#retry design pattern

[codeonedigest]

Retry Design Pattern for Microservices Tutorial with Examples for API De... Full Video Link                https://youtu.be/sli5D29nCw4Hello friends, new #video on #retrypattern #designpattern for #microservices #tutorial for #api #developer #programmers is published on #codeonedigest #youtube channel.  @java #java #aws #awscloud @awscloud @AWSCloudIndia #salesforce #Cloud #CloudComputing @YouTube #youtube #azure #msazure  #microservices #circuitbreaker #microservicesarchitecture #microservicestutorial #whataremicroservices #retrydesignpattern #retrydesignpatternjava #retrydesignpatternc# #retrypattern #retrypatternvscircuitbreaker #retrypatternjava #retrypatternc# #retrypatternjavascript #retrypatternspringboot #retrypatternmicroservices #microservicepatterns #microservicedesignpatterns #microservicedesignpatternsspringboot #circuitbreakerpattern #retry

[zincbot]

beat undertale yellow!!

[canmom]

100%ed neon white.

it took about 32 hours. lots to say about this game...

mechanics/design

it is fr an absolute tour de force of mechanics and level design. call it a platformer or an FPS (it's kinda both), it delivers a sense of speed and flow like few games I've played. since this is a pretty big inspiration for types of game I might want to make (such as the backburned THRUST//DOLL project) let me break it down a bit.

the learning curve is excellent. like many games, it gradually introduces new movement options with interesting ways to combine them, and levels themed around the new movement option. but the shortcut hints system adds an extra dimension. essentially, levels are scored on time, with bronze/silver/gold/ace medals; generally speaking the level will guide you along a route, and a clean run will get you the gold, which will unlock a hint to guide you to a shortcut which will let you reach the ace. the ace times are far from optimal, but do tend to require a bit of execution skill.

the result of this design is that it's hard to get stuck, but you are gradually given an introduction to speedrun routing over the course of the game. I was, inevitably, the type of player to insist on getting an ace on each level (and grabbing the gift) before moving on, but it is totally optional. that said, it's perfectly designed to retry levels until you nail it: restarting is near instant, the music doesn't get interrupted, and it's very easy to get into a flow state, gradually getting more familiar with the level and discovering new tricks.

along with this is the gift system, required to unlock additional dialogues and backstory scenes. every level has a gift box hidden somewhere, and while this isn't timed, it takes on more of a puzzle aspect as you have to figure out the right way to use the level's movement resources to platform to the gift.

the design of the levels has something in common with a Sonic level: a series of rapid dashes forwards interspersed with moments of floating in the air, when you need to spot the next thing to target. generally speaking it's built to facilitate flow: if you're on the main route, you typically get a movement card just at the moment you'll need it, mixing between sections of shooting and using the discard to keep you on your toes. (even so, it does kind of have a rhythm game aspect). the level design, colour palette etc. does a solid job of guiding your eye towards the next place to go.

enemies are stationary, and only barely a hazard - generally more of a tool. they're part of the level design, with many of the later levels designed around specific enemies which either kill other enemies or help you move. since most levels require you to kill all the demons 'when to kill which enemy and how' is a large part of the routing, but generally speaking you kill enemies nearly instantly if you're on pace.

I ended up playing most of the game on controller; there is a pretty helpful aim assist that makes this possible at all, though I switched to kb+m on the last few levels where rapid aiming became more important. in my previous post I said the controls are 'tight' - what I mean by that more precisely is essentially loads of air control. indeed, you have pretty much the same horizontal acceleration in the air and on the ground, making it very easy to steer into position to line up moves.

in general I think a huge aspect that makes this game work is that it's very predictable. there is essentially zero RNG beyond the chaos of physics; enemies have predictable attack patterns and always stand in the same place, so you can plan like 'I'll grab the shotgun and shoot that guy then dash through that guy which will give me the rifle and let me dash into that balloon' etc. etc. it is also very visually readable, making it pretty easy to make a split second judgement of where to go next while hurtling through the air.

this is exactly how speedrunners tend to approach games, minimising sources of randomness and exploiting predictable behaviours; in general the genius of this game is to take the jank out of speedrunning so that you don't have to master complicated tech or rely on RNG to get the experience of gradually refining your movement through a level.

but, it's not just 'easy mode speedrunning'. even just looking at friends' times, I can see there is a huge degree of room for improvement; the global leaderboard even more so. there are special secret red medals if you can beat the lead developers' times, of which I have so far managed to get only one (it took me by surprise on a late-game level), and even then I'm still like forty seconds behind a friend's score on that level. I bet there's some crazy tech in the fastest runs. maybe at some point I'll go back and see if I can tighten up my times on other levels, though I feel pretty satisfied as thing stand.

all in all, should I manage to return to solo game dev projects (or even if we ever make a speed game at work), there is a lot to learn from Neon White.

narrative/aesthetic

so mechanically, very positive. on the aesthetic aspect: it's a very slick game, particularly with machine girl's latter-day breakcore soundtrack (machine girl is the most trans-ass name for a band but is actually two guys, unless some eggs remain uncracked here...). the UI flows very nicely - not quite as flashy as something like Persona 5 but definitely in that direction. it's a game that wants you to know it's stylish; Paradise Killer comes to mind.

and visually it's very solid! the levels are varied and, while generally consisting of 'floating architecture over an ocean', appealingly lit and coloured. the enemies have distinctive silhouettes and there are some cool unusual designs, like the giant laser heads, as well as some classics, like mimic chests (not particularly stealthy).

but of course the main visual aspect is the character portraits, illustrated by Rebecca Ryan. which is to say: white clothes with monochrome accents according to each character's colour name (curiously the characters are known only by colours in both life and death), animesque illustration, and hannya masks. and a bunch of symbolic manga-like expressions (blush, anxiety gloom, etc.) these portraits (plus, here and there, CGs) show up in the visual novel-style story sections and generally speaking, they work - if in a very 'Americans paying tribute to anime' way.

the story... most of what people react to is the whole weebcore thing it's got going on, finding it either cringe or endearing depending on taste. I feel like there is little to say about this that has not already been said. apparently the intent was to fit the style of dubbed anime, and... yep, it does.

instead I want to talk about... the religion thing! because what's going on there!

well, it's not that complicated on one level. the smarmy 'believers' stormed heaven and killed god, setting up essentially an american mall in its place. but this 'heaven' is actually Sheol; God was managing it using two macguffins called the Books of Life and Death. your goal turns into restoring God to His rightful place. these Books come with a Star of David on the cover, with a bunch of smaller ones around it...

the game is also however full of crosses, which generally speaking seem to be the Believers' symbol/weapon, as seen here in the Third Temple area (you know... not clear why this is in the afterlife as opposed to Jerusalem)

so it's fairly easy to read: most of the old school 'Heaven as it should be' stuff is associated with Jewish symbolism, but the dang Christians ruined everything.

