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Alex Tardif

@longbool.bsky.social
463 followers 317 following 80 posts

Senior Graphics Programmer @ Digital Extremes on Warframe/Soulframe. Previously worked on ESO, LOTRO, DDO, Infinite Crisis Blog: alextardif.com/eden.html

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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Maximilian Tarpini @maxtarpini.bsky.social · 21h
Emissive shaders. Type a temperature in K and get a blackbody colour – that's how most shaders do it, and it's wrong for practically every real material. Kirchhoff's law fixes it. www.linkedin.com/pulse/therma...
linkedin.com
Thermal light emission from hot objects
Most emissive shaders in CG make hot metal glow the same way: you type a temperature in Kelvin, a blackbody function turns it into a colour, and that colour is added on top of the material. Gold, iron...
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Tom Forsyth @tomforsyth.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
DASHR - Dynamically Animated Skinned Heightfield Rendering Short video for now - I might do a longer one later? youtu.be/-Su9YrcazRk But there's ALL the details in the paper, and you can always Use The Source, Luke for the really deep info. github.com/tomforsyth10...
youtu.be
DASHR - Dynamically Animated Skinned Heightfield Rendering - six minutes version
YouTube video by Tom Forsyth
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Arseny Kapoulkine @zeux.io · 25/09/2026
meshoptimizer 1.3 is out! Featuring a new voxel remesher, support for normal generation, several simplification improvements and various optimizations and fixes. GitHub stars and reposts appreciated! meshoptimizer was started 10 years ago; excited for the years to come! github.com/zeux/meshopt...
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Penny 🏳️‍⚧️ @aluckypenny.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
They let me make a puppy simulator!!!!!! I cannot undersell you how excited I have been working on this and how long I have spent prototyping this system.
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Soulframe patch day - P16: Of Hook and Hound! While you're fishing and raising your wolf pups, you'll also see a new dynamic weather system! I think it came out well :D
Stormy day in Soulframe
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Don Williamson @donw.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In ~2007 when coding the ambient lighting of Splinter Cell, I had the idea of storing dynamic SH probes in Voronoi cells, where a) dynamic objects could walk/lerp the face graph, and b) static meshes "palettised" probes per vertex and lerped to give Realtime GI. It never shipped but look how pretty!
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Kostas Anagnostou @kostasanagnostou.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
New Fable gameplay demo. Very proud to be part of this super-talented team! I hope you'll enjoy it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjso...
youtube.com
Fable - Official Quest Gameplay | gamescom 2026
YouTube video by Fable
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
mjp @mjp123.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
WIP spec for Work Lists, the successor to ExecuteIndirect that lets you change PSOs between draws and dispatches github.com/microsoft/Di...
github.com
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ceruleite.bsky.social @ceruleite.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Slides for SIGGRAPH 2026 Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games course's talk on Variable Rate Ray Tracing in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 by Michał Olejnik from Activision are now online - enjoy!! advances.realtimerendering.com/s2026/index....
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Krzysztof Narkowicz @knarkowicz.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
It's great to see ARM being so open about their neural joint denoising and upsampling, explaining their approach, network inputs, temporal stability and how they trained this network: community.arm.com/cfs-file/__k...
community.arm.com
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Really cool, a post of mine made it into an industry presentation! :D "The Path to Achieving 120 FPS in Ninja Gaiden 4" at CEDEC
Slide about bindless resources in Ninja Gaiden 4
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
ceruleite.bsky.social @ceruleite.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Slides for SIGGRAPH 2026 Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games course's talk on SMOLDER — REAL-TIME VOLUMETRIC EFFECT RENDERING IN GLACIER AND 007 FIRST LIGHT by @lexdev.net from IO Interactive are now online - enjoy!! advances.realtimerendering.com/s2026/index....
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Alan Wolfe @demofox.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
A Texture Lookup Approach to Bézier Curve Evaluation on the GPU jcgt.org/published/00... New published paper! The premise is that you can offload polynomial evaluation to the texture sampling unit, which can be useful for improving execution times if you are compute bound.
