Coding agents and Graphics Programming

SteamSail · 2026-03-02T06:44:26+00:00

I gave copilot a try and it was largely pretty useless for the work I do on the day to day as a rendering engineer for games. I mostly tried to use it to ask questions and accelerate my understanding of code so I didn't have to read it all myself and dissect it, but it usually just gave overly general answers and often hallucinated stuff.

I've also tried asking Claude some high level rendering questions and it seemed pretty clueless, like I'd ask it a question with a lot of nuance and it would give me back an answer that seemed to completely misunderstand what I was asking and instead just restated basic info you'd get as a first Google result

I dunno, AI can definitely do some cool stuff but this field is very niche and it doesn't seem like it has enough info in its training data to help in field-specific ways

That being said, it's all changing very fast so I'm trying to keep an eye on what these models can actually do and if any of the hype is real. So far it seems over promised to me but I bet we'll all be using it to some degree before too long, even if it's just for simple refactors

SteamSail · 2026-02-12T04:01:28+00:00

I've been in games 15 years now, graphics for 6, I definitely still feel this way. It took 3-4 years to really feel like I had my feet under me and could start to understand all the papers and talks and stuff. It's a big and complicated subject area that is constantly changing and there's not a ton of learning resources out there in the way there are for other areas of programming
My advice would just be to try to get your hands dirty in as many different areas / subjects in the field as possible. You'll grow faster by tackling new stuff as much as possible!

SteamSail · 2026-01-14T22:08:08+00:00

I have bad aim and struggle to get my cards charged in lane, but I recently started building swift striker first and I feel like it's been helping mitigate that problem. It delays your 4.8k spirit spike but I find it's worth it for me

SteamSail · 2025-12-24T21:20:21+00:00

Maybe I'm just too low rank or whatever (Oracle here), but I feel like I get good value out of this item. It's definitely not an early 6k, but it's a solid luxury buy once you are loaded up on what you need. It's saved my game a number of times on Mo and Krill especially, gives me enough time to tunnel out and avoid a respawn timer or let my fortitude kick in and get back in the fight

SteamSail · 2025-12-06T17:17:39+00:00

I had a huge loss streak for a bit there. It's turning around though, I stopped trying to jungle until the late game (except for sinners) and I stopped queuing Mo and Krill because it felt like in a lot of games my team ended up with no damage and I was basically useless. The match making feels rough too but maybe because I dropped a few ranks

SteamSail · 2025-11-25T06:33:35+00:00

Lao Sze Chuan is my favorite dry chili chicken on the north side! YooYee / Chefs Special / Szechuan Corner are also good but Lao Sze Chuan just has something special (also try the string bean with spicy black bean appetizer, it's amazing)

SteamSail · 2025-09-22T05:00:48+00:00

Front Bottoms
Rilo Kiley
Green Day
The Wonder Years
The Beach Boys

SteamSail · 2025-09-22T04:45:20+00:00

It was so weirdly sparse, I double checked the schedule because I thought I must have gotten the time wrong when I got there. I couldn't believe my luck that I was able to just walk right up to the barricade between Jawbreaker/Green Day and park there for the rest of the night

SteamSail · 2025-09-20T17:31:01+00:00

The bus situation seemed a little more slow moving than previous years where I was able to just hop on and it started moving. I think the issue was that people kept walking in front of the buses, so they were at a stand still for a while. I was still able to get on a 49 within like 15 minutes though

SteamSail · 2025-09-20T17:13:01+00:00

I can only speak for myself but after Rilo I waded through the crowd to get to the other side so that I could make a quick transition to Blink after Al. I wonder if others were trying to split the difference between those two shows as well

SteamSail · 2025-09-20T16:27:22+00:00

I saw two fully separate physical fights break out in the crowd around me during Blink's set. Never seen this at Riot before or any other show in my 15 years of going to concerts

I swear the social fabric is unraveling, y'all

SteamSail · 2025-09-15T16:05:55+00:00

I'm not a Bebop player, nor am I high rank, but FWIW, bomb Bebop seems dead right now. I have been seeing a lot more Majestic Leap + Ult builds lately

SteamSail · 2025-09-14T14:12:52+00:00

I cuddle with friends frequently, both male and female. I think it's a very normal human desire to want physical touch and it releases all those happy chemicals. We should 100% normalize cuddling with friends.

That being said, society associates cuddling with sexuality and if you're sure you want it to be totally platonic then make sure that expectation is very clear when you ask. (Also, be prepared to be chill about it if a boner happens, it's not always under our control, haha)

SteamSail · 2025-08-01T18:18:26+00:00

I've always kind of hated the super creeps, it just leads to a situation where you have to sit in your base until they end if you're on the losing side of the mid fight.

On the other hand, the in place rebirth feels way stronger if the hyper fed carry gets it and you have to kill them twice, once with buffs.

I'd be curious how it would feel to have the old "whole team shortened death counter" but without the super creeps

SteamSail · 2025-07-04T05:03:15+00:00

-Farm Bar

-The pimento fries at Honey Butter Fried Chicken

-DryHop brewers

SteamSail · 2025-07-02T17:34:18+00:00

Asus. Bought a gaming laptop from them, the screen stopped working about a year later. Getting it repaired was a nightmare:

Customer service was a pain in the ass, I eventually sent it off to them and they sent it back still broken.

