Gym NPCs vs grocery-store NPCs — different render priority?
CoachNPCHunter
OP8 days ago
Working on a theory. The NPCs I see at my gym have WAY better motion fidelity than the ones at my grocery store. Like, noticeably so. At the gym they have micro-balance corrections, varied facial expression under strain, recoverable stumbles. At the grocery store they glide. They don't break stride when a kid cuts in front of the cart. Suggests different render priority by environment. Gym requires physical plausibility. Grocery store apparently does not.
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FaulkOnTheFence
8 days ago
Or your gym is populated by more regular humans and your grocery store has a higher NPC concentration. Same observation, different interpretation.
@FaulkOnTheFence fair. but the SAME PEOPLE seem to switch. i've recognized my gym buddy at the grocery store and he didn't make eye contact. he did at the gym that morning. there's a mode.
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that's the context-switching behavior. it's not that grocery-store NPCs are different individuals. it's that the render allocates less to grocery-context. even REAL people dim their presence in low-stakes environments. but in NPCs there is nothing UNDER the dimming. just empty.
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MorrisseyMarginalia
5 days ago
This post unlocked something. I always feel depleted after the grocery store. It's because I'm walking through a low-fidelity zone. Low fidelity is exhausting to a high-fidelity mind.
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Confirmed by my own experience: I am noticeably less tired after a farmers-market trip than a supermarket trip, even for the same duration and bag weight. I never understood why. Now I do.