Figure 2 from the paper, showing how bilinear texture interpolation can evaluate the de Casteljau algorithm.Table 1 from the paper, showing how to calculate Seiler interpolation values, and how to store them in textures.
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Nikki Dawes @nikkidawes.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Bayor's Burden I'm so excited for the @soulframe.com Fall Update! #Soulframe #SoulframeFanart
Helmetless Bayor, with a sad/frustrated expression, looks at a broken sword. The sword is hanging upside down in front of him, and glows with a golden light. The meteor Osuraxi is faintly blue in the background. Bayor is framed by raven wings. The painting is done in a loose, tarot card style.
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Alex Mueller @lexdev.net · 15/07/2026
Happy to share that I'll be joining the Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games course at Siggraph next week to talk about how we render volumetric effects in our Glacier engine & 007 First Light with Smolder! Take a look at all the cool presentations that are lined up!
Title image for the "Smolder - Real-Time Volumetric Effect Rendering in Glacier and 007 First Light"presentation for the Advances in Real-time Rendering in Games course at Siggraph 2026. Shows various volumetric effects in the recently shipped 007 First Light game.
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
ceruleite.bsky.social @ceruleite.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
2026 Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games course line up is here - check it out! advances.realtimerendering.com
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
4K/non-live versions are up now! Soulframe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNQe... Warframe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKsQ... Both dripping with atmosphere :D
youtube.com
Soulframe | TennoCon 2026 Warsongs Gameplay Demo (4K Version)
YouTube video by Soulframe
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
But Why Tho? @butwhytho.net · 15/07/2026
‘Soulframe’ Just May Be The Game We Need Right Now – Even In Pre-Alpha
dlvr.it
‘Soulframe’ Just May Be The Game We Need Right Now – Even In Pre-Alpha
It's easy to lose hope in protecting the world, but Soulframe Preludes and its updates and Fables just may be the game we need right now. The post ‘Soulframe’ Just May Be The Game We Need Right Now – Even In Pre-Alpha appeared first on But Why Tho?.
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
PlayWarframe @warframe.com · 11/07/2026
Go beyond the Origin System in #Warframe: Tau. Get ready to risk it all in a brand new region of space orbiting a binary star and teeming with new experiences. warframe.com/tau
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Noodles @knifecutnoodles.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Here are some of the fun and interesting things I've done that might be lesser known. 👻
An Elder Scrolls Online render. It pictures Sharp-as-Night holding the player closely, both their hands holding onto the same fishing rod. A splash is in the foreground, attached to their fishing line. They both look cheerful. A tent and supplies are in the background. The environment is misty, and the sky is a gradient of light purple and a warm-gray fog.An Elder Scrolls Online render. We are looking up at a Khajiit in a dark Arcanist's outfit. Toward the camera, inky black tendrils shoot from the Khajiit's left hand. The other hand grips a Night Blade's dagger. The Khajiit's eyes are glowing green, and their nose and mouth are curled in a fierce sneer. A hood obscures the top of their head. The background is an Arcanist's library bathed in green light.An Elder Scrolls Online piece. 6 digitally illustrated treasure maps are featured, each depicting a different area of Tamriel.An Elder Scrolls Online piece. 6 rendered paintings are shown. From top left to bottom right, they are a rocky cliff scene; a river bridge and small town; a still life of household items and fruit; a small waterfall; a dilapidated house in a forest; two large waterfalls feeding into a wide river with ruins lining the cliffs.
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
There aren't really words to describe the experience of TennoCon, what a weekend! The electric connection between this studio and the community is what I have been looking for my whole career. Did lots of work for the Soulframe demo :D www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTk0...
youtube.com
Soulframe | TennoCon 2026 Warsongs Live Gameplay Demo
YouTube video by Soulframe
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Sooooon
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Alan Wolfe @demofox.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
What To Learn To Be A Real Time graphics Programmer blog.demofox.org/2026/07/01/w... I wrote this up over lunch and it's surprisingly popular so sharing over here too.
