dgbaumgart
@dgbaumgart.bsky.social
artist, game designer, art director, writer, independent game developer, he/him
working in games since 2007
formerly Gaslamp Games, currently mostly Starsector
https://www.dgbaumgart.com/
https://dgbaumgart.itch.io/
working in games since 2007
formerly Gaslamp Games, currently mostly Starsector
https://www.dgbaumgart.com/
https://dgbaumgart.itch.io/
Pinned
dgbaumgart
@dgbaumgart.bsky.social
· Dec 13
I put together a version of my free hex/square painterly tile sample pack for Itch.io. This is like a little mini-tour through all my terrain tilesets, and best of all, they're gratis!
Get it here -> dgbaumgart.itch.io/hex-and-tile...
(Guess I should tag stuff,) #gamedev and #indiedev I think.
Get it here -> dgbaumgart.itch.io/hex-and-tile...
(Guess I should tag stuff,) #gamedev and #indiedev I think.
Happy Goblin Friday!
Easy morning: messed w/ visual effects & story script review.
Set up "vibes mode" button that turns off the UI so you can just hang out in a location and chill. Thank you to @mesotronik.bsky.social / soundcloud.com/mesotronik for the sound loop!
vid: youtu.be/17diA0A4kzw
Easy morning: messed w/ visual effects & story script review.
Set up "vibes mode" button that turns off the UI so you can just hang out in a location and chill. Thank you to @mesotronik.bsky.social / soundcloud.com/mesotronik for the sound loop!
vid: youtu.be/17diA0A4kzw
goblin swamp
YouTube video by David Baumgart
youtu.be
November 21, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Happy Goblin Friday!
Easy morning: messed w/ visual effects & story script review.
Set up "vibes mode" button that turns off the UI so you can just hang out in a location and chill. Thank you to @mesotronik.bsky.social / soundcloud.com/mesotronik for the sound loop!
vid: youtu.be/17diA0A4kzw
Easy morning: messed w/ visual effects & story script review.
Set up "vibes mode" button that turns off the UI so you can just hang out in a location and chill. Thank you to @mesotronik.bsky.social / soundcloud.com/mesotronik for the sound loop!
vid: youtu.be/17diA0A4kzw
Yeah. Imagine if laws applied to SV startups.
Or rich people, at all. *distant look*
Anyway, back to actually making art!
Or rich people, at all. *distant look*
Anyway, back to actually making art!
This is bullshit.
"absolutely no genAI in games" is the middle ground.
"how many years in jail should Sam Altman get for knowingly stealing all data ever" is the somewhat more extreme stance I personally adopt.
"absolutely no genAI in games" is the middle ground.
"how many years in jail should Sam Altman get for knowingly stealing all data ever" is the somewhat more extreme stance I personally adopt.
"Surely there's a middle ground here?" The CEO of Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead says people "jump to extreme takes" when debating generative AI, and that there needs to be more nuance in the discussion.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/surely-...
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/surely-...
November 17, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Yeah. Imagine if laws applied to SV startups.
Or rich people, at all. *distant look*
Anyway, back to actually making art!
Or rich people, at all. *distant look*
Anyway, back to actually making art!
Goblin Friday!
Look: it says "Continue Last Game" at the top of the main menu and the button *works* (at this point,) with the one save slot.
(... Except for map fog and character status effects. Sorting those out.)
Also: untangled a lot of turn state and UI state logic for save/load, whew.
Look: it says "Continue Last Game" at the top of the main menu and the button *works* (at this point,) with the one save slot.
(... Except for map fog and character status effects. Sorting those out.)
Also: untangled a lot of turn state and UI state logic for save/load, whew.
November 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Goblin Friday!
Look: it says "Continue Last Game" at the top of the main menu and the button *works* (at this point,) with the one save slot.
(... Except for map fog and character status effects. Sorting those out.)
Also: untangled a lot of turn state and UI state logic for save/load, whew.
Look: it says "Continue Last Game" at the top of the main menu and the button *works* (at this point,) with the one save slot.
(... Except for map fog and character status effects. Sorting those out.)
Also: untangled a lot of turn state and UI state logic for save/load, whew.
Probably obvious, but #Starsector dev thought: putting just a little time into dev-mode test tools to enabled quick set up of a variety of in-game situations pays off fantastically as QA/testing is made way faster and - this is important - less boring.
(If you're bored when testing, you miss stuff!)
(If you're bored when testing, you miss stuff!)
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Probably obvious, but #Starsector dev thought: putting just a little time into dev-mode test tools to enabled quick set up of a variety of in-game situations pays off fantastically as QA/testing is made way faster and - this is important - less boring.
