silly little thoughts

my thoughts and experiments go here | ai-free | big supporter of nuclear power | she/they (trans), 19

[cerulity]

About Me

thought i would make this post because why not

My professional online pseudonym is Cerulity32K, or Cerulity. Though, my preferred name is Kali, and my username for personal accounts is Kali the Catgirl.

Though my mental conditions are mild, I do have ADHD (inattentive) and am seeking an autism evaluation. I am also trans (she/they).

But let's get to the good stuff. I excel in computing, especially low-level stuff and graphics (webdev scares me) and math, advanced functions, calculus and linear algebra being the most useful to me. I like to intersect math and computing, and it leads to some pretty fun results, especially when dealing with graphics. My main languages are Rust, C, C++, C#, and Zig, and I know a few architectures (x86_64, RV32E, 6502, and my own that I'm working on). Vulkan is by far my favourite graphics API, and I've built a few things on top of it including (multiple times) a terminal animation framework.

I also do music. My favourite types of music are on the two extremes of electronic. FREE.99 and Femtanyl are my favourite artists on the loud and distorted side, but on the calmer side I enjoy Creo and Solarstone. I also make music myself. I've made a few original songs, and many remixes. I specialize in industrial chiptune and what I like to call "rustcore". My two music environments are Waveform and Furnace, though I am trying to make a tracker of my own using Pommel, my own synthesis library.

My favourite game genres are automation, puzzle, and platformer. Mindustry, Factorio, Exapunks, and Celeste are my favourites.

I'm learning to do pixel art (that's where my pfp comes from), and I'm planning on PNGtubing eventually. One day I hope to be able to translate my avatar into a 3D model.

All in all, I'm just a software catgirl :3

[cerulity]

I'm done pretending that Node is the issue. I'm done pretending it's just React that took it too far. I'm done pretending that the language is serviceable. JavaScript is a fundamentally broken language that shouldn't be used for any non-trivial software development. Quite literally everything is done at runtime, it has no type system, there's no formal constraints you can impose, its memory management scheme is completely out of your control, and it's bare compared to other languages.

And if it knew its place and stayed in the embedded scripting environment, it would be perfectly okay. So someone tell me why this fucking language is used for LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

Nearly every single piece of software made in JavaScript I've used has been slow, subpar, bloated, or straight up dysfunctional.

The environment is also fragmented as all hell, and vulnerabilities and issues seem to pop up all the time.

Modern AOT languages and tooling beat it out the entire way. There's a reason RedoxOS applications launch faster, and it might partially be because of the architecture of the operating system, but I'd wager it's because they didn't use a shitty language with 7 total types and 2 nulls and used something actually built for proper modern application development.

Not just AOT, but other languages end up on top. Java I would actually recommend despite my bias, because it has a proper type system with an albeit dated but still solid system of inheritance and interfaces. C# is pretty nice; I see it as a superset of Java where the environment advantage is equal. Go I don't personally enjoy, but it's definitely a proper and modern option. I use Rust, so I'm inclined to include it for its affinely-typed approach to move semantics and concurrency by default through exclusive mutability, but I concur. OCaml I've heard is quite a nice language; I haven't tried it but it seems nicely made. Zig is one I've used, and it's one that I really respect the design and philosophy of. Kotlin seems like dusted-off Java, which is appreciable. Dart (and the Flutter library for it) are fantastic for UI. ALL OF THESE are MILES better than JavaScript. JS is TOO simple, so much so that it gets in the way of proper software system creation.

JavaScript is a stain on humanity. An encumbrance to the progression of software development. I hate it so FUCKING MUCH.

[cerulity]

And know something.

A structural type system with anonymous aggregates is good. WHEN IT'S STATICALLY TYPED. When you can define type aliases, combine types together, and other things that aren't just hints but GUARANTEES. TypeScript in theory is going in the right direction, but you can't fix broken. I've yet to take a look at AssemblyScript, but I hope and intuit that it's better, because by toning down the dynamism you can compile to basically NATIVE SPEEDS (WebAssembly).

[cerulity]

I feel like Rust is closer to C++ than people think. Affine typing is spiritually represented in C++ through RAII, while Rust actually enforces it. Default behaviour in C++ is explicit in Rust, but the opposite also applies. You don't need anything to copy in C++, but in Rust you need `.clone()`, but in the same vein, you don't need anything to move in Rust, but you need `std::move` in C++.

Lifetimes, exclusive mutability, and other things are rules that SHOULD be followed in a C++ codebase, imo.

[cerulity]

I'm done pretending that Node is the issue. I'm done pretending it's just React that took it too far. I'm done pretending that the language is serviceable. JavaScript is a fundamentally broken language that shouldn't be used for any non-trivial software development. Quite literally everything is done at runtime, it has no type system, there's no formal constraints you can impose, its memory management scheme is completely out of your control, and it's bare compared to other languages.