the plot, meanwhile, rather heavy-handedly focuses on a theme of the importance of forgiveness. broadly speaking the story is that our lovable MCs - dorky MC White, slightly dommy love interest Red, childish and violent Violet, and laid back bro Yellow - who were all treated as disposable tools by the group's abusive leader Green. who is basically Vicious.

right down to the hairstyle!

the characters in this game, while decently voice acted, are all terribly one note archetypes. the story flashbacks almost all concern the botched job where Green - with White's support - led the whole group to their deaths for the sake of a long held grudge.

later in the story, Green gets a new 'destroy this shoddy universe' motivation, but it is honestly pretty unconvincing. probably the best aspect of his character is the dark yaoibait interactions with his object of obsession White, but this isn't the kind of game to go all-in on that front (its attitude to sexuality is very much a 'tease but don't depict').

all this leads up to a final decision to basically decide whether Green goes to heaven or hell. if you send him upstairs, White also gets to move on (I picked this since the game was blatantly angling very hard towards this being the true end); if you don't, White apparently remains trapped in Sheol until the next cycle. the thrust of it is basically you need to forgive and move on instead of obsessing over those who have wronged you.

Green remains unrepentant throughout - if you Book of Life him, he's not exactly happy about this, going like 'what do you have to gain from this' lol. the point is pretty explicitly not 'your enemies deserve forgiveness' and more 'don't let them live rent free in your head' I guess.

as a theme this is... reasonable enough? probably best not to stay mad about shit if you can avoid it, though certainly easier said than done. but the presentation suffers a lot from, well, telling/showing issues. you know this is the theme because towards the end of the game, the characters talk about it, a lot. ironically for a game in which you get sermonised at by comedically smug preachers in between chapters, it feels very much like sitting in a sermon: abstract ideals that don't really connect because the characters are so one-dimensional.

(it turned out, reading the credits, that one of the co-writers of this game was Aevee Bee, of WKTD/HWBM. I have lingering beef with her because she joined in brigading a friend of mine out of the indie game sphere over spurious vague accusations back in the day - a peripheral player but still very much on the wrong side of it, and to my knowledge she never apologised or anything. so it all feels kind of 'bit rich coming from you' for her to go off about the importance of forgiveness and moving on. but, even aside from that, on a craft level the story's approach to its theme already felt heavy-handed and unconvincing.)

beyond that... I'm just plain not convinced that resurrecting God is all that. the game's presentation of God is basically distorted audio and blurry shapes for text, with the characters reacting as if they understand; the Angels are presented as cute cartoon cats with the explicit conceit that this is just White's brain comprehending the incomprehensible (though we do get a brief wheel of eyes appearance near the end). but the reason the plot has to play out as it does, with God essentially choosing White to put things right because of the remorse in his soul... well, let's just say I don't much like chosen-one narratives in general, and the Abrahamic set dressing does not help. it feels very arbitrary, but also a bit straightforward and comfy for all this vague guesturing towards being strange and alien.

all that said, as much as I'm ragging on it, I do appreciate that it tried for something. a distinctive identity which doesn't fit my taste is better than a game with no identity. the character interactions are generally pretty charmingly silly. White and Red do at least make a convincing couple. Sungwon Cho is there, playing a father-figure office worker angel in his characteristic style.

other observations

the game's team is very small, with one developer (Esposito) doing most of the programming and mechanics; besides that we have a couple of level designers, a couple of artists... However, it had the funding of Annapurna Interactive, who recently made the news for basically imploding, but have been a pretty big player in the indie sphere of late. and obvs Machine Girl are kinda huge in their scene, but really a lot of the names are also pretty familiar ones if you've been hanging around indie games for a while. it's sort of like... indie but by broadly established names. still, small team makes me wonder: how feasible is it to make a game along these lines, either as a solo project or with a similarly small team at work?

what is notable is that it seems to have gone through a pretty long period of iteration; apparently an earlier version of it used randomly drawn cards, before the current predictable speedrunning focus came in as a clearly better approach. which is interesting: it has such a laser focused design that I would have guessed that it would be a speedrunning game from the outset. definitely a testament to experimenting around different ideas, which is really the essence of game dev.

the main thing I feel like I should take away if I return to working on THRUST//DOLL - which had a very similar planned structure, of fast levels that focus on time and visual novel sections to tell the story - is that if you're moving at high speed, it's absolutely essential that the information that you need to make a decision is readable, and acting on it is not too finicky. I might have to rethink the bullet-hell aspect, and introduce similar 'snap to enemy' mechanics to the dash abilities in the later stages. something to think about another day, anyway, I'm not sure when I might be able to continue that project.

all in all, fun game, very addicting, I have so much work to catch up on now...

[moonsidesong]

finished UT Yellow pacifist ! i really really enjoyed it! i will definitely be going back for the other runs but i'd like to let this sit for at least a few days before i go back in.

extended thoughts below!! yaayay!!!!

ok im sorry to open with a negative thought but if i can be a little mean. ceroba's fight suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. visually its insanely cool, musically its insanely cool, the presentation overall rocks, but gameplay wise its the worst ive played so far bar none.

i think this game for the most part had pretty fun and interesting bullet patterns for the bosses and, especially in the case of Axis, El Bailador, and Guardener's fights, i really got the sense i was getting a little better each time as i memorized the attacks, which is exactly what i want from a UTDR boss fight! i heart memorization.

... but Ceroba's fight was the only one where i felt like the bullet patterns just had no rhyme or reason to them. i think using several simple attacks to make a layered complicated one is a good idea in theory but in the way they did it i kinda just felt like she was throwing random crap at me and when I did beat it (which took i think around an hour) i sorta just got the impression that i was lucky enough her RNG picked the easier ones a few extra turns in a row rather than feeling like i actually accomplished anything (anything with the gravity black hole added was just kind of a death sentence for me, maybe its a skill issue but i feel like yknow. im okaaayyy at bullet hell... wah...)

also, i dont know much about game design, but the overall momentum of the fight is set up to really only be good if you beat it the first time. which is not great. they make you watch a cutscene every time you die and although it is brief, it breaks things up just a little too long! you get really sick of hearing the first few notes of what are otherwise great songs in her fight, and it makes it harder to feel for her when watching her scream starts to become annoying. i think if it were up to me, it'd be best if when you died, there was no cutscene, and the game over screen didnt have music or text and was JUST the Retry/Continue prompts so you can jump back into the action quickly. if we wanna take it a step further, because the music opens with such intense notes, stop making it start over!!!! pick it up where it left off!!!! maybe even have the game over menu not even stop the music, just muffle it temporarily or something. i dont know. thats what id do if it were up to me but i did not make anything im just a guy writing a tumblr post

anyway hater hour over. i mentioned those three boss fights earlier because they were my favorites. i thought they were really fun. i can see how some people might think the shield mechanic during Axis's fight might suck but it was like easily my favorite actually HAHAHA idk i thought it was fuuuuun heehehe yaay i block the bullets and it makes a good sound sound makea me happy <- this is the hightest compliment you can get from a misophonic player

also the ending made me cry. this isnt saying much because literally everything makes me cry but it did in fact make me cry. u show me characters showing a moment of genuine vulnerability in a bittersweet atmosphere and uh oh

anyway.

