iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

That's awesome dude! I'm so glad and proud of you! Hell yeah! 🙌

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

You could put on a very tall hat to compensate.

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

It's like an impressively horrific deconstruction of what our brains perceive as realistic and intensifies it. It kinda shook me a bit when I was watching a filtered movie for a couple of minutes while forgetting, so going back to the actual footage made me appreciate it that much more.

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Thanks! Yeah I think that's the main point of all this, the ease of use and immediate eyecandy effect that it has on many people as well as using it as a benchmark of how your game is supposed to look like when finished will definitely influence the rise of many same looking photorealistic games.

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Forgot to mention that the last image in the examples is the original. Some of the presets look quite natural while still wrecking the lighting and orig look. It's weird since watching a movie with DLSS5 quickly rewires your brain to think that's how it looks & switching back snaps you out of it.

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Anyway, it's a weird, gross tech that, unfortunately, might just stay around for a few years and define a generation of games and hardware, like bloom and the piss filter, it's just that it requires the ritual sacrifice of our and the planet's wellbeing so nude Skyrim mods can look more uncanny. 6/6

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

DLSS5 brings Reshade adding overcast lighting to GTAV, making it look photorealistic in one specific lighting case and makes a very expensive shortcut so everyone can do it. A mod for older games that fiddles with their look is fine, an intended, homogenized look for all future games is not. 5/6

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I understand people's infatuation with photorealism, it tickles our collective lizard brains into thinking the subject looks "more right" or "better", but when imposed on art that wasn't intended as such, it destroys its intended look, even more so with a dumb filter with like three parameters. 4/6

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

A video of me sliding the DLSS5 effect on and off, showing a scene from Obsession with a clearly intentional lighting, obscuring Nikki's face with only her eyes having gentle glints. The AI lights up her face while not moving her mouth as she talks, "inventing" detail and ruining the scene. 3/6

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Hyperrealism as an artistic genre deals with this phenomenon, "[...]meticulously detailed to create the illusion of a reality not seen in the original photo. Textures, surfaces (etc.) appear clearer and more distinct than the reference photo or even the actual subject itself." 2/6

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Adding DLSS5 to videos clearly shows what this slop filter does, as it eliminates the argument of "improving on imperfections in games" some people have. Film is "ground truth", a finished product with an intended look. DLSS5 imagines detail that makes our brain think it's somehow "more real". 1/6

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Gosh I love her so much 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Also doubly so the best cat ever 💖(my ploy to get pics of all the cats was successful)

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Also likewise the best cat ever 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Possibly the best cat ever 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

No problem, glad it worked! 🙌

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Found this reddit thread from a few years ago, seems someone had a similar problem and managed to recover the data (mentioned in the comments) - www.reddit.com/r/datarecove... Hope you manage to save everything!

reddit.com

From the datarecovery community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the datarecovery community

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Would it be possible to recover the data with something like DMDE data recovery software or similar stuff?

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Been having some family health stuff going on so I've been lurking a lot lately, not a lot of socializing energy left at the end of the day but I'll be popping in so hope to see you get better very soon! 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Sending hugs and hope you feel better soon! 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Just realized what kind of vibes this movie was giving off and it's freakin' Speed Racer, which now makes a lot of sense to me (another movie that wears its heart on its sleeve, and one I also enjoyed a lot).

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

It's not a perfect movie by any means but like, I'm genuinely thinking about watching it again soon, the kid in me is just stoked. I've kinda forgotten how it feels to have a movie bring such warm and fuzzy kind of joy. What a cool little weird movie!

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Also I was completely blindsided by the prog-rock film score and an actual original theme song that's perfect for this movie. The action scenes have so much love put into them, with insane camera work and such clarity in every shot, it's like the antithesis of a Michael Bay movie, beautiful stuff.

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Why did nobody tell me the new Masters of the Universe actually rocks? It has so many things that on a surface level I would've thought would be awful and yet it manages to be a genuine 80s movie in all the parts that count. By the end I felt like watching The Last Starfighter for the first time. 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Is the coffee ok? (I'm glad you're ok 💖)

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Welcome back! 🙌 I'm also fascinated by that stuff in the background. 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

No worries and thanks for the reply!

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Sorry for the bother @jshayer.bsky.social, I recently found your Marvel Comics of the 1980s blog (if you're the same person) while searching for sources for some of the art used on Konami's '92 X-Men arcade cabinets shown in this very thread and was wondering if you maybe recognize some of the art?

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I've literally gone through hundreds of X-Men issues and related comics to find these buggers so it's been a frustrating but fun ride and hopefully we'll find the couple of Cyclopses and Wolverines still missing at some point. Hope you found the thread interesting or useful! Cheers! ✨ 13/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Wolverine: Marvel - Year in Review (1992) page 36. Also used for The Uncanny X-Men Alert Adventure Game and X-Men Deck the Mutants Card Game from the same year. Folks on Reddit have suggested it might be Steve Lightle art but I can't seem to find the actual source anywhere, drivin' me nuts! 12/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Dazzler: production art for Pryde of the X-Men, seen in Marvel Age #63 page 17, also the character size comparison chart for the pilot, art by Russ Heath, redrawn in a kneeling position, probably to better fit the control panel area. Thanks to u/Remote_Possibilities on Reddit for the help! 11/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Control panel: Cyclops: also no idea, this Cyclops guy is very elusive! Colossus and Nightcrawler use the same art from the top marquee. Storm: Uncanny X-Men #238 (1988) cover by Marc Silvestri. 10/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Side art: Colossus, Cyclops and Wolverine: Jim Lee's "...and the best is yet to come!" pin up poster for the new 1991 X-Men #1. You'll notice that Cyclops is heavily edited to fit his old outfit used ingame. 9/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Bottom front control panel: Storm: from the unpublishedxmen.blogspot.com/2013/12/unca... blog, apparently art by Marc Silvestri from one of the quarterly or annual Marvel shareholder-aimed comics but I can't find the exact source page. Nightcrawler: no clue yet. 8/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Marquee art: Dazzler: Uncanny X-Men #260 (1990) page 7, art by Marc Silvestri. (she's upside down!) Cyclops: no idea Nightcrawler: Uncanny X-Men #102 (1976) page 5, art by Dave Cockrum. Colossus: X-Men #1 (1991) page 10, art by Jim Lee. 7/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Now for the massive 6-player cabinet which has a wider marquee with the addition of Cyclops, Dazzler, Nightcrawler and Colossus, different side art as well as unique control panel top, front and side art, although some of the art repeats so I'll just mention the new additions. 6/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Dazzler: There's no exact matching image on the web that I can find but this production art from Pryde of the X-Men found in Marvel Age #63 page 35 (end page) with art by Russ Heath shows the exact same pose and art style so it's safe to assume that's the source. Also, lots of X-Cake here. 👀 5/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Storm: X-Men #1 (1991) page 6, art by Jim Lee. Nightcrawler: Marvel Age #60 cover, art by Alan Davis. (thanks for both of these as well as Wolverine to @badhumans.bsky.social ) Can't find the Cyclops art anywhere so no info on that one unfortunately so here's a couple of higher res images. 4/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

As for the side art, we got: Colossus: Uncanny X-Men #279 (1991) page 3, art by Andy Kubert. (someone posted this but can't find their post sry) Wolverine: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe page 12 (1983), art by John Byrne. Also, the Pryde of the X-Men character sheet by Russ Heath. 3/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

The 4-player cabinet has a shorter marquee on top with Wolverine and Storm while both sides are covered in the same collage of characters on both sides. Wolverine: Uncanny X-Men #147 (1981), page 14 with art by Dave Cockrum. Storm: Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 cover (1988), art by Arthur Adams. 2/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Continuing my hyper-fixation on things almost nobody cares about but also thanks to @badhumans.bsky.social for initiating this further search for anything related to Konami's 1992 X-Men arcade game, I've managed to find most, but not all, of the original artwork used for the cabinets. A thread 1/13

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

The creative journey of making art is also pretty cool! And then you act like you don't care so you fake out and hoodwink your destiny into not paying attention and instead of bringing you down a peg for being so awesome and cool, it'll let you have your wish just by way of misdirection. 👩‍🎓

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Welcome back and hope you have a wonderful rest! 💖 I mean unga-bunga!

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Hell yeah Azull, you're awesome! 🙌💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

That CyberJudas cover art goes hard, damn!

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Happy Birthday Boba! 💖🎉🎂✨

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Aaaa what a sweety pie! 💖

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I was surprised I couldn't find any Neverending Story related Moon Child memes seeing as that's Bastian's mom's name so I was compelled to make something and now it's out of my system so we're back to the regular programming.

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Max Mantic @maxmantic.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Toothache on top of everything is just the worst. Please rest and take care, hope you feel better very soon! 🫂

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