Merge branch 'source' into bevmnist

Author: ozkriff

content/posts/newsletter-016/abstreet.png

@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ Feel free to send PRs about your own projects!
 
 Table of contents:
 
+- [Last Call for Rust GameDev Survey](#last-call-for-rust-gamedev-survey)
 - [Game Updates](#game-updates)
 - [Learning Material Updates](#learning-material-updates)
 - [Library & Tooling Updates](#library-tooling-updates)
@@ -61,12 +62,270 @@ _Discussions:
 If needed, a section can be split into subsections with a "------" delimiter.
 -->
 
+## Last Call for [Rust GameDev Survey][survey]
+
+Our annual [Rust Game Development Ecosystem Survey][survey] will be closed
+on Sunday at the end of this week, 6. December 2020.
+It'll only take 10 minutes, and your responses help us
+better understand the state of our ecosystem and where we
+should try to focus our collective efforts.
+
+[survey]: https://surveymonkey.com/r/F2JYRFF
+
 ## Game Updates
 
+### [A/B Street][abstreet]
+
+![15 minute tool](abstreet.png)
+
+[A/B Street][abstreet] is a traffic simulation game exploring how small changes
+to roads affect cyclists, transit users, pedestrians, and drivers. Any city
+with OpenStreetMap coverage can be used!
+
+Some of this month's updates:
+
+- started a new tool to explore 15-minute neighborhoods;
+- simpler process for [importing new cities][abstreet-new-cities];
+- large internal refactoring for the GUI and initializing the simulation;
+
+[abstreet]: https://abstreet.org
+[abstreet-new-cities]: https://dabreegster.github.io/abstreet/howto/new_city.html
+
+### FBSim
+
+![FBSim initial version](fbsim.png)
+_FBSim running with default agents._
+
+[FBSim] by [Ian Tayler] is a football/soccer game where you program the
+players using Rust and try to beat a team controlled by another AI.
+
+You can follow the [tutorial] for implementing your own simple AI for FBSim,
+or you can look at the code directly, which can be found on the
+[github repo]. FBSim is at an early stage of development so issues and
+comments are welcome!
+
+_Discussions:
+[/r/rust_gamedev](https://reddit.com/r/rust_gamedev/comments/jz4x1f/fbsim/)_
+
+[FBSim]: https://github.com/IanTayler/fbsim
+[github repo]: https://github.com/IanTayler/fbsim
+[Ian Tayler]: https://iantayler.com
+[tutorial]: https://iantayler.com/2020/11/22/fbsim-football-playing-ai-agents-in-rust/
+
 ## Learning Material Updates
 
+### [ECS scheduler thoughts, part 1]
+
+[@Ratys] wrote an article about system schedulers in [ECS]. It contains
+an overview of the scheduling problem itself, covers the constraints a solution
+to it should consider, and dissects schedulers of [Bevy] engine and [`yaks`] as
+examples.
+
+[ECS scheduler thoughts, part 1]: https://ratysz.github.io/article/scheduling-1/
+[@Ratys]: https://twitter.com/ratysz
+[ECS]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity_component_system
+[Bevy]: https://bevyengine.org/
+[`yaks`]: https://crates.io/crates/yaks
+
+### [Chess game in Rust using Bevy]
+
+![Tutorial result](bevy_chess.gif)
+_Chess gameplay_
+
+[@guimcaballero] published a tutorial on using Bevy 0.3 to make a Chess clone in
+3d. Most of the concepts are explained along the way, from how to load meshes to
+how to select pieces and board squares, using [bevy_mod_picking].
+
+[Chess game in Rust using Bevy]: https://caballerocoll.com/blog/bevy-chess-tutorial/
+[@guimcaballero]: https://twitter.com/guimcaballero
+[bevy_mod_picking]: https://github.com/aevyrie/bevy_mod_picking/
+
+### [Learn Wgpu][learn-wgpu]
+
+Development of new tutorial content has slowed down due to wgpu still being in
+development. [@sotrh] has committed to continue maintaining the project through
+the comming version changes, and plans to add more new content when the API
+solidifies. He with the help of other contributors such as GitHub user
+[@kanerogers] worked through a series of issues to polish the repository before
+the content freeze.
+In addition to that he added a [compute pipeline showcase][learn-wgpu-compute]
+and an [imgui showcase][learn-wgpu-imgui].
+
+In other news @sotrh has started a [Patreon][@sotrh] to help fund research
+and development on the Learn Wgpu site as well as other wgpu related projects.
+
+You can learn more [on the Learn Wgpu news page][learn-wgpu-news].
+
+[learn-wgpu]: https://sotrh.github.io/learn-wgpu
+[learn-wgpu-compute]: https://sotrh.github.io/learn-wgpu/showcase/compute
+[learn-wgpu-imgui]: https://sotrh.github.io/learn-wgpu/showcase/imgui-demo
+[learn-wgpu-news]: https://sotrh.github.io/learn-wgpu/news
+[@sotrh]: https://patreon.com/sotrh
+[@kanerogers]: https://github.com/kanerogers
+
 ## Library & Tooling Updates
 