i mentioned in my previous thought post that i was interested in seeing where the running theme of "jobs/employment" was going, and seeing it play out into meaning "forever unfinished business" was really good. Martlet quits the Royal Guard having felt like she never really did anything there, neither Chujin nor Ceroba could finish what they set out to do, and Clover never even saw the other human souls. theres probably more than that too thats just what i remeber my memorys actually kinda bad i never remember anything until i play it like three times oops. maybe i should start writing my thoughts as i go instead of making big unorganized writeups on tumblr after the fact.

also this is a really small personal nitpick that doesnt matter but i dont like ceroba's skirt. i think having such a regal traditional outfit otherwise and then just wearing a short skirt that goes above her knees makes her look more like a schoolgirl than it does someone who is like At The Minimum in her thirties. i get not wanting a long skirt to get in the way of her silhouette for her boss fight since shes all like stanced up but at that point just give her pants LOL

i don't care to comment much on the writing, on the whole i really liked it so i dont have as much to say, but i dont think martlet shouldve been there in the room with you for Chujin's tapes. i think that shouldve been a quiet moment with just Clover so it could Sit with you for a second. thats my only writing gripe in this very moment.

anyway GRAHHHH I ENDED UP WRITING A LOT OF THINGS I DIDNT LIKE AND I DONT WANT TO LEAVE WITH THE IMPRESSION I HAD A NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE SO:

MUSIC WAS REALLY GOOD!!! I LIKED ALL THE CHARACTERS!!!! I LIKED MAKING AXIS'S FUNNY ROBOT PARTNER I THOUGHT THAT WAS FUNNY!!!!!!!! ASIDE FROM THE FINAL BOSS I THOUGHT THE GAMEPLAY WAS FUN!!!!! THE MAIL MECHANIC WAS REALLY SILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I PLAYED WITH MY FRIEND AND I HAD A VERY GOOD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAAY!!! I VIDEO LOVE GAMES!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for reading! im sure ill have more thoughts to share by the time i do the other routes, but like i said at the start, id like to just sit on my thoughts and let the game simmer for now. my overall opinion is that i thought it was good! not perfect by any means, but very very good. i'm sure i will revisit it someday. and by that i mean right now im gonna draw and watch a bit of saltydkdan's video of it before bed.

if you read this far tell me your favorite hot drink :) lately ive been really obsessed with like, this basic ass cinnamon/nutmeg/coriander chai from target. i put a little honey and cream in it and its like my favorite thing ever i have some every morning. i used to think i only liked fruity teas but my eyes have been truly opened.

[alexandriaisburning]

041: What makes Zeroranger special, anyway?

CANON FIRE is made possible by the generous contributions of readers like you. Support more writing like this on Patreon. Thank you!

Developed over a decade and layered in mysteries, Zeroranger is a shooter that’s received acclaim from both STG* fanatics and first-timers for the ways it bends genres. But for all its talk about the ways it pays homage to the genre, and the insistence that it’s something special, Zeroranger almost never gets talked about in plain terms, out of fear of spoiling the surprises that await first time players. That level of caution from its fans is almost admirable, but it leaves what makes the game special undiscussed, and makes it hard for both curious players wondering what the big deal is, and leaves Zeroranger’s best ideas unappreciated. 

With that in mind I’ll be doing a deep dive into Zeroranger’s design, with no limitations on what I talk about or spoil. 

On a basic level, Zeroranger is a vertically scrolling STG that borrows ideas from a variety of genre classics, paying homage to them through bosses, stage layouts and game mechanics. After each stage you’re given a choice between one of two weapons, each which will become useful in the next stage, but in different ways, with variations between the two playable ships. After the first stage you get a choice between back and side firing weapons, the second unlocks a lock on laser or chargeable shot, and the penultimate boss fight--against Grapefruit, the ship previously thought to be destroyed during the first attack on the enemy--unlocks a mech transformation with a powerful melee weapon that stacks damage and protects you from enemy attacks. 

Each weapon allows varied interactions with the level design, covering different areas of the screen and allowing you to approach enemy patterns in a new way. Since you can’t have both weapons of each tier, you’ll have to choose which weakness you’ll accept, and pair it with other weapons that can cover that weakness. It encourages repeat playthroughs to try different strategies and learn the stage layouts, which is good, because Zeroranger will demand repetition. 

At the core of Zeroranger is the theme of karmic cycles, repackaging long standing genre concepts in a way that ties them to the ongoing narrative. Like Neverawake, Zeroranger plays with the concepts of Loops--second playthroughs that remix the original stages--but here it acts closer to something out of the Nier series. The initial playthrough is only setup, with a repeat playthrough being the de facto second act, with altered context that builds on your original understanding, followed by a third and final act that brings a proper conclusion. 

The karmic themes even affect the meta progression of Zeroranger. Score contributes towards earning the next of nine total continues, used to retry a stage from a checkpoint after death. Continues are represented by the nine orbs that fill out a wheel at the end of the run, which itself resembles the Wheel of Samsara, often used by Buddhists to describe the cycle of existence that mortal beings are subject to. 

By framing each attempt as another cycle or reincarnation, it implies that each death has in fact happened, and the only way to escape the cycle is with enough perseverance and knowledge. It blows up the scale to a cosmic degree, and makes your journey to the end of the game, and the knowledge you build of its world, into a form of mechanical and narrative progression. 

This knowledge of the world becomes integral to the second loop, which introduces major changes to the patterns and layouts of the first loop, but allows you to return with all your weapons. With these previously unavailable weapons you can easily dispatch enemies that were hard to deal with, and details that seemed mysterious on the first loop fall into place. One of my favorite examples of this are the enemies who appear in the background, before flying into the foreground to attack. On the first loop they seem like a cool, decorative detail, but on the second loop, with the lock-on laser available, suddenly they’re targets you can pick off before they get a chance to attack.

The final act begins when you meet the Grapefruit for the second time and reveal your mech form, allowing you to have a proper duel where they’ll whip out several abilities, including more powerful versions of your own weapons, revealing why they were the first choice in dealing with the enemy. 

After defeating Grapefruit you’ll once again face the final boss, but this time instead of the boss rush of the first loop, they’ll give up and offer you another power up. 

Here Zeroranger shifts into its final act, requiring you to solve a series of puzzles before gaining access to the true ending. Grabbing the powerup shows you the “ending” and puts you into a loop where you’ll replay the first stage in Final Boss mode, leaning harder into Zeroranger’s CAVE** influences by changing out your default weapons for a Dodonpachi style barrage of bullets and bombs. Completing the stage and grabbing the powerup puts you into another brief minigame before glitching out and returning you to the title. 