(If you're bored when testing, you miss stuff!)
(If you're bored when testing, you miss stuff!)
Goblin Friday!
Save/load backend basically works, yay!
Then! In testing I discovered gaps in UI display vs state when transitioning between turn state modes over time ie fading in or out. Oof.
OK, root issue: turn state handler only hackily supported transition times. Fixed that up. Now: testing!
Save/load backend basically works, yay!
Then! In testing I discovered gaps in UI display vs state when transitioning between turn state modes over time ie fading in or out. Oof.
OK, root issue: turn state handler only hackily supported transition times. Fixed that up. Now: testing!
November 7, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Goblin Friday!
Save/load backend basically works, yay!
Then! In testing I discovered gaps in UI display vs state when transitioning between turn state modes over time ie fading in or out. Oof.
OK, root issue: turn state handler only hackily supported transition times. Fixed that up. Now: testing!
Save/load backend basically works, yay!
Then! In testing I discovered gaps in UI display vs state when transitioning between turn state modes over time ie fading in or out. Oof.
OK, root issue: turn state handler only hackily supported transition times. Fixed that up. Now: testing!
Writing new Starsector story things: There's always room for Finlay Siyavong to show up!
(And yes, you can also bring this to Arroyo if you want to give him a headache.)
(And yes, you can also bring this to Arroyo if you want to give him a headache.)
November 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Writing new Starsector story things: There's always room for Finlay Siyavong to show up!
(And yes, you can also bring this to Arroyo if you want to give him a headache.)
(And yes, you can also bring this to Arroyo if you want to give him a headache.)
Took some time off Goblin Friday to do more money-making work with expectation of Bad Foundation Repairs. Things seem... okay for now, so I'm getting back into Goblins.
Doing some "boring" save/load infrastructure, though it's a good re-entry into all the data structures.
(no fun pictures however)
Doing some "boring" save/load infrastructure, though it's a good re-entry into all the data structures.
(no fun pictures however)
October 31, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Took some time off Goblin Friday to do more money-making work with expectation of Bad Foundation Repairs. Things seem... okay for now, so I'm getting back into Goblins.
Doing some "boring" save/load infrastructure, though it's a good re-entry into all the data structures.
(no fun pictures however)
Doing some "boring" save/load infrastructure, though it's a good re-entry into all the data structures.
(no fun pictures however)
Reposted by dgbaumgart
You know how billionaires end up with severe cognitive deficits as a result of becoming surrounded by yes men who constantly tell them their every idea is genius? What if we made a bot that just does that to everyone. I think that would be a good idea.
October 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM
You know how billionaires end up with severe cognitive deficits as a result of becoming surrounded by yes men who constantly tell them their every idea is genius? What if we made a bot that just does that to everyone. I think that would be a good idea.
Went through this. Observations:
- The questions all presume "AI" is necessary, desirable, &will deliver on the hype; oof.
- The committee that wrote this must read LinkedIn all day, because their brains are a very particular kind of oatmeal.
- Jesus, these are the people in charge of policy? Dire.
- The questions all presume "AI" is necessary, desirable, &will deliver on the hype; oof.
- The committee that wrote this must read LinkedIn all day, because their brains are a very particular kind of oatmeal.
- Jesus, these are the people in charge of policy? Dire.
Canadians: The federal government is seeking public input on how AI should be developed and used in business, research, and the military.
If this scares the shit out of you, please let them know:
If this scares the shit out of you, please let them know:
Help define the next chapter of Canada's AI leadership
Current status: Open from October 1 to October 31, 2025
Canada helped invent modern AI. To stay a leader—and protect our digital sovereignty—we're running a 30-day national sprint to shape a renewed...
ised-isde.canada.ca
October 9, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Went through this. Observations:
- The questions all presume "AI" is necessary, desirable, &will deliver on the hype; oof.
- The committee that wrote this must read LinkedIn all day, because their brains are a very particular kind of oatmeal.
- Jesus, these are the people in charge of policy? Dire.
- The questions all presume "AI" is necessary, desirable, &will deliver on the hype; oof.
- The committee that wrote this must read LinkedIn all day, because their brains are a very particular kind of oatmeal.
- Jesus, these are the people in charge of policy? Dire.
Here's a fun short interview podcast with my dad about winning a Spacewar tournament in 1972: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...
The irony? throughline? of me working on Starsector now is not lost upon me. And the sheer historical accident of that event happening to be a 'first' is not lost on him.
The irony? throughline? of me working on Starsector now is not lost upon me. And the sheer historical accident of that event happening to be a 'first' is not lost on him.