+### [profiling]
+
+This month, [profiling] was released on crates.io. This crate provides a very
+thin abstraction over instrumented profiling crates like `puffin`, `optick`,
+`tracy`, and `superluminal-perf`.
+
+Mark up your code like this:
+
+```rust
+#[profiling::function]
+fn some_function() {
+    burn_time(5);
+
+    for i in 0..5 {
+        profiling::scope!("Looped Operation");
+        burn_time(1);
+    }
+}
+```
+
+And get visualizations like this (`optick` and `puffin` shown):
+
+[![Screenshot of Optick Profiler](optick-small.png)](optick.jpeg)
+
+[profiling]: https://crates.io/crates/profiling
+
+### [rkyv]
+
+[rkyv] is a zero-copy deserialization framework for Rust. It's similar to
+FlatBuffers and Cap'n Proto and can be used for data storage and messaging.
+
+It has a handful of features that make it stand out:
+
+- No schema restrictions
+- HashMap support out of the box
+- Trait object support through the [`rkyv_dyn`] crate
+- Validation through the [`bytecheck`] crate, suitable for untrusted and
+potentially malicious data
+- Safe mutable archives with pinning
+
+Reddit user [vlmutolo] also made a [toy benchmark] comparing rkyv against serde
+and bincode and found that rkyv had promising initial numbers:
+
+```text
+serialize (bincode):    89 ns/iter
+serialize (rkyv):       86 ns/iter
+
+deserialize (bincode):  118 ns/iter
+deserialize (rkyv):     16 ns/iter
+```
+
+A write-up on the [architecture and internals of rkyv] is also available.
+
+_Discussions:
+[/r/rust (v0.1)](https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/jss6h4/rkyv_a_zerocopy_deserialization_framework_for_rust/),
+[/r/rust (v0.2)](https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/jx32e8/rkyv_02_and_bytecheck_validation_mutable_archives/)_
+
+[rkyv]: https://github.com/djkoloski/rkyv
+[`rkyv_dyn`]: https://docs.rs/rkyv_dyn
+[`bytecheck`]: https://github.com/djkoloski/bytecheck
+[vlmutolo]: https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/jx32e8/rkyv_02_and_bytecheck_validation_mutable_archives/gcyfoqc
+[toy benchmark]: https://git.sr.ht/~vlmutolo/rkyv-bench/tree/master/src/main.rs
+[architecture and internals of rkyv]: https://davidkoloski.me/blog/rkyv-architecture/
+
+### [Kira]
+
+[Kira] by [@tesselode] is an audio library designed to help create expressive
+audio for games. It aims to fill the holes in many game engines' built-in audio
+APIs with features for creating seamless music loops and scripting audio events.
+
+v0.2.0 is coming out soon with an Arrangements feature for creating complex pieces
+out of individual sounds, tween easing, panning support, and workflow improvements.
+
+[Kira]: https://github.com/tesselode/kira
+[@tesselode]: https://twitter.com/tesselode
+
+_Discussions:
+[/r/rust](https://reddit.com/r/rust/comments/jxd9zz/announcing_kira_dynamic_audio_library_for_games/),
+[twitter](https://twitter.com/tesselode/status/1329559760111357954)_
+
+### [gfx-rs] and [wgpu]
+
+![gfx-picture](wgpu-big-picture.svg)
+
+The gfx-rs team has published a post ["The Big Picture"][gfx-post] providing
+the overview of all projects in the works, and how they are connected to each other.
+
+[wgpu] has moved from [gfx-extras] to the new [gpu-alloc] and [gpu-descriptor]
