Two Front War!

*Exitment*

Right in the moment where I write this, I'm sitting in my room and I'm right in a two front war.

Yes, in front of my I got my regular PC where I will start to install the WoW Addon The Wrath of the Lich King BETA (WooT! I' a chosen one!) and to my left I got my new outdoor Laptop (when I read 'outdoor' in the advertisement I knew that that would be mine!) wher I'm working to get it on the standard I knew from my normal PC.


And to make things worst I got my brothers Guitar at the right of me, and sometimes I can't resist to take the pick and play a few nots.


*Exitment*


Greg the Mad

1 Month of Misterys

This month gone get interesting.

First I will have to perform the drive safty lessons for motorcycle and car this month. They will cost a lot and bring less, .. but I must do them -.-

Second will I try the 'FH Technikum Wien' acceptance test. If I fail I still can try it next year, and if I fail then I will got a new chance in two years.

Third did I get into contact with a guy who wants to open his own game studio somewhen next year, and I may got a chance to write some tools for him and his team. That will be interesting.

Fourth did I apply for a Beta test of the coming game Sacred 2. If they take me I got one more game one my Beta Test game list ... which contains Halo3 ... thats all :(

And fithly will I get today the guitar of my brother and start learning to play it. Finaly some more music in my life, MP3 are not enougth.

And last but not least will that be the last free month before I start into the last year at school, which will end with a major big test called 'Matura', for which I will learn full six month ...


BUT FIRST! *raise my left index finger* ... I'll take a shower :)


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

Physic, Laptop and my room

So what happened ...

My force article and sample finaly is up on ziggyware.com and also did the judging periode start. Till 31 july you can send ziggy a mail telling him how great my article is and that you've learned so much from it.
Also did he anouced that ther will be a nother contest soon. I don't know yet what kind of contest it will be, or what it will be about, but if it will be one like that current, then I already have a loot of ideas for new stuff.

You can find my article here http://www.ziggyware.com/readarticle.php?article_id=199


My calligraphy language, ... well. I didn't managed to get that 3D tool for a win app working again, but I have to admit that I didn't worked much on it yet.
Also am I not sure if I will have time for it today. My room need to be tidied up as soon as possible, the exercises gets harder every day ...


And now about my work ... well, now I'm already trusted to work on complet standards ... Only one week left, YES!!
I may miss it in the next month, as it is something constant in my life (I like to have something constant around me, like a swiss army knife I can count on, but if you forget about it, it will slice some shirts when you mom trys to wash you pants ... ).
Anyway, I'm happy abou it for the moment, and thats enougth.

That what woun't be enougth will be the money I'll get, to purchas in a lapetop. Thos I want (like the ASUS Eee PC, or the ACER ASPIRE ONE) got too less power, or (like the ACER Traver Mate C210) are too expensive. Ther will be laptops that I can effort, and those are able to do that what I want them to do, but ... they are all so big (look at the Eee PC/Aspire One I want that sice!) and ugly (again Eee PC and Aspire One). But they are better then non ...
... And in a year there may be laptops with the features of the Travel Mate C210, and the sice of the Eee PC out, till then I will be able to work with one that don't fits to me that great ...


So Long,


Greg the Madß

A nother week has passed

Ok, it was less then a week, but it did pass.

I didn't get any great thing farther with my engine. I may have complet the main 'Independent' part of the camera engine, but suddenly, a few seconds later, I stoped it and changed over to a different project.

Calligraphy is it working name. What it is? A graphic skripting language.

Yes, I know that this is something that nomaly done by guys who actually have studied programming, but why not? Its not the skript I'm faling ... its the Windows forms tool that should be the background system of it on which I'm faling ...
I already have worked with the Windows forms sample from XNA, I even already got a application with it ... but I can't recall how I did it ...
It already was hard the last time, so I thought that I may will now make it to create something I can put into my libary before I start to figure out how to make the skripting, which should be the easy part. ... :D


About that wher I should get my dayly bread, work:
I get more and more work. Now that they know that I'm not only able to draw with CAD programms (and others), I'm able to speak english (stop laughing) and that my work normaly is delivered in high quality they give me more and more complex jobs. ... I hope they don't figure my other tallents out till next week, which will be my last week. ^-^


I take others with me!
Today I talked with the guy sitting next to me that work about game development, and that hes dream job would be to artist, but I never will be reach it.
... "Hey, its not that hard, just look that this job page of a well known game studio, its would not be that hard to reach thier requiraments, time consuming, but not hard."
A few minutes later he was sure that he can become a artist and already looked for the right place for his education in the internet.

Man I'm good.


Greg el Loco

I'm at work

Right now at the moment I sit infront of my new working station (I had to change, to a other one last week, as the last dose not have AutoCAd installed), wondering how I can spend the last one and half hours not working ...

Yes, I said: "Not, working"

It would be bad if any of my future employers would read this, but I got my cause.

Yesterday, my new supervisor (I also changed the department, now I'm in ... in ... call itStandardization) gave me some taff work. I have to make the drawings of a 60 page norm bi-langual ... I got the whole next week time for it ...
... I only got 7 drawings at the moment ... and that makes 24 pages ^.^

I guess I will walk up to my boss on tuesday and pressent him my work, ... 3 days before it should be done :D


... So what could I do? ... I could write the next whole one and a half hour on this post, but ... no ...

