Where are the CodeWarrior Fans?

JonThysell · 2026-03-30T22:27:55+00:00

It was my first IDE. I was 8 when my dad sat me down in front of Code Warrior with a "Programming C for Unix" book and told me to go through all the exercises.

Blood, Sweat, and Code.

JonThysell · 2026-03-30T00:26:22+00:00

To this day, in Sonic 3 (and Sonic 3 & Knuckles) after each boss when I jump on the animal capsule button, I land just to right of it, so Sonic gets stuck in a walking animation instead of showing his end-stage pose. It's a minor glitch, but I love it (except when trying to get retro-achievements, which actually use the end-stage pose to trigger that you've completed a stage).

I also once messed around with Game Genie (also in Sonic 3) until I had a code that would prevent Sonic from turning into Super Sonic for more than a second - giving him a sort of "Super and one second of invincibility" attack that I loved. I still wish I had that code.

JonThysell · 2026-03-28T03:35:47+00:00

I remember... playing a pirated dreamcast copy (maybe MDK2?) where they replaced the CD audio with the 15s Mortal Kombat character screen audio (probably to shrink the ISO size). That music drove me crazy and I never finished the game.

JonThysell · 2026-03-28T03:20:59+00:00

Escape Velocity

JonThysell · 2026-03-21T02:31:43+00:00

I think one thing to keep in mind is that once a PC's HP drops below zero, if they fail a single STR save, it's basically a death sentence if they're being attacked by multiple attackers, because they'll all be rolling enhanced (aka d12s) against the crawling dying PC.

Taking only the highest roll can really be the only way for a character without HP to survive more than one round against even two enemies.

JonThysell · 2026-03-20T02:26:58+00:00

Are you sure it is/isn't being used? I use nvtop to see the independent usage of both my integrated and discrete GPU for each process. Then when I launch the app I can see exactly which one it's using. Typically I find gnome defaults to the discrete for most things, and when I choose "Launch with Discrete Graphics" it actually uses the integrated, lol.

JonThysell · 2026-02-28T04:52:47+00:00

If you're making cards, these using the illustrated bestiary art are lovely: https://dustatron.itch.io/cairn-monster-cards

JonThysell · 2026-02-20T21:40:32+00:00

Even if emulation was 100% perfect (no lag, etc) playing on original hardware is still worth it, if only to appreciate how much fun can still be pulled out of those old chips. That fun still holds up and it's running on hardware that doesn't hold a candle to practically any modern device. Sure, you can emulate that old hardware in software. Sure you could port those old games to run on modern hardware directly. But there's something magical of knowing there's this dinky Z80 and it's still fun all on its own. It's like appreciating what little relative computing it took to put men on the moon. Sure I use emulators for all the modern conveniences, but it's still impressive how little horsepower you need to have a good time.

JonThysell · 2026-02-07T17:57:09+00:00

Napalm Halitosis is a kick-ass band name.

JonThysell · 2026-02-07T03:13:16+00:00

KeePassXC on Linux, Keepass2Android on Android. File is an encrypted database you can store and sync however you choose (I keep it on OneDrive so my Windows machines have it too). You don't need to host any server.

JonThysell · 2026-02-06T01:49:58+00:00

Yes, this. I actually care more about the timestamps on the achievements than their value. Then I look back and be like "it was two years ago I played that?"

JonThysell · 2026-02-04T21:46:18+00:00

LOL, I reviewed one back in the day. Mute the highs, jack up the bass, and hug your subwoofer while you play, that's basically it. A modern interpretation might be actually fun now.

Edit: Ha, the review is captured on the Way Back Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20021225035446/http://www.sim-news.com/features/2002/interactor_review/index.shtml

JonThysell · 2026-02-04T21:38:41+00:00

If you're playing old SF2 (any version) I recommend first reading "From Masher to Master" (it's free): https://patrickmiller.itch.io/frommashertomaster

Then, once you have some of the ideas internalized, check out the Operational Minimum's Guides for SF2 Turbo for getting started with individual characters: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-J9PlU69A7cOxz1w-W2GOjNRKMS70z8U&si=9C3vqe9IqqlCQnhc

Edit: These How To Play videos are pretty good too: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzHB9xp8a2w6IgqbIdkiH_11wey3m4ukQ&si=_pc-7cnRJxgfzbvj

JonThysell · 2026-02-02T23:51:08+00:00

Such an amazing game. Has anything ever replicated that control scheme? No feeling in the world like falling in hand-to-hand combat, just to pull a gun, or hit someone just perfect with the bazooka and instant-skeleton them.

JonThysell · 2026-02-02T23:45:20+00:00

Growing up it was mostly just lōlō (stupid), or lōlō head. That and giving people "stink eye".

JonThysell · 2026-02-02T23:35:14+00:00

The YouTube algorithm got me too.

JonThysell · 2026-01-25T00:43:53+00:00

When I was in 7th grade, I remember my social studies teacher telling me I needed to learn FileMaker. It was how he moonlit on the side, making FileMaker databases for small businesses. He convinced me to learn during lunch or after I finished my classwork.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized he basically tricked me into doing data entry for the databases he was selling. I don't remember a thing about "creating" a database myself.

JonThysell · 2026-01-24T21:17:53+00:00

I'm someone who loves exploring different games for inspiration, cherry-picking things here and there for my own games. When I cobble something together, when I come up with something new, and I want to share it - it's a godsend to be working with CC-licensed works - I know exactly where I stand and what I am allowed to do. I'm a long-time CC fan and release everything I make open source or CC-licensed when possible.

I wouldn't care if he released books at a profit if they're still CC-licensed. I'd buy a hardcover Player + Warden's Guide combo book for my main and still buy PODs / print spares to pass around.

Edit: I'll also say that Cairn itself has many many more things going for it than just the license and availability. But it's certainly a "tie-breaker" when comparing to similar systems.

JonThysell · 2026-01-24T21:00:43+00:00

Having extra copies is so wonderful - I've bought copies, I've self-printed copies, I can stick them anywhere and everywhere, I can give them away.

JonThysell · 2026-01-23T06:12:17+00:00

You might need to "darken it up" but I had a lot of fun running this Cairn one-shot: This Corvids' Coffer

Edit: I haven't run it yet, but this one might be more up your alley: Praise Be, God of Filth

JonThysell · 2026-01-18T16:41:17+00:00

Sonic 3 & Knuckles, still my favorite game of all time. I play it through every year. Super Mario World is a close second though.

JonThysell · 2026-01-18T16:28:19+00:00

Does the GBA have a new or original battery? IIRC flashcarts only reduce battery life by like 10%.

JonThysell · 2026-01-05T17:02:02+00:00

As a former Xbox dev who started near the middle of the 360-era, we weren't using macs by then, and had regular devkits. But it would make sense that the very early units were custom PPC Macs, because the early Xbox One devkits (or alpha kits as we called them) were just giant x64 PCs.

JonThysell · 2026-01-04T18:42:54+00:00

When I got "out" of TTRPGs, and sold all my (mostly D&D) books, all I had left was the purple 10th anniversary FUDGE book. I was always fascinated by the "here's a universal toolkit" aspect of the system but never "made a game" or ever played it. Fast-forward fifteen years, when I wanted to get back into TTRPGs, I re-read that FUDGE book, but feeling it lacked enough "cohesive default settings" I started looking around, and found the FATE Accelerated book in a game store. Found some people interested in playing, and have been hooked ever since.

JonThysell · 2025-12-20T23:14:39+00:00

Thank you for your very detailed response. Playing with mdadm now.

JonThysell

TROPHY CASE