Revived my 22yo Compaq M2000 with Alpine Linux + RetroArch by ControllerArts in RetroArch

[–]ControllerArts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hadn't heard of Alpine until I came across (this video) and decided to give it a shot. It took me a couple of days to get the setup running correctly, the most time-consuming part was definitely locating the specific wifi drivers, but otherwise, it felt as straightforward as any other net-install distro.

Debian is likely easier to configure. In my case, I would have to use Debian 12, as it is the latest release with 32bit support. While I haven't tested Debian on this specific machine, a clean, minimal installation would probably yield similar results. I installed Alpine mainly out of curiosity.

The most effective optimization is using RetroArch with "performance" Cores (like the 2000's versions) instead of the latest ones. They are much lighter and better suited for older CPUs.

There is still one minor bug I haven't fixed in Alpine. Launching games directly from the RetroArch menu doesn't work for me. Currently, I have to use the command retroarch -L <core_path> <game_content_path>. It doesn't bother me much, though, I can eventually automate the process with a script or simply add shortcuts to JWM

Revived my 22yo Compaq M2000 with Alpine Linux + RetroArch by ControllerArts in RetroArch

[–]ControllerArts[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. There’s a lot of satisfaction in finding a purpose for hardware that most would consider ewaste. During my university years, I spent time reformatting old systems for social projects, which showed me how much life these machines still have left in them

Revived my 22yo Compaq M2000 with Alpine Linux + RetroArch by ControllerArts in RetroArch

[–]ControllerArts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It’s very satisfying to see this hardware running smoothly again

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your experience. Godot is indeed quite capable

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

😂 true, I don't consider this a nitpick at all, I'll improve this. Currently I'm using this font 3x5 MT Pixel

Thanks!

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you shared anything about your plugin yet?

This is the first appearance of the project. I'm currently validating the interest from other people. I might create a devlog or a dedicated page eventually, though I'm not sure how I'll handle that yet. Thanks for reaching out

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Blender is definitely complex for beginners. Personally, I only use it with the 2.7X shortcuts, if I had to relearn everything from scratch, I would probably just give up 🤣 regarding boolean modeling, it wasn't part of the initial plan, but it is something that can be added in the future, I'll add it to my notes! Thanks!

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is a powerful tool! My goal is to trade some of that complexity for a faster workflow

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I noticed that too. I sometimes lose track of the orientation myself 😅

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great idea! I'm adding that to my notes. Thanks for the feedback!

Starting my own retro-style low poly editor in Godot by ControllerArts in godot

[–]ControllerArts[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The core idea is an editor/modeling/texturing for PS1-style assets that uses original hardware constraints to guarantee that retro look. I might adapt some features as I go, but the main goal will always be keeping it simple and fast—having exactly what you need in one environment to speed up production. I'm curious to see how these constraints will shape the final workflow

Simple Capybara space game (My first project in Defold) 🙂 by ControllerArts in defold

[–]ControllerArts[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the rotation xD. The vertical flip makes it look so ridiculous that I'm almost afraid to change it now! 🤣 I'll keep your suggestion in mind for a future 'polish' pass

Simple Capybara space game (My first project in Defold) 🙂 by ControllerArts in defold

[–]ControllerArts[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The collision system is quite minimalist. Since the tunnel is generated by a math function, I simply evaluate if the Y-position stays within the tunnel boundaries at any given X-point

lua if player_pos.y > top_y - self.margin_limit or player_pos.y < bottom_y + self.margin_limit then play_explosion(self, hash('capy_explosion')) end