u/EC36339

The clanker deleted my last post as an "a c ( 0 u n t issue".

It's not. It's a product question.

So... is it true? Chat and Claude Code only when on subscription? API only with pay for usage?

The idea never occurred to me before, and I haven't tried, nor do I know if this is even possible without shaders including some kind of debug information (or can you just reverse-engineer them without looking at / extracting game files)?

Give examples.

Asking because I'm genuinely curious at what level people are designing and controlling what they are building.

I know the one extreme is to write a few prompts and get a playable game out of it. I'm not doing that, and I'm sure a lot of people here aren't doing that, either.

So if you're not purely vibe coding, I'd like to know how close to the code you are.

Also, please state if you are using an existing engine or building your own or building a game from scratch, as that obviously makes a big difference and is important context.

Obviously, by "decisions you made", I mean YOU and not the clankers, but it does still count as YOUR decision if you used AI to make it, or if AI asked you to make the decision. If you just picked an option presented by the AI, like President Schwartzenegger, it's STILL your decision. If the AI decided autonomously, and you reviewed and approved it, that's borderline your decision. If you don't even know the AI made the decision, then it isn't yours.

(That's just an arbitrary definition, of course. I want ro know how others work with AI, not judge anyone!)

I've seen a pattern in AI generated shader code, and I would like to understand where it comes from. Yes, it's easy to discard it as AI slop/hallucination, but I find that unlikely.

Say your vertex shader outputs some data of matrix type that your fragment shader consumes. Is there any good reason to decompose it into row vectors rather than passing it directly as a matrix?

For example, is this something people did to work around driver bugs? Is it still needed , and why? On what hardware? I've seen conflicting explanations all the way to calling it a "cargo cult pattern".

I also expect it to be "tribal knowledge" if it is really a workaround for driver bugs or subtle edge cases, that is, not something you'll find in official programming guides and documentation. At least, I can't find anything on it by searching. That's why I'm asking here.

See title.

Sadly this is even true for clankers that are integrated into IDEs (like VSCode and Visual Studio). You would think if the IDE has a battle tested tool for running builds, the clanker would just use it, but no...

My biggest pain points:

1. **Truncation**. The clanker pipes the output through grep, tail, head, Swlect-Object, etc. When it doesn't find the output it wants, it runs the build again, and again, and each time it takes minutes to run while taking 100% of CPU resources, making my system unresponsive.

2. **CPU Usage**. Ninja is notorious for using all of your CPU to run parallel builds of C++ code. This is good, as I want all my CPU's cores to be working hard to get my builds done fast. I didn't pay for that silicon for it to idle around. But I also want my system to be usable while I'm waiting for a build. This is not a contradiction. It is what process priorities exist for, and OS scheduling works when prio is set correctly. There have been numerous pull requests about this to Ninja that were never merged, and vibe coders who don't know how process scheduling works have ridiculed me for suggesting to fix it in OpenCode TUI instead by just running all tool calls at below normal prio. Some lazy smartass even dumped a shell command on me that lowers prio for all build processes after they were started (yeah, you do that...)

3. **Timeout**. Clankers run builds with a ridiculously short timeout by default, then retry when the build times out. Every. Single. Time.

There is more. Feel free to add yours. But combine just all of the above while working on multiple simultaneous worktrees, and you may want to throw your laptop out of the window.

Luckily there are some easy fixes you can make with AGENTS.md and a skill for building (not sure if there are better approaches, but that's unimportant, feel free to make suggestions how to do it more reliably ... also, does the OC system prompt say anything that contradicts with this?)

1. Use a combination of `tee` (Bash) or its equivalent in your favorite shell to pipe the full build output to a temp file. Then the clanker can grep, filter, head, tail as much as it wants. If some output is lost, then there is a temp file it can use. Tell it to actually use it, too, because clankers are stupid and lazy. They don't care of the build takes 5 minutes. They have all the time in the world. So they might just retun the build instead of using the log, because it's "convenient" (yes, clankers are aware of the concept of convenience. Looking at you, DeepSeek...)

2. Tell the clanker to run all builds at below normal priority, IF POSSIBLE (may depend on platform). On Linux this is as easy as putting "nice" before commands. On Windows, this may require some setup with aliases or whatever. Have the clanker figure it out for you so it doesn't fumble or give up and ignore the rules every time you run a build.

3. No timeout. Unless you are vibe coding, you will know when a build is stuck, which happens much less often than a false timeout that is too short.

**All of the above still sucks**. At this point I would be pitching some new harness to you that I vibe coded and that I'm selling and that solves the nasty build problems. But I have nothing to sell to you. If someone else is feeling the same pain as me, feel free to build a better tool, or a plugin, or suggest something to me that already exists.

**Why not just run manually in the IDE?**

Because I don't know when the clanker needs a build to be run. I want this to happen automatically. It may be multiple times during a coding session. I want to do something useful with my life or projects while the clanker is coding. Like typing this post.