To escape this you’ll need to reject that final powerup, either within the Final Boss stage or before, during the boss room where the boss rush takes place. By rejecting the offering you gain access to Despair, the real final boss hidden beneath the facility, who naturally has several phases to complete. The first phase is a puzzle itself, requiring you to carefully observe the orbs emitting the attacks, and time your own attacks to destroy them close to simultaneously, or otherwise be stuck helpless in yet another looping trap. 

Completing the first phase reveals the true form of the final boss, Despair, a suitably terrifying challenge with a massive suite of attacks whose design could inspire its own essay. Compared to the cerebral challenges preceding it, this final form is more straightforward, but learning the complexities of the patterns often felt as hard as the combined challenge of every obstacle met on the way here. 

Defeating Despair reveals the true final boss challenge--a sequence that reveals the origins of Zeroranger’s world, and connects several unresolved narrative threads. Not only must you complete it completely stripped of your previous arsenal, but you’re given a single chance to do so. 

Not quite understanding the gravity of what the game was implying there, I took on the final challenge after an exhausting struggle with Despair, desperate to finally see the ending--only to have my save deleted after I failed. 

Not only do you need to scale the mountainous challenge of defeating Despair, but you need to complete it with continues to spare, as each continue orb becomes a health point for your final confrontation. In addition, you have to quickly adapt to playing without any of the weapons you’ve built familiarity with during your playtime, and learn the new boss patterns on the fly while unraveling how exactly you can damage the boss. Practice runs are impractical, as you’ll have to complete the whole game at least once before returning, making the minimum time between attempts nearly an hour, if you’ve complete mastery of the rest of the game. 

So I cheated. I downloaded my save from the cloud, backed it up, then went back and completed it on my third try, after restoring my save twice. As I finished the final challenge, Zeroranger left me with the same message it began with:

May you attain enlightenment. 

By circumventing the challenge, by failing to persevere in the face of disaster, I’d arguably failed this goal. I’d given in to my material desires and skipped the suffering necessary to achieve the knowledge needed to break free of the cycle. Fitting then, that Zeroranger’s conclusion is one that’s hopeful, but open ended, implying that this current cycle has been broken, but the events that caused it may one day repeat themselves. 

Then Zeroranger deletes your save. 

Records carry over, and the color palette and story change to reflect your achievement, but progress unlocking stages is once again reset. You’re free of the meta trappings of the story, but are given one more reminder of how temporary progress is, and challenged one more time to complete a run to get the complete credits sequence. 

It’s a novel approach to player progression in a STG that not only reframes common genre ideas with a thematic approach, but slowly pushes players towards goals that the genre diehards naturally shoot for. By visually indicating the progress towards extra lives and continues through its score counter, it alerts players towards the importance of scoring for continued survival as well as the leaderboards, and encourages them to look for opportunities to maximize score. 

The harsh requirements to witness the ending almost guarantee that a player will be forced to start over, and unless they cheat (guilty), forces them to learn the stages and scoring systems to quickly earn back their progress. That process, and the need to hold onto as many continues as possible for the finale, pushes them closer to attempting the 1-credit clear, what most STG players consider the first major milestone in learning a game. Simply put, it’s a run where you complete all the stages in the game without using up a continue, and often denotes mastery. 

The parade of secrets and homages, alongside the narrative driven recontextualization of game mechanics and premise shifting final acts create  a novel approach for both genre veterans and newcomers, upending expectations with each new twist. Zeroranger’s revelations mark it as equal parts mystery and action game, and asks you to dig deeper, coming to an appreciation of its layered design in the process. 

Personally, as much as I respect the final act’s commitment to delivering on Zeroranger’s themes of struggle, persistence and reincarnation, the harsh penalty of deleting your save was demotivating to a degree that I didn’t feel was worth the tension it imparted. I can only imagine how a less experienced player might feel, struggling for hours to reach that point, and possibly being unsure if they could reach it again. Zeroranger’s patterns and stage design are often less demanding than most of its contemporaries, but they come with harsher penalties for failure. 

Even given that, it’s not hard to see why Zeroranger captured the imagination of so many. Designed intentionally to be approachable, with enough mystery to satisfy the lore hungry theorycrafters, Zeroranger provides many entry points. Paired with its striking two color palette and memorable soundtrack, it paints the picture of a greater world beyond its borders. The drawn out finale demands you engage Zeroranger with your entire attention, and its dramatic set pieces and score bring an emotional climax that the more traditional arcade style titles often can’t spend the runtime on. 

Even after the credits roll, Zeroranger leaves plenty to discover, both within its boundaries and outside. Its themes of karmic cycles and open-ended conclusion invite you to explore it further, and its homages and secrets point to other games and worlds whose influence helped bring it to life. It’s an introduction to the mindset of a genre fanatic, an homage for all those who’ve already journeyed through the genre to arrive here, and an invitation for those who haven’t to share in that same passion. 

--- Zeroranger is availble on PC. Homebrew ports are availble for the Switch and Linux based handhelds via Portmaster.

--- *STG: ShooTing Game, aka SHMUP or Shoot-Em-Up. A community term for the genre of arcade style shooters used to differentiate them from the more common first and third person shooters.

**CAVE: Developer of several major entries in the genre, and credited with popularizing the danmaku (bullet curtain) or bullet hell sub-genre. Their games are often marked by complex enemy bullet patterns, with a powerful player arsenal that can hit many parts of the screen at the same time.

[nidoarisato]

Currently retrying a version of this tusked horror sans plush design i wanted to make

These the inprogress shots, was just a smol plush i was making, with my own pattern.

Might post the pics of the other version when its done

[cagedcats]

So when I was like… 15 or so I wanted to make a fanfic of Sol, wherein he’d be a Chimera. Originally the idea would be he was Spotted Red Tabby and Mackerel Black Tabby patterned, but it became so hard to design as a teen that I just gave up.

Buuuut with Moonpaw it kind of inspired me to retry my hand at it. And wouldn’t you know it? Fur lengths can be different in a Chimera cat! A single cat with long fur and short fur.

So… thus becomes Sol. A tortoiseshell with two different fur lengths. Black fur is short and red is long.

He’s a fun guy. Better when he was mysterious tho

[toastedjeans]

Played Antonblast yesterday, got to the second boss, here's my first impressions

I love the animation and art style a lot! Very expressive. Gameplay and controls feel nice and smooth. I like the voice acting, it fits the characters well. The only thing that can get annoying is when Anton/Annie keep saying "Oh boy" or "Not good" when bumping into things or even when picking up big chips. But I'm sure there's an option somewhere to change this. Probably. I haven't checked yet lol

Music is pretty nice, i especially like It's Happy Hour and Boiler City. And one i can't remember the stage name of but it's that explosion cave.. casino? Thing? Anyway, it's cool. I also like that the bosses can't JUST be beaten by brute force, you need to figure out their patterns first. And it's cool that you aren't kicked out of the fight if you run out of health, the fight just starts over.