And if it knew its place and stayed in the embedded scripting environment, it would be perfectly okay. So someone tell me why this fucking language is used for LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

Nearly every single piece of software made in JavaScript I've used has been slow, subpar, bloated, or straight up dysfunctional.

The environment is also fragmented as all hell, and vulnerabilities and issues seem to pop up all the time.

Modern AOT languages and tooling beat it out the entire way. There's a reason RedoxOS applications launch faster, and it might partially be because of the architecture of the operating system, but I'd wager it's because they didn't use a shitty language with 7 total types and 2 nulls and used something actually built for proper modern application development.

Not just AOT, but other languages end up on top. Java I would actually recommend despite my bias, because it has a proper type system with an albeit dated but still solid system of inheritance and interfaces. C# is pretty nice; I see it as a superset of Java where the environment advantage is equal. Go I don't personally enjoy, but it's definitely a proper and modern option. I use Rust, so I'm inclined to include it for its affinely-typed approach to move semantics and concurrency by default through exclusive mutability, but I concur. OCaml I've heard is quite a nice language; I haven't tried it but it seems nicely made. Zig is one I've used, and it's one that I really respect the design and philosophy of. Kotlin seems like dusted-off Java, which is appreciable. Dart (and the Flutter library for it) are fantastic for UI. ALL OF THESE are MILES better than JavaScript. JS is TOO simple, so much so that it gets in the way of proper software system creation.

JavaScript is a stain on humanity. An encumbrance to the progression of software development. I hate it so FUCKING MUCH.

[cerulity]

not quite fond of javascript

[cerulity]

why is it that every time i mention wasm someone brings up javascript like theobromine that is a whole other technology

[cerulity]

ive talked to a few people within my program and a worrying amount confuse risc (an attribute of an instruction set) with risc-v (the open instruction set that has that attribute) quite confidently

[cerulity]

literally every single "if you leave [X] running for 76 YEARS THIS happens!" video is either integer overflow, floating point precision, or some animation that doesn't loop perfectly

[headspace-hotel]

man i have so much problems because the things I like about games have very little to do with genre

[headspace-hotel]

qualities of games I like

you can explore different environments

there are different mechanics that interact with each other and you can experiment with them and use them in creative ways

there is more than one way to do things

you can explore them more and more deeply and see new things instead of just "finishing" and being done

visuals guided by artistic style instead of just having overly realistic graphics

The main thing that immediately repulses me in looking for games is when they are too visually busy. It's a HUGE ick that I can't get past. I can't interest myself in a lot of platformer games because there's so many fucking fireballs and bullets and explosions and magic sparkles flying around everywhere.

Whenever I try to search games that fit my preferences using existing key words, it misrepresents what I actually like about them in a grotesque manner.

I hate visually busy games, but if I search "minimalist," I get Geometry Dash But In A Hotel Bathroom. I like exploration in games, but this seems to be automatically understood as "open world 3D rpg where you run around kilometers of low poly generic terrain doing fetch quests for NPCs."

I like experimenting freely with mechanics, and I like open-endedness and creativity, and I like being able to fuck around without being driven constantly toward a fixed goal.

This is probably the worst mismatch: searching for this brings me to a lot of games without strong elements of challenge or consequences, or without a "lose" condition in general, but most of the games I've liked recently (dwarf fortress and rain world being the main ones) are like, notoriously difficult, so I can conclude that I actually like difficulty.

My most enduringly loved game is still Minecraft but I have a very different history with Minecraft than most people, only starting to play in 2019 and playing only single player for a very long time before diving into anarchy servers and never looking back. I think I can say I have a deep understanding of the mechanics and gameplay of Minecraft and I think very few people understand Minecraft for what it is on its own, outside of the community and culture that it has. In particular, the fact that vanilla Minecraft gameplay, with no mods, no cheats and no multiplayer, is ridiculously punishing. The best gear the game has to offer can get demolished in mere seconds by mid- to late-game threats and if you die you can lose all your gear permanently.

The player community teaches others how to build a raid farm, how to farm mending books off of villagers, and how to make mob spawners into XP grinders, but if you are playing alone without being connected to the community, you are likely to never figure these things out.

On the face of it, without a deep knowledge of how the game's mechanics can be exploited, losing a max enchant netherite gear set will set you back by like. 20 hours' worth of grinding. This is basically the worst consequence for failure that happens in a game short of permadeath and all it takes is a few seconds and bad luck. That is truly insane.

I'm not saying it's a good thing, I'm just saying that it is a thing.

[headspace-hotel]

The gaming world has some interesting norms around aesthetics, tone, and theme. I love nature and love to see elements of nature and ecology in games, but games that are explicitly "nature-y" tend to be cutesy and/or to belong to the genre of "colonialism sims," or just bore me to death.

I prefer games where combat mechanics are something you can choose to engage with or not, that is, where combat is only one way of solving problems. "Kill everything in your path" is a super boring way to interact with a game world's environment. However, the ability to choose to solve problems with combat or not, with both paths having equal utility, seems to be not very common at all. Games are usually split into No Combat or Yes Combat.

