and confusing amount of nonsense paperwork to file accounts, whereas some simple code should be able to just tell the tax man what tax I owe on stock trades FFS.
"A collapse in the Atlantic meridianal overturning current (Amoc) would leave London freezing in winters of -20C, “and yet the summers would still be hotter than today’s”, leading to a situation where the UK would be 100% reliant on food imports."
Yup. So kinda more important than 'stop the boats'.
Yup. So kinda more important than 'stop the boats'.
November 27, 2025 at 6:27 PM
"A collapse in the Atlantic meridianal overturning current (Amoc) would leave London freezing in winters of -20C, “and yet the summers would still be hotter than today’s”, leading to a situation where the UK would be 100% reliant on food imports."
Yup. So kinda more important than 'stop the boats'.
Yup. So kinda more important than 'stop the boats'.
I think my accountant has made a huge glaring error (again). If it was AI doing this, people would be screaming and pointing and talking about stochastic parrots and AI slop. But when a human is incompetent, we just shrug and go 'mistakes happen'. It would be nice to be more impartial on this.
November 27, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I think my accountant has made a huge glaring error (again). If it was AI doing this, people would be screaming and pointing and talking about stochastic parrots and AI slop. But when a human is incompetent, we just shrug and go 'mistakes happen'. It would be nice to be more impartial on this.