Scumways
@scumways.bsky.social
Jackson Lamb, Berlin, 1987
November 7, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Jackson Lamb, Berlin, 1987
I was at the GDC 2000 keynote where Bill Gates showed off that big prototype X. And I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't an Xbox inside that X, running those demos.
AFAIK, us Xbox devs never got to see them again. Instead, we were shipped a set of really dull examples.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbP...
AFAIK, us Xbox devs never got to see them again. Instead, we were shipped a set of really dull examples.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbP...
Prototype Original Xbox - Ping-pong Tech Demo
YouTube video by OG-XboxMods
www.youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:22 AM
I was at the GDC 2000 keynote where Bill Gates showed off that big prototype X. And I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't an Xbox inside that X, running those demos.
AFAIK, us Xbox devs never got to see them again. Instead, we were shipped a set of really dull examples.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbP...
AFAIK, us Xbox devs never got to see them again. Instead, we were shipped a set of really dull examples.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbP...
$D000 is the awesomest of all memory! Graphics in the RAM, which is under the character ROM, which is under the VIC/SID/IO chips.
In a time of more ruthless marketing, it would have been called the Commodore 88 or something.
In a time of more ruthless marketing, it would have been called the Commodore 88 or something.
October 8, 2025 at 4:38 AM
$D000 is the awesomest of all memory! Graphics in the RAM, which is under the character ROM, which is under the VIC/SID/IO chips.
In a time of more ruthless marketing, it would have been called the Commodore 88 or something.
In a time of more ruthless marketing, it would have been called the Commodore 88 or something.
In other news, I'm utterly incapable of consistently using the correct name for my game.
It's "Puny Earthling".
Not "Puny Human".
When the aliens dial the Scan-o-Tron to "Superior Lifeform", of *course* they're going to be beaming up a cat!
It's "Puny Earthling".
Not "Puny Human".
When the aliens dial the Scan-o-Tron to "Superior Lifeform", of *course* they're going to be beaming up a cat!
September 22, 2025 at 7:57 AM
In other news, I'm utterly incapable of consistently using the correct name for my game.
It's "Puny Earthling".
Not "Puny Human".
When the aliens dial the Scan-o-Tron to "Superior Lifeform", of *course* they're going to be beaming up a cat!
It's "Puny Earthling".
Not "Puny Human".
When the aliens dial the Scan-o-Tron to "Superior Lifeform", of *course* they're going to be beaming up a cat!
Yup - I've got a bunch of variations (scumways.com/blog/2024-11...).
But for the terminal thingy, everyone knows aliens always use early-80s green monochrome displays.
But for the terminal thingy, everyone knows aliens always use early-80s green monochrome displays.
Smashables
Everyone knows you can't mount a good interstellar conquest without regular tea breaks.
scumways.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Yup - I've got a bunch of variations (scumways.com/blog/2024-11...).
But for the terminal thingy, everyone knows aliens always use early-80s green monochrome displays.
But for the terminal thingy, everyone knows aliens always use early-80s green monochrome displays.
The menu "Edit..." => "Change format..." lets you pick another palette size (or switch to RGB or RGBA).
It used to be power-of-two size palettes only (heh - coders!), but I'm in the process of loosening that restriction.
It used to be power-of-two size palettes only (heh - coders!), but I'm in the process of loosening that restriction.
March 16, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The menu "Edit..." => "Change format..." lets you pick another palette size (or switch to RGB or RGBA).
It used to be power-of-two size palettes only (heh - coders!), but I'm in the process of loosening that restriction.
It used to be power-of-two size palettes only (heh - coders!), but I'm in the process of loosening that restriction.
Might I suggest github.com/bcampbell/ev... ?
I wrote it because I missed Deluxe Paint (and the keybindings!) and wanted an equivalent with modern sensibilities...
I wrote it because I missed Deluxe Paint (and the keybindings!) and wanted an equivalent with modern sensibilities...
Releases · bcampbell/evilpixie
Pixel-oriented paint program, modelled on Deluxe Paint - bcampbell/evilpixie
github.com
March 16, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Might I suggest github.com/bcampbell/ev... ?
I wrote it because I missed Deluxe Paint (and the keybindings!) and wanted an equivalent with modern sensibilities...
I wrote it because I missed Deluxe Paint (and the keybindings!) and wanted an equivalent with modern sensibilities...
I know. I was fine at graphics until they invented more than 16 colours!
February 15, 2025 at 5:42 AM
I know. I was fine at graphics until they invented more than 16 colours!
My preference is simple do-one-thing tools in platform-neutral C/C++, which I can integrate into my own build process (Makefile, whatever).
Python's fine, but always seems to take a bit more care and feeding.
Please not node. Node installs always seem so brittle!
Python's fine, but always seems to take a bit more care and feeding.
Please not node. Node installs always seem so brittle!
January 18, 2025 at 11:00 PM
My preference is simple do-one-thing tools in platform-neutral C/C++, which I can integrate into my own build process (Makefile, whatever).
Python's fine, but always seems to take a bit more care and feeding.
Please not node. Node installs always seem so brittle!
Python's fine, but always seems to take a bit more care and feeding.
Please not node. Node installs always seem so brittle!
You can, but they're very expensive and come with a free TV.
January 16, 2025 at 10:46 AM
You can, but they're very expensive and come with a free TV.
Oh wow, that reminds me - back in the day I worked on an OG XBox game that was published by Microsoft. When they finally sent us (green) devkits, one of them had a near-final Halo build on it.
So we got to play through the first Halo a few weeks before it was released. With debug logging.
So we got to play through the first Halo a few weeks before it was released. With debug logging.
January 15, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Oh wow, that reminds me - back in the day I worked on an OG XBox game that was published by Microsoft. When they finally sent us (green) devkits, one of them had a near-final Halo build on it.
So we got to play through the first Halo a few weeks before it was released. With debug logging.
So we got to play through the first Halo a few weeks before it was released. With debug logging.
Dammit. That looks so great.
Now I want to run off down a rabbit hole and do something like this for the titlescreen of my c64 game...
I'm only saved by the certain knowledge that I need that memory for other stuff!
Now I want to run off down a rabbit hole and do something like this for the titlescreen of my c64 game...
I'm only saved by the certain knowledge that I need that memory for other stuff!
January 13, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Dammit. That looks so great.
Now I want to run off down a rabbit hole and do something like this for the titlescreen of my c64 game...
I'm only saved by the certain knowledge that I need that memory for other stuff!
Now I want to run off down a rabbit hole and do something like this for the titlescreen of my c64 game...
I'm only saved by the certain knowledge that I need that memory for other stuff!
Thanks!
It'll take a while because it's a spare-time project, but I'm really enjoying it: I'll add something then find myself giggling like a maniac for the rest of the day :-)
It'll take a while because it's a spare-time project, but I'm really enjoying it: I'll add something then find myself giggling like a maniac for the rest of the day :-)
January 13, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Thanks!
It'll take a while because it's a spare-time project, but I'm really enjoying it: I'll add something then find myself giggling like a maniac for the rest of the day :-)
It'll take a while because it's a spare-time project, but I'm really enjoying it: I'll add something then find myself giggling like a maniac for the rest of the day :-)