**If you are an IDE developer reading this**, then PLEASE, for the sake of everyone's sanity, give us ONE reason to maybe use IDEs again, which would be to make clankers not just live their separate lives in the chat window, but force them to use the tools built into the IDE, also when doing autonomous(ish) work started from the chat window, or an agent window (does the VSCode agent window still suck?). Otherwise, people like me will just run agents in harness apps, like OpenCode TUI, and use text editors for looking at code.

EDIT: Using DS4 Pro via official API in OpenCode. No gateways or third parties.

EDIT: It got better. Could have been server issue. Just guessing, though.

I started 4 OpenCode terminals to work on 4 plans simultaneously in 4 separate worktrees.

They all slowed to a crawl. And no, it's not my internet or PC.

Is this normal?

If yes, what's the point of DeepSeek being cheap if I can't use it?

If I need some kind of font rendering for a game using Vulkan with minimal text (HUD elements, some numbers, death/status messages, English only), and I don't want to drag an entire UX framework into my dependency list.

​

It needs to be better than simple square bitmaps, and I need some kind of font pipeline that can consume standard formats.

​

I've seen some tools that produce texture atlases from font files. That probably gives me the best balance of control and quality, and solves the most difficult and boring part (handling font formats and preparing them for rendering)?

Is there a reliable way to do this, other than via instructions/prompts?

​

Here is my issue: After switching from MSBuild to Ninja, builds use 100% of my CPU. That's good, and I want it to use all the compute power it can to get done as fast as possible.

​

However, I also want to still be able to do other stuff on my PC while a build is running. That's what process priorities exist for. That's also why I cannot simply run OpenCode at low prio, because I want the OpenCode UI to have higher priority than the builds process, so I can use OpenCode in one terminal while a build is running in OpenCode on another.

​

The dumbest solution would be an instruction to run `nice cmake` instead of `cmake`, or whatever the Windows equivalent of `nice` is. This would work maybe 75% of the time, and only for builds. But while I'm on it, why not run all background processes at low prio as they should?

​

Another dumb solution would be to check if Ninja has a "run at low priority" option. MSBuild does, I haven't found one for Ninja, yet. And again, why not run all background processes at low prio, as they should?

​

Yet another dumb solution would be that I run builds manually. This would make my workflow less efficient than it could be.

​

Why would such a feature nice to have in OpenCode? Because it is both an automation tool that runs stuff in the background and a UI that the user expects to run smoothly, even if something in the background is working hard.

​

(Obviously, "get a faster PC" would be a dumb answer to this, because 100% is 100%, no matter of what)

Have you ever wondered why Github Copilot constantly has to ask you for approval to run commands, and why everyone eventually turns on "Bypass Approvals"?

The reasons are commands like this:

git -C c:\dev\foo commit ...
cd c:\dev\foo && dotnet build ...
(insert random vibe coded PowerShell script)

Yeah, that's right. It does this, all the time.

It doesn't help if you allowed Copilot to run git commit in your repository if it explicitly specifies a repository path for every command, which, if allowed indiscriminately, would allow GIT to change files anywhere on your disk.

It doesn't help if you allowed Copilot to run dotnet build if it embeds dotnet build in a compound shell statement that is different every time and therefore needs individual approval.

Not to mention all the tokens that this wastes... ka-ching for Microsoft, Anthropic and Open AI!

This is the default behavior in both VSCode and Copilot CLI.

It doesn't have to be like this. I've been testing OpenCode over the past few days (I'm in no way, shape or form affiliated with OpenCode, I'm just a developer trying to make AI work for myself), and it is nothing like that. It runs only the commands it needs to run, one by one (no ;, no &&), in the folder they are supposed to run. You approve once that it can run GIT commands, it will never have to ask you again, because you already approved, and that's how it's supposed to work.

Approval hell (and excessive token usage) is a tooling and workflow problem, not a model problem or a general AI problem. And Microsoft will need to get their shit together and fix this mess.

(Why do I not just move to OpenCode then? Well, I did for all the projects where I have that choice, tnxbye Microsoft! But some of us are also stuck with the tooling our employers allow or force us to use, so we are screwed)

All I know about "making noises" (that's the title of the chapter in the book) is from Texturing & Modeling - A Procedural Approach, which is ancient literature, although a lot of the basics are probably still relevant.

What are commonly used noise functions that are optimised for modern GPUs in the current year, and what are good resources on it for learning?

I've heard about simplex noise.

I've seen various hash functions, combinations of sine functions, and comments that say hash functions might be non-portable (citation needed).

I've also seen blue noise being used for special purposes using precomputed textures.

How common is it to precompute noise functions and sample them as textures, particularly in games? Does it even make a difference?

I use noise mainly for VFX and procedural backgrounds (that COULD be precomputed on many levels...)

My GPU is a bit older, which is good, because that way it doesn't hide poorly optimised shaders. Naively putting simplex noise into fbm and raymarching it is quite expensive, as I figured out.

I CAN use DeepSeek in VSCode chat panel, but this is NOT about the chat panel. This is about the Agents window, where DeepSeek is not available in the model picker, even though I have the VSCode extension installed.

