At least something

Its will take time till I forgot her, but only if I don't she her again.
The last time it took me a few years, I only saw her a few hours this time so I would estimate a few mothe this time.

Anyway, I did make some progress to day, no not about her, but about my game.
My next step would be to use the player input and change them into force.

Yes Forces.

In the real world everything gets moved though forces, why not too in the game world?

So the first thing I will creat is a system to calculat the forced for normal movements, like following a path or rotation. Later I will set some and think about how to do that if my forces can only be applyed in a certain way. So I could use that system for ships which got thier thrusters turned down, so that they can hover.

I don't know how long it will take me to that point, as every second thought is about someone else, but with my new way of developmet (building it all up like Lego) I could make a line a week, but every line would be real progress.


Hopefully she will be ther next saturday ...


Greg the Mad

Steps

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.
One Stpe Aside, Jump Straight Ahead.


A little rhyme I cam up with a few minutes ago.

I got some problems with my camera class, as I was trying to rotate the camera back to the normal Vector3.Up rotation, while I was working with a quaternion. Every time I hit the button, the camera jumped to some kind of random rotation, which was a problem. Because of the local heat I was not willing to stay stuck in this matter and so took a look over to the Magma class again (the class in which I create the Flexible LOD planets) and continued my work there.
I tryed some new stuff and changed some old so that the resulting grid would always face the camera (which it dose now), but at the beginning it didn't worked that fine. There was a bug.
The bug was settled in the AngleBetweenTwoVectors method that I copied from xnawiki.com , but unfortunatly changed in a few lines. After I got rid of that bug I pressed F5 again to see what happened, and as I was looking at the new, working, grid I thought 'Hey, wait ...' pressed that rotate button and *ting* ... the camera was rotated to normal again.
I used the same method for that camera rotation as I did for the planet grid. :D

As sayed:

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.
One Stpe Aside, Jump Straight Ahead.


Greg the Mad

Ships

HOOOOOT ...


... HOOOOOT

Its so hot in my room at the moment ... why dose it have to be on the West side of the house ... East would be much cooler, in the truest sense of the word

I'm not able to do anything ... its 20:11 when I write this line, FatBoySlims Rockefaller Skank in the background ... and. I. sweat ... a little, but I doing noting to increase the sweat ... till now (I'll make some sit-ups later)


Yesterday I saw a vid on youtube which showed some screenes of SciFi movies, to be accurate, it where 3 movies (one of them was Battlestar Galactica). I couldn't resist, I just had to take a paper and start drawing some ideas down.
This made me think about the ships in my game, not actually on how the'll look, but more on how they'll be controled, you know, with my physic engine ... and I thought that I can't use real forces for that, I only can use translating forces for them, else it would be to complex.
And the second thought was about the application points of those forces. In my first prototypes I used 'empty' bones from blender for that and I turned out to be quite handy, as I can call them names with numbers and later, in the code, I can call their name and make a loop for the numbers (if I got more then one force), perfect! But the problem, I figured out, was the number of points and the directions the forces will have to be applied ...

... but its ... too ... hot to .. put more thought into that atm ... all I want now is a cool coce ... BUT WE DON'T HAVE ONE IN THE HOUSE!!!! :(


Now about something comlet different: Tomorrow I'll have a little school excurse ... in the hot vienna ... [obvious sarcasm]WHOOT![/obvious sarcasm] ... 2hours sun, probably only a handfull of other students (you should have seen the class last week ...) ...
... If I stumble over a job that sells those little hand vents ... I'll buy one! I swear!


till them ... So Hot


Greg the Mad

What to target at?

Its amazing how fast you can get rid of a cold, if you wrap yourself into a blanket and watch some of the best scrubs series ever (My first day, My musicle, and the last which name I've forgotten).
I still fell some pain in my throat when I swalow, but I feel much better today.

Today I also started thinking about what to do next. The sample I've writen for ziggyware.com has shown me how great it feels to have a target your working for, and so I wondered today what I should work next on.

The Mad-Ed project?
Today I spend some moments on it, and started changing some stuff. I could make it work in a day or two, and later add more and more features. The problem would be that I don't got yet may feature I could add ...

Or Orbit itself?
I still got some problems with the new screen state architecture, and that the half game is not rendered.

I figured out that the best solution would be to start thinking of what I actually need. Just mindmap my desinge down somehow, maybe there is a free mindmaping software out there, else I have to do it in exel ...
For example that I need for ship flight a control system, a fire system, ergo a weapon system, a upgrade system, etc.
Would it be better to write a editor for that or just write a prototyp for it?

I'll have to figure that out the next few days, else I would end up writing random prototypes, which would not be that bad either, but still ... I would miss the plan ...


Greg the Mad

Sphere?

Today I saw a topic on the xna. com board asking if it is possible to create a seamless planet - space transition.

Guess what my answer was: YES! I'm currently working on ...

But as I thought that the topic is not interresting for me anymore, a XNA guy came over and sayed something about "Fold ... unfold" "huge pile of work for one guy" ...

... I actually started feeling a little smaller at that moment. There was that guy knowing what he is talking, and he says that that what your working on at the moment is not that easy and it takes many many man hours to get it done. That makes you think about your project ...
Never the less, I'll continou working on my random planets.

Today I changed the two x any y coords into angles, like you know it from every map. Thats also the same way how I will check if I need to create a mesh on that part of the planet or not, the angle. Now a system to get a two angles out of the position of the player and I can stop to waist vertex on the backside of the planet.
Later I tryed to get some random evelation into the vertex, but it appears that the system, at the moment creates a vertex for every possible random evelation ... (means it dose not work ;) ).


But thats all for now, ans I don't know if I will be able to spend more time on the weekend, as I got the final test next wednesday, and if I pass this one positive ... than I got no Es anymore, and that means that I can contiue to the 5th class without any more probles! WOOT! One step closser to the school leavings exam and so closer to the 6 month military service and after that finaly my studie in Computer Science! WOOT^2!


Greg the Mad

Surprisingly Different ... ?

Today Matin told me the reaction of his friends on me (from the party):

"Wow, I never thougth that anyone could be more quiet that you (matin)"

... yes ... :( ... its true ... I'm a quiet guy ... But I'm working on myself. I try to come more out of me, ... its just that ... that ... I'm not that great in impulse ... when I'm forced to say something cool with out time to think of it ... I'm not thaaaaat good ... not to mention thos moments when there are girl around ...

Why am I talking about that? Because!


... Because it helps that write it down, it makes it easyer to deal with it. Just try it ;)



And now about something complet different:
Today I spend some minutes on continouing my work on my planet algoruithm. Or better would be: I restarted it.
My first attempt was to use a XNA content processor to generate a planet sphere, but lately I discovered that it only takes one kind of content and changes it into something different, just like mouth.
And now I started working with a list of so called VertexPositionCollor thing ... I think its would be called 'Vertex buffer', but I could be mistakeing. And working with that buffer is more like working with your hands than with your mouth ;) . I came up with that my seld.
Anyway, it only took me a hour to get it done, that may sounds a long time for just a few lines in space, but it also was the first time I used a 'DrawableGameComponent' class templer
(I know that templers are something different, but I just recovered the C++ book that teached me the basics and I stoped reading after page 100, because I felt I don't need it anymore, but I now got it again and I may continou reading it)
Anyway, I now got a few red lines on my screen that more or less look like a sphere, ... for and hours work ... not bad.

Later I'll have to make it more look as a sphere, use faces and not lines and change the update code (I recalculate that thing each and every frame, that could become unhandy once it becomes a planet). And once that is done, I can start using textures for the evelations, collor, random plants, clouds, etc.
... And when I got that, so around in a year, I got that thing what I once called 'Nature of Random' ...


I'm not like everyone else, ok, I'm no wired guy that sits in his corner speaking rubbish, nor am I ugly, rud, ...
OK! IÄm like that most others, I'm just a little more MAD! ... and even if I may never get a girl just because I never find the courage to speak to her, I don't want to be different.


PS: Today I figured out that I probalby got the most courage in my class. I was the only one who was brave enougth to got to the teacher and asking if we could just forgett that last school leason today and we all walk home (it would have been substituted). ... It didn't worked that up as imaged, but we DID went out of school earlier than usual (right into a thunderstorm ...).



Greg the Mad

Tests Again

Today I made a great test.

No, 'great' is the wrong word for it, it was probably the awsomest test it the school history ever!

I've learned complet 2 hours for it, but my great understanding of mechanic and the rest of my awsome brain made me write a test, which probably will cause the teacher to shit in his pants and jerk off at the same time, it just was awsome!

Jep, that was today. I should got a little test tomorrow, but I will skip it because I got a little cold (fortunatly with out hankys, but with tea). So I got full 24 hours to learn for the test on wednesday that sould be at least a D, and the test on the day after that day, where I should get a C, ... after that all I have to do is finaly to make the stupid presentation (I already hate Stirling ... bad karma), and write some other positive test next week ... and then I may manage to pass this school year without any sommer studing for the repeat test in september ... would be awsome ...


And now about something different:
I fealt worst the whole day ... so I spend some hours just watching Scrubs. And while I was wondering about JD, and how similar he is to me ... I got day dreams too ... more or less the same kind ...
Anyway, ... I thought about my game project and what I'm actually still lacking for my demo. And if you write it down on a list it. dose. not. appear. that. much. ...
I could make it till 09 ...
... all I have to do is to spend only one realy productive houre each week on the whole thing and bingo!

It would be that easy, but you grow with the ... er ... yes ... so long


Greg the Mad

Stirling Planet

Today sucks.


I got a presentation tomorrow about the Stirling engine, and I only got a few pages of my presentation yet, not to meantion the whole stuff I'll be forced to speack about the engine, not to mention the test I got 4 hours later and still haven't studied for ...

wAAAAAAAAAAAAArg ...

And the test on monday on which I have to get a C on ...

:(


... On the other hand I finaly made something again on my game. On of the big features will be that you can land on planets, so I need detailed planets and a system to change the Level of Details (LOD) on the fly, as you don't need millions of tree models when you orbit a planet, but you'll need water effects, and those have to differnt when you orbit the planet, than when you just hover a few meters above the surface.

So I started a little contetn project project yesterday. I'll start with a sphere and later use a height map for the elevation of each vertex.
Once I got this I'll write a system that only creates those faces of the planet which the player can see and also change the LOD at the same moment. Maybe I'll also use the same system to ganerate a billboard of the planet if your too fare away from it, and if your too far way from it all you can see it another start on the background ...

... I'd started the project yesterday, and I'll probalbe will continou it in a few weeks ... :(


Greg the Mad

Hang Over

Some how, I realy don't know how it happened, I did nothing about my game the last few day.

Its may because I now got some test in school that I should get some good grates on, or that I go a presentatin next frieday (about Stirling engines), 0r may because I still got MP3 to finish, not to mention that I didn't played GTA IV for two weeks now (my 36o is in the lifing room of my parents) ...

Or it may be becaus that the work that is waiting for me is more or less game designe pure ... seaching for that one fucking line that makes it all crash ... rewriting stuff the x'th time ...

But it may be also a little healthy. I may didn't spend every second on the game the last 6 month, but for a non programmer I did a great pille of work, so shuting my programming mind down a few days should not work, as long as it stays just a few days. The last hard test is next wednesday, I hope that I can relaxe after that and restart fresh and succesfull.


And about something complet different:
As you may now, I don't drink alkohol *hide*
But I'm still human enougth to got away with some friends and enjoy our selfs. As mentioned it that last post, I was in a bar with my class last week, and in that night I dicovered a new skill of mine:

Around zero o clock the horny girle (I've told you about in the last post) come over to me and suddenly started touching me. First I wondered 'WTF?' ... 'I like here, She looks good, but I'm not drunk!' ... 'What dose she want from me?'
Fortunatly I was releaved when you she put a little camera in my hand saying: "Its the camera from Karl (the guy she later started kissing), and I don't think that he is able to get it home save, but I know that you are. So please take it and keep it save." She walked away. Drunken but still cleare minded (what ever that means).
There I was standing: Holding a camera, surrounded by drunk people, and a mission.


... Mine are the best photos of that party.

Dancing teachers, Dancing students (on tables, bars, etc), stipping students (I'm not pround about those, but that moments had to be captured), teachers dancing with students, drunken girl kissing drunken guy.
Just to name a few. I have to admit that I did miss some great shoots, like the teacher watching students strip, and I missed the police capturing those 3 guys and the girl just for few seconds, drunken guy painted in bed, drunken guy in bed (it may don't sound that impressive but you should have seen it), drunken guy somewhere between toilet and shower (naked ...), and some more.

But Some of them already mentioned that we may make that a second time this semester, ... if, we mke it ... I'll get my self a camera, some SD-cards, and accept that mission:

Don't Make Photos, Make Memories.


BAM! Long post! So long.


Greg the Mad

Up, Up and Away!

I'll go on a little trip with my class tomorrow. A little road trippin' through austria, visiting facilitys, manaufatoris, etc.
Because of that I drove to the next shoping center to puchase into a new DS game for entertaimend over those tree days (ZELDA PHG), and as I was lougthing over some PC game I found a nice little game called Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, which was perfect for me, as I frustrated shut my PC down just a few hours ago.

Yes ... I finaly found out that all my Orbit code from the prototype sucks and has to be rewrite, not only to fit with the new system but also because it just sucks ...
I have to think more about reusable stuff, than just about solutions for the moment ...
And it realy should work ... good ...

So that probaly will take more than a few days, even if you can use some of the old code, and realy just have to rewrite it, and not to rethink it ...


OK, I have to keep this short now, I still have to take a shower, shave and pack all my stuff ... and my mom just called me to take a pice form a cake ... cake! ... sliver ....


So Long


Greg the Mad

Flare

I guess that I'm not that great programmer like all thos non programmer always tell me.

I started a few days ago to take the GameStateManager sample appard, but somehow I ended up just copind it and passing the whole thing into my new project file ...

OK, it works and I can change the stuff later, but I hoped that I can rewrite the stuff all by my self from scrach ...

But the whole thing is so connected and everything got a cause to be there and in that form ... pro-programmer sucks ... their code is too good :(


At the moment I more or less got the whole GameStateManager thing working just with my background (the start-skysphere I use for the game) and a bug that some how don't let me display my models in the gameplay screen ...
... writing a game in a project and later implant it into a different project aint that easy as it sounds ...



Greg the Mad

Orbit

I somehow start to like the WIP name of my game 'Orbit'.
It more or less holds all that the game is about.

Its about the realistic traveling throug space, the landing on planets and everthing in between. Perfect!


Why I like it more then ever? Because now that my control system is done (at the moment), I start the next thing: Screen Management.

Ever usual game starts with the studio emblem and intro and the main menu. Till now mine starts with you hovering directly infront earth ... Not the best intro ...
So I took the sample form xna.com and started coping, changing, deleting etc to make it fit for my game.
At the moment I only got a cornflowerblue screen with a 'Orbit' string in the center, but I plane to get the whole menu/game thing working till next week (I got 4 days holiday!). Once that thing is done I'll work again on the control system (I'll need a menu system to toggle stuff on/off), and then ... I probable have to face the content processor for my planets ...


It should not be that hard to creat a planet based on a few values and a heigth map, but ... the scale ... the camera should stay at least 1.5 units away from the surface ... and what if you land on a planed and want to look up? ... Changing the scale on the fly? ...

Ther will be a lot of question I'll have to answer then ...


So Long


Greg the Mad