Sucksses

You know that test always proofe that you fit a certain level of knowledge.

As it is supposed to be with the 'Matura', but it somehow lowers you 'I'm great' feeling if you hear a girl talk about how all hir friends passed the 'Matura'. Especialy if you know those friends and know how not smart they are ...

I'm pissed currently ... man? What is this education worth anymore?

... Anyway.

I acutally planed to relaxe the next week as I take of to turkey next weekend, but relaxing is hard.

I mean Sacred 2 : Fallen Angles is one of those good old Diablo games wher you just play, and don't have to think much, you just play.

But well ... I did not spend the whole last week relaxing ... I ... have ... ... I have layed out a the main concept of my engine and restarted the work on my programmin language, now called 'Blockgramm' ... hey ... Blocking dose have a sound to it too ...

Greg the Mad

I got a plan, ... or something like it

1. Finish School:

I will spend some of my time in the next two month focusing on school. That includes that I will learn for test and make some research on the questions I will face. The rest of the time will be spend on relaxing, sleeping, eating and maybe some games playing or programming.

2. Free Time:

Once I finished school I estimate that I have 3 month off. Well I may get a job at that time and earn some money, but my main focus in that time will be my Engine.

I get more and more used to C# and get quicker writing lines (Thanks to Typing of the Death), but thats not all. I also gain more and more knowledge. I still may don't know how to do this and do that, but all that can be found in the web. For exaple am I writing my own scrolle control for my interface at this moment (the default is not hand enougth). Ok, the scroll controll has nothing with my engine to do as it is only a interface thing, but ... Hey! ... I write my onw control, now thats a good basement for an engine, just think about the even handling, that could be use full later ...

3. Make A Design

No, I already got many designs in my head, but I'm actually taking about realizing it. Take a game, create it, and release it.

Once I got the last point I'm probably somewhen I my military service thing, and got enougth time to think about my Future: Get a Beccalour/Master or move right into the biz.

To have a master is always a good thing, but ... well ... I'll see. Maybe noone will like my game and I'll have to work as a engineer ... not that bad eighter.

Greg the Mad

Damn

Do you know how it feels if you've worked two month on a project and than, at the end, you finaly realice that all you've done was for nothing?

Well, I'm now more or less finished with the screensaver project, talking about the code, but yesterday, when I tried to test it, I figured out that it dose not work ...

Here's the problem, the MS operation system looks for .scr at the end of a file to see if its a screensaver, and only those files the listed up in the screensaver selection window for the screensavers. ... But my screensaver got a .exe at the end ... If I would run good, old, but slow XP I just could rewrite that on my own, but better, newer, and faster Vista dose not allow me to do that ... And now I got a problem.

I just could write my own programm to do that, or use one from the internet for the job, but whats about the people who would download my sameple and want to write their own screensaver? ... I can't just give them a link to a nother programm and say 'And now you use that programm ...' ... thats not professional, is it?


And because of that the project is down in the sleep mode again.


But unlike my earlyer project stops, now I will continue a nother projekt, ... I think I call it 'Make A Designe - Engine' or MAD - Engine (the acronym is not final, and so can change).

So, wher should I start with the Making Advanced Designes - Engine? Right, at the interface.

I want a simple one, only with basic stuff at the moment, not like Blade3D for example, which looks as good as complex.

And after the interface, I plane to start with the Content pipeline, which should be one of the special advantages of the More Aweseme Donuts - Engine.


So long.


Greg the Mad

Finaly a succes

Its done! I finaly got fireflys flying over my screen, exactly how I want them to fly!

I can't realy say that I feel 'happy' about it, ... but there is that great feeling of 'being released' of something that I can't discribe ...

Its quite ironic, I've worked the whole time with the imagion of having 10 flys flying over the screen, but now I only got 2 max, due to my low graphic power on my Laptop, but ... anyway, :D

Now I have to get the code clean, add documentation, and make a .html documentation and the sample is ready for shipment. The .html isn't required for the sample, but it adds a huge amount of transparency to the whole thing, also do I now use a Text programm to write them, instead of useing the good old MS Editor. So I now can easyly make links and stuff. Its gona be a whole manual, if it turns out like I plan.


But thats about planing for now, it 22:00 and I got school tommorow ... lets sleep.