Level design is nice, but a few sections can be a bit frustrating *cough* Cinnamon Springs *cough*. But maybe that's just me, I'm not really good at this game. Haven't found any secrets yet except for one cassette tape, but maybe that's cause I'm still too used to pizza tower and trying to go fast. The escape sequences can get a bit frustrating, especially when you're not very good at the game yet. I don't know how many times I've had to retry it in the explosion casino level (still can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to look it up lol), but it was a LOT.

Not sure what that pig room in the lobby is supposed to be. Maybe the characters in it are playtesters or patreon backers? Not sure.

I like how you change between Anton and Annie by going to the bathroom. Idk why but i think it's kinda funny.

And the best feature of all. The scream button. Idk what its purpose is yet, except for screaming of course, or if there even is another purpose for it, but i love it. 10/10 would scream again.

[thon717-y2rapidprototyping]

Bullet hell research - just shapes and beats

Core Game Loop:

Start Game:

Begin by selecting a game mode (campaign, online multiplayer, or local co-op) and choosing a level or challenge.

Gameplay:

Navigate a shape (typically a small geometric figure) throuh levels that are filled with obstacles, projectiles, and hazards, all synchronized to a musical track.

The core mechanics involve dodging these hazards while moving in sync with the rhythm of the music.

Avoid Obstacles:

As the level progresses, avoid increasingly complex patterns of projectiles and obstacles that move to the beat of the music.

Use precise movements and timing to stay alive as the hazards intensify.

Progress Through Levels:

Successfully navigate through a level to complete it. Each level features a unique song and corresponding set of challenges.

Complete levels to unlock new stages, music tracks, and possibly new game modes.

Retry or Continue:

If the player fails to avoid the hazards, they must retry the level. The game may offer checkpoints or retry options depending on the mode.

Continue playing to progress through the campaign, improve scores, or achieve new milestones.

Repeat:

The gameplay loop repeats with new levels and challenges, each offering different music tracks and obstacle patterns.

Unique Selling Points (USP) of Just Shapes & Beats:

Rhythm-Based Gameplay:

USP: The game combines rhythm-based mechanics with bullet-hell gameplay, where obstacles and projectiles are synchronized with the music’s beat.

Difference: This integration of rhythm and action creates a unique experience where timing and musicality are as crucial as reflexes and strategy.

Visual and Audio Synchronization:

USP: Just Shapes & Beats features a distinctive visual style with vibrant, minimalist geometric shapes and colorful, dynamic backgrounds that pulse and change with the music.

Difference: The synchronization of visual effects with the music enhances the immersion and makes the game visually and aurally engaging, setting it apart from other rhythm or bullet-hell games.

Collaborative Multiplayer Mode:

USP: The game offers local and online multiplayer modes, allowing players to team up with friends to tackle levels cooperatively.

Difference: Cooperative play adds a social and collaborative dimension to the game, making it a more interactive and communal experience compared to single-player-only rhythm games.

Dynamic Music Tracks:

USP: Each level features a unique, carefully curated music track that directly influences the gameplay, with patterns and obstacles synced to the rhythm and beat.

Difference: The focus on integrating diverse music tracks with gameplay mechanics provides a varied and immersive experience that changes with each track.

Challenging Bullet-Hell Mechanics:

USP: The game features challenging bullet-hell mechanics where players must navigate through complex patterns of projectiles and hazards.

Difference: The combination of these mechanics with rhythm-based gameplay creates a unique challenge that requires both precise timing and quick reflexes.

Creative Art Style:

USP: The game’s art style is characterized by its use of simple geometric shapes and bright colors, creating a visually distinct and engaging aesthetic.

Difference: This minimalist yet vibrant design approach contributes to the game's unique identity and complements its rhythmic gameplay.

[unma]

The Great Time Trio's take on its DustFell trio (see Merg's video on it here) is amazing and really addresses my main issues with Dust fangames: how the attack patterns are set in stone. Absolutely lovely how the patterns used (save for the phantom section) change each attempt. Not to mention the atmosphere set with the sprites. But there's much more to say about this. Excuse me while I ramble for a bit.

BadtrapBBits has said the reason they have unique designs so wildly different from the usual Dust Trio is because he can't draw hoods too well, but I think he did a really good on their designs. Especially their battle sprites, the way they move and subtle change adds so much to the fight.

Sans shows up in different states of being covered by shadow and he even has his smoke surround him near the end which is just so fucking cool.

Papyrus' hoodie has the word written on it change during the battle, his head comes off to attack you, his sprite seemingly seems to clip into its boundaries and partially show up on the other side, and while I'm not sure that last one is intentional (rewatching the battle as I write this and I'm certain it's 100% intentional) it really adds to the atmosphere of the fight.

Chara's whole look is just awesome tbh and I strive to pull off something nearly as cool as them, and don't get me started on when they get their wings and their mask is replaced with that smile we know all too well. The halo too. All that, accompanied with the delta rune on their sweater, really does such a lovely job of leaning hard into that fallen angel part of their character and forcing you to look at it while the trio beats you within an inch of your life over and over again.

Also the fact that they very obviously resorted to determination is just the icing on the cake. Perfect. Explains what the fuck is going on with Papyrus too, who feels less like a monster and more like some ambiguous creature made purely of horror. Sans is 100% the one with the least fucked up shit going on with his body by the end, lol.

The trio designs are awesome too. Nothing much has changed about Phantom Papyrus, he just has the scar that regular Underfell Papyrus would have. Fellswap Sans is... honestly I don't know what the fuck is going on with him but that's just perfect tbh. Fits the whole schtick going on with DustFellSwap (that's a mouthful) Papyrus to a T and it's lovely. Little fucked up creature of horror. Asriel's design almost certainly evokes a strong image of just how he died and there's quite a bit to be gleaned from how you can't even see his face anymore. (Personally, I'd take it to mean that Chara can't remember or recall his face anymore, possibly due to guilt, but those are just my initial thoughts).

All of this does an excellent job at keeping up the downright oppressive feeling the player is burdened with from the fight select screen into the start of the fight. It feels like you're playing a horror game, and with how stacked the odds are against you, that might as well be the case.

Finally, and perhaps most important, the fact that they win is essential to this. You shouldn't be able to beat them, even when it was just one of them. The point of Dust (or at least my take on it, I should probably refresh myself on the original blog) is that the very best the player can hope for is simply retrying endlessly. With all three of them, and especially with Chara encroaching on your ability to save and load, it makes complete sense that you just plain lose. Especially love that they abuse that method to restore themselves to before their amalgamation took a turn for the worse, it's really cool that they've decided to exploit the save system for their own benefit.

