Tom

Tom

@thope.xyz

Game dev specialising in engine and tools 🔧 based in Scotland. Any views expressed do not represent those of my employer, etc etc.

118 followers469 following160 posts

Tom
@thope.xyz

If you are a programmer with imposter syndrome (like me), even small open source contributions can be very validating. All my contributions have been minor. Small crashes or updating documentation. But even the small stuff makes a difference.

Tom
@thope.xyz

Beyond code, the biggest barrier to contribution was good build instructions (Thank you to those that write them!) But after a while I got familiar with make, CMake, premake, linker errors, etc. and could figure stuff out on my own. These days LLMs help with that too tbh

Tom
@thope.xyz

You also need to get familiar with the git workflow (fork, pull, branch, commit, push, merge). Good instructions help here too. Maybe my message to maintainers is that clear guides for building and contributing may not be glamorous, but they do make a difference! #foss

Tom
@thope.xyz

red-black trees, b trees, content addressable storage, Rich Hickey, functional programming, NERF, so much stuff to dig into. Especially when Alex is talking at 2x speed lol #gamedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

Today in my continued effort to NOT implement the Pacejka magic formula, I made some neat little AnimationCurves which I can sample instead :) #gamedev #indiedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

update. Added backends got GTK2 and 3 (might drop 2 support later, we'll see) Also added support for creating the default App and Window menus on MacOS

Tom
@thope.xyz

I did a Lua implementation of a CLAY style UI layout system a few months ago. Today I ported most of the layout code to C++ Tbh I was really liking the lua version. Wish I had a bigger love2d project that warranted investing more time in it #gamedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

Half a day later and I found the bug in my maths library that was causing the flickering shadow maps 🫠 I probably deserved it... #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

Tom
@thope.xyz

Dithered shadows + bsky compression makes it hard to tell in the video but trust me this is much improved

Tom
@thope.xyz

Came home and added some simple linear fog after a long weekend with the fam. I've been working on some stuff in the background to support infinite worlds for the new direction I'm going in. #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

Tom
@thope.xyz

Also fixes and improvements to selection and gizmo behaviour. Good selection has MANY subtle details and getting them all right is not easy

Tom
@thope.xyz

Today was a close call, but I have once again avoided paying for a cabin bag Got my MacBook with me, Windows builds are running on GitHub actions, the journey never stop #gamedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

Got packaging and notarizing Mac builds working from the command line with notarytool. Honestly this is much better than the old way with altool #gamedev #indiedev #solodev

Tom
@thope.xyz

Tried improving my GLSL workflow in sublime text with syntax highlighting + linting. Unfortunately the linting package needs a PR merged and glslangValidator.exe's --glsl-version flag appears to be broken... Still better than nothing #opengl

Tom
@thope.xyz

I think I'm close to having enough gameplay to make a demo for the car game but feeling a bit stuck 😖 Instead I fixed up some maths code and debugged lighting in this old FPS test scene. Worth doing I guess #gamedev #indiedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

Posted past midnight so it counts #screenshotsaturday

Tom@thope.xyz

Nitrous drifting baybeee lets goooo #gamedev #indiedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

I think the game has got to a size where the hot reload button in visual studio just doesn’t work any more :(

Tom
@thope.xyz

Had another playtest today and did some editor polishing. Feeling like I need to touch grass rn though... #gamedev #indiedev

Tom
@thope.xyz

Added shadow maps while stuck at the airport today. I didn't love the softness produced by PCF. This is dithered PCF with some distortion applied to the sampling which I prefer but still not 100%, opinions welcome. Also need to fix the swimming while the camera is moving #gamedev #indiedev

Tom reposted

Trezy
@trezy.codes

Welcome to v4 of the Blue Sky Game Dev orientation 🧵! Let's get you started with the basics of Bluesky, finding other devs, and posting about your games! Btw, this is based on the artist orientation thread from @purlane.ink; make sure to check it out if you’re also on the art side of game dev!

Baldemoto🇵🇸@baldemo.to

Welcome to the Bluesky artist orientation 🧵! This will get you started on the basics of how this network works, how to connect with other artists, and how to get your art seen. If you’re a furry, I also highly recommend checking out @buttplug.engineer's furry orientation thread below:

Tom
@thope.xyz

Added braking this morning, which is apparently a thing people want #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday