And here’s the promised crocodile. Our room overlooked a river, and we often saw this chap relaxing in the mud. I understand why the hotel built that gate.

The protagonist starts a humble seafarer but becomes superhuman, accomplished at everything from marksmanship to disguises to toxicology. But my favourite superpower? Punctuality.

“I warn you, I am fearfully punctual.”

“The hand of your clock will not be more punctual than I.”

“Punctuality,” said Monte Cristo, “is the politeness of kings.”

I bet that showing up on time was no easy feat in the nineteenth century, what with mechanical watches you had to wind daily and horses your most reliable mode of transportation. It helps that Monte Cristo has sweet horses.

Meanwhile the count had arrived at his house. The journey had taken him six minutes, and these six minutes had been enough for him to be seen by twenty young men who, recognizing the cost of a team that was well beyond their means, had spurred their mounts to a gallop so that they could catch a glimpse of this noble lord who paid ten thousand francs apiece for his horses.

Dumas writes about expensive horses and carriages the way we talk about Lamborghinis and Cybertrucks. Coupé, landau, phaeton, barouche, post-chaise — I don’t know what any of these are, but I appreciate that he assumes I do.

For Monte Cristo superfans, Wikipedia lists 14 TV shows and 30 movies in the MCU (Monte Cristo Universe). I watched three: the 2002 American version; the 2024 French epic; and Wishbone episode 27, “The Count’s Account”. All are entertaining, but Wishbone is the winner. It crams a book I spent months reading into a half hour episode, complete with a parallel plot about a dipshit bully who ruins a lady’s garden to frame the neighbourhood nerd and that nerd’s subsequent revenge.

You know what each adaptation is missing though? The count’s punctuality. Edmond Dantès’ most formidable superpower, not mentioned a single time. C’mon Hollywood.

Say you want to set the Y position of your player to zero. You might write this:

transform.position = new Vector3(transform.position.x, 0, transform.position.z);

// Or:
var position = transform.position;
position.y = 0;
transform.position = position

With the Transform.SetY extension method, you can write this instead:

transform.SetY(0);

Another example. Given a list of enemy positions, you want to find the one closest to your player. Not difficult, but you may appreciate this short version:

var closestEnemyPosition = transform.position.GetClosest(enemyPositions);

Take a gander at the README for a full list of extension methods.

Exciting? No. Useful? You bet.

A typical implementation looks like this:

RaycastHit[] hits = new RaycastHit[10];

void Update()
{
    var hitCount = Physics.RaycastNonAlloc(transform.position, transform.forward, hits);

    for (var i = 0; i < hitCount; i++)
    {
        var hit = hits[i];
        Debug.Log("Hit: " + hit.collider.name);
    }
}

If you write this pattern often, a useful abstraction is to wrap the logic in a class and use ReadOnlySpan to expose the results.

class Raycaster
{
    RaycastHit[] hits = new RaycastHit[10];

    ReadOnlySpan<RaycastHit> RaycastAll(Vector3 origin, Vector3 direction)
    {
        var hitCount = Physics.RaycastNonAlloc(origin, direction, hits);
        return new ReadOnlySpan<RaycastHit>(hits, 0, hitCount);
    }
}

ReadOnlySpan is a lightweight container that allows you to peek into a slice of a managed array. With this new class, we can now iterate over our raycast hits in a foreach loop; no need to manage a results array and no danger of misusing hitCount.

Raycaster raycaster = new();

void Update()
{
    var hits = raycaster.RaycastAll(transform.position, transform.forward);

    foreach (var hit in hits)
    {
        Debug.Log("Hit: " + hit.collider.name);
    }
}

Simple as it is, I use this pattern enough that it was worthwhile to codify into a reusable package. After adding nonalloc-physics-wrapper to your game, prefix any Physics intersection function with NonAlloc and iterate over the return value as before.

- var hits = Physics.RaycastAll(ray);
+ var hits = NonAllocPhysics.RaycastAll(ray);

- var colliders = Physics.OverlapBox(center, halfExtents);
+ var colliders = NonAllocPhysics.OverlapBox(center, halfExtents);

... and so on.

Now instead of a new array being allocated on each call, a single one is reused across multiple calls and the garbage collector has that much less work to do. He deserves a break.

In my day job I juggle multiple Unity projects, regularly flipping between 3–5 of them. Neither the macOS Dock nor the app switcher make it clear which project I’m switching to.

Will I choose the correct one? It’s a fun little game.

Unity Hub isn’t better. It can launch a project, but try to open one that’s running and I get a “Project is already open” message.

To take this guesswork out of switching between Unity instances, I put together a macOS app that lists open projects in the menubar. Click a project to bring it to the front.

With the help of a global shortcut that opens the menu, activating the Unity process I want is 42% faster. Scientifically measured, peer review unnecessary.

I also built a unity-menu command line tool that does the same thing as the menubar app.

$ unity-menu
[1] Grand Theft Auto 6
[2] Huedini
[3] Orbert
[4] Time Squatch
Selection: 3

I rarely employ the CLI version, but I have a notion to write Launchbar and Alfred actions using it. Work in progress.

I developed this to scratch my own itch, but if it’s an itch you also wish to scratch, find the source code and app download in this GitHub repo.

1. I listed the Blu-ray for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
2. “Ernesto” asked to buy it. He was out of town until Monday, but he kindly offered to pay upfront if I promised to hold it for him.
3. I agreed.² Within minutes I received an e-transfer email.
4. I clicked the link to deposit the cash, chose my bank, and entered my account details in the login form.
5. I lost all my money.

I stopped before step 4, but I can see how people fall for this. Here’s the email:

If you’re Canadian you’ll have received e-transfer emails like this. There are a few oddities, like the position of ™ at the front of the subject line and the dubious shine@twce.org.tw sender, but otherwise this looks genuine.

Ditto for the bank website that opened when I clicked “Receive Money”; it was a dead ringer for the real deal. The only giveaways were the e-interac-88416061.1842904.icu domain name (I was unaware .icu is a valid TLD), my browser’s refusal to autofill my credentials, and style differences that only those with a photographic memory of their bank’s website will notice. Oh, and the unavailability of auto-deposit that forced me to login in the first place. Ernesto explained:

Hmm.

I’m curious what would happen if I entered my username and password. Does Ernesto sign in immediately and withdraw my life savings, or does he collect credentials from a bunch of suckers to sell in bulk? I assume (hope) my bank triggers a 2FA challenge the moment it sees a login attempt from a new IP. Ernesto, if you’re reading this, enlighten me.

I gather this is a common racket, because when I listed another item for sale, I received the same offer. At this rate I’m never going to offload my physical media collection.

Maui packs a lot of geology into one island. A short drive takes you from lush valleys to parched volcanoes.

Haleakalā is one of the quietest places on Earth. I only learned this later, but I noticed it immediately as we descended into the crater. No traffic, no wind, no wildlife. It’s eerie.

The sea turtles were my favourite. I didn’t expect to see so many. A few swam past me as I was snorkelling, other times we’d find them basking on the beach, unperturbed by the humans walking by.

These guys are living the life.

using UnityEngine;

public class Flock : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField, Min(0)] float spawnRadius = 5f;
    [SerializeField, Min(1)] int unitCount = 50;
    [SerializeField] Transform unitPrefab;

    [Header("Unit")]
    [SerializeField, Range(0, 360)] float fieldOfView = 270f;
    [SerializeField, Min(0)] float separationRadius = 1f;
    [SerializeField, Min(0)] float sightRadius = 3f;
    [SerializeField, Min(0)] float speed = 1f;
    [SerializeField, Min(0)] float steeringForce = 1f;

    Transform[] units;

    void Awake()
    {
        InstantiateUnits();
    }

    void Update()
    {
        foreach (var unit in units)
        {
            UpdateUnit(unit);
        }
    }

    void InstantiateUnits()
    {
        units = new Transform[unitCount];

        for (var i = 0; i < unitCount; i++)
        {
            var position = Random.insideUnitCircle * spawnRadius;
            var rotation = Quaternion.Euler(0, 0, Random.Range(0, 360));
            units[i] = Instantiate(unitPrefab, position, rotation, transform);
        }
    }

    void UpdateUnit(Transform unit)
    {
        var unitPosition = (Vector2)unit.position;
        var unitDirection = (Vector2)unit.up;

        var neighborCount = 0;
        var averageNeighborPosition = Vector2.zero;
        var averageNeighborDirection = Vector2.zero;
        var separation = Vector2.zero;

        foreach (var otherUnit in units)
        {
            if (otherUnit == unit)
            {
                continue;
            }

            var otherUnitPosition = (Vector2)otherUnit.position;
            var otherUnitDirection = (Vector2)otherUnit.up;

            var directionToOther = otherUnitPosition - unitPosition;
            var sqrDistanceToOther = directionToOther.sqrMagnitude;
            var isWithinSightRadius = sqrDistanceToOther <= sightRadius * sightRadius;

            if (!isWithinSightRadius)
            {
                continue;
            }

            var angleToOther = Vector2.Angle(unitDirection, directionToOther);
            var isWithinFieldOfView = angleToOther <= fieldOfView / 2;

            if (!isWithinFieldOfView)
            {
                continue;
            }

            neighborCount++;
            averageNeighborPosition += otherUnitPosition;
            averageNeighborDirection += otherUnitDirection;

            var isWithinSeparationRadius = sqrDistanceToOther <= separationRadius * separationRadius;

            if (isWithinSeparationRadius)
            {
                separation -= directionToOther * separationRadius / sqrDistanceToOther;
            }

            Debug.DrawLine(unitPosition, otherUnitPosition, Color.green);
        }

        if (neighborCount > 0)
        {
            averageNeighborPosition /= neighborCount;
            averageNeighborDirection /= neighborCount;

            var cohesion = (averageNeighborPosition - unitPosition).normalized;
            var alignment = averageNeighborDirection.normalized;
            unit.up = Vector3.Lerp(unit.up, cohesion + alignment + separation, steeringForce * Time.deltaTime);
        }

        unit.position += unit.up * (speed * Time.deltaTime);
    }
}

Here’s an OnDrawGizmos function to visualize the field of view and other parameters.

void OnDrawGizmos()
{
    if (units == null)
    {
        return;
    }

    Handles.color = Color.red;

    foreach (var unit in units)
    {
        Handles.DrawLine(unit.position, unit.position + (unit.up * sightRadius));

        var arcStartDirection = Quaternion.Euler(0, 0, -fieldOfView / 2) * unit.up;
        var arcEndDirection = Quaternion.Euler(0, 0, fieldOfView / 2) * unit.up;
        Handles.DrawWireArc(unit.position, Vector3.forward, arcStartDirection, fieldOfView, separationRadius);
        Handles.DrawWireArc(unit.position, Vector3.forward, arcStartDirection, fieldOfView, sightRadius);

        var arcStartPosition = unit.position + (arcStartDirection * sightRadius);
        var arcEndPosition = unit.position + (arcEndDirection * sightRadius);
        Handles.DrawLine(unit.position, arcStartPosition);
        Handles.DrawLine(unit.position, arcEndPosition);
    }
}

To write my version I followed along with AI for Game Developers. At 20 years old it’s a senior citizen of a tech reference, but it explains the algorithm well.

Performance degrades quickly as you increase the number of units. Spawn 1,000 units and watch the frame rate plummet. The algorithm is an ideal candidate for Unity’s job system to split the work across multiple threads, but jobs (and multithreading generally) are unsupported on WebGL, the platform I’m targeting. Alas.

A better approach is to reduce the number of neighbour checks. The Internet tells me that with spatial partitioning we can knock the complexity from O(n²) down to O(n). A fine next step.

This Reddit comment suggests I remove the housing and pull on the camera sensor until the video feed returns to normal. This works, but only for 30 seconds at a time. I admitted defeat. Goodnight sweet prince.

On its march to the grave, the glitchy images it produces are striking. Check out these Easter pastels.

Lovely. How about this darker palette.

Its magnum opus is a piece I call Matrix Sunrise.

“Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”