Sean Barrett
@nothings.bsky.social
🏳️🌈 ally, BLM, gamedev (Thief, Promesst), Indie Game Jam cofounder, popularized C header-file-only libs w/stb. he/him
Larry, I'm on DuckTales.
https://nothings.org
Larry, I'm on DuckTales.
https://nothings.org
Stop being d**b m*****f*****s.
November 12, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Stop being d**b m*****f*****s.
I've written an article with a hopefully-complete technical description for implementing planetary atmosphere rendering as seen from space.
Looking for readers to beta-test the rough draft. Mutuals get priority. DM for link.
Looking for readers to beta-test the rough draft. Mutuals get priority. DM for link.
November 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I've written an article with a hopefully-complete technical description for implementing planetary atmosphere rendering as seen from space.
Looking for readers to beta-test the rough draft. Mutuals get priority. DM for link.
Looking for readers to beta-test the rough draft. Mutuals get priority. DM for link.
I will never understand why anyone grants this guy any authority.
November 6, 2025 at 9:09 PM
I will never understand why anyone grants this guy any authority.
Movie adaptations of books are so fraught: better than book, worse than book, hated or loved by the book's author.
Of course Charlie Kaufman put all others to shame in 2002 (particularly the last sentence here):
Of course Charlie Kaufman put all others to shame in 2002 (particularly the last sentence here):
!["[Reading the screenplay] was a complete shock. My first reaction was "Absolutely not!" They had to get my permission and I just said: "No! Are you kidding? This is going to ruin my career!" Very wisely, they didn't really pressure me. They told me that everybody else had agreed and I somehow got emboldened. It was certainly scary to see the movie for the first time. It took a while for me to get over the idea that I had been insane to agree to it, but I love the movie now. What I admire the most is that it's very true to the book's themes of life and obsession, and there are also insights into things which are much more subtle in the book about longing, and about disappointment."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:752y77nxqoruw2serahdltgh/bafkreiblyh6trbsjjgluwcktggqn4fsma4frymf62zgwcovqj4flsh63pq@jpeg)
November 5, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Movie adaptations of books are so fraught: better than book, worse than book, hated or loved by the book's author.
Of course Charlie Kaufman put all others to shame in 2002 (particularly the last sentence here):
Of course Charlie Kaufman put all others to shame in 2002 (particularly the last sentence here):
You should let people know how to fix it so you can link them! FWIW, pretty sure this defaulted to "on" for me back when I created my account, and I had no idea until I randomly tested it.
November 5, 2025 at 3:17 AM
You should let people know how to fix it so you can link them! FWIW, pretty sure this defaulted to "on" for me back when I created my account, and I had no idea until I randomly tested it.
Used a fun(?) debugging/development technique for both this and atmosphere rendering: implement it brute force (instead of line anistropic, just supersample 13x13; atmosphere: brute force raymarch 32*32 samples). Then in pixel shader:
if top half of screen:
development();
else:
brute_force();
if top half of screen:
development();
else:
brute_force();
November 4, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Used a fun(?) debugging/development technique for both this and atmosphere rendering: implement it brute force (instead of line anistropic, just supersample 13x13; atmosphere: brute force raymarch 32*32 samples). Then in pixel shader:
if top half of screen:
development();
else:
brute_force();
if top half of screen:
development();
else:
brute_force();
Looked terrible without anisotropic, so I did 1/2/7 taps manually in the pixel shader too. GPUs are fast! Performance is reasonable on my 10-year old high-end NVIDIA GPU.
This particular effect would be better w/a custom hex-splat shader; I just wanted something interesting to exercise the tilemap.
This particular effect would be better w/a custom hex-splat shader; I just wanted something interesting to exercise the tilemap.
November 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Looked terrible without anisotropic, so I did 1/2/7 taps manually in the pixel shader too. GPUs are fast! Performance is reasonable on my 10-year old high-end NVIDIA GPU.
This particular effect would be better w/a custom hex-splat shader; I just wanted something interesting to exercise the tilemap.
This particular effect would be better w/a custom hex-splat shader; I just wanted something interesting to exercise the tilemap.
Stuff in space can be big so I want to have big detailed surfaces. I implemented old-school tilemaps (like from 2D consoles and 80s video arcades) in a pixel shader. 64K x 64K texels. Like virtual texture, but tiles all loaded, unmipped page table, shader manually bilinear-filters across tile edges.
November 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Stuff in space can be big so I want to have big detailed surfaces. I implemented old-school tilemaps (like from 2D consoles and 80s video arcades) in a pixel shader. 64K x 64K texels. Like virtual texture, but tiles all loaded, unmipped page table, shader manually bilinear-filters across tile edges.
