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Mechascopic's Dispatch #3 · Apr 6, 2026

Mechascopic's Dispatch

Hey everyone,

There’s been a lot going on lately, both in and out of the Rust Belt.

I’ve been diving into the new Arc Raiders update, tinkering with some side projects, and playing a few games that couldn’t be more different from each other.

Flashpoint is here

The new Flashpoint update dropped, and I’ve been able to get a few runs in so far.

First impression, things feel… tougher.

ARC seem more aggressive now. They’re spotting faster, reacting quicker, and overall just feel a bit less forgiving than before. It’s subtle, but noticeable when you’re in the middle of a run trying not to get overwhelmed.

Some early thoughts:

  • still haven’t run into a Vaporizer yet

  • haven’t found any of the new blueprints

  • definitely feeling the increased pressure from ARC

There are also some nice quality-of-life improvements in this update. Crafting feels smoother, and there’s a bit more intention behind how matchmaking works depending on your loadout.

Loot in locked rooms has been improved too, which should help, but you still need to actually get there in time… which, as I’ve talked about before, isn’t always guaranteed depending on your spawn.

Overall, it feels like Flashpoint is pushing things slightly more toward tension and survival again, which I’m into, even if it’s making the rebuild a bit slower.

Back into Pico-8

I recently re-set up PICO-8 on my computer, and I’ve been getting the itch to make games again.

If you’ve never used it, Pico-8 is this tiny, self-contained “fantasy console” where you can build small games with tight constraints. It’s simple, but in a really fun, creative way.

Right now I’m just getting things set up again and re-familiarizing myself with how it all works, but I’m planning to share progress as I go.

I’ll be posting updates over on the site and GitHub once things start taking shape.

Retroid Pocket 2, finally working

I’ve also been messing around with my Retroid Pocket 2 again.

This thing was a bit of a mess for a while, but after cleaning things up (and getting some help from AI), I finally have it in a place where I can actually just pick it up and play.

Big wins:

  • found some solid ROMs

  • cleaned up the file structure

  • everything is now readable and working

It’s one of those devices that feels amazing once it’s set up right… it just takes some effort to get there.

Ninjago in LEGO Fortnite

This one I’m genuinely excited about.

The new LEGO Fortnite Ninjago content has been a really fun surprise. I’ve always loved the LEGO Ninjago sets, so seeing that world show up here is great.

Been playing this with my kiddo, and it’s just a good time.

It hits that perfect mix of:

  • building

  • exploring

  • a little bit of chaos

It’s one of those things that reminds me why I like games in the first place.

What I’ve been streaming

Recently on stream I’ve been:

  • checking out the Flashpoint update in Arc Raiders

  • continuing the rebuild grind (still…)

  • jumping into some more relaxed games in between

If you’ve run into a Vaporizer or found any of the new blueprints, I’d love to hear how it’s going.

More from Mechascopic

If you’re following along with Arc Raiders, there’s more over on the site.

Latest guides

👉 Read the guides: https://mechascopic.com/guides

Thanks for reading, and thanks for hanging out on stream.

— Mechascopic