I could surfe around in the net, ... not that funny anymore ...


OK, I'll find something, this was just to show you how interesting my work is. Its not bad, the first week, where I hade to do nothing, was worst, but the work I got now ... is some how 'hard' but not real 'hard' ... its hard to discribe ...

Anyway, I'm happy :)


Greg the Mad

Serpentines

Wooops ...
Ther you write a update every second day for your blog, and *ding* ... you skip a week ... Its that easy.

OK, what happend ...

... I played a lot of WOW, but mainly skilled up some stuff and not made many levels.

On the weekend I work a little on my Camera Class, but somehow I don't remember how far I got ... damn you blizzard!
Anyway, I spend a few minutes at work (between some tasks) in reseaching curves. Yes I've decided to use the XNA Curve tool, but it dose not appear that great anymore, now I know some basics of spline interpolation. For example did I find yesterday a way to calculate the length of a curve ... XNA Curves don't got that ...

I don't know, I'll set down this weeked and have a closer look into that, because now with the Cubic Hermite Spline Interpolation and that way of getting the length ...
Now I only have to get the Hermit Interpolation and the length thing together, get that into a code format and ... I could publish a curve class that beats the XNA curve class ...

... Now that I just writen that I realized how great that single thing could be! ... Hmmm ... how to get the 1th derivation of the Cubic Hermite Spline Interpolation?

Demotivation ... :(

Somehow I'm demotivated today ...

Maybe its because of the dark weather, maybe because I steped into something, while I took the trash out, maybe because my internet connection is so damn slow on the weekend, maybe because my larynx hurts since two days every time I swallow, or maybe because I done know why I'm so down ...

Anyway, I will now start WoW again, because my mind is running without a gear in and playing with a alt ist the perfect thing for such a situation.

:(


Greg the Mad

CAD

I finaly got a real job at the company: Drawing CAD drawings.

I actually was a funny story: The guy I'm sharing the office with, needed a easy drawing of a tornister and some pipes. He gave me that paper wher he hade drewn it with his hands, and walked out to meet with someone. 5 minutes he returned and was supriced about that I was already done with the job, and that better then expected. 5 minutes later again, I got a phone call telling me that I have to got up to the 4th flore to get myself a new task: drawing.

As far as I can tell, they are actually impressed by my drawing skills, so I get one job after a nother. And I woun't mind if it would be some bigger jobs like those peenuts if drawn till now.

Its also some change in my daiely work as one of the twins works next to the office I get my jobs from, and so I got some chances to talk to her.


Anyway:
Today I start again with my programming weekend. The main thing I've done till now was to change the major build up of the camera class. Now you only have to call the Camera.Update() method and it runs, nothing else. Of course you still have to call the Camera.Initialize() method too before you get relevant results, but I don't know if ther actually is a easyer way of doing that.



PS: wow, my PC writing skills start to improve, I've writen the whole post without looking down to the keyboard, ... again something I've teached myself and that works out to be great :D


Greg the Mad

I shuld not have eaten that fish ...

A few minutes ago, around 10 minute, I was over in the cantine and eat my lunch, together with the twins.
The twins are (surprice) two girls I sat myself to at lunch. I'm normaly not that guy who sats his self just to two girls (I'm shy), but in that case I got some support buy the girl that works with me in the same department. I followed her, she sat herself to the twins, and so did I, end of story.
Anyway, they are not that special about them, just to say that clear, they're just good looking, nice girls, and so I was proud of me today.
I sat my self to them, and? AND?! I talked to them! I started a conversation! You have to know that I'm in real life a quiert boy, who only starts talking if he knows someone, that makes that success even more valuable! Whoot!

But then my meal stricked me down.

I like fish, its always a good alternative to the normal flesh (And I think that fish is meat too *evillook*), and the other stuff on the menu didn't sound that good.
But as I was standing there ... seeing how the cantine guy gave me that fish ... the complet fish ...

I looked at the fish and it looked back ... *shiver*

First I thought "Hey, I eat that kind of fish before, I can do it again", but after I was finished with that place where his bellybutton should be ... I don't know ... I stoped feeling well ...

I eat everything, but not stuff where I can tell wher which organ was ... stuff that looks at me ... or even is still alive.
I just get mercy with that animals. Only having the flesh kills that feeling.

OK, don't get me wrong. I could hunt and slay a animal myself and eat its muscles, but only them and nothing else.


To get back to the twins again. They were ther around 10 minutes before I arrived and started eating, ... they stoped at the half of their meal, I stoped at the same moment at the bellybutton ...
Man I feel sick now ... its not that kind of feeling sick where you have to through up, ... its more like the head line sayed ...

Now I sit in the office and hope that the half liter of coce will kill that feeling and the boring time till my working day ends.