I guess that's all I have to say for now until the next update (and Merg video). All in all, really awesome fight.

[codeonedigest]

Retry Design Pattern for Microservices Tutorial with Examples for API Developers

Full Video Link https://youtu.be/sli5D29nCw4 Hello friends, new #video on #retrypattern #designpattern for #microservices #tutorial for #api #developer #programmers is published on #codeonedigest #youtube channel. @java #java #aws #awsclo

In this video we will learn about Retry design pattern for microservices.    In a microservices architecture, the retry pattern is a common pattern for recovering from transient errors. An application lost connectivity for a short period of time. A component is unavailable for a short period of time. This usually happens during maintenance or automatic recovery from a crash. A component is…

[tooweirdfortheworld]

do embroidery! its not free, but every person who does embroidery i know would give someone starting a needle and some thread to work with, and a bundle of thread from the craft store is ~79 cents USD. You can embroider on old clothes you have, rags, too-small clothes, any fabric you have.

You'll want to start with a practice piece to at least start doing some stitches. Looking up embroidery stitches on youtube will get you some very helpful tutorials for nearly all stitches you'll ever need to know.

Next, once you're a little more comfortable, you'll probably want to do a pattern. I recommend getting a laptop, phone, ipad, whatever device you have, and look up either "embroidery pattern" or "______ clip art" to get something easily traceable. turn your brightness all the way up, put your fabric on your screen, and trace away! i recommend using a pencil as it will show up less in the finished design than a pen or sharpie. there are water soluble pens, but they're more expensive than the $0-$1 dollar budget im going with here

once you've got it all traced up, you're going to want to find some way to stretch the fabric and keep it that way. if you already have an embroidery hoop, great! that works. otherwise, anything like a frame works, so you can get to the back of your fabric. using a picture frame with clothes pins or a rubber band keeping the fabric secure should work.

last step before getting to the actual embroidering is cutting the thread and threading the needle. usually i separate out 1-3 strands from your standard six-strand embroidery thread which is cut at about the length of my arm. determining the best length of thread can be difficult, starting with an arm-length is easiest. next, i take one end, stick it in my mouth to wet it, and pull it out through my teeth to flatten it (yes, this is an actual technique). fitting it in the eye of the needle (the whole at the blunt end) can be tricky, you'll probably have to try a few times. if it gets too wispy or separated at the end, you can cut that section, or retry from the other end.

once that's done, pull your thread about halfway through the needle. line up the two ends of your thread, and tie them together. voila, you're all ready to start embroidering!!

there are a lot of more advanced techniques like thread painting and stump work, but this is the basics. have fun, and get crafting!

I LOVE GETTING INTO NEW HOBBIES!!!!!

[s2skilledu]

How Rubik’s Cube Training Can Inspire Kids to Love Challenges and Develop Key Skills

The Rubik’s Cube is a puzzle that has captured the imagination of millions of people worldwide. But it’s not just a fun toy—it’s a tool that can help kids develop essential skills. By engaging with the Rubik’s Cube challenge, children can face obstacles, improve problem-solving abilities, and nurture skills that will benefit them throughout their lives. In this blog, we’ll explore how working with the Rubik’s Cube can inspire kids to embrace challenges and grow key skills.

The Challenge of the Rubik’s Cube

At first, the Rubik’s Cube can seem overwhelming. It’s colourful design and intricate movements can be intimidating for anyone, especially kids. However, diving into this challenge encourages curiosity and perseverance. While it may feel impossible at the start, children quickly learn how to approach the cube step by step, building resilience and patience along the way.

Rather than giving up when things get tough, kids discover how to stay focused and keep going. They realize that solving the puzzle is not a race but a process. With enough practice and determination, they can find solutions. This mindset doesn’t just help them with the cube; it prepares them for challenges in school and daily life. The Rubik’s Cube teaches kids that even when something feels impossible, persistence and focus lead to success.

Improving Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking Skills

One of the greatest benefits of the Rubik’s Cube challenge is its ability to boost problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Kids are forced to think logically, break down complex problems, and devise strategies to manipulate the pieces. It’s not just about memorizing steps; it’s about recognizing patterns and understanding how different moves affect the cube.

This process fosters a deep level of thinking that encourages children to approach other challenges with a creative mindset. They learn how to anticipate outcomes, plan their next moves, and adjust their strategies when something doesn’t work. This ability to think critically is useful not only for solving puzzles but also in schoolwork, sports, and life decisions. Through each failure and retry, kids build confidence in their ability to solve problems, not just with the cube but in all aspects of their lives.

Strengthening Spatial Awareness and Memory

Solving the Rubik’s Cube also helps kids enhance their spatial awareness. They need to visualize movements, understand how pieces interact, and picture the puzzle from different angles. This skill is incredibly helpful in subjects like math, science, and art, where abstract thinking and visualization play key roles.

In addition to spatial awareness, the Rubik’s Cube also strengthens memory. Kids need to remember algorithms and sequences of moves to solve the puzzle efficiently. This boosts both short-term and long-term memory. With continued practice, children get better at recalling patterns, which aids their overall learning. The cube becomes more than just a puzzle—it’s a fun and engaging way to improve memory and visualization skills.

Encouraging Patience and Focus

In today’s fast-paced world, distractions are everywhere, and kids are often tempted to seek quick results. The Rubik’s Cube, however, teaches them that some things take time. Solving it requires patience, focus, and a methodical approach. Kids must pay attention to every move they make, plan ahead, and stay organised throughout the process.

This lesson in delayed gratification is one of the most important skills children can learn. They discover that success doesn’t happen instantly and that the rewards of hard work and focus are well worth the effort. As a result, they develop greater concentration, which helps them in school, sports, and other activities. The patience learned through the Rubik’s Cube challenge extends beyond the puzzle, influencing how children approach everything in life.

Boosting Confidence and Self-Esteem

Every time a child successfully solves the Rubik’s Cube, they experience a sense of accomplishment. This boosts their confidence and self-esteem, reinforcing the idea that they can overcome challenges. For kids who might struggle with other tasks, the Rubik’s Cube provides a tangible success that proves they are capable of mastering difficult things.

This newfound confidence extends into other areas of life. When facing challenges at school, sports, or in social situations, kids who have solved the Rubik’s Cube approach them with a positive attitude. They know they have the skills and determination to tackle difficult problems. This increased self-belief helps children take on bigger challenges with optimism, whether in academics or personal growth.

Promoting a Growth Mindset

The Rubik’s Cube challenge helps children understand that intelligence and ability aren’t fixed; they can be developed through hard work and persistence. This mindset is crucial not just for solving the cube but for approaching all challenges in life. Whether it’s tackling difficult schoolwork or learning a new skill, the growth mindset encourages kids to keep going, even when things are tough.