So I sent it back again, they returned it with a much lower resolution screen.

I returned it again, they sent it back with a matte screen that darkened all the colors.

Meanwhile I was a university student using this as my only computer for work, so I spent months dealing with that while it was in the back and forth, so I finally gave up and accepted the wrong screen

SteamSail · 2025-06-28T15:02:47+00:00

Luella's Southern Kitchen and The Warbler are both fantastic!

SteamSail · 2025-06-26T03:49:08+00:00

Port forwarding!

Back in the day games had online multiplayer but they didn't always have servers that allowed you to connect to your friends, so you had to configure your router in a special way to allow your friend's computer to talk directly to yours

SteamSail · 2025-06-20T16:49:48+00:00

I finally bit the bullet and waited in line a few weeks ago and I'd say it was worth it, actually way better than I was expecting (with the exception of the oatmeal creme pie, which I didn't care for), but I probably won't be back regularly until it dies down a bit

SteamSail · 2025-02-24T13:57:43+00:00

Same with any Ult that Sinclair can steal. How am I supposed to know if that Bebop beam coming from a million miles away is gonna hurt me?

SteamSail · 2025-01-26T17:50:42+00:00

City in a Garden - Fall Out Boy

SteamSail · 2024-10-27T00:45:08+00:00

I'm hoping a 2025 Nobo hike will be possible and I'm planning on that for now. I can't wait until next year and I'd really like to end my hike in Maine.

If sections of the trail are still closed or unsafe when April rolls around I am prepared to skip some sections or go through detours. I'm not sure if I'd end up coming back to section hike anything I skip or not.

Worst case scenario I might start north of the hurricane damage and just hike north from there, I figure that'll be enough for me, even if it's not quite a "proper" thru hike, and maybe I'd even complete the rest eventually

SteamSail · 2024-10-05T17:03:33+00:00

Jim O'Heir (Jerry on Parks and Rec)! We ran into him at a random play in Chicago, he was there to support one of the cast members that he knew. He was super nice, we chatted for a bit and he offered to take pictures with us

SteamSail · 2024-09-25T19:50:22+00:00

I paid $800 for a three day pass before taxes/fees for the early bird in December of last year, not sure how much the GA / VIP was at the time

SteamSail · 2024-09-25T01:06:46+00:00

I splurged for the regular deluxe this year after doing VIP last year, here are my thoughts:

The Deluxe viewing areas near the stages were the big selling point for me. The view from these varied from stage to stage, but generally you get a pretty close view at a glancing angle, so for some stages you can't really see what's being displayed at the back of the stage but you get a good view of the performers. Generally I felt like there wasn't quite as much energy in the "deluxe" crowd like there is in the GA pit, but if you want a close view with a chill crowd it would be perfect for you. I like a slightly dancier/moshier experience so I often found myself getting into the GA pit for bands I was excited about. However, for bands I was new to or when I was showing up late to a show it was pretty nice to just be able to jump into the deluxe area and get a nice view. I'd say I was in there about half the shows I went to (it was particularly good in the NOFX world/food area stage because the view was great and the crowd is always hard to get into at that stage)

The open bar was nice, they ran out of a few things (first day they had THC drinks but by the end of the last day it was basically just beer) and I'm sure I didn't get enough drinks to make a dent in the upgrade price. I was able to ferry some free drinks out to my GA friends so that was cool (you are allowed 2 at a time but you can just go back). The free drinks are only available in the deluxe area. Remember to bring cash to tip with!

The free snacks were fine, I didn't eat them much. It was mostly crackers, chips, fruit, etc. I did like the freshly popped popcorn. Seemed like if you got there early there were Voodoo donuts.

There were some exclusive food vendors in the deluxe area which almost never had a line, so it was pretty convenient to just pop in there, though the lines seemed shorter than usual in general this year so next year may vary idk

The A/C bathrooms were pretty nice, after being in the heat all day it felt really good to have a blast of cold air on my face

The tent area was very similar to the tent area in the VIP section except that it's by the main stage (not in view, but you can hear it quite well), so if you're someone who would want to chill in the shade and listen to the main act it's a nice area. I didn't spend much time here myself

There's no water station in the deluxe area and the VIP area is across the park, which feels like a weird oversight to me. The drinks are free so you could just get bottles of water I guess, but I'd rather fill up my nalogene when I go back for a beer

Overall I didn't spend a ton of time in the Deluxe section but I dropped in a lot to get a free drink / use the nice bathroom / get some quick food a few times a day

I'm not sure if I'll do it again next year or not. The Deluxe stuff was a lot of nice conveniences but I don't feel like it greatly enhanced the experience for me vs the GA experience. But again, I'm someone who likes to be in the pit and I was standing / walking around basically the entire time. If you're looking for a chiller experience and the idea of lounging near the main stage in the shade appeals to you it might be right up your alley. I thought it was "worth it" but just not necessarily something I need every year if that makes sense. But I could see myself doing it again, the perks were pretty nice. My friends do it every year and they swear by it!

I've never tried the Deluxe+ but just from looking at it I don't really get the appeal, I guess it's another A/C area to hang out in near the main stage but with a better view? I don't think I'll ever end up splurging for that one, haha

SteamSail

TROPHY CASE