I spent about two days learning and implementing atmosphere rendering for planetary views from space. The tutorials and other sources I found on it were prettty lacking in implementation details but I got there in the end. Too late now, but does anyone have any recommends? Should I write an article?
October 30, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I spent about two days learning and implementing atmosphere rendering for planetary views from space. The tutorials and other sources I found on it were prettty lacking in implementation details but I got there in the end. Too late now, but does anyone have any recommends? Should I write an article?
well, you posted the best one, but here's an also-ran
October 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
well, you posted the best one, but here's an also-ran
EXTREME PEDALBOARD update:
Basically done. I've wired all the audio cables for everything, although a few things still don't have power.
The board on top of the rack on the right is basically all stereo (the rack switcher below it is 12 stereo loops). Includes 7 pairs of pedals "dual stereo".
Basically done. I've wired all the audio cables for everything, although a few things still don't have power.
The board on top of the rack on the right is basically all stereo (the rack switcher below it is 12 stereo loops). Includes 7 pairs of pedals "dual stereo".
October 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
EXTREME PEDALBOARD update:
Basically done. I've wired all the audio cables for everything, although a few things still don't have power.
The board on top of the rack on the right is basically all stereo (the rack switcher below it is 12 stereo loops). Includes 7 pairs of pedals "dual stereo".
Basically done. I've wired all the audio cables for everything, although a few things still don't have power.
The board on top of the rack on the right is basically all stereo (the rack switcher below it is 12 stereo loops). Includes 7 pairs of pedals "dual stereo".
cohost.org is gone, but this post will never die:
![[by hystericempress]
Reflecting on it, the reason I think the OceanGate situation has become such a flashpoint for anger is because it's such a perfect microcosm of the problem with everything right now. Decisions are not made based on safety, reasonable caution, or concern for human life. Every decision is instead made from a default assumption of 'what if the bad thing just DIDN'T happen?' We are given pie-in-the-sky promises and sizzle reels and an endless PR hype-cycle for every new innovation and inevitably it fails to work, harms people, and then is maybe barely apologized for before the next bad idea comes down the pike. OceanGate's underengineered, undercooked, doomed submarine isn't merely a metaphor for the hubris of the wealthy, it is a scale model of the way the wealthy dictate our reality. All consequences can be ignored, all blowback can be forestalled, let the end-user eat the cost.
I am not angry because the submarine was badly-made. I am angry because I live in a vastly larger pressure vessel being managed and maintained by the exact same people.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:752y77nxqoruw2serahdltgh/bafkreidtk34sqj3c62rjr743xrtkoghce5wyh35gtpoonbjp62xrwytt2e@jpeg)
October 24, 2025 at 9:41 AM
cohost.org is gone, but this post will never die:
Got a new patchbay to replace my 20+ year-old one, and sheesh, the diagrams in the manual (and printed on the patchbay itself) are SO BAD.
First, they pretend electrical connections are directional for some reason, & imply connections with tiny arrowheads. I added ACTUAL connection illustrations.
First, they pretend electrical connections are directional for some reason, & imply connections with tiny arrowheads. I added ACTUAL connection illustrations.
October 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Got a new patchbay to replace my 20+ year-old one, and sheesh, the diagrams in the manual (and printed on the patchbay itself) are SO BAD.
First, they pretend electrical connections are directional for some reason, & imply connections with tiny arrowheads. I added ACTUAL connection illustrations.
First, they pretend electrical connections are directional for some reason, & imply connections with tiny arrowheads. I added ACTUAL connection illustrations.
Whoops, forgot to include an excerpt.
October 6, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Whoops, forgot to include an excerpt.
EXTREME PEDALBOARD update:
68 stompbox pedals wired and powered (of ~89 total), plus 2 of 4 wah/volume-style pedals (which actually need to be on the floor) wired and powered.
With everything (so far) turned on--the intended default state--draws 92 watts of wall power ("mains").
68 stompbox pedals wired and powered (of ~89 total), plus 2 of 4 wah/volume-style pedals (which actually need to be on the floor) wired and powered.
With everything (so far) turned on--the intended default state--draws 92 watts of wall power ("mains").
October 1, 2025 at 12:48 AM
EXTREME PEDALBOARD update:
68 stompbox pedals wired and powered (of ~89 total), plus 2 of 4 wah/volume-style pedals (which actually need to be on the floor) wired and powered.
With everything (so far) turned on--the intended default state--draws 92 watts of wall power ("mains").
68 stompbox pedals wired and powered (of ~89 total), plus 2 of 4 wah/volume-style pedals (which actually need to be on the floor) wired and powered.