And now about something different:

Finaly I found a way to make spline interpolation without the xna curve tool!
I don't actually need it right now as using the curve tool is so much easyer, but I may need it next school semester for a project, and also dose it feel better to wrok with tools that you know how they (could) work.
It key is Hermit Spline Interpolation (wiki it).
Hermit probably was a guy who appearendly had the same problem as I did: Two points, two tangents and nothing inbetween.
He made a solution, I'll copy it. :D
I actually could make now my own curve class, but for what? All I do now is to keep that sheat of paper, wher I have write the !easy! formular (compared to the other solutions) down, near to a save place, where I woun't forget it. :)


Long post, So Long.


Greg the Mad

Mahjong

Yesterday evening I got my first realy project ... Calculate the pressur los in a 70m long pipe ... it took me 4 hourse, 3 internetpages, 1 book, 5 pages of my mechnic stuff to calculate the pressur in two way.
Man was I proud of it. ... My supervisor took a look at it, sayed 'hmm ... ok" and walked away again ...


Anyway:
I the mean time I played my new favorit game: ....
Wait? What has told you that it is mahjong?

Shanghai Mahjong to be precise. That what makes is special to me is not that game itself, but more the ideas I get while I'm playing it.
How about a whole X-box live arcade game about it? With different modi, multiplayer, etc?
I already got some ideas for that stuff, ... but it will require something ... a 6D curve for the stone movements ...

I will have some more thought about it, maybe write some stuff down ... its just a easy game ... I could make it in a few weeks, if you ignore the fact that there wount be a great art behind it ... :)


So long.


Greg the Mad

Day 5.

Again I sit alone in my office, that guy I share it with is sick today ...
The same, appears, has happened to my work, still I sit here surfing the net waiting for the work that never will come ...


Spline:

To the supreice of everyone I did not play WOW at the weekend. On frieday I thougth, if I play the whole week WOW, than I have at least to work on the week end on my game/engine. Yes I just sayed the e word. I thought about it, took a look at some other engines and editors, and thought that I should be able to create at least a little engine.
Start: Cameras and Cinematic.

As easy as Cameras may appear, it stopes being easy if you consinder all the times of cameras you may could need for a game, going from static cameras to cinematic animated camera and everything in between.
And that is why I used the headline 'Spline' for that part of the post.

I spend the whole weekend working on my 'Path' class. Its a class that (will) take given keyframes and form it into 3D curves (actually a 4D curve considering time, but ... forget that). This may gets some simple parts with the curve system that xna provides, but it shows up some hard parts if you try to get a tangent or a normal of a specific part of the curve, and that is what I did not manage to get bug free yesterday and so have to take care of next week end. That and a few other things I got in my mind of the curve, like one single curve for complet control of a plane (yaw, pitch and roll), which will make a 4D curve (yaw and pitch controled with the tangents) and probably a 6D curve ...
... How I will display that will be funny :D


Greg the Mad

Day 4.

I could have stayed at home today I guess.

In the morning I went up to the guy I had to do a little job yesterday, and told him that I already finished it, after that I walked into my office and sat down.
Today that guy I normaly share the office with never appeared ... so I'm alone in the office ...

Fortunatly I know how to use the internet as radio reciever, it gives my company.
Also I bought some paper with me today. I planed to write some basics for my Camera Class down, ... it turned up to be a lot of basics I had in my mind.
If I realy make all that stuff I got on that one paper now, I could sell that Class for a few € á Licend. It got a lot of features which will be great for as one of the first real features of the Mad-Ed. Just to name one thing:
I changed the Camera kinds. Before I had only the one basic camera kind in mind for the basic movments, now I got 10+ different kinds, based on the use in the code and behaviour. For example the LookAt kind:
The Camera is fixed at a place and follows a object with its few.

Theres a lot more about that class, but I don't want to give to much way now ;)


And last, but not least:
Yesterday I bought the Burning Crusade for WoW ... just to mention it ...
I'll now spend some time there ... and probably not on my Camera Class.


Greg the Mad

Project: N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

Today I came into offic like every day, motivated, smiling, greeting every person that corss my path and hoping that I will get a chilly work like yesterday again.
I went up into the office, set down and booted the Laptop. At 7 o'clock, when my actuall working day started, I went over to the office of my supervisor hunting for a job. Ther arrived I found a empty office with a empty secritary place, so I turned around to come later again.
15 minutes later, in which the guy I share the room with arrived, who instandly started hard working (which makes me feel bad :( ), I retuned to the office of my supervisor to see if he is already here.
His office still was empty, but fortunatly his secritary was already here, who tolled my that he took of two days. "Ok", I sayed, "... So will give me something to work now?", to what she answered: "I don't know, I'll take a lot at this.", and I answered on tht again: "Ok, till then I'll be in the office again."


... This was three hours ago, and I'm still waiting ...

I'm quite quick in getting boring, you know ...
I spend that whole time surffing the internet, visiting all the pages I hadn't visited for a long time now, send some time in forums and checked out the new Diablo3 ...

Whoops, while I was writing the last line, the secritary appeared in my office and tolled my that she got something for me ... later, and she asked me if I could take some school work with me tomorrow, so I do have something to work.


... Anyway ...
Still boring.


WOW vs. Camera Class:
Currently I got two things I could do at home for my entertainment: work on my Camera Class, or work on my Charakters in WOW.
The problem would be, like I told you yesterday, that I only have the trail verison of that Bunring Crusaders and that I only can play my alts at the moment (and level up). So I have to choose now: Dose I get myself the full vision and so terminate the chance that I will continue the work on my Camera Class, or will hope for the already little chance that I will work on that Class?
... I think, lazy as I unfortunatly am, I will play WOW anyway, so why should I now play the full game anyway?

