Pedro J. Estébanez
@randompedroj.bsky.social
•Veteran @GodotEngine.org contributor (a.k.a. RandomShaper)
•Console middleware lead eng. at @w4games.com
•Author of http://hellrule.com
•Songwriter, singer, guitarist
•Nightly retro QBasic gamedev adventurer
•Console middleware lead eng. at @w4games.com
•Author of http://hellrule.com
•Songwriter, singer, guitarist
•Nightly retro QBasic gamedev adventurer
Over the years, a bunch of device vendors reached out to send me prototype of just released device models to make sure Robotic Guitarist would work well on them.
I was there when it all started and it was a fascinating period.
(4/4)
I was there when it all started and it was a fascinating period.
(4/4)
November 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Over the years, a bunch of device vendors reached out to send me prototype of just released device models to make sure Robotic Guitarist would work well on them.
I was there when it all started and it was a fascinating period.
(4/4)
I was there when it all started and it was a fascinating period.
(4/4)
In 2013, the app hit v. 4.0, where it become more mature and feature-packed (what you can see in the screenshots).
It wouldn't be until 2016 where the current v. 5.x line started, with new visuals, a new audio engine with multiple effects, and a Material Design UI.
(3/4)
It wouldn't be until 2016 where the current v. 5.x line started, with new visuals, a new audio engine with multiple effects, and a Material Design UI.
(3/4)
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
In 2013, the app hit v. 4.0, where it become more mature and feature-packed (what you can see in the screenshots).
It wouldn't be until 2016 where the current v. 5.x line started, with new visuals, a new audio engine with multiple effects, and a Material Design UI.
(3/4)
It wouldn't be until 2016 where the current v. 5.x line started, with new visuals, a new audio engine with multiple effects, and a Material Design UI.
(3/4)
I can't believe it's been 16 years since v. 1.0 was released in 2009!
A bit earlier, before being made public, it participated in the first Android Developer Challenge (2008).
I'm showing here the icon, and how the app looked like in the 320x240 devices of that era.
(2/4)
A bit earlier, before being made public, it participated in the first Android Developer Challenge (2008).
I'm showing here the icon, and how the app looked like in the 320x240 devices of that era.
(2/4)
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I can't believe it's been 16 years since v. 1.0 was released in 2009!
A bit earlier, before being made public, it participated in the first Android Developer Challenge (2008).
I'm showing here the icon, and how the app looked like in the 320x240 devices of that era.
(2/4)
A bit earlier, before being made public, it participated in the first Android Developer Challenge (2008).
I'm showing here the icon, and how the app looked like in the 320x240 devices of that era.
(2/4)
Celebrate #BlackFriday with my #Android guitar app 'Robotic Guitarist'!
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
I've made it 100 % free. No ads, no purchases. All timbres, effects and skins included.
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
play.google.com/store/apps/d...
(Thread, 1/4)
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
I've made it 100 % free. No ads, no purchases. All timbres, effects and skins included.
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
play.google.com/store/apps/d...
(Thread, 1/4)
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Celebrate #BlackFriday with my #Android guitar app 'Robotic Guitarist'!
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
I've made it 100 % free. No ads, no purchases. All timbres, effects and skins included.
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
play.google.com/store/apps/d...
(Thread, 1/4)
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
I've made it 100 % free. No ads, no purchases. All timbres, effects and skins included.
🆓🆓🆓🆓🆓
play.google.com/store/apps/d...
(Thread, 1/4)
overflow-y: hidden;
October 23, 2025 at 11:29 AM
overflow-y: hidden;
Just learned about std::ignore to tell the compiler you're ignoring a return value marked as 'nodiscard' on purpose.
en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utilit...
en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utilit...
August 7, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Just learned about std::ignore to tell the compiler you're ignoring a return value marked as 'nodiscard' on purpose.
en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utilit...
en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utilit...
I was at the Madrid OXO Museum of the Videogame this weekend. I had a chance to play with the old glories as well as checking out some funny stuff.
July 27, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I was at the Madrid OXO Museum of the Videogame this weekend. I had a chance to play with the old glories as well as checking out some funny stuff.
Would you guess which of the following icons (from GMail, in this case) I've learned to despise and ignore as much as possible?
July 21, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Would you guess which of the following icons (from GMail, in this case) I've learned to despise and ignore as much as possible?
Also, kids, bear in mind that hanging up the phone is what you now refer to as 'end call.'
June 21, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Also, kids, bear in mind that hanging up the phone is what you now refer to as 'end call.'
Wow, I can never remember the precise command for this.
June 19, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Wow, I can never remember the precise command for this.
Rate our service by just clicking on a rating, right here in this email!...
OK, you clicked.
Now we have your attention, please spend a number of minutes you didn't intend to spend in filling a detailed survey.
#UXDesign
OK, you clicked.
Now we have your attention, please spend a number of minutes you didn't intend to spend in filling a detailed survey.
