First in-person conference since 2019. Lost luggage. Adventures with the NHS and oh my!
Is it a coincidence that the last trip report I wrote was for ACCU 2019? Maybe it’s due to timing (I usually end up on a plane soon after and can write this while it’s still fresh)? Or maybe there’s something about this small British conference. A je ne sais quoi that keeps bringing me back?
Continue reading ACCU 2022 trip report
on C++, Game development
How threading and locking can drastically affect the performance of your C++ program. Case in point: PhysFS.
Loading screens are pretty cool. They let artists showcase some nice art while the intro theme song starts playing. Used well, they can set up the stage for the eventual play by putting the player in the mood. But that’s only a side effect. Their main purpose is to keep the user busy while your game loads and initialize everything it needs to render the main menu, and possibly more. But after the first hundred or so starts, the experience may get old. Especially if that loading bar seems to be stuck forever.
Continue reading PhysFS performance, a story of threading and locking
on Build systems, C++
Every once in a while, a discussion flares up on social media about C++’s performance in debug. But what do we mean when we talk about “debug builds”? The answer might not be as straightforward as it seems.
“They’ve done it again”, he exclaimed.
Continue reading Fifty shades of debug
This year I was ready. I had prepared a stock of jokes about Britain, its food, its weather, the absence of good wine and the tumultuous relationship with the EU. It was time for ACCU 2019.
This year’s edition of ACCU was held from April 10th to April 13th, in Bristol as always. I arrived a day earlier from Paris after a short stop in France which was supposed to offer some supply of good weather and trips to a few winemakers in preparation for the harsh conditions of Great Britain.
Continue reading ACCU 2019 trip report
on C++, Game development
While the majority of videogames have a relatively short lifespan, some are still actively developed for years or even decades after their initial release. Let’s see how they can keep up with new techs.
World of Warcraft was initially released in 2004. Wikipedia tells me the latest expansion was published last summer, 14 years after release. The original game could run on Windows 98. Today it requires both hardware and software that didn’t exist at release.
Continue reading How do you keep up with tech in your game?