Conclusion: The Power of the Rubik’s Cube Challenge

The Rubik’s Cube is more than just a puzzle; it’s a powerful tool for helping kids develop critical life skills. Through the Rubik’s Cube challenge, children learn how to think critically, improve memory, build patience, and develop resilience. They discover the power of perseverance and the importance of a growth mindset, which can carry them through challenges in all areas of their lives.

[arunsingh011]

Unlocking the Web: How to Use an AI Agent for Web Scraping Effectively

In this age of big data, information has become the most powerful thing. However, accessing and organizing this data, particularly from the web, is not an easy feat. This is the point where AI agents step in. Automating the process of extracting valuable data from web pages, AI agents are changing the way businesses operate and developers, researchers as well as marketers.

In this blog, we’ll explore how you can use an AI agent for web scraping, what benefits it brings, the technologies behind it, and how you can build or invest in the best AI agent for web scraping for your unique needs. We’ll also look at how Custom AI Agent Development is reshaping how companies access data at scale.

What is Web Scraping?

Web scraping is a method of obtaining details from sites. It is used in a range of purposes, including price monitoring and lead generation market research, sentiment analysis and academic research. In the past web scraping was performed with scripting languages such as Python (with libraries like BeautifulSoup or Selenium) however, they require constant maintenance and are often limited in terms of scale and ability to adapt.

What is an AI Agent?

AI agents are intelligent software system that can be capable of making decisions and executing jobs on behalf of you. In the case of scraping websites, AI agents use machine learning, NLP (Natural Language Processing) and automated methods to navigate websites in a way that is intelligent and extract structured data and adjust to changes in the layout of websites and algorithms.

In contrast to crawlers or basic bots however, an AI agent doesn’t simply scrape in a blind manner; it comprehends the context of its actions, changes its behavior and grows with time.

Why Use an AI Agent for Web Scraping?

1. Adaptability

Websites can change regularly. Scrapers that are traditional break when the structure is changed. AI agents utilize pattern recognition and contextual awareness to adjust as they go along.

2. Scalability

AI agents are able to manage thousands or even hundreds of pages simultaneously due to their ability to make decisions automatically as well as cloud-based implementation.

3. Data Accuracy

AI improves the accuracy of data scraped in the process of filtering noise recognizing human language and confirming the results.

4. Reduced Maintenance

Because AI agents are able to learn and change and adapt, they eliminate the need for continuous manual updates to scrape scripts.

Best AI Agent for Web Scraping: What to Look For

If you’re searching for the best AI agent for web scraping. Here are the most important aspects to look out for:

NLP Capabilities for reading and interpreting text that is not structured.

Visual Recognition to interpret layouts of web pages or dynamic material.

Automation Tools: To simulate user interactions (clicks, scrolls, etc.)

Scheduling and Monitoring built-in tools that manage and automate scraping processes.

API integration You can directly send scraped data to your database or application.

Error Handling and Retries Intelligent fallback mechanisms that can help recover from sessions that are broken or access denied.

Custom AI Agent Development: Tailored to Your Needs

Though off-the-shelf AI agents can meet essential needs, Custom AI Agent Development is vital for businesses which require:

Custom-designed logic or workflows for data collection

Conformity with specific data policies or the lawful requirements

Integration with dashboards or internal tools

Competitive advantage via more efficient data gathering

At Xcelore, we specialize in AI Agent Development tailored for web scraping. Whether you’re monitoring market trends, aggregating news, or extracting leads, we build solutions that scale with your business needs.

How to Build Your Own AI Agent for Web Scraping

If you’re a tech-savvy person and want to create the AI you want to use Here’s a basic outline of the process:

Step 1: Define Your Objective

Be aware of the exact information you need, and the which sites. This is the basis for your design and toolset.

Step 2: Select Your Tools

Frameworks and tools that are popular include:

Python using libraries such as Scrapy, BeautifulSoup, and Selenium

Playwright or Puppeteer to automatize the browser

OpenAI and HuggingFace APIs for NLP and decision-making

Cloud Platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud to increase their capacity

Step 3: Train Your Agent

Provide your agent with examples of structured as compared to. non-structured information. Machine learning can help it identify patterns and to extract pertinent information.

Step 4: Deploy and Monitor

You can run your AI agent according to a set schedule. Use alerting, logging, and dashboards to check the agent’s performance and guarantee accuracy of data.

Step 5: Optimize and Iterate

The AI agent you use should change. Make use of feedback loops as well as machine learning retraining in order to improve its reliability and accuracy as time passes.

Compliance and Ethics

Web scraping has ethical and legal issues. Be sure that your AI agent

Respects robots.txt rules

Avoid scraping copyrighted or personal content. Avoid scraping copyrighted or personal

Meets international and local regulations on data privacy

At Xcelore We integrate compliance into each AI Agent development project we manage.

Real-World Use Cases

E-commerce Price tracking across competitors’ websites

Finance Collecting news about stocks and financial statements

Recruitment extracting job postings and resumes

Travel Monitor hotel and flight prices

Academic Research: Data collection at a large scale to analyze

In all of these situations an intelligent and robust AI agent could turn the hours of manual data collection into a more efficient and scalable process.

Why Choose Xcelore for AI Agent Development?

At Xcelore, we bring together deep expertise in automation, data science, and software engineering to deliver powerful, scalable AI Agent Development Services. Whether you need a quick deployment or a fully custom AI agent development project tailored to your business goals, we’ve got you covered.

We can help:

Find scraping opportunities and devise strategies

Create and design AI agents that adapt to your demands

Maintain compliance and ensure data integrity

Transform unstructured web data into valuable insights

Final Thoughts

Making use of an AI agent for web scraping isn’t just an option for technical reasons, it’s now an advantage strategic. From better insights to more efficient automation, the advantages are immense. If you’re looking to build your own AI agent or or invest in the best AI agent for web scraping.The key is in a well-planned strategy and skilled execution.

Are you ready to unlock the internet by leveraging intelligent automation?

Contact Xcelore today to get started with your custom AI agent development journey.