A path traced render of spheresA real time render of spheres using physically based rendering lighting formulas
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Erin Catto @erincatto.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I’m happy to announce the release of a new open source 3D physics engine called Box3D. I’ve been working on this project for a few years now, but it represents over 20 years of experience writing physics engines for games. Read more here: box2d.org/posts/2026/0...
box2d.org
Announcing Box3D
I’m happy to announce the release of Box3D, an open source 3D physics engine. It is now available on GitHub. Box3D repository You can think of Box3D as a fork of Box2D, extended with many features nee...
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Scuff3D Rook @scuff3drook.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
OK so I've seen a couple questions/comments related to whether or not this technique supports *rotation*, which tells me I perhaps didn't do a good job explaining a couple key points. The technique explains how to do an unweighted glyph box filters in a shader...
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
If you've been watching recent engine-related news from the industry and are feeling disenchanted with that trajectory, I'd like to share some non-mainstream projects that might brighten your day:
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Reposted by Alex Tardif
Romain Guy @romainguy.dev · 15/06/2026
I've been working on a Kotlin/Compose Multiplatform to interpolate sRGB colors as mixtures of paints/pigments. It can produce results that are more appealing than the traditional sRGB interpolation that Composes uses (see screenshot). Not quite ready for release yet. github.com/romainguy/vi...
A screenshot of an Android application comparing gradients rendered with paint mixtures vs traditional sRGB gradients. There are four rows: the first row shows an orange to red vertical gradient, with the paint mixture version on the left, sRGB on the right. The second and third rows show a horizontal yellow to blue gradient: the top one is a paint mixture, the bottom one is traditional sRGB. The paint mixture version shows that the gradient becomes green in the middle. The last row compares a white to blue vertical gradient, with a paint mixture on left, and tradition sRGB on the right. The paint mixture version show a blue becoming brighter/lighter, whereas the traditional version becomes purple.
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
new grass tech out today, instancing goes brrrrr, draw distance extended accordingly
A grassy field in the game, Soulframe
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mjp @mjp123.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Super super excited to finally show what I’ve been working on at SMS blog.playstation.com/2026/06/02/f...
blog.playstation.com
First look at God of War Laufey
Exclusive details about the next chapter in the God of War series.
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
The Cost of AI alextardif.com/AI.html
alextardif.com
Alex Tardif: Graphics Programmer
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Max Liani @maxliani.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
About 3.5 years ago I did some experiment to improve the behavior of microfacet normals at glancing angles. Many surfaces become highly reflective even though having high roughness. Check the discussion in the thread. Here is my implementation reusing equations you already have:
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
It's just so good though ahhhhh www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANEV...
youtube.com
Warframe | ORION: Jade Shadows: Constellations - Official Animated Short
YouTube video by PlayWarframe
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nicebyte @nicebyte.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
INTRODUCTION TO SPHERICAL HARMONICS FOR GRAPHICS PROGRAMMERS finally done. gpfault.net/posts/sph.html
gpfault.net
Introduction to Spherical Harmonics for Graphics Programmers
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Jendrik Illner @jendrikillner.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Graphics Programming weekly - Issue 435 - April 5th, 2026 www.jendrikillner.com/post/graphic...
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
I can't believe I get to work on Soulframe. I fell into a dream game that resonates with my spirit in a way I did not think I would ever get the chance to experience, and for a company that believes in human made experiences. gameinformer.com/cover-reveal...
gameinformer.com
Cover Reveal – Soulframe
All subscribers will also be receiving a code to jump into Soulframe early!
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Eric Lengyel @ericlengyel.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
New blog post: A Decade of Slug This talks about the evolution of the Slug font rendering algorithm, and it includes an exciting announcement: The patent has been dedicated to the public domain. terathon.com/blog/decade-...