#UXDesign
May 20, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Rate our service by just clicking on a rating, right here in this email!...
OK, you clicked.
Now we have your attention, please spend a number of minutes you didn't intend to spend in filling a detailed survey.
#UXDesign
OK, you clicked.
Now we have your attention, please spend a number of minutes you didn't intend to spend in filling a detailed survey.
#UXDesign
Copilot strikes again!
April 2, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Copilot strikes again!
Megatest of `thread_local` overhead across main compilers, architectures, linkages, and primitive/constinit const./regular constr.:
godbolt.org/z/he1cYsPo9
Results in the following skeet. 👇
godbolt.org/z/he1cYsPo9
Results in the following skeet. 👇
April 1, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Megatest of `thread_local` overhead across main compilers, architectures, linkages, and primitive/constinit const./regular constr.:
godbolt.org/z/he1cYsPo9
Results in the following skeet. 👇
godbolt.org/z/he1cYsPo9
Results in the following skeet. 👇
Finally, my 4 bpp PCX loader for my QBasic project works! 15 seconds to load the image below. Not too bad, but I'll try to optimize a bit. It's a good time to make a backup, by the way.
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
February 11, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Finally, my 4 bpp PCX loader for my QBasic project works! 15 seconds to load the image below. Not too bad, but I'll try to optimize a bit. It's a good time to make a backup, by the way.
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
Captured by myself, the #qbasic Easter egg with the names of the team!
#dos #msdos #gamedev #retrogaming
#dos #msdos #gamedev #retrogaming
February 8, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Captured by myself, the #qbasic Easter egg with the names of the team!
#dos #msdos #gamedev #retrogaming
#dos #msdos #gamedev #retrogaming
Since I'll use mode 7 (320x200, 16 colors), because of the nice 8 VRAM pages in VGA, I'm investigating the format of image used by GET/PUT so I can directly POKE to it if I need to.
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
February 8, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Since I'll use mode 7 (320x200, 16 colors), because of the nice 8 VRAM pages in VGA, I'm investigating the format of image used by GET/PUT so I can directly POKE to it if I need to.
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
#retrogaming #gamedev #dos #msdos
Looks like I'm really kicking off my QBasic nostalgia project. Installing MS-DOS 6.22 on a Pentium@66 MHz emulated via 86Box running on Lubuntu on my just bought potato laptop.
February 6, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Looks like I'm really kicking off my QBasic nostalgia project. Installing MS-DOS 6.22 on a Pentium@66 MHz emulated via 86Box running on Lubuntu on my just bought potato laptop.
So command buffer pools in SwiftShader are not pooled at all. The implementation allocates on command buffer creation and on command insertion. Speed is not SwiftShader's main goal, but that's a bit unsettling anyway.
February 6, 2025 at 9:43 AM
So command buffer pools in SwiftShader are not pooled at all. The implementation allocates on command buffer creation and on command insertion. Speed is not SwiftShader's main goal, but that's a bit unsettling anyway.
Am I crazy if I'm buying a very compact FreeDOS laptop to relive my childhood memories, but with I what know now, by making a game with QBasic + NASM + DeLuxe Paint II, in the nights, when my kid is already sleeping, and later repack the result for redistribution on modern PCs?
February 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Am I crazy if I'm buying a very compact FreeDOS laptop to relive my childhood memories, but with I what know now, by making a game with QBasic + NASM + DeLuxe Paint II, in the nights, when my kid is already sleeping, and later repack the result for redistribution on modern PCs?
Many were asking for some sort of preprocessing in GDScript (#GodotEngine). I've implemented a simple but powerful approach to that.
PR: github.com/godotengine/...
Testing welcome.
PR: github.com/godotengine/...
Testing welcome.
January 27, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Many were asking for some sort of preprocessing in GDScript (#GodotEngine). I've implemented a simple but powerful approach to that.
PR: github.com/godotengine/...
Testing welcome.
PR: github.com/godotengine/...
Testing welcome.
Have I ever told you this is in the top drawer of my bedside table?
A CPU I enjoyed for a few years, an original Pentium@100MHz. (Well, not the very original.052134, if you get the joke.)
A CPU I enjoyed for a few years, an original Pentium@100MHz. (Well, not the very original.052134, if you get the joke.)
November 6, 2024 at 8:27 AM
Have I ever told you this is in the top drawer of my bedside table?
A CPU I enjoyed for a few years, an original Pentium@100MHz. (Well, not the very original.052134, if you get the joke.)
A CPU I enjoyed for a few years, an original Pentium@100MHz. (Well, not the very original.052134, if you get the joke.)
GCC and Clang generate a more optimal instruction for an acquire barrier on ARM64 (`dmb ishld`—load-load, load-store) than MSVC (`dmb ish`—full).
November 4, 2024 at 5:43 PM
GCC and Clang generate a more optimal instruction for an acquire barrier on ARM64 (`dmb ishld`—load-load, load-store) than MSVC (`dmb ish`—full).