[lovecomesin]

The Reintroduction of Ebony Walker Part 2

There is no person in my past life either romantic or friend that I desire to retry a connection with. It doesn’t mean I love or care for them any less nor does it mean I wish them any ill will. I’ve learned that my heart feels things inherently deeper than most. It pricisely because I feel things more deeply than others I have to practice discernment to ensure whatever I’m giving my energy to is for starters my direct business and secondarily something that is deserving of my time and emotions. A part of me will always care for the people from my past. It’s how I am designed and I have zero shame about that. I find solace in the reality that I no longer am consumed by those people and their actions whilst simultaneously wishing them nothing but the best in all things. When I first started my healing journey I wanted to desperately to feel nothing for the people in my past because everything I did feel was so vast and deep I couldn’t escape it. It was until I faced my grief and pain face on that God allowed me to overcome it, to heal from it, to understand it and to accept it so that I may move forward with my life. And moving forward I am. My version of adulthood is living a life where I do what I can, enjoy what I can when I can, not overextending myself, having amazing relationships and navigating life in a way that is pleasing to myself and God. There are moments when I do want a partner or friendship because life can seem lonely but I remember that God has supplied all my needs before my eyes. I trust that he will continue to do so in all things. To be honest the place I was in emotionally in the past few years was not the person i feel would have benefited from a healthy relationship. I was still unlearning old patterns and behaviors while trying to heal. There was a weight that was lifted and it’s as if I see color, life and everything else in such a new and beautiful way I often surprise myself at times. I am so proud of my resilience and ability to grow, heal and move on with life. Today I don’t have and difficult or unhealthy relationships with anyone: romantic partners, friends and family. Making the decision to free myself and set boundaries was difficult at first but with time it became easier and easier until now its my way of life. The plan I had for myself back then pales in comparison to the plan God has for me and graced me with the heart and mind to execute. It takes strength, audacity and gall to go against the norm and things you have grown accustomed to. I wanted to take this moment to let you know once again how proud I am of you Ebony for doing the work to get here. I want you to know that I love you and I have loved you in every step and version of you. Even when you didn’t love yourself as best as you should. I want you to know that the life you live in the happiest you’ve been in a long time and you deserve it. I want you to know that I have unwavering faith that God will continue to supply all your wants, needs, dreams and desires. Love will find you again, healthy love. Friendship will find you again, true friends. All these years of writing your own memoris and very few highlight how truly amazing of a person you are and I want you to know that. It has been my greatest pleasure being you and I look forward to all that life has in store for us in the future. Until then, laters baby

[jcmarchi]

Self-Healing Data Centers: How AI Is Transforming IT Operations

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/self-healing-data-centers-how-ai-is-transforming-it-operations/

Self-Healing Data Centers: How AI Is Transforming IT Operations

“If you could give my operations team just 30 minutes back every day, that would be a win.” One CIO’s modest request reflects the reality of today’s IT operations teams—stuck in reactive firefighting mode, running on fumes. But these 3 a.m. alert storms and scramble-to-recover moments that define traditional IT operations are becoming obsolete.

Self-healing data centers—once seemingly futuristic—are emerging through agentic AI systems that detect, diagnose, and resolve issues before human operators receive their first alert. This isn’t theoretical; it’s happening now, fundamentally changing enterprise infrastructure management and redefining the role of IT operations teams.

IT environments have outpaced what humans can reasonably monitor and manage on their own. Organizations navigate complex hybrid infrastructures spanning legacy systems, private clouds, multiple public cloud providers, and edge computing environments. When problems arise, they cascade. A minor database slowdown triggers application timeouts, leading to retry storms and widespread service degradation. Traditional tools designed for yesterday’s simpler architectures cannot keep pace—they operate in silos, lack cross-platform visibility, and generate thousands of disconnected alerts that overwhelm even the most experienced operations teams.

This complexity presents an opportunity for AI to deliver unprecedented value. AI excels precisely where humans struggle—managing system-generated problems with deterministic outcomes. System failures aren’t ambiguous. They follow patterns—patterns AI can identify, analyze, and ultimately resolve without human intervention. Agentic AI systems demonstrate this capability by compressing up to 95% of alerts while proactively detecting and resolving issues before they escalate into service disruptions.

Beyond Alert Triage: How Self-Healing Actually Works

Self-healing capabilities begin with correlation. Where humans see only disconnected alerts, AI agents recognize patterns, consolidating information across the technology stack into coherent insights. One global managed services provider dealing with 1.4 million monthly events deployed agentic AI and reduced service incidents by 70% through intelligent correlation and automation.

Next comes root cause analysis and remediation planning. AI systems identify not just what’s happening but why, then suggest or implement the fix. During a major software rollout last year, organizations with advanced AI monitoring caught early red flags and contained the impact, while competitors scrambled to do damage control.

Automated remediation is at the heart of this transformation. Contemporary autonomous AI can take action with appropriate human oversight. When your VPN performance degrades, AI can detect the issue, identify the cause, implement a fix, and notify you afterward: “I noticed your VPN degrading, so I’ve optimized the configuration. It’s running optimally now.” It’s the difference between constantly putting out fires and making sure they never start.

The Three Pillars of AI-Powered Resilience

Organizations implementing self-healing capabilities must establish three critical pillars:

The first pillar is awareness. IT incidents must relate directly to business outcomes. Advanced AI systems provide contextual dashboards that outline specific financial impacts when systems fail, enabling recovery plans that prioritize the most business-critical technologies.

The second pillar is rapid detection. An IT incident can spread from one server to 60,000 in under two minutes. Autonomous AI systems identify and neutralize threats, slashing response time by immediately isolating affected servers, running diagnostics, and deploying fixes.

The third pillar is optimization. Self-healing systems know what’s normal and what’s not. By recognizing typical environmental behavior, they focus security teams on critical issues while autonomously resolving routine problems before escalation.

Bridging the Skills Gap and Elevating Teams

But perhaps the biggest impact of self-healing technology isn’t technical. It’s human. Experienced Level 3 engineers—the ones with the institutional knowledge to diagnose the weird, edge-case failures—are increasingly scarce. AI bridges this skills gap. With agentic systems, Level 1 engineers effectively operate with Level 3 capabilities, while experienced specialists finally get to focus on strategic initiatives.

One healthcare provider repurposed its entire Level 1 support team after implementing self-healing AI, not through reductions but by elevating those team members to more challenging work. They reported an 80% reduction in alert noise and significant decreases in incident tickets. A retail organization with hundreds of locations experienced a 90% reduction in alert volume, redirecting its teams from maintenance to innovation.

Taking It From Concept to Implementation

Self-healing isn’t plug-and-play. It requires methodical rollout and the right cultural mindset. Organizations should begin with well-defined use cases, establish governance frameworks that balance autonomy with oversight, and invest in developing teams that can effectively collaborate with AI systems.

The goal isn’t to replace people; it’s to stop wasting their time. By automating routine tasks and providing contextualized intelligence, self-healing systems invert the traditional Pareto principle of IT operations—instead of devoting 80% of resources to maintenance and 20% to innovation, teams can reverse that ratio to drive strategic initiatives.

Self-healing data centers represent the culmination of decades of advancement in IT operations, from basic monitoring to sophisticated automation to truly autonomous systems. While we’ll never eliminate every human error or outsmart every sophisticated threat, self-healing technology provides organizations with the resilience to detect problems before they cascade and minimize damage from inevitable disruptions. This isn’t merely an operational enhancement; it’s a competitive necessity for organizations operating in today’s digital economy.

With self-healing systems, we’re not just reclaiming time—we’re rewriting the job description. Outages are prevented, not managed. Engineers build, not babysit. And IT stops playing defense and starts driving the business forward.