I know you can use DeepSeek in the Copilot CLI. And I have tested it.

The VSCode Agents window uses Copilot CLI.

But is it possible to use the configuration of Copilot CLI (via environment variables) when running it from the Agents window?

Are there any extensions available or in the works, like there are for the VSCode editor?

EDIT: Follow-up question: Is VSCode Agents view just a copycat of Claude Code? Can Claude Code run DeepSeek? Because if so, then there is probably no reason for me to keep using VSCode and Copilot at all...

I am mainly targeting PC and Windows, and I am using C++23 features, probably moving to C++26 eventually.

I "have to" use Clang anyway because I use clang-tidy, and I do headless lint and test run actions on Linux agents. My game would probably run on Linux, but I never tested it, nor do I care at the moment.

How good is Clang at code generation these days, and do game devs use it or even prefer it? Can it compete with MSVC? Is it even better? In terms of language features, MSVC and Clang seem to be on par, only the Linux implementation(s) of the standard C++ library annoy me sometimes with missing features.

I use CMake, and I don't use the MSVC IDE, and I can build with Ninja if I have to, so any non-compiler parts of MSVC are not something I'm depending on right now.

I am using my own engine with (so far) minimal dependencies. No Unreal or any major dependencies that would dictate choice of toolchain or language standard.

I'm slowly getting good at infiltration and stealing (apparently just going to a settlement without a mission and taking stuff from lockers with keypads can pay off, at least at my current financial level).

I'm basically playing this game like "Thief in space", while still flying my Sidewinder with default fitting and wearing an entry level Maverick suit with random un-upgraded weapons that I only use when I fucked up and someone is bothering me while I'm trying to break open a door after I stole a power regulator and the power went out.

But what am I supposed to spend my credits on? Where do I get those suit upgrade materials, for starters, and how will this actually make me stronger, when all I need is stealth and observation? I could buy better guns, but the only times I end up in a shootout is when I messed up, and my defenses only matter when I have to run to my ship and bail.

Of course, I could also upgrade my ship and do other stuff. Which I will. I haven't paid for a sandbox game to just do one thing. But I'm still interested in how you can "level up" in this particular profession.

(Other than getting better, of course. I'm still doing the more low end missions, and Im not sure where to find better ones, or settlements with more expensive things to steal)

Also, should I start caring about what factions I work for and which ones I mess with? What are the rewards for influence and reputation? So far, I just did whatever job for the highest bidder. Occasionally, this gets me anonymous access or wanted status on the same station where I got the mission.

And Elite Dangerous is like slow and manual EVE, with more doing and less Excel.

I could probably multibox EVE and Elite.

Autopilot and supercruise in parallel. Scan signatures in EVE while otbital cruising in Elite. Raid a settlement in Elite while waiting out suspect timer in EVE. Browse missions in Elite while doing a long warp in EVE. Update my market orders in EVE while flying out of mass lock in Elite. Or have a life while docked in both games. Maybe I should try mining in both games, too.

**Not a complaint.**

Ever since I left EVE for Elden Ring a year ago, I've been missing playing a game semi AFK. I'm too old for nonstop gaming for hours, or so I think.

I've tried to play with default controls, and it was awful. My biggest issue was how slow the ship turns, while rolling is super fast, which makes it almost impossible to keep it stable, while at the same time, making a U-turn takes forever.

I've seen this particularly in the glitchy training mission with the combat drone that always flies out of range.

I'm obviously doing something not right, and it could be a combination of things. Is there a good guide somewhere for setting up the controls? The flight tutorial wasn't exactly helpful in explaining the controls, either.

My graphics programming is rusty and stuck in ancient history all the way back to the 90s.

I've done some web searches but a lot of what I found is either libraries, stock artwork, or guides that are non-technical or too high level.

Please update me and give me directions. No need to go in depth. Name dropping techniques, links to interesting blogs, tutorials, guides that are somewhat up to date, etc. is all I'm looking for, and I'll do my research myself.

I use Vulkan, GLSL and C++. No pre-made engine. My goal is to add better immersion and effects to a hobby project that is already coming along nicely on the gameplay and engine tracks, but it needs a visual makeover. It is a space action game, so geometry is sparse, and there is a lot of room (and need) for VFX, such as impact feedback, thruster plumes, explosions, flares, tracers, anything that generates a sense of motion and acceleration, etc. I'm doing only visuals for now, procedural, no static artwork, and if possible without third party dependencies (except on the engine, authoring and workflow level).

A sidetrack: How much will I have to rewrite all my shaders if I add HDR and deferred shading (is this still a thing?) later instead of now? And what else in that area should probably be in place early? I expect lighting to be relatively simple (the game shall be fast-paced, so players probably won't notice if a missile doesn't cast a perfect soft shadow on a ship hull before they both explode).

Any tips for good shader authoring tools in 2026? I've considered building shader hot reloading directly into my engine as an option, but at the moment I'm trying to stop myself doing more engine work.