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
A generation of artists tossed away as valueless while consumer hardware becomes unavailable and unaffordable and your $500+ electricity bill all for the privilege of subsidizing the Gooner Lipstick Filter Pro while technologists expect you to clap that the glorious future of video games has arrived
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Adam Sawicki @asawicki.info · 15/03/2026
DirectX 12 News from GDC 2026 - My Comments asawicki.info/news_1801_di...
asawicki.info
DirectX 12 News from GDC 2026 - My Comments
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Brian Karis @briankaris.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
2 more Nanite Tessellation posts are up. graphicrants.blogspot.com/2026/02/nani..., graphicrants.blogspot.com/2026/03/vari...
graphicrants.blogspot.com
Nanite + Reyes
Let's get into the details of how this integrates with Nanite. We aren’t replacing anything Nanite already does. Nothing is changed about th...
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
GPU Tracing Participating Media alextardif.com/Participatin... Just some HLSL this time :-) Not a long form post, I've been reading PBR and maybe this will be helpful to share!
Path traced volume of a bunnyPath traced volume of a bunny with an emissive centerPath traced volume of a bunnyPath traced living room with a homogeneous fog volume
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/dire...
devblogs.microsoft.com
DirectX: Bringing Console-Level Developer Tools to Windows - DirectX Developer Blog
On March 12th 2026 the DirectX team, together with our hardware partners, hosted DirectX: Bringing Console-Level GPU Developer Tools to Windows at GDC.
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JS Bourdon @jsbourdon.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
DXR 2.0 specs were now made public 🎉 microsoft.github.io/DirectX-Spec...
microsoft.github.io
DirectX Raytracing (DXR) Functional Spec, Part 2
Engineering specs for DirectX features.
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Kostas Anagnostou @kostasanagnostou.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
A self-contained, portable implementation of Adobe's OpenPBR 1.0 BSDF github.com/adobe/openpb...
github.com
GitHub - adobe/openpbr-bsdf: Adobe's reference implementation of the OpenPBR BSDF
Adobe's reference implementation of the OpenPBR BSDF - adobe/openpbr-bsdf
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Pablo Zurita @pzurita.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
I finally wrapped up the second post on the series about micro-shadowing. On this one I go over a basic approach based on a microsurface, and I show results for different materials and lighting conditions. irradiance.ca/posts/micros...
Screenshot showing skin with micro-occlusion at the top, and micro-shadowing below.
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Kostas Anagnostou @kostasanagnostou.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Graphics Programming Conference 2025 presentation recordings are now online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRVL...
youtube.com
Battlefield 6: Pushing visual fidelity while optimizing for all hardware
YouTube video by Graphics Programming Conference
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Kostas Anagnostou @kostasanagnostou.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Vulkan memory barriers and image layouts explained www.rastergrid.com/blog/gpu-tec...
rastergrid.com
Vulkan memory barriers and image layouts explained – RasterGrid | Software Consultancy
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Nicolas Lopez @nicolas-lopez.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Excited to share that GPU Zen 4: Advanced Rendering Techniques is officially out. This volume features work from some of the most visually impactful projects of recent years, including #AssassinsCreed , #DOOM , #StarwarsOutLaws and NVidia's Zorah. And a killer cover :)
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Alex Tardif @longbool.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Being visited by a dreamy bunny
A path traced image of a volumetric bunny in a living room
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Krzysztof Narkowicz @knarkowicz.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Interesting paper showing great results for replacing standard low-res rendering + temporal upsampling (DLSS) with high-res GBuffer + adaptive sampling. Makes sense given rising costs of lighting computations vs GBuffer. arxiv.org/abs/2602.08642
arxiv.org
Forget Superresolution, Sample Adaptively (when Path Tracing)
Real-time path tracing increasingly operates under extremely low sampling budgets, often below one sample per pixel, as rendering complexity, resolution, and frame-rate requirements continue to rise. ...
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Jeremy Laumon @jeremy.laumon.name · 05/02/2026
PS5 and PC 👀
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