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Box3D, an open source 3D physics engine
25 days ago
- Box3D is an open source 3D physics engine, now available on GitHub.
- It is a fork of Box2D, extended with features for 3D games like triangle mesh, height-field, and baked compound collision.
- Core architecture retains C API, C17 source, sub-stepping solver, continuous collision, wide SIMD, multi-threading hooks, and cross-platform determinism.
- Developed for the game The Legend of California due to issues with Unreal's native physics engine, such as lack of gyroscopic torque support and erratic tree movement.
- Integration was achieved by forking Rubikon-Lite (from Valve's Dirk Gregorius) and transforming it into Box3D by replacing APIs with Box2D code.
- Box3D is optimized for performance, including custom solutions for falling trees, voxel collision mesh building, and streaming compound collision for large structures.
- Created to sustain personal knowledge and sanity, allowing open source development supported by Kintsugiyama as part of day job.
- Box3D is used in The Legend of California, s&box, Esoterica, and a 1000-player space game.
- Currently alpha software, with plans for v0.1 release, more testing, documentation, and feature enhancements like character movement and joint solver.
- Updates and community discussions will be via the author's site and Box2D Discord server, with no separate website or Discord.
Godot will no longer accept AI-authored code contributions
25 days ago
- Godot will amend contribution guidelines to reject AI-authored code and pull requests
- AI-generated contributions have become draining for maintainers and hinder mentorship of new contributors
- The policy requires human accountability for code and rejects AI text in human communication
- Contributors must disclose any AI assistance used for menial tasks only
- Godot maintains a conservative approach but will re-evaluate as AI tools evolve
Compression in the game Full Quiet
24 days ago
- Retrotainment Games' Full Quiet utilizes multiple layers of compression to fit a large open world into a half-megabyte NES cartridge.
- Text compression is achieved using DTE (digram tree encoding), which replaces common 2-character sequences with single-byte references, reducing text data size by 38%.
- Color data is heavily compressed by reducing 24-bit colors to 6-bit, using palettes, and employing subpalettes to cut storage from 696 MB to around 19 MB across three dayparts.
- Graphics are organized into 8x8 pixel tiles, with shared tiles across mapsets and run-length encoding (PB8) further reducing tile data by 30.4% for unique tiles.
- Metatiles (combinations of tiles into larger blocks) and hierarchical compression reduce map data significantly, achieving 0.0278 bits per pixel and fitting the world into 51.4% of the ROM capacity.
I was wrong about game development
19 days ago
- The developer released Burst and added bug fixes along with a new Zen mode for a more relaxed, leaderboard-free experience.
- Zen mode was created after realizing the initial difficulty settings were off; first too easy, then too hard, leading to player feedback.
- The leaderboards from the first version had high scores that felt unattainable after difficulty adjustments, prompting Zen mode's introduction.
- The developer reflects on the challenge of balancing difficulty in games, using Zelda Breath of the Wild as an example to appreciate game developers.
- A tip jar was added for direct support but brought an 'in-app purchases' label on the App Store, which the developer finds misleading and may remove.
- Burst is committed to remaining free to play, contrasting with scammy, ad-filled apps on the App Store.
Show HN: I built an AI spritesheet generator for game developers
18 days ago
- Upload or create a character by dropping an image or using presets.
- AutoSprite automatically aligns elements and eliminates manual trimming, padding, or renaming.
- Select animations such as idle, walk, run, jump, attack, or custom moves per direction.
AI Can't Recreate the Thrust Game (But It Can Help You Understand It)
15 days ago
- The author attempted to use Claude AI to recreate the classic 1986 game Thrust in the browser but found the initial result was 'slop' and not playable, lacking the authentic feel.
- Through a process of 'archaeology,' the author used Claude to interrogate disassembled 6502 assembly code, which helped generate detailed specifications for subsystems like physics and sound, leading to an accurate recreation.
- Key to matching the original game's feel was replicating its specific physics timing, including a gated update cadence (6 active slots per 16-tick window) and asymmetric drag, rather than just using the same constants.
- For authentic sound, the author emulated the BBC's SN76489 sound chip and MOS interface in an AudioWorklet, rather than sampling, ensuring precise timing and envelope shapes.