BBC World Service - Sporting Witness, The first Esports tournament
In 1972, the first ever Esports tournament was held at California's Stanford University
www.bbc.co.uk
October 8, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Here's a fun short interview podcast with my dad about winning a Spacewar tournament in 1972: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...
The irony? throughline? of me working on Starsector now is not lost upon me. And the sheer historical accident of that event happening to be a 'first' is not lost on him.
The irony? throughline? of me working on Starsector now is not lost upon me. And the sheer historical accident of that event happening to be a 'first' is not lost on him.
Reposted by dgbaumgart
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Me to m: "Which do you prefer, 'brain thoughts' or 'proclamations of the skull tyrant'?"
M: "I prefer silence."
M: "I prefer silence."
October 2, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Me to m: "Which do you prefer, 'brain thoughts' or 'proclamations of the skull tyrant'?"
M: "I prefer silence."
M: "I prefer silence."
Shediac, New Brunswick is wild y'all.
(I know, wrong colour.)
(I know, wrong colour.)
![A photograph of myself in front of a giant, monstrous lobster [statue]. There is a statue of fisherman between the monstrously huge claws of the lobster; his hand is held at his brow, looking out toward the horrors of the sea.
My posture mirrors his; my hand is shading my eyes, also shaded by sunglasses and a hat, as I look to the horrors of the sea.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gbtm6kqwoskky3nje5fmnyoo/bafkreiegamudejlaomzsxqlh6iaxz2njl6kwvziyc7pyrvrcz7rb6atrqa@jpeg)
September 28, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Shediac, New Brunswick is wild y'all.
(I know, wrong colour.)
(I know, wrong colour.)
I don't like drawing horses... but I think I'm OK with these.
Gotta mess with scale a bit to fit 'em into the 128x128 box.
(I feel like there are people who are really into horses who can knock this stuff out off-the-dome. I am not one of those people.)
Gotta mess with scale a bit to fit 'em into the 128x128 box.
(I feel like there are people who are really into horses who can knock this stuff out off-the-dome. I am not one of those people.)
September 27, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I don't like drawing horses... but I think I'm OK with these.
Gotta mess with scale a bit to fit 'em into the 128x128 box.
(I feel like there are people who are really into horses who can knock this stuff out off-the-dome. I am not one of those people.)
Gotta mess with scale a bit to fit 'em into the 128x128 box.
(I feel like there are people who are really into horses who can knock this stuff out off-the-dome. I am not one of those people.)
God, I'm taken aback. I've had many positive interactions with him in a weird corner of the online indie game space for, jeez, I think for almost 15 years? I'd never really reflected on what a constant he was, just out there being a low-key good guy for so long.
We're all poorer for his loss.
We're all poorer for his loss.
Absolutely devastated by this news. SpaceDrake was no doubt a huge influence in drumming up interest for Japanese indie games localized into English and pushing for them on digital distribution storefronts like steam. Huge loss. Might be time for another playthrough of Recettear in his honour.
September 25, 2025 at 11:37 PM
God, I'm taken aback. I've had many positive interactions with him in a weird corner of the online indie game space for, jeez, I think for almost 15 years? I'd never really reflected on what a constant he was, just out there being a low-key good guy for so long.
We're all poorer for his loss.
We're all poorer for his loss.
I released an update to my icon pack "Food, Spices, & Drinks"! Added 12 icons people requested in the comments over the past year or so.
dgbaumgart.itch.io/icons-food-s...
dgbaumgart.itch.io/icons-food-s...
September 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I released an update to my icon pack "Food, Spices, & Drinks"! Added 12 icons people requested in the comments over the past year or so.
dgbaumgart.itch.io/icons-food-s...
dgbaumgart.itch.io/icons-food-s...
Okay, hear me out.
If the great design pitfall of Master of Orion 2 was being too much like a Civilization game - individual buildings/ships thus micromanagement bloat - what if we could have a Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri that was built on the design philosophy of Master of Orion 1 instead?
If the great design pitfall of Master of Orion 2 was being too much like a Civilization game - individual buildings/ships thus micromanagement bloat - what if we could have a Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri that was built on the design philosophy of Master of Orion 1 instead?
September 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Okay, hear me out.
If the great design pitfall of Master of Orion 2 was being too much like a Civilization game - individual buildings/ships thus micromanagement bloat - what if we could have a Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri that was built on the design philosophy of Master of Orion 1 instead?
If the great design pitfall of Master of Orion 2 was being too much like a Civilization game - individual buildings/ships thus micromanagement bloat - what if we could have a Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri that was built on the design philosophy of Master of Orion 1 instead?