Greg the Mad

School Rocks the Week II

Well its, not that true, as I also do some other stuff, but I cought me today actually forcing me to continue programming my old screensaver project ... just a few month ago I thought it only would take me anothre month till its done ... well ... I was wrong.


It was not that much force that I needed to get in again, I just had to open the file, and seconds later I have solved a little, minor effect error, but the other, the major, problems will take more then that ... ;)

I'm now, more or less focused on school, and that from someone who spended two hours, yesterday, playing Solitär, just that I don't have to studi ... but I wrote a A anyway ...

And next week I got two test which should be a A other nothing else ...

And before that ther is the school prom, with many old friend I'll meet ... I just hope that I wound't be that tired, from the school week, as last week.

... and I'll be done with my screensaver next week ;)


Greg the Mad

Fireflys flying over my desktop

I'm nearly done with my screensave.
I got a complet finished settings form, fireflys that fly over a screenshot of my desktop, a predefined picutre or just a color.
The only thing that is not complet yet, is that the fly eluminate this background with their light.

For now I only can let them create a black trail which will slowly cover the whole screen so that the original desktop is completly covered. The final shadow/light thing will get quite tricky.
The idea is simple: I make texture that is black and on parts where a fly is I make that texture transparent ... How to do that is a complet different story, and I it may will take me another complet day till its done.

But thats not the problem in the moment. What to know why?

CHRISTMASS HOLIDAYS!!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!

3 weeks nothing! ... T H R E E W E E K S !!!!


What will I do with all that time? Some stuff for school of course, but also some other, more exiting stuff. ;)


Well, at least not this weekend, as I cought a little cold last weekend, *cough*, smooky rooms and cold air aint no good.


Greg the Mad

Mystic Phone Calls

I got something craling up by back, ... a thougth that I don't like that much ...

Well lets start at the basic:
Ther are two kinds of people on the world (dispite all the other type settings).
The Alpha people and the Beta people.
Alpha people are the leading people, those who stand in a crowd and still stand out, etc. Alpha people see something, want it, and try everything to get it.
And Beta people are the rest, those who follow, and build up crowds.

I'm a Alpha person (I would say), and my dream girl is, too, a alphs person. Well, and as every Alpha girl, my dream girl got some girls following her. ... And I got the bad the the cause why she was looking for me, why she always tryed to stand near me, was not her mind, but the mind of one of her Beta girls ...

A girl I know since 5th grade, ... well, yes she is a little chubby, but that what I don't like about her is the missing aura (the feeling her presence brings). ... And I would have to 'break' her heart, which I will do if I have to, but which I would not like to do.

I came up with that horrible thought as I took a phone call this afternoon, and ther was breathing and TV inthe background. First I thought that ther was someone who was intimidted by my 'Hello?', but then my mother told me that ther wher many phone calls like that, and that a girl once sayed 'Hello?'.

Not a Alpha person behaviour, isn't it?


So my first priority, next weekend will be to determine who realy likes me ...


And now about something complet different:
I make some progress with my screensaver, I'm nearly done with the settings form, once that is done I can apply the settings values to the actual screensaver and done! WhoHoo!


Greg the Mad

Mystic Method

No thats not a new programming method, which applys flying monkeys to every game you create, but a DVD.

The DVD is about a workshop, made by a german man, about how to get every girl, and is called 'Die perfecte Masche', or in english 'The Mystic Method'.

Its quite easy so summe the whole thing up, just be brave and talk to her, but the stuff you also learn, what else you can do how, etc. is amazing.

... And well, I made a try out.
... It dose work!

On that night out, I accidently step on one girls feed. She screamed out, and shouted after me. I realy didn't meant to do it, so I just turned around an apologised for it.
As she saw me, and how I apologised for it, she suddenly stoped screaming and started smiling ...
... I'm not sure anymore, but I thing that she did even apologise at me for shouting ...

Well, I din't get any number or anything similar that night, but I have to say for my defence that my dream girl was there to, with out a boy next to her, but with friends.

Man, I can't get rid of that feeling that she wants something from me. One moments the walks pass me ignoring me, the next she starts looking for someone when I'm not in her field of view. Not to mention that she always stood near me, facing the other direction, but still near me. Even when I moved into that quite littel room to set down and relex ...

swich (HerMind)
{

case (Mind.IsConfusedLikeHim):

Greg.SetAction(Action.Hope);

break;

case (Mind.PlayesWithGreg):
Greg.SetAction(Action.GetRidOfHer);
break;
case (Mind.LikesGreg):
try
Greg.SetAction(Action.MakeConntactWithHer);
catch
Greg.SetAction(Action.GetRidOfHer);

break;

}

... Why can't everything be as eays as programming?

While we're talking about it. I don't yet have found a way to solve that Firefly problem, but I got time, I mean its the last project for a long time ...

... While I was training my mystic method skills, I met a old friend of mine. He has finished school last year. Well, we set done, and talked about school. ... He told me how few free hours I will have later this year, and that programming at this times will be more pain then finding time to sleep ...
So I think its the best for all would be that I slow down with programming the next month, untill I got the leaving exame.

I hate that dicision, but I do like to have that exam ...

Man, thinking about that makes me sad ... *tear droping down my right eye*


Greg the Mad

I was gone for a while ... ?

Whoops, ther you don't post for one or two days on your blog suddenly ther are three weeks gone!

Well, what happened:

Last weekend I was with some friends in a school prom. Long story short, it was the school where my dream girl learned here bussines (she has already finished education), and *surprise* I saw her there, ... with a other one.
Its not that I don't hate her, or him, now, but it was quite a little breakdown, to know that she is happy, while I'm not that happy ...

Other Topic:
Two weeks ago I started a new, little, side project, originaly planed to be my entry for the ziggyware article contest, but that already over ...
But its about to be finished, the first project I've finished for a while.
Its a screensaver based on XNA, and it dose have some great features like pseudo transparency, a 2D pseudo shader, and other pseudo stuff.
It will take me only a few more days till I can put it online, ... I can't wait till I got those little fireflys flying around on my screen. :D


Greg the Mad

Back to the Background and Back again

I was working on my blocks for the GUI programming language, when they released 3.0.
First I thought to stay on 2.0 to finish the language, but then I thought that this could me a mistake and I swiched.
But before I even could think of continue my mork on it I was forced that my old engine was not quite compatible, so I hade to change some stuff, ... and I added some ... and more ...

Now I'm back in programming my engine, and pushed the GUI language to a later date.

But then again is there this thing called school ... where I recive some quite ugly marks latly ... which I should change ...

Well ...


And a nother, quite ugly problem appeared, I need new friends ...
Last saturday (... yesterday) I was out again, but a friend was the driver ...

... at 1 he decided that it would be cool to leave now ... 'FUCK YOU' was the only thing I was able to thing at the moment of great disapointment ... and later at the top it all he claimed later that I still own him 10€ and that he wants them from me now ... 'FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!' ...

Well, I didn't literally sayed that, but that pussy, he is, is now saved as 'Pussy' in my cell ... and next weekend I might not call him, ... even if that means that I have to go out allone.

... this was the last time.

Devotchka - How It Ends

Go to YouTube and listen to this great song.

It makes you feel quite sad, but then again it got such a great 'its not that bad at all' mood somewhere behind thos notes.

Anyway, I did lay down last saturday, but I didn't made anything for school (what a surprice). Now I'm more or less back in the XNA/Programming track again. I spend a few hours on working on my GUI programmin/skripting language last week, but I stil got some problems with the collision response, camera, etc. It will take a month (or less) till I can set down and work on the aktuall programmin behind the programming language ...

What programm did Billy and his fellows use to programm their first programms?
Well, just hope that it woun't be too much for me to take ... ;)

Ah, nearly forgotten, today is halloween! And I got a free day of schoo! Which means that I will take a few friends and go out looking for a good looking vampire girl.


Greg the Treat

Programming Down

Well I didn't programm a line for tow weeks now I guess. ...
Mainly because of all the hard school work that I have to do most of the time, but even when I got some space programming is not the first thing that comes into my mind ...

But the worst thing is that I'm not even sure if it would be better if I did programm a line once in a while.
I mean, its the last year now, I'm class representive, and I will have enough time later once I'm done with that school (not more then 160 days till then ...).

... but it still bugs me, that the only thing I can do on a lat afternoon is to start my Wii and play old GameCube games ...




Anyway, I will see my dream gild this saturday again: There is one of those little drinking fest again, and I will try my luck. ... A friend of mine has told me that she is always there ...

...


Greg the Mad

Consol Done

Yep, the few hours I spend on my consol class were enougth to finish it to a certain level. I can create requests now, toogle it on and off, etc.

Its not much yet, mainly because there is not much you can control in a simple prototype. Now I have to figure out what to do next.
I may already hade some thoughts about that, but now that I noticed the weakness of my LapTops graphic card (only 60 FPS max wenn I go on full screen ...), ... so it has to be something not that graphic intensive. I thought of creating a better engine background (thinking of the Screen Manager sample) and how to implent a level editor stuff into the code, or revers? ...


And now to something complet different.
Next saturday will be entertaining.
First I got a presentation at school (in the english class) about solar systems. The specail thing about that will be a programm I've found in the internet long time ago. Its a little application, based on the irrlicht engine, where you can view our solar system in 3D.
Later that day I plan to appear at the opening of a local youth-center. That what makes that specail is that is made by some people I was in school a decade ago. Lets see how much 'Loser' I'm today :P
And, well, later in the evening I will join the little party people we already are, and drive into the club.

...

...

Two chances where I could meet HER ... dammit


Greg the Mad

Consol Reanimation

First, don't buy Spore.

You'll play it all day long, fight your way through the sea, battle creatures, form alliences, and you travel to the center of the galaxie (42).

Its fun, its challanging, its great, but now after a week, after I've talked with Steve, I some how don't feel that well any more.

Yes I could still spend some time in geting more and more planets, raise their terraform levels to 3 and make the protected from attack, not to metion the fun of destroind whole live forms because they woun't join your empire (and I'm talking about a good epmire).

But for what? Did I take a little guy and made him the big guy? Did I felt a great story? Did I raise a empire that every one is scared of?
NO! Especial the last part hurts. Even if you got the best weapons on your home world and some orbital weapons to protect it, you still have (or your called) to stop your galactice battle against the Grox's because one single pirate ship is stealing from your homeworld. WTF?

To be honst, I got the feeling that as more you try to protect your worlds, as more the pirates will attack them. My first colonie 'Bär' (I didn't even could give it a name ;( ) is attacked every half, as is the one colonie, at the edge of the galaxie arm, I own which got a T-Level of Zero and is as productive as the level. But the one home planet I took over from some aliens, which is one of the best planets I got, is never attacked by anything ... nor is ther are a problem with the animals ther, and that even if I don't have any stuff like orbital weapons, or bio-stabilicer there ...


Anyway, I also woun't play it that often the next time as it also showed me again how much fun programming is, ... no game can ever beat the fun of programming games. Yes, you can quote this one.

I'm now working on some little engien assets like a consol class, which takes care of the in-game developer interface, like frames per seconds and a field to enter commands. I already got the FPS and the field to enter commands, but ther are no commands I could enter yet :p
That will be done somewhen in the next days, then I will take care of the communication of the engine classes itself, for example if I want the whole game to stop while I'm entering a command, but only the game updating when I swich in to dev-view, etc.
So I think that I will create a class that will take care of that, but I don't know how I will realise it, thinking of the Gamestate Manager Sample stuff, with different screens, etc.


So long.


Greg the Mad

Physic Screen Shot

Jep, its gone and now I can make up to 60 push ups now (15 - 4 times).

I've also made some serious programming lately, I finaly made some progress in the moment of inertia calculation.
First I planed to get the projeced shape of the mesh through ray tracing, but then a nice guy from the XNA community told me that the CPU is not quite build for such kind of calculation, the GPU is more made for it. So I just thought "Well, so why don't make it on the GPU?"
In the beginning I thought that there would be somethimg like that in the SpaceWar starter kid of XNA, but I was misstaking, but something like that dose no break me down. I just looked in the internet for a way to get a screen shot from a game, took that code changed it a bit (camera position, projection matrix, and general purpose), and done.

What I actually do is taking a screen shoot from the model I want the moment of inertia from. I just place the camera so that it face the model from a special direction (like from above) and use a orthogonal matrix. Furthermore I use a black background (GraphicDevice.Clear(Color.Black)) and I also set some rendering effect so that the model is white. What I get (or should get, I stilll got some problems with the quat that should diplay the new screen) is a white silouet of the model on a black background, now I got that I just have to make the moment of inertia calculation for each white point in this pic.

Its not finished yet, nor tested, but it appears to work fine for the moment and to be a loot easyer then I expected moment of inertia calculation to be.


I'm proud of my self. *giving myself a pat on the back*
Good boy.


And I hope that I see here this evening ...


Greg the Mad

Belly pain

That may sound like I just got a punsh into my abdomen, but its more because I tried to pull myself up on a tree ... only using my arms.

I know that ther is a special english word for that, but my internet is to slow today to look for it.

Anyway, this little pain can lead to big trouble if I'm not care full. I could stop making my nice little training units I've made the last weeks (you can't make situps with that pain), but I now have to stop it, or I will never get rid of that pain ... you can't imagen how often you use those muscles ...


What happended else the last few days ... right!
I made some little adjustments on my few new classes so they should work better, but I still have some probems with the Force.Draw method, so I'm little stuck at the moment as I need to know how the forces look, befor I can manipulate them. (I stoped the LS, ... mainly because after a full night of thinking for what I could use it, I came up with nothing, ... its a sign)

Well I still got that girl in my mind, but no I didn't saw her again last weekend, but I had a beautifull dream ... such dreams a rare. It was one of those were you fill so warm and fuzzy all around ... *dream* ... But with my luck I will see her again ...


... in two years.


Today I'm a little numb, because of my belly and that I sleeped again till noon ... 12 houres of sleep are too much, so that was it for the update. -.-


Greg the Mad

Ther you go.

There you want to write a Force Control System (FCS), but you end up with a Layer System (LS).

Well, what happened?


I got good experience with the DrawableGameComponents of XNA, so I use them everywher I can. As did I in the Programme where I wanted to create the FCS, but after a few hours of work, setting some new classes up (like a new grid class, or FPS class), a old problem crossed my path, that sometimes it can happen that models get drawn atop each other and not in a real 3D space.

So I finaly wrote a post about that on the XNA boards, and DING, a day later a know the source of the problem and know how to actually use that problem to create a LS.

It may will take a day till I realy got something I can show, but once it done ... it will be awsome!



And now about something complet different:
Well shes still hovering around in my mind, on a day like this, wher I got something to do, its not that hard, but who knows what will be tommorow? The day I might will see her again? ... ... *fingercrossing*

... Fingercrossing to realy see her and talk to her, or not to see her at all, everything in between would be ... dumb again ...


Greg the Mad

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

Lazy me.

Ok, what I have done the last few days ...

I played my WoW charakter to the level 68 in order to load it over to the test server.
I downloaded the Beta Client of the Lich King, took me 6 hours in which I was able to do nothing else then to what some more episodes of Battlestar Galactica (I'm currently at Season 2 Episode 5).
And I played a little around with the Deathnight.

... Nothing more ... Oh ... Yes, my guitar playing gets better and better, even if I only can play one and a half song at the moment :)

Anyway, I decided that this playing around with the tools I'm writing dose not get me anywere. So once I find enought time to write some code again, I will continue to work on the actuall game and stop my tool playing for the moment.


Hopefully I'll find some more time to write a nother update here before the week is over, So Long.


Greg the Mad

31 July

I can't wait till that day ...

First this is the day that my actuall vacation will start, WHOOT!

Second will that be the day the Ziggyware contest judging periot will end, and every following day could contain the answer on who was better than me and who was not.


Anyway, thats still in the futur.
What have I done in the past ...
Yesterday I made a little but importent step towards my game engine. I redefined the Mad-Ed programm, put some thoughts into how it will work, I've drawn the classes, what they will contain and to what the will be connected, etc.
Its not finished yet, I mainly have focused on the backgraund structure and how you come from the saved .mad file to the 3D level (or now 'Screen' called) and back. Also did I spend some time into the question how to control in the 3D window, and I came up with the idea to use the 360 controler for this, so I got a complet free mouse to do the manipulation. OK, its not tested yet, and I don't know if it will stand the praxis tests, but I think that it is a nice idea at least, and will be there at least for fun. :D


Greg the Mad