The cutesy vs. dark tonal divide in games is very pronounced in games, and that leaves me cold a lot of the time. Minecraft is so good because it can elicit so many different complex emotional responses from the player. The gameplay experience can be relaxing and idyllic but also has some strong horror elements, and overall I would describe the tone of the game as quietly melancholy, with an uncanny loneliness that sticks with you.

[headspace-hotel]

Rain World perfectly exemplifies most of the things I talk about in this post. Yes, the game does have a fixed "ending" and requirements to get there, but for the most part, there is no fixed "how" or "when" or "in what order" to do things.

The game is visually beautiful and every single screen gives thoughtful and creative worldbuilding without speaking a single word. I especially love the symbols and graffiti that are visible throughout the world.

The art, music and gameplay come together to create emotional responses that are allowed to be complicated instead of being flattened into something defined by the experience the player wants to have, like "scary" or "relaxing." There are profound elements of tenderness and tragedy in Rain World that go beyond the explicitly articulated story.

Also, the combat mechanics are excellent and well-thought-out, but it is not possible to solve all your problems with combat, nor is it necessarily required to solve any of your problems with combat. You really have to interact with the game environment in a thoughtful and adaptive way and make choices and evaluate risks every moment. A lot of times, death is based on luck, but this emphasizes that there really isn't a right or wrong way to survive Rain World. You're just a little guy trying to stay alive.

And I keep saying this, but the Watcher DLC takes everything that is great about rain world and elevates it to a new level.

[headspace-hotel]

Dwarf Fortress has a reputation for being hard, and yes, there are an insane amount of mechanics and only half of them even work the way they're supposed to, but the key thing about Dwarf Fortress is that there are only two endings: losing or getting bored, and getting bored is the "bad" ending.

The community's motto, "Losing is Fun," gets more and more true the more you understand the game. As long as you are losing, you are having fun.

Disaster is inevitable. No fortress will survive forever. The objective is for the disaster to take the most entertaining and ridiculous form possible.

[cerulity]

I'll suggest Mindustry, which is simultaneously factory, RTS, and tower defense. It's a great game that I play quite a bit. There's also Factorio, which I also enjoy. Neither have that much "exploration" involved (Mindustry has fixed-size (though diversely designed!) sectors and Factorio has pretty generic terrain), but both imo nail the rest of your listed qualities.

[cerulity]

i am,,, so fukicgn gay,,,

[cerulity]

if someone made the entire adobe creative suite as 1:1 as possible for linux then i think that would bring so many users over. adobe being windows exclusive is like, the number one reason ive seen for people not moving to linux

[moose-mousse]

... Adobe is a evil company, so that is literally illegal

There are linux alternatives.

But to leave the evil company tool, you cannot have an exact 1:1 tool because evil companies uses patents and copyright to attack attempts at this.

This is done TO force you to stay.

This is classic abusive relationship stuff.

Get out, as soon as it is possible for you

[cerulity]

thats what i mean by as 1:1 as possible, both legally and technically. copying the exact specifications of after effects would get you in hot water, but just making motion graphics software as capable as ae is not itself troublesome

im not an adobe user, i fucking hate adobe and everything they stand for

itll probably be hard as hell to do it right with how infuriatingly broad software patents can be, but if av1 can dodge the number of patents it had to dodge and still be the state-of-the-art video codec, there's hope

also, if the software is so incredibly malleable (extensive plugin api, docking gui layout, pervasive style declarations) that users can shape it to be exactly like after effects when the original layout (and maybe even features) are completely separated, would it be harder to take down? if the software just happens to look like ae, thats the users fault; the developers just happened to make really good and extensible software

[cerulity]

if someone made the entire adobe creative suite as 1:1 as possible for linux then i think that would bring so many users over. adobe being windows exclusive is like, the number one reason ive seen for people not moving to linux

[musl-official]

About the significance of marine life in open source software

Marine life is crucially important in the development and naming of open source software. To give a few examples (in no particular order):

musl

xonsh shell

fish shell

openbsd

orca

dolphin

the humble blahaj

I will not accept any slander of marine life on this blog!

[cerulity]

also dolphin emulator! (though i guess that's based on the codename of the gamecube which was dolphin)

fun fact: the graphics chip used for the gc was called the flipper!

[cerulity]

"im neither left nor right" "oh so youre centrist" gelatin that is a completely different statement.

[cerulity]

why is my leftover big mac so SAD

the patty is flatter than stanley the lettuce is thinner than the lines of a ballpoint pen and the cheese has solidified itself into an unrecognisable mass

the morsel of depression, this alloy of dietary mass was purpose-built to experience suffering and despair

[cerulity]

if something is a little little, then its less little than if it were just little

[cerulity]

ive never played dress up games but i can only assume that making like 80 different configurations for your persona's sweater is a similar experience