Posts by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
(DIR) Post #AR1C6Ep8o4yqlmYxKi by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2022-12-26T22:50:32Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
I’ve been working with Steve Purcell doing the graphic design for this new release of Sam & Max Hit the Road, which goes on sale Jan 6. It’s been a dream project come to life to get to do the packaging for a LucasArts game, and it being Hit the Road to boot. The final release should be pretty packed with detail. I can’t wait for people to actually get it.#SamAndMax #LucasArts #adventuregames
(DIR) Post #AScLShDBjb9ttd2tYe by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-02-12T22:41:03Z
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@misty would love this plus a(n ideally rolling) backup feature, with the power to upload a blob of your post history to another server if your old one disappears suddenly. I mean, I would prefer a world where servers didn’t disappear, but if that’s going to happen, moving and backup/restore would both be great.
(DIR) Post #AbjVw20eHsr5a2T9pA by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-12T05:52:15Z
1 likes, 7 repeats
A couple of days ago at work we announced the Steam Deck OLED. It’s available next week (Nov 16) and though it’s got a bunch of great improvements like longer battery life, faster downloads, the star is the ultra-bright HDR OLED screen. The screens are ridiculously bright and vibrant, so we thought it would be fun to use actual Steam Deck OLEDs as lighting sources to light our entire launch trailer. Of course this necessitated building a giant metal orb. First though, here’s the final spot:
(DIR) Post #AbjVw374BVaD0ETnSy by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-12T06:04:45Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
The orb itself was designed and built by a handful of people responsible for the actual Steam Deck hardware – some folks who work on the device itself and some who work primarily in the prototyping/fabrication workshop (and some Steam Deck clips made by an accessory designer on Reddit). The networking was a collab between people in the IT group and help from Steam networking (including a couple old retired switches from Steam and a rackmount case from an old Dota event).
(DIR) Post #AbjVw3nxc1tV9GY3KC by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-12T06:14:15Z
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Software was maybe the most fun, because it wasn’t custom. Steam Deck is “just” a Linux PC in a tiny case, which meant we could use a bunch of existing solutions. We wanted to iterate quickly so ideally the whole thing would work in realtime (as opposed to rendering out individual videos per-screen and playing them in sync). So we ended up using OBS for the whole setup - both from the transmitting computer and running on each receiving Deck in the orb - with the NDI plugin for low latency sync.
(DIR) Post #AbjVw53axNzj22s3Ki by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-12T06:27:16Z
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NDI is a standard developed by NewTek (the creators of the Video Toaster!) for sending streaming video around a LAN with low latency and good sync. It’s apparently used by a lot of modern planetariums, and megachurches, for example. We took the CAD file and did a quick spherical unwrap to know the approximate screen positions in a flat space, built that into a very wide and high res After Effects project to animate in, and then sent it back out to the orb as a single, tightly packed 4K video.
(DIR) Post #AbjVw5wXf5wlmSZvyi by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-12T06:30:57Z
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The result was you could - either in semi-realtime in After Effects or with a rendered video - send motion graphics to the orb in realtime and then tweak it, and try again very quickly. It also meant doing things like adding rim lights to the Steam Deck in the center of the orb was as simple as drawing some rectangles in OBS. Here’s a video of the packed 4K grid streaming over to the orb in OBS:
(DIR) Post #AbjVw6rGGDJicN7EO0 by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-12T06:34:43Z
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It meant we could capture some truly bananas footage lit entirely in-camera that both looked beautiful and really showcased the power of the displays in the new hardware (whether secretly or overtly, depending on if the viewer figured out what they were looking at). Also it meant we got to build a huge video orb, which I imagine is a life goal shared by many. You can see these videos at much higher res and also check out the Steam Deck at http://steamdeck.com
(DIR) Post #AbkRaqkvRRG28oZfqy by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2018-08-15T04:46:43Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Just found a file on my PC called "mylife.jpg" from January 31, 2006:
(DIR) Post #AbuUoAcBhagANEjJlw by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-17T21:21:40Z
2 likes, 1 repeats
@dosnostalgic the main menu is a re-creation of the ‘98 original. it was originally an avi file playing on an 8 color indexed background. Ended up upresing or re-creating all the assets for ~4k/21:9 and then we animated it in code with timing meant to match the avi (but it randomly moves instead of following the 4 second loop). it was fun as hell to get to indulge in this
(DIR) Post #AbwLjVtycUVRftfvBg by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-18T18:40:41Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
I should be posting about playing games on this thing* but since it’s Mastodon I will post about the tiny pang of delight I experienced when I noticed the Classic Steam keyboard and the goldsrc Half-Life console matched. The whole look of the LE Deck OLED plus all this green vgui chrome is really working for me. * (or uh just playing the game and not posting at all, I guess)
(DIR) Post #Ac0Ep3UTF9Y2FVHQIq by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2023-11-20T05:52:59Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@bburbank damn didn’t know you were designed by Mike Krahulik
(DIR) Post #AhDWhEwmBrEV7idVs8 by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-04-24T15:15:33Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@PHIL_FISH you definitely hit the mastodon bullseye with this question. that was fun to watch
(DIR) Post #AmT9JgdDLtXzFDZK4W by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-09-28T17:25:04Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@noah yeah OS makers spent a good decade or two trying to hide their file system and primary interface metaphor from its users and are now confused that nobody knows how to use their software.
(DIR) Post #Anr42BW2QuqZ4GNG0u by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-11-09T04:19:35Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc Linux people are a constant at the center of that Venn diagram
(DIR) Post #B1hPlwR7ujxRG3HNFQ by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-11-11T06:24:31Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Found a photo of my desk circa January 2005. I was using a friends old SGI-branded Sony Trinitron widescreen CRT at the time. Wish I still had it :( It turned yellow and the R, G and B started to drift apart so I gave it away. Hope it’s in a good home somewhere.
(DIR) Post #B1hPm1mw15NBr8WMQy by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-11-11T06:37:08Z
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The 2005 apartment also contained this room
(DIR) Post #B1hPm70abkGa2vwpua by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-11-11T06:42:38Z
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The room got an upgrade when I attended J Allard’s “The HD Era Is Now” Xbox 360 keynote at GDC that year, and won a small 720p HDTV in their giveaway (along with a third of the keynote attendees) but I don’t have a photo of that.
(DIR) Post #B1hPmCRMPdeStPVmpk by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2024-11-11T06:45:44Z
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Also just noticed the modchip dip switches are visible on the front of the Xbox. Modding that thing and installing Xbox Media Center felt like looking into the future (and it basically was).
(DIR) Post #B1hPmHq0LRKrdI52RM by ja2ke@idlethumbs.social
2025-12-28T06:37:07Z
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Another photo of that apartment’s desk during the era when it had the huge 16:10 SGI CRT. With Shacknews loaded, which was the style at the time.