+libraries by [@zakarumych]. These are backend-agnostic, which allows `wgpu`
+to now depend on `gfx-hal` directly without intermediates. Patching [gfx-rs]
+will now be easier, without the need to release every little change.
+
+Finally, all the latest [wgpu] code has landed into Gecko, and new
+features and fixes are implemented in Firefox. That allows it to run
+most of the updated [WebGPU samples][wgpu-samples].
+
+[gfx-rs]: https://github.com/gfx-rs/gfx
+[wgpu]: https://github.com/gfx-rs/wgpu
+[gfx-post]: https://gfx-rs.github.io/2020/11/16/big-picture.html
+[gfx-extras]: https://github.com/gfx-rs/gfx-extras
+[@zakarumych]: https://github.com/zakarumych
+[gpu-alloc]: https://github.com/zakarumych/gpu-alloc
+[gpu-descriptor]: https://github.com/zakarumych/gpu-descriptor
+[wgpu-samples]: https://austineng.github.io/webgpu-samples
+
+### [KAS] v0.6 and [KAS-text] v0.2
+
+![KAS markdown](kas-markdown.png)
+_Markdown parsing demo_
+
+[KAS] by [@dhardy] is a general purpose UI toolkit; its
+initial aim is "old school" desktop apps with good keyboard and touchscreen
+support. Unlike many modern immediate-mode UIs, KAS's widgets retain state,
+allowing minimal per-frame updates. KAS supports embedded WebGPU graphics now,
+and plans to support embedded usage and additional rendering systems.
+
+[KAS-text] v0.2 saw a significant revision to its API, including support for
+rich text (bold, italic, underline, size and some layout improvements).
+[KAS] v0.6 pulls in those changes and adds a few fixes and QoL improvements.
+
+[KAS]: https://github.com/kas-gui/kas
+[KAS-text]: https://github.com/kas-gui/kas-text
+[@dhardy]: https://github.com/dhardy
+
+### [Tetra]
+
+[Tetra] is a simple 2D game framework, inspired by XNA and Raylib. This month,
+versions 0.5.3 and 0.5.4 were released, with some frequently requested features:
+
+- A `Mesh` API, allowing users to create arbitary 2D geometry
+- Experimental support for high-DPI rendering
+
+There has also been numerous bug fixes and documentation improvements. For full
+details and a list of breaking changes, see the [changelog][tetra-changelog].
+
+[tetra]: https://github.com/17cupsofcoffee/tetra
+[tetra-changelog]: https://github.com/17cupsofcoffee/tetra/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
+
+### [ogmo3]
+
+[ogmo3] is a Rust crate for parsing projects and levels created with
+[Ogmo Editor 3]. This month, version 0.1 was released, adding serialization
+support, and helper methods for unpacking layer data. The [sample code][ogmo3-sample]
+has also been updated to show the new helpers in action.
+
+[ogmo3]: https://github.com/17cupsofcoffee/ogmo3
+[Ogmo Editor 3]: https://ogmo-editor-3.github.io/
+[ogmo3-sample]: https://github.com/17cupsofcoffee/ogmo3/blob/main/examples/sample.rs
+
+### [F1 Telemetry TUI]
+
+![f1-telemetry-tui](f1-tui.gif)
+
+[F1 Telemetry TUI] by [@aldidana] is a terminal telemetry tool for F1 video games.
+
+_Discussions:
+[Twitter](https://twitter.com/aldidana/status/1323185465319596032)_
+
+[F1 Telemetry TUI]: https://github.com/aldidana/f1-telemetry-tui
+[@aldidana]: https://github.com/aldidana
+
 ### [bevmnist][bevmnist-itch.io]
 
 ![demo of running inferences for all digits](bevmnist.gif)