I will have to figure that out soon, I'll probably make a spontan decision out of it when I drive home today: Drive direct home, or make a stop at the next Computer Store (and McDonalds and get the free Ice I've won)?


Quite a long post, isn't it?
So Long,


Greg the Mad

Work ... ing

Today was (... is ...) my second day at the company OMV.
My Job ther?
... I don't know yet ...

Yesterday I spend 9 hours reading 2 files full of norms ... but I don't remember what it all was about anymore.
And today I finaly got a 'real' task: Get some system into that mass of E-Mails'

WhooHoo! (I'm realy happy about that, its better then reading norms the whole day)

How is working there?
You know, OMV is the biggest oil production here in austria, ... so there are lot of pipes, huge tornisters, etc.
The place I'm actually working at the other hand is a quiert little office, where I sit the most of the time alone spending time with the Laptop that stands on my desk. Some times I have to go to my supervisor and get my self a job. But I have to be care full, they always look that puzzled when I return too early saying "I'm done, whats next?" ... *austrians* ...
Yes, I could use that to impress them, but I don't want to get promoted here, dose I?

Only 24 working days left till 31.July ...


And now about something complet different:
Two days ago I dicovered that you can't level up to 61 (in WOW) if you only have the trail version, ... I probably have to get my self the full version of BC ... soon ... SOON!!!! MUWAHAHAHA!

... somewhen it this week ... ... till then I'll have to spend the time twinking ...


PS: I love wrting stuff on a Laptop, ... its feels ... so modern ... if just the well known problem of the battery woun't be ... it would be perfect ... *dream* ...


Thats all for now.
Till then, So Long


Greg the Mad

World of the comming Dark

Yesterday I downloaded 13 hours every kind of patch for World of Warcraft that oyu can imagen. 2.5 GBs of and complet different world.

Yes I'm about to restart my WoW playing.

There are a few causes why I do that. First did I yesterday finish the 4th class of my school the second time, but this time I'm allowed to enter the 5th class. And so I thougth of a little reward for me: Two months of WoW.
Second will I start my summer job on the 1st july, and I don't think that I will be able to realy work on my camera class after a hard days work. WoW will be there a little relexation ;)


Thats all vor now.
Now I will reenter the World of Warcraft with my good old AlterEgo: Abstinenz


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

Point. Click. Forget?

Today I've seen that 300 people have viewed my profile ... not a small number I have to admit.

Ok, 100 of them were me clicking on it myself to see how many are looking at my profil.


And that bothers me now ... 200 people have viewed my profile and found me so uninteresting that they didn't write a comment to any of my posts or whatever. ... Am I realy that uninteresting?
Yes, my blog is not something that anyone could realy read regulatry (I actually see it more as my personal diary), as it contains stuff of my boring life as stuff from my coding adventures, and all mixed into a single blog ... its like milk with soda (don't try it, ...), I guess.

... But as lazy I am I don't want to start another Blog, as I like that one ... :D ... its my blog after all.


You know, that blog thing is not the only thing where that happens, it also dose happen in real life ...
People come to me, talk to me, have fun with me, but once I leave that room, ... they don't start to hate me, its not like that (I didn't wanted to do it, but I once overheared some, they didn't sounded like they were unhappy that I just were there), but still ... they don't realy think of my anymore late ...
I'm like a ghost in their minds ...
and I still didn't figured out why, but I'm working on myself to make at least some good impressions ...


And now about something complet different:
Its seem that I get somewhere with 'The Mother of all Camera Classes', just a fwe more features (like turning the camera back into a neutral angle) and I can start to work on the TPS code, which I will make in my prototype of Orbit.


Till then, So Long


Greg the Mad

Fortun smiles upon me

ITS NOT DEATH!!!

WOOT!

my suggestion with the old recharge kit was rigth, I play estimated 5 hours with the xbox now with out any kind of problem. ... It appears to work :D


But I didn't spend the whole day on the consol, I also finaly manged to do some coding again. I'm currently working on my new camera class.
While the old only featured the position, lookat, ... so basic values of the camera, the new one got a initialization and a update method, which I only have to apply in the game class to get results.

Its not finished yet, as a problem with the lookat rotation appeared and that I want to implant a enum to change the actuall control of the camera, as I plan to make a second update method featuring a TPS camera, and maybe a third for a FPS camera, but I'll have to solve the current problems before I can do that.

The whole camera class thing may don't sound that importent, but I finaly had enought of the camera to jump around when I look straight down or up (its a problem with how the camera is build up, and I don't want to use a Quaternian yet, maybe later when I need it ... or when I find no other sulution).


So Long.


Greg the Mad

Red ... Ring ... Death?!?

To day I saw the red ring of death ...


3 red LEDs blinking at me ...


*Horror*!


I shut the consol down to eat my lunch, but the consol stayed on charging my wireless controler, after lunch I sat down and watched some TV, and then it happened. The red ring of death appeared ...