- Graphics and levels were extracted from the original source, using hard-coded sprites for ship rotation and the original's scanline-parity fill for terrain, while demo mode was replicated via timed keypress injection.
- The author concludes that while AI could not directly recreate Thrust, it was invaluable for deeply understanding the original systems, and the recreation process fostered appreciation for the original developers' achievements.
- The article also mentions the author's separate project: a turn-based 4X strategy game built from scratch with a custom WebGPU engine, eight civilizations, and an AI opponent, playable directly in the browser.
Xbox 'OG' Adventures
19 days ago
- The author independently ported the Mirage game engine to the original Xbox (OG) as a personal hobby project, without any support from Microsoft.
- The main challenges involved adapting a modern C++17/20 engine to C++98/03, using obsolete tools like Visual Studio 2003 and old CMake versions, and handling compatibility issues.
- Asset processing required converting the Sponza scene to older formats (like OBJ and .x) using multiple 3D software versions and optimizing for the Xbox's memory constraints.
- Texture loading on Xbox involved creating .rdf files to bundle textures into a single .xpr resource file, while animations could use vertex blending or tweening techniques.
- The project also involved porting the Quinn character from Unreal Engine 6 to the Xbox, and using SDK tools like the Bundler for icons and media.
What Is DAAD Ready?
13 days ago
- DAAD Ready is a tool for creating text adventures, evolving from PAWS and The Quill used in the 80s and 90s for 8-bit computers.
- It supports game creation in English and Spanish, with limited support for French, Portuguese, and German, and may be adaptable to other Roman-alphabet languages.
- The tool is designed for Windows but may work on MacOS or Linux via Wine; it includes tools to simplify technical details for 8-bit adventure development.
- DAAD Ready is a bundle with a repository for updates, but using the latest development version is not recommended due to potential bugs.
- Many games have been created with DAAD, including updates of old PAWS games and ports to other machines, with a broad list of examples available.
Show HN: I built a one-prompt hackathon platform, free entry, sponsored prizes
12 days ago
- The 'One Shot Challenge' is a competition from July 13-18, 2026, where participants submit one prompt to generate a complete, working game or interactive experience in a single model call.
- Six winners are selected daily, with prizes including GTA VI copies and a PlayStation 5 for first place; winners are announced on July 19.
- Participants must use a frontier AI model (e.g., Fable 5, GPT-4.6 Sol) with their own API key, but free options like Muse Spark and Gemini are available.
- Entries are run on the challenge's server to ensure integrity, with prompts and models sealed until results, and outputs are published in a sandbox for verification.
- Judging involves a jury from Lionsgate AI, Sony, NBA, and World Labs, plus one community-voted winner; rules allow self-contained outputs using approved libraries and licensed assets.
How to fix AI-generated pixel art
12 days ago
- AI pixel art often has blurry and inconsistent pixels.
- Pixel Snapper aligns pixels to a grid, preserving shapes.
- Step 1: Quantize colors to create a consistent palette.
- Step 2: Analyze brightness profiles to detect edges.
- Step 3: Determine grid step size and cut edges.
- Step 4: Resample colors in each cell for output.
- Transforms off-grid AI art into clean pixel art.
- Includes a Pixel Art Generator for game development.
Duskers, the scary command line game, is getting a sequel
10 days ago
- Misfits Attic announced Duskers 2.0, funded by Max McGuire's Stray Signal, with a teaser trailer debuting at the PC Gaming Show.
- The original Duskers turns 10 this year and will be featured in summer bundles and promotions.
- Misfits Attic secured funding through EGG's Demo Day, having previously received support for prototypes, including for Below the Crown.
- Max McGuire, co-founder of Unknown Worlds, launched Stray Signal and signed Duskers 2.0 as its first game, citing Tim's presentation and shared indie history.
- Max will contribute technically to Duskers 2.0, leveraging experience from Natural Selection 2 and Subnautica.
- The indie developer community, including Max, Tim, and the author, has a long history dating back to 2008, collaborating on projects like the Organic Indie Preorder Pack.
- Duskers 2.0 aims to expand on the original's survival theme, shifting from 'Explore, Adapt, Survive' to 'Explore, Adapt, Revive' with moral dilemmas and colony management.
- The teaser trailer received positive feedback, validating the emotional design approach and generating significant online impressions.
- EGG's community model supports developers like Tim, demonstrating success in funding indie projects amidst industry challenges.
Voxatron
