The Anti-Entropy Machine

By Shamus Posted Friday Sep 10, 2021

Filed under: Projects 45 comments

This was a mistake. I knew it when I did it. But sometimes we’re slaves to our obsessions and you don’t have any choice but to make mistakes and hope you can escape the consequences.

(I did not escape the consequences.)

When you’re learning something new – 3D modeling, carpentry, programming, filmmaking, baking, etc. – then the thing to do is to take on many small, quick projects while you’re learning the ropes. If you’re learning to draw, then you should probably start with a small sheet of paper and not try to make a mural to cover the side of a building. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes at first, and it’s best to make them quickly, learn from them, and move on. The stuff you draw in your second hour will be much better than your first, your second day better than the one before, and so on. If you start with a mural then by the time you’re halfway done you’ll have progressed so far that you’ll no longer be satisfied with the first stuff you drew.

My first few Blender Renders reflect what you’re supposed to do: Make something simple, iterate on an idea, get it done, and move on. But then I started making gears and I was really into the idea of making this crazy clockwork machine that moves marbles around. This is the result:


Link (YouTube)

Normally I’d put music over this to hide the uncanny silence, but I’m SO done with the project at this point.

Let’s talk about the problems…

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “The Anti-Entropy Machine”

 


 

Prey 2017 Part 10: But What Do They SLEEP?

By Shamus Posted Thursday Sep 9, 2021

Filed under: Retrospectives 73 comments

A few entries ago I made a big deal about how much I love the design of Talos-1 and I’m impressed with the attention to detail that went into building this world and making it feel real. So now it’s time for me to do my predictable face-heel turn and obsess over some nitpicky detail. Specifically, the sleeping arrangements on this space station are ridiculous.

I realize this is one of those details we’re not supposed to notice, but the crew quarters are absurdly, comically undersized. They are so undersized that I find it really distracting. I don’t mean they seem too small in retrospect, I mean they are flagrantly, outrageously undersized in a way that I can’t help but notice while playing the game.

I’m making a big deal about this because the population of Talos-1 is a known thing.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Prey 2017 Part 10: But What Do They SLEEP?”

 


 

Theme Proposal

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 7, 2021

Filed under: Notices 88 comments

Last week I mentioned that I was planning on updating the site theme. Specifically I said, “I’d like the images to break out of the column and reach across the page.” Like all theme changes, the only feedback I got was negative. Nobody is ever excited about anything new, but lots of people are apprehensive. However, in this case I’m not sure I explained it properly. So let’s have a little conversation about maintainability, readability, and my ability.

If you read this site on mobile, then it ought to look something like this:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Theme Proposal”

 


 

Diecast #354: Blender Sandwich

By Shamus Posted Monday Sep 6, 2021

Filed under: Diecast 79 comments

I like how LABOR DAY is the one day we’ve all agreed to skip work. It makes a nice companion to Thanksgiving, where – thanks to the shopping nightmare – is a day defined mostly by avarice and gluttony. Maybe we should add a few more inverted holidays. On President’s Day, nobody is allowed to be the president. Of anything. I’ll leave the rest of you to figure out how we should un-observe the other holidays.


Hosts: Paul, Shamus. Episode edited by Issac.

Diecast354
Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #354: Blender Sandwich”

 


 

Prey 2017 Part 9: Kill the Cook

By Shamus Posted Thursday Sep 2, 2021

Filed under: Retrospectives 142 comments

At this point we run into a couple of new monster types. Actually, you may have run into these earlier, depending on how far you strayed off the obvious path provided by the main quest. But here is where you unavoidably encounter them, so let’s talk about them now…

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Prey 2017 Part 9: Kill the Cook”

 


 

Sixteen Years of Twenty Sided

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Sep 1, 2021

Filed under: Landmarks 97 comments

This site went live in September of 2005, and has remained running for the last 16 years. If this blog were a person, it would now be old enough to get a job and apply for a driver’s license in these parts. It also would never get invited to parties with any of the cool kids at school because it just won’t shut up about Mars Effect or whatever that stupid videogame is called.

So let’s celebrate with a bunch of trivia.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sixteen Years of Twenty Sided”

 


 

Prey 2017 Part 8: Yesterday’s World of Tomorrow

By Shamus Posted Thursday Aug 26, 2021

Filed under: Retrospectives 177 comments

Morgan is still trying to reach Deep Storage so she can obtain her arming key so she can blow up the station. At some point during this ordeal, Morgan needs to visit the Crew Quarters. This is actually pretty dang far out of her way, and the reasons for it are a little convoluted. I’ll talk about them later, but first let’s talk about the amazing design of Talos-1.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Prey 2017 Part 8: Yesterday’s World of Tomorrow”