I already restarted my consol and tryed how and it it works. It workes fine, but I didn't made a realy test yet. ( which I will down now then ...)
I hope that the problem was my already old play and recharge kit, and not the consol itself ... *fingercrossing*



And now about something complet different:
Today. is. so. boring. !
Our teachers let us home after the first lesson because we were so few and the teachers were busy too ...
So I spend the whole day at home ... First I planed to continue my work on my Surface prototype, ... but some how I didn't ... I'm so unmotivated today ... :(

... UNMOTIVATION!!!!! ... ... ...


Anyway, I hope that I got more motivation tomorrow, and now I'll go and fight the red ring of death in a battle to death! WOOOHOOO!



Greg the Mad

Drop it!

Just a second ago I decided what I will make in the next time. I will work on little prototypes, that I later can use for my Orbit game desinge.

The final impuls cam from my recent visit of the BioWare boards. There I found a topic talking about a Normandy replica (its the ship from MassEffect), I turned my head 90° right and spoted a white (because of the much sun it gets on its new spot from last month, it starts to get creamy) Lego Mako!
It reminded me of the times where I spended each and every day on the BW boards, talking about how this and that should be in the finaly game, etc.
And it reminded me of an idea I had for Mass Effect, I think its already 2 years ago. It was the Mako Drop Minigame. The Mako would not be droped like in the game, from under 30 meter (WTF? IMPOSSIBLE!), but from around 5 kilometers, and your job would be to control the jets and break thrusters to get it save pass those 5 kilometers. It would just fir that perfectly into the game desinge ... with Geth on the ground that are shooting at you, missiles, wind, maybe some enemys that fall down beside you and you have to turn your ship to face and kill them with the main cannon ...

And I just thought that this wouldn't be that hard ... shouldn't be that hard to make for me now. All I need it a ground that comes close (or a Mako that comes closer the the ground, how ever you take it), some physics, where I already do have some, and a Mako!
It would be interesting to take the Lego Mako model I made for the constuction Manual and apply some physics on it if it crashes ... WUWHAHAHA! ... every Crysis playing PC would crash if you force him to calculate 362 bricks 60 times in a second ... hehe
And so I'll start with a simple Mako thing model falling down, later I add control forces, maybe get some ground collition, ... etc.


So Long


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

Cold Day

Today was worst.

It already started worst ... with me driving home from summer prom at 0am ... why?!?
5 steps after I passed the secruity at the entrence I already wondered why, ... I could have spended a nother tree hours chating with some of my class ... ok, ther only where two of them, 'HornyWhenDrunk' (Shes a nice girl, just with a wired behaviour when drunk, and what dose she always got with her cellphone?But I only keep calling her that way because it somehow got a sound to it, ... and because she never will read this :p) and Sido (He is one of thos guys who, when started, never stops talking, but noone cares, because he is funny ;) , and yes 'Sido too is a nice name, too keep them unknown)
Jep, just two ...but why did I drove away? Maybe because of the friend I brought with me, ... I already sad last year I woun't take him with me 'He woun't enjoy it' and what has he done last night? "Greg, when do you want to frive home?" Me: "DIE!" ... he didn't die :(


Anyway ... at the prom I was chased by a drunk friend of mine, telling that he will split all his beer over me ...
... and so ... running + cold air = cold ... -.- .. I realy had to force me to do the last lines of that documentation for my sample, but its done now. I send it to ziggyware an hours ago, I didn't recieved a answer yet, but I think that it is a good signe (He got nothing to complain about ;) )

... Its only 21:17 here at the moment, but I think that I will go to bed soon, ... trying to get rid of that cold ... again ...


So long.


Greg the Mad

Shoes, Summer, Sample

Today I was going to mall with a friend of mine (not martin, I woun't see him that othen anymore, now that he's not in my class anymore ...) to get some new shoes.
I like timberlands, you know, they look good, a nice to wear, and somehow also got something of funktion in them, so I was walking straight to the place in the shoe shop labled "Timberland", I looked though the different variations of brown, found some nice mixtures out of brown and orange, and one shoe that realy looked good in my eyes, ok, not that special like I would say: "HEY! I take that pair!" but still good. But unfortunatly they only hade them in one size, ... not mine ...
And that bugs me now ... what if I would hade liked them? What if they realy would fit to my stile? And why are they not produced anymore? (between the last two questions I looked at timberland.com :( )

Also some thing that bugs me now, why are ther so many brown shoes, but none that I like ... Dose I have to wear my current for ever now?


And now about something complet different:
Tonight is school summer prom (which summer? *look at weather*), and I'll be there. I don't know yet if it will be that great (weather again), and if I realy will enjoy it (I have to take a friend with me, all freedome of driving is gone ...), well ... I'll see.


Last but not least:
The last two days I was working on a sample for a article that I posted to Ziggyware.com (its not finished yet). Its about my physics code 'How to apply a force'. I always knew that this code is a great pile of work, and that it was worth every moment that I spend on its development, but ... now that I can grab that sphere (in that sample) I realy realised how powerfull it actually is.
It is just a force that I apply on a object, but that allown already looks so great (and realistic), ... and that from a 19 year old programmer that teached all himself ...
If the whole thing continues like it is now, I could be one of the best programmer in a few years.
I already got the understanding and creativity, all I'm lacking of is the basic knowlede, ... and that will be give to me in my bacelor study. ... :D


Greg the Mad

D like Dirt

Man is it alread 3 days ago that I have writen the last time? It appears that I'm not that kind of frequent writer :D

Anyway. Today I helped Martin (a friend of mine) to cut some flat-bar steel, ~130 pices, and you cant imagen how dirty you get when you make that. After 10 times washing my hands still can't be called clean. But on the other hand it felt good again to work something with your hands ... ok, I only hold the bar and Marting pushed the button (they were 9 meters long ;) ), and later we changed that role as we also changed the machine for a different dimension of bar.
... but still it felt good to wash my hands white again (from pitch black).

Also did I have that one last test today. I passed, BUT!

But a few seconds before I actually got the test, teacher told me that he and some other teachers have decided to give me a D in a differnt class (Lab), and that with out any warning.

... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ... :(

Now I have to hope that I got a C in that class last year, or that the most of the teachers decide that I'm good enougth to pass that year even with that D, ... or else I have to perform a test at the start of the next term ... damn them ...

ok, thats all for now, So Long


Greg the Mad

Gras?

As you may now dose the Euro currently take place in austria. Yesterday the maches started, and today was the first mach for austria, and ... even if we lost 0:1 ... even if I'm not that great soccer fan ... We did play good ... we actually ruled tho whole second half time ... ... we may, with a great amount of luck of course, could get in the next round ... may

Anyway, aslo did I spend some minutes on my planet code, but it actuall only was playing around with the current build:

In this case did I randomiced on vertex of two faces at the same time, and made a vertex every 1°. Looks like gras, dose it not? :P

Er ... and yes the 11 frames are without instancing, but also with out lightning ;)

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

Scrubs

Yesterday I was all day long busy, and that means something for a lazy guy like me.
I was invited to a birthday party of that guy in school that sits next to me, Martin.
It was a nice little party with BBQ, a pool filled with beer cans and some other funny drinks, like that clear one ... 60 to 70 % I was tolled ... only the half bottle survived, which was a great plus of that party.
Becuase all of them where friends of Martin, noone wanted to barf somewher into the grass, and so noone drunk too much. Ok I knew non of them, so I don't know how they drink, but as I know Martin, they woun't drink in such a way anyway.
Which leads to a little bumper ... I knew non of them, this and my little shieness made it hard for me to know any of them. Fortunatly they've got frisbees!


Ok and now about something different:
Today I put a part of that online that is supposed to become a physic engine one day.
Its up now on http://www.xnawiki.com/ and I hope that one of those greater programmer will have a eye on it and may changes some errors I did miss.


Nearly forgotton:
I finaly managed to finish scrubs off.
Yes I spend the last 2 month in whaching all episodes of the first 6 seasons!
Unfortunatly I discovered today that they're already working on 8 and that 7 will be out somewhere in the far futur (speacking about stuff like scrubs there is a huge time differents between austria and U.S.).
Now I can spend my time on something meaning full, ... for now ...


Thats all for now, so long


Greg the Mad

IN YOUR FACE!

Today the a mechanic teacher returned the test we've got monday.

And? AND? What dose the teacher say after he called my name? guess! I've got a C!
I stood up and just run through the class with a grin on my face ... man ... that is the kind of grin I only get at special moments :D

My test was so good that some other people out of my class wanted me to copie it so they can learn for the second try of that test next monday (we got 15 E, which means that we have to repeat the test). Later I walked up to the desk of the teacher and asked him why I only got 20 points on that 40 point task, "Hmmm ... ok you'll get 5 points more on that" So I finaly got a C with 75 points, preatty good, isn't it?
Better as you guess. Nearly the end of the lesson I became curious and raised my hand asking wich number of points is equal which mark "... 75 - B ..."
WHAT?!? *run* I GOT 75 POINTS NOW!
"... Ok ... you'll get a B"
WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!
In right that moment a guy out of the second row asked my how I did that awsome mark and cool and focused as I was in that situation I just say: "Because I can!"

That was one of the best moments of thies day, it may was dulled a little bit by the 'Horny when Drunked' girl next to that guy, which was a little to close to crieing in that moment, because of her rather bad mark ... ... I can't stand crieing girls ... :(


A nother ... 'great' moment of today was at the busstop, when I ... 'good' looking girl looked at me. When I saw that she saw me seeing her, a reflex of mine moved my eyes away from her. ... A few second later I tried it again ... she still was looking at me! Unfortunatly the big WTF! in my head blocked any good looking movement, gesture or smille, till she walked by and I never saw here again ... D'OH!


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

Tests, Tests and more Tests

OK, I only got two test next week, but that are such test I should at least get a C on, or I'll have to pervorme them next year again ... So I'm more or less detained for all the other stuff I want to do: Go drinking, meet girls, make sports ...

lol

Selfsarcasm is nothing good, is it?

Anyway, just yesterday I dicovered a interresting fack. I use my table pen more and more.
Its may because my Logitech mouse starts to get weak speacking about rechargable battery power, or because its awsome to control a PC with a pen ... I'm not sure yet.

Anyway ... ther ... is nothing else ... I can say about ... me ... yet ...


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

3 Tage Wach!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAtnN9I8cxA ("3 days awake")



No thats not me, but I somehow feel like that now.





We first drove away withe plan to visit some great facilitys and stuff (BWM, VöstAlpine, Siemens, ÖBB Powerstation), but the nights we went off are the only thing I realy remember ...





Ther first night we only were 10 people in a little round drinking till 12 ...



Ther second night ... :D ... we were 30 people, 1 drunken guy to get carried home, the only girl of the trip together with 5 other (no, just dancing ... kissing), 4 cached by police (including the girl), a body painted guy (not with airbrush ...) and one angry teacher :D



AND I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DRUNK NO ALCOHOL!!!!



Thats probabyl why I'm the only one to tell about it. And in my funktion as home carrier I spend the whole night in getting the others save and alive (its not that easy), and unfucked (sorry) into bed. ... So ... I more or less only sleeped 8 hours the last tree days (sleeping in the bus not counted).



... And still feel great! (must be because of the lack of sleep)





PS: The most wired thing I was confronted with was the one girl that acted like that behavior would be common to her ... WTF? ... MAN! ... dancing (and I mean D-A-N-C-I-N-G) and kissing with 5 guys in one night? ...

... What happend to todays children?!?





Ok, thats all for now, I'll get my self a show now ... a round MP3 and then ... ... a bed?





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

private bool Passion;

You know, I never realy was sure about the game developer thing.

Yes, I like to programm, to have ideas, to make those ideas real, to work with other people, etc. But there is also something I wasn't that sure if I got it till now.

As a game developer you not only have to spend the whole day sitting on your ass, but also sometimes the whole night. As you might already guess, I'm talking about such kind of passion, that lets you know no differnt time border but the deadline.

And as I mostly only spend around 3 hours a day on programming, etc. I actually wasn't sure about if I was able to spend the 'day' (8-9 hours) working on a game, or what ever.

But all that thougth suddenly disappeared when my brother called me a few days ago that he needs me and my godlike CAD skills to draw a gearbox for him, which he needs till monday (today). So we meet yesterday, eat lunch and started.

He spend the most time rethinking all the calculations, which weren't finished as I started drawing the gears.
I already had all gears (4 to give a figure) and a bunch of other stuff when he was done with the calculation.

And then I just drew.



Finaly a 22:00 my brother called me to tell me that I got school next day and that I must not wait the whole night with it as its probably pointless anyway. ... So I actually spend around 10 hours on a project that don't affects my live in anyway, and the only reward is a free entry card for the Iron Man movie (~7€). ... Some people may diffine passion differnt, but it works for me :)

And now guess what I would be capable of when there is a deadline infront of me and a angry boss in my neck! I could plan, build, populate and burn rom in just one day!!!!!!


Passion = true;



Greg the Mad

Feature!

Stop the production!

Stop the coding! The drawing! The desinging!

You can stop every game production on the world, we don't need any new games anymore!

No matter what they are working on, no matter how bit it will be!

They can't beat the best feature of GTA IV!




When you drive around with the Icecream vehicle you can hear a ich ginggle, (and now it comes) as faster you drive as fast the ginggle playes, and if you drive reverse you can hear the song reverse!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!

Ther'll never be a nother game that will be greater than that!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck Fable2! Fuck Spore! Fuck Force Unleashed!

GTA IV ROCKStars!



Greg the Mad

Green light when on.

Hey, I got money!

Even so much money that I was able to by GTA IV today, AND a 360 controler for my PC, AND enougth for my first 'perfection drive' tomorrow (that got something to do with the austrian driving licent stuff ...).

And that is not enought! ... I'll probable another bunch of money on May the first (I'll meet all my other related).


About GTA IV:
I just had played 2 hours, because my mom wanted her HDTV back, but I have to say that I probalby one of the realistic games I've ever have player, I can't say if it is the best game ever, but at least a great game.
Endorphin ROCKS!!!!!!!

About 360 Controler:
I only spend around 30mins with it yet, but I alread applayed the first stuff like throttle and sensitive waepon controls (as harder you press the trigger, as faster you shoot), but as long I don't stumble over GTA IV, the internet, or something different, I'll spend more time with it tomorrow.

About my Pants:
Slowly ... S L O W L Y ... the sommer is comming, and I'm one of the first people who took their short pants and shirst out of the locked and stared wearing them. ... I like the fresh feeling, and fortunatyl I got the legs to wear such clothes, but they also remind me that I don't got the skin typ that gets that easy tan ... :(
... its the 'Geek' skin typ. Not as white as the 'Nerd' skin typ, but also no 'Normal' skin tone.


So Long, and I even wear them when its reaning :P


Greg the Mad

19!

Today is my 19th birthday! Woot!

I never was that guy that celabreated such days with all my friends, alkohol, partys, etc
Probalby because I don't got enought friends to fill a room, and that is because I don't drink any alkohol (never), even if I got to a party/pub/disco which happens around 2 times is a year.

Woot 1 year closer to death!

But even if I'm one of those broing, not drinking, driver geeks, I still wanted to do at least something yesterday night. But the friend that wanted to go with me into a disco, and probably also wanted to force my to drink a beer, suddenly feared that I could be the only one he knew in that disco and so he stayed home ...
I feard too that I could be the only one I knew in that disco, so I too stayed at home.

... But I'm not supriced about that, he always stays at home when I want to go away ... capullo!


(yes, I searched some spanish cuss words in my online dictionary ;) )



And now about something happy :D
I did not write the force from absolut to relative code, that I need for my physics, as I was entertaimed the last few days:
SMA test, VKM test, Engish presentation (I got a +B, because I've spoken too fast, one even sayed that I speack like a english man! Woot!)

And I finaly don't to pay back anymore, and 200€ on my balance! ... - 60€ for GTA 4, - 50€ for a 360 controler for my PC (and the game development).

And the other 90€ ... I played with the thought to buy a instrument, and finlay start playing one (I wistle the whole day melodys, only because I can't play one), but I don't think that I'll get one for that much, so it will stay on my balance. :)


So Long


Gre the Mad

Control

I just have writen a the second way of controling my space ship.

The first was the engine controls, accelorate, deccelorate forward.

And now the sceond way are the jets.


If you ever have seen a Star Wars movie or any other SciFi thing, you may have noticed that there are always little jets of gas when they land a space ship. I took that idea of little jets all around the ship and created so the 'Emergency Control Jets'!


The idea behind that is, that even if your ship is hit by a EMP bolt, you still got at least weak jets to turn and accelorate/deccelorate your ship, very usefull if you're hit while you try to land on a planet (see => Serenity). This is possible because the jets, or valves, a connected to the cockpit via several lines, and got tornister filled with enougth gas presure to lift the ship up for a few seconds with out any other energie.

As the presure tornistor get constantly refilled, if energie is avaliable, you also can use them for a perfect landing on a space station/planed. But keep in mind that, on planets, the forces, that the jets have to provide, are much heigher than in space, so even if you got a black hole reaktor in your ship, you might woun't got endless energy to hoverer longer than a few seconds.

Currently I control those jets with the Numberblock, but I already got some ideas how I can swich to those controls on a 360 controller. :)


The next thing would be the Mouse control unit, but once I got this thing done I'll focus on how to transfere a force from absolut (used for the acceloration) and relative (used to turn the ship) ... that'll get complicated ...


Gre the Mad

Turn, Scale, Move ... Rebuild!

I had a few little confusing moments in the last days.

For example is the Vector3.Forward value equal (0,0,-1). Minus?!? Its called 'Forward' but actually points into the negative direction?!?

Ok, that would not the a problem, you can live with it.

But what next?
The Blender Y-axis is not equal the XNA Y-axin, but ther to are some ways you can live with.

I have to scale a Blender model with 0.001 to get it more or less right into XNA, but the exproter got 0.01 as the smallest scale value.


It appears that my force physics, somehow, work now. It may turns the ship into the wrong direktion, but after I spend two days (!) in changing the ship model (because of that the title), it still don't work yet.

Fortunatly I build the TPS camera with such a great code that I only had to change two values and it looked into the same direction like the ship.

But its still not finished. I still don't put any great deal of time into the absolut force into relative force thing. For example did I just a few minutes ago discover that the forces I used where something beyond absolut and relative ...
Not to mention that I also changed the relative axis with the whole ship changing thing, so it may take a few minutes till I cleanded the code up ...

So long.


Greg the Mad

Publishing

There is a new page online http://www.xnawiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Its XNA Wiki!!!

That what makes it a special awsome to me is that it freatures a code I put on.!

Woot!

Its my old camera movement class, that lets you hover the camera free through space to watch the awsomeness you're programming ;)



Else ther is noting new, yet.

I didn't found any time for the physics yet, because a friend of mine decided to come to my home and play Halo 3 with me.

So Long


Greg the Mad

Progress?

As my ship started turning (spinning would probably be the right word) and moving based on the one force I apply at the rear, next to the planed exhaustfumes, I somehow feel good.

Good about where this is going. Just thing about how much stuff I'll be able to make once I got such basic physics?
Particles (good animated particles ;) ), ... objects that react physical correct, and ... a bunch of other stuff ...

.. Its just so basic to got a force and its effects ... *whiping a tear away* ... I'm so proud of my physic engine ... even if it dose not work right, even if I only use on force and no collition, but ... but ...



Anyway, no about something complet differnt:
I start to get scared. The end o thies years term comes closer, and I still got that subject where I'm in the red numbers, and if I don't start learning for test, that one I got tomorrow, ... Math, I don't got any problems with it, ... I programmed a own programm on my hand held calculator just to calculate the half of tomorrows test, so ...
... I'll have to start to lear, ... for those subject where I got bad grades, and the want to bee's ...

(In on subject I earned A, A, C, and now the teacher wants to tell me that I might get a E in the end WTF?)


So thats all for now. Its already later here, and I still want to go to bed, so long and thanks for reading.


Greg the Mad

Physics? Ship Control? Baby?

Hmmm ...

I'm done with the basic structure of the physics I'll use to control my ship. ... ok ... I have to admit that it was a work of 5 minutes, I did in a short break at school, ... but its a structure.

And so that what wondered me was that it pretty looks like physics I also could use for other, not controