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Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2

Originally published 2026-08-02 on Advisory Hour.

Originally published as an Advisory Hour Substack post on 2026-08-02. This first-party site copy preserves the text, localizes public supporting media, and connects the record to its project trail.

Original post

Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.

How about them realtime shadows? This is the second article on the v3 island. There’s just so many little details in this experiment. From ground cover, to squirrels, birds, rainbows and more.

Squirrels

There is a squirrel mechanic system. This one stunned me. The squirrel was hand modeled, and then the AI solved for going up any particular tree in the entire map. This entire time video games could have had squirrels running around.

The Repair System

The story of the island is that a storm rolled through and brought significant damage. As a robot in the cosmic neighborhood, you stop by to clean it up. Doing this also makes it easier to run around the island.

Birds

You may catch a flock of birds flying around the island. This implements the infamous boid algorithm, which is what gives the bird formation a realistic feel. It’s fun to turn a corner and then see the flock migrate overhead. It gives the island a more alive feel than without.

Rocks and Foiliage

The rock textures in the game are quite ornate and detailed, and it gives the island some fun. I experimented with being able to push around the rocks, but I didn’t care for the implementation-the physics just never felt quite right.

Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.

Rabbits

The rabbits hide from you behind objects. It’s a fun little gimmick. You might catch them hopping around, but they’ll quickly go find a rock to hide behind.

Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.

At times the scene is just so incredible to me. This is a PS1 era video game that I cobbled together from my phone. It’s a tech demo wrapped in a game like experience.

Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.

Not to mention a costuming/skin system:

Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.

What’s next?

What this V3 island experiment taught me is that today’s coding tools can push the 3d experience so much further than I’m reaching. It might be possible to make far more elaborate experiences-perhaps richer, more detailed experiences that even seem out of reach or a stretch too far. I do know this, V4 of the island will likely be quite impressive.

Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.
Island Lab Series: 5 of 5, Island V3 Part 2 image from the original Advisory Hour post.

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