10 days ago
- Introduces the Voxatron Devkit for creating custom carts using design tools for animations, characters, pickups, music, and world-building.
- Highlights a collection of official and user-made cartridges accessible via an in-game BBS cart explorer, shareable via an HTML5 player.
- Lists the price of Voxatron as $19.99.
Apple's Vision Pro Tool Contains Traces of Defunct Game Engine 'The Machinery'
9 days ago
- Apple's Reality Composer Pro 3 beta contains code references to 'The Machinery,' a defunct game development project.
- The code includes over 40 mentions and matches aspects of The Machinery's project structure, asset management, and database architecture.
- The Machinery was known for its innovative 'The Truth' database-driven system, which aligns with features in Reality Composer Pro like reusable prototypes and live editing.
- Tricia Gray, co-founder of Our Machinery (the company behind The Machinery), now works on Apple's spatial computing developer tools team.
- It is unclear whether Apple licensed, acquired, or inherited the technology, but the code suggests The Machinery's ideas have been integrated into Apple's toolset.
GTFO VR Mod Postmortem
9 days ago
- The author created a VR mod for GTFO, starting with decompiling Unity game code using DnSpy and moving to runtime patching with Harmony and BepInEx for legal distribution.
- Key challenges included balancing VR gameplay to avoid giving players unfair advantages or disadvantages, implementing motion controls, UI (smartwatch-style HUD), and terminal interaction with virtual keyboards.
- The mod faced a major setback when GTFO switched to IL2CPP, rendering mods non-functional for 6–8 months until new injection tools were developed by community members like Knah.
- Performance was a persistent issue due to VR's double rendering, requiring powerful GPUs, and the author notes potential for future graphics optimization.
- The project was open-source, received ~6K downloads, ~€1K in donations, and contributions from six developers, with the author ultimately stepping back due to time constraints and the complexity of IL2CPP development.
Building a Tiny 3D Renderer for a Tiny Handheld
3 days ago
- The author started with a raycaster benchmark to gauge Playdate's 3D performance, which initially seemed too slow.
- The renderer loads Quake BSP map files, leveraging precomputed visibility and geometry to save runtime cost.
- A 16-bit reciprocal z-buffer was added after the painter's algorithm proved insufficient.
- Perspective-correct texture mapping is used with a per-pixel division approximation for performance.
- Lighting is dithered using an 8x8 Bayer matrix to simulate shades on the 1-bit display.
- The visual style uses strong outlines and cel-shading (inspired by Return of the Obra Dinn and Jet Set Radio) instead of textured dithering.
- Key optimizations include using specific compiler flags, custom ARM assembly for math functions, half-resolution rendering, and hot/cold code separation.
- The author emphasizes benchmarking and aiming for 'good enough' to progress to gameplay prototyping.
Pixuma: Fundamentals of Computer Science and Mathematics
2 days ago
- Instant access to video lectures with no subscriptions required.
- Engagement with other students via discussion board.
- Certificate of completion awarded at the end of the course.
- 14-day money-back guarantee offered on all courses.
- Courses are well-structured, cover computer graphics, compilers, and game development, and are suitable for both beginners and experienced learners.
- High student satisfaction with 71% returning for another course; no discounts ever offered.
The Word for Art Is Human
8 hours ago
- The author wanted to create a personal game (KATAVATIS) as an escape from corporate work, pursuing full creative control.
- Reflecting on childhood, the author describes how learning to program was essential to make games, unlike today's generative AI.
- Art is defined as human expression and creation, which cannot be replicated by AI algorithms that merely imitate patterns.
- The rise of generative AI threatens to replace authentic human art and expression, akin to a zombie apocalypse of creativity.

game development

Box3D, an open source 3D physics engine

Godot will no longer accept AI-authored code contributions

Compression in the game Full Quiet

I was wrong about game development

Show HN: I built an AI spritesheet generator for game developers

AI Can't Recreate the Thrust Game (But It Can Help You Understand It)

Xbox 'OG' Adventures

What Is DAAD Ready?

Show HN: I built a one-prompt hackathon platform, free entry, sponsored prizes

How to fix AI-generated pixel art

Duskers, the scary command line game, is getting a sequel

Voxatron

Apple's Vision Pro Tool Contains Traces of Defunct Game Engine 'The Machinery'

GTFO VR Mod Postmortem

Building a Tiny 3D Renderer for a Tiny Handheld

Pixuma: Fundamentals of Computer Science and Mathematics

The Word for Art Is Human