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u/_VirtualEntrance_

▲ 45 r/SoftwareEngineerJobs

AI automation crises

The reason I first got into software was game development, problem solving, and architectural design.

I've been working for the past couple of years as a back-end developer, currently moving toward seniority. And I absolutely hate it.

At first, it was the best thing in the world. Learning new systems/frameworks and trying to understand how everything works was great. Then the last couple of months came, and AI ruined it.

People in charge saw some very simple projects built only by prompt engineers, who are not even programmers, and then the wave of AI automation started. Now every move is tracked, whether it used AI or not. We have to use AI for writing tickets, summarizing tickets, fixing bugs, and even adding features. And we have to do it. It’s an order.

We have to assign labels on all tickets: AI-generated, AI-assisted, or none. Then they analyze the data and see how powerful AI is. This metric is so stupid because even if I made a full feature myself, then made AI write one unit test, it will be marked as AI-assisted. And of course, this data will be used to lay off as many people as possible.

I loved the job at first. It was everything I ever wanted. Now it’s the opposite.

I’m currently trying to learn other skills other than programming, and I advise everyone to do so in case these people in power think we can be replaced by AI momentarly.

Even my skills are depleting because I’m an AI prompter/reviewer now.

Even if I wanted to quit and start my own business in software, making software doesn’t feel special or like an achievement anymore, because the user will only see the UI at the end of the day, not what’s underneath.

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u/_VirtualEntrance_ — 9 days ago
▲ 26 r/blender+1 crossposts

I tried recreating an Arc System Works shader workflow on an armor plate but something feels off

After a lot of trial and error, I finally got a small test model working using the techniques I found from arc system works games like Guilty Gear, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Granblue Fantasy Versus.

It’s just a simple armor plate, but the goal was to use the same kind of workflow those games use.

Here’s what I ended up using:

- Edited normals for toon shading:

I manually edited the normals on the actual render mesh so the cel shading falls in a more controlled/anime-style way instead of just following the raw low-poly geometry.

- Multiple textures for color control:

I used a base color texture, then a second tinted texture that gets multiplied with the base texture to create the shadow colors. I also reused that same tint texture in the highlight branch by adjusting the output value.

- ILM map:

I used an ILM texture where the RGB channels control different effects. red controls where specular highlights, green controls permanent shadow areas. I didn't use the blue channel though, it's usually used for special effects like rim lighting.

- Permanent shadows:

Some areas are masked to stay darker regardless of the light direction using the green channel as mentioned above. You can so the effect on the belt area.

- Specular highlights:

The highlights are controlled with the red channel, so only specific areas like metal parts/bolts pieces can receive them.

- Square UV layout for inner lines:

I kept the UVs square/axis-aligned where possible so the texture lines are easier to draw and always keep them crisp.

- Inverted hull outline test:

I also worked on an inverted hull outline setup. I tested the more advanced idea of using separate outline normals and some scripting to be able to control outline thickness in specific areas but it was too difficult to get right, for now I used a simpler duplicate/solidify-style outline.

This was way harder than I expected. And i still think something feels or looks off, so please let me know what do you think.

I might write a more detailed breakdown later if people are interested, because there are not many clear explanations of this workflow.

u/_VirtualEntrance_ — 10 days ago