With everything (so far) turned on--the intended default state--draws 92 watts of wall power ("mains").
how it started (product page on website)
how it's going (product manual, not available on website)
(and yes, the second 'see table below' is referring to a non-existent table entry, I didn't crop it off)
how it's going (product manual, not available on website)
(and yes, the second 'see table below' is referring to a non-existent table entry, I didn't crop it off)
September 29, 2025 at 2:36 PM
how it started (product page on website)
how it's going (product manual, not available on website)
(and yes, the second 'see table below' is referring to a non-existent table entry, I didn't crop it off)
how it's going (product manual, not available on website)
(and yes, the second 'see table below' is referring to a non-existent table entry, I didn't crop it off)
Numberphile using AI for portraits of real people for whom actual photos exist. Not the first use of AI on that channel, but most egregious. No more Numberphile for me.
September 24, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Numberphile using AI for portraits of real people for whom actual photos exist. Not the first use of AI on that channel, but most egregious. No more Numberphile for me.
I've been telling people to stop going to GDC for years. Giving money to terrible people for a bad event, and especially problematic for non-USians.
Ok, so this year, really. Find some other event for networking. Drop GDC.
Ok, so this year, really. Find some other event for networking. Drop GDC.
![Text from the gdconf.com front page: at the top is the innocuous "[GDC] Festival of Gaming, March 09-13 2026, San Francisco".
Then, under a video, the text "A New Era Is Loading... GDC is transforming into the [Festival of Gaming], uniting the B2B games ecosystem. Registration launches late October." The phrase "uniting the B2B games ecosystem" is highlighted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:752y77nxqoruw2serahdltgh/bafkreiga5qcd3ikm4dhlbql4rswa4vjzx2n4l3t33po4k34zp622gtbwwy@jpeg)
September 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I've been telling people to stop going to GDC for years. Giving money to terrible people for a bad event, and especially problematic for non-USians.
Ok, so this year, really. Find some other event for networking. Drop GDC.
Ok, so this year, really. Find some other event for networking. Drop GDC.
The guitar is plugged into a rack device with 12 loops. 4 loops will go to sub-boards above, one board below; the rest control pedals immediately above. Each board has a pedal controller with 8 loops.
The 12-loop outputs to second 12-loop device, controlling pedals above, then to audio interface.
The 12-loop outputs to second 12-loop device, controlling pedals above, then to audio interface.
September 19, 2025 at 5:07 AM
The guitar is plugged into a rack device with 12 loops. 4 loops will go to sub-boards above, one board below; the rest control pedals immediately above. Each board has a pedal controller with 8 loops.
The 12-loop outputs to second 12-loop device, controlling pedals above, then to audio interface.
The 12-loop outputs to second 12-loop device, controlling pedals above, then to audio interface.
You can't plug 75 guitar pedals in a long series chain and expect good sound quality, so the secret is the devices marked in purple, each of which has 8+ separate 'send/returns' to one or more pedals. This requires twice as much cabling, but the signal will only go through active pedals (& cables).
September 17, 2025 at 9:13 PM
You can't plug 75 guitar pedals in a long series chain and expect good sound quality, so the secret is the devices marked in purple, each of which has 8+ separate 'send/returns' to one or more pedals. This requires twice as much cabling, but the signal will only go through active pedals (& cables).
For 10 years I've imagined having a studio setup for guitar effects pedals, where you don't have to swap the cables in and out, and you can tweak the knobs from a sitting/standing position.
I didn't know what it would look like back then. I didn't even exactly know 3 posts ago. Now I do.
I didn't know what it would look like back then. I didn't even exactly know 3 posts ago. Now I do.
September 17, 2025 at 9:04 PM
For 10 years I've imagined having a studio setup for guitar effects pedals, where you don't have to swap the cables in and out, and you can tweak the knobs from a sitting/standing position.
I didn't know what it would look like back then. I didn't even exactly know 3 posts ago. Now I do.
I didn't know what it would look like back then. I didn't even exactly know 3 posts ago. Now I do.
Approximately 125 effects pedals now have velcro (hook & loop fastener) backing so they can be mounted to pedalboards, effect-mounting furniture, etc.
September 12, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Approximately 125 effects pedals now have velcro (hook & loop fastener) backing so they can be mounted to pedalboards, effect-mounting furniture, etc.
In 2018, I set this room up as a music-only room after moving my everyday computer to another room. After COVID started, I turned this back into my work room (but still with decaying music decor).
It's taken 3 months since I quit Epic to finally get this back to completely being a music room only.
It's taken 3 months since I quit Epic to finally get this back to completely being a music room only.
September 12, 2025 at 3:52 AM
In 2018, I set this room up as a music-only room after moving my everyday computer to another room. After COVID started, I turned this back into my work room (but still with decaying music decor).
It's taken 3 months since I quit Epic to finally get this back to completely being a music room only.
It's taken 3 months since I quit Epic to finally get this back to completely being a music room only.