Hi, welcome to my blog!

My name is Oleg. I'm an engineer with over 10 years of experience in game development. I've worked as a software engineer, a data engineer, a product and marketing data analyst, a marketing producer, and a team manager leading data teams. I currently work as a data engineer at Supercell, a mobile game developer from Finland.

This is my personal blog, where I share my thoughts and experiences on topics that interest me most, whether it's my experience of daily driving a convertible during winter in the Nordics or a configuration of RetroArch.

The main instance of my blog is at xxblx.me, but I also maintain a mirror at Listed. Because I write my texts in Standard Notes in the first place, it doesn't cost me anything to post my notes to Listed. Unfortunately, Listed discontinued support for custom domains, doesn’t support media attachments (uploads) and doesn't seem to be actively developed anymore.

That said, I have no plans to abandon Listed, so feel free to subscribe or leave a comment in the guestbook. Neither mirror has any analytics or tracking (and will never have them); at least I haven't put anything there. I, of course, have no control over Listed's web server, etc., but as far as I am concerned Listed doesn't track readers either; therefore, the only way I can see that a post resonates with readers is if you, a reader, react to a post and share your feedback directly with me.

What I (want to) write about

  • Retro gaming, software emulation and FPGA
  • Simracing, Richard Burns Rally
  • Games and game development in general
  • Desktop Linux, gaming on Linux, free and open source software in day-to-day life
  • Personal projects
  • Learning experiences

What I currently use

Below you can find some of my favorite software and services that I use on a daily basis, as well as my gaming and sim racing setup.

Software

Of course, I use much more software daily than is listed here, but these are my main daily drivers.

Gaming

  • Desktop PC (workstation): AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, 32GB RAM, 6TB SSD
  • Living room PC: Steam Machine
  • Controllers: 8BitDo M30, 8BitDo Pro 3, 8BitDo SN30 Pro, 8BitDo NEOGEO, 8BitDo Arcade Stick, Steam Controller
  • All-around portable gaming devices: Steam Deck OLED, iPad Pro 13-inch M5
  • Portable FPGA: Analogue Pocket
  • Portable software emulation: Anbernic RG ARC-S (Rocknix), TrimUI Brick (MuOS), MiniLoong Pocket 1 (dArkOS), Powkiddy RGB30 (dArkOS), Miyoo Mini+ (OnionOS)

Simracing

  • PC: AMD Ryzen 9 7900, Nvidia RTX 4080, 32GB RAM, 3TB SSD
  • Screen: 34" curved Samsung Odyssey G5
  • VR: Oculus Quest 2 (Virtual Desktop / Oculus Link Cable)
  • Cockpit, Seat, Haptic Pad: GT Omega Prime, XL-RS, HF8
  • Pedals: VRS Pro Pedals
  • Wheelbase: VRS DFP20
  • Wheels: Thrustmaster R383 (converted to OSW), SRC Radical from Simracing Coach, DriftShop wheel
  • Quick-release: SRC
  • Handbrake: Heusinkveld
  • Shifters: Heusinkveld (old sequential), Thrustmaster TH8A (H-pattern, modded for better tactile feedback)
  • Headphones: Sennheiser HD 560S
  • Button box: Stream Deck
  • Keyboard and mouse: Logitech K400 Plus