[10 and a half hours of driving later] Quebec? Folks, it's too big. We need Petit Quebec. Maybe just take out Trois Rivieres and half of the Gulf of St. Laurent, it'll be fine
*ducking thrown bagels* what, I'm right
*ducking thrown bagels* what, I'm right
September 20, 2025 at 11:42 PM
[10 and a half hours of driving later] Quebec? Folks, it's too big. We need Petit Quebec. Maybe just take out Trois Rivieres and half of the Gulf of St. Laurent, it'll be fine
*ducking thrown bagels* what, I'm right
*ducking thrown bagels* what, I'm right
<3 (The HoMM call-out is particularly interesting. Never thought of that before.)
fractalsoftworks.com Starsector. Calling it anything other than "the most thoughtful large spaceship/fleet combat game" feels like a disservice. It's one part mount and blade, one part escape velocity, and weirdly, one part heroes of might and magic, but not the part you might think?
fractalsoftworks.com
September 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM
<3 (The HoMM call-out is particularly interesting. Never thought of that before.)
Also hey, my friend Sean is looking for work! He's a 3D environmental artist, and we worked together back in the day at Gaslamp Games.
www.artstation.com/merrigore
www.artstation.com/merrigore
September 17, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Also hey, my friend Sean is looking for work! He's a 3D environmental artist, and we worked together back in the day at Gaslamp Games.
www.artstation.com/merrigore
www.artstation.com/merrigore
testing new Starsector content at the minimum supported screen resolution
September 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
testing new Starsector content at the minimum supported screen resolution
Reposted by dgbaumgart
“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let’s blame the people with no power & no money & these immigrants who don’t even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault.”
—Iain Banks
www.theguardian.com/books/2013/j...
—Iain Banks
www.theguardian.com/books/2013/j...
Iain Banks: the final interview
Iain Banks died last Sunday, just before the publication of his final novel The Quarry. Last month he talked to Stuart Kelly about writing, politics and all the things still left to do . . .
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:06 PM
“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let’s blame the people with no power & no money & these immigrants who don’t even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault.”
—Iain Banks
www.theguardian.com/books/2013/j...
—Iain Banks
www.theguardian.com/books/2013/j...
Goblin Friday!
I'm amazed at how quickly this came together. Was feeling stressed & bummed about lots of other stuff (largely water leak in house related), but - dang! It works!
'Course it needs a bunch more Maths and tooltips and data save/load. Nonetheless, wow!
(Godot is nice, also, btw.)
I'm amazed at how quickly this came together. Was feeling stressed & bummed about lots of other stuff (largely water leak in house related), but - dang! It works!
'Course it needs a bunch more Maths and tooltips and data save/load. Nonetheless, wow!
(Godot is nice, also, btw.)
September 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Goblin Friday!
I'm amazed at how quickly this came together. Was feeling stressed & bummed about lots of other stuff (largely water leak in house related), but - dang! It works!
'Course it needs a bunch more Maths and tooltips and data save/load. Nonetheless, wow!
(Godot is nice, also, btw.)
I'm amazed at how quickly this came together. Was feeling stressed & bummed about lots of other stuff (largely water leak in house related), but - dang! It works!
'Course it needs a bunch more Maths and tooltips and data save/load. Nonetheless, wow!
(Godot is nice, also, btw.)
Reposted by dgbaumgart
Cannot recommend enough the @bretdevereaux.bsky.social series on what Sparta was actually like, deep and accessible dive into a monstrous society that built an outsized reputation on a fragile system of pure cruelty and ho-hum but ultimately fleeting military success
acoup.blog/2019/08/16/c...
acoup.blog/2019/08/16/c...
Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part I: Spartan School
This is Part I of a seven part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, Gloss., Retrospective) comparing the popular legacy of Sparta (embodied in films like 300) with the historical ancient state. Toda…
acoup.blog
September 3, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Cannot recommend enough the @bretdevereaux.bsky.social series on what Sparta was actually like, deep and accessible dive into a monstrous society that built an outsized reputation on a fragile system of pure cruelty and ho-hum but ultimately fleeting military success
acoup.blog/2019/08/16/c...
acoup.blog/2019/08/16/c...
[old man voice] I miss the days when MTG art wasn't art-directed with an iron fist, it was whatever weird crap the artist cooked up so you got this weird, inconsistent gallery. And the themes were shared myths, fantasy, and probably someone's D&D game (if we're being honest) rather than The IPs.
September 3, 2025 at 12:56 PM
[old man voice] I miss the days when MTG art wasn't art-directed with an iron fist, it was whatever weird crap the artist cooked up so you got this weird, inconsistent gallery. And the themes were shared myths, fantasy, and probably someone's D&D game (if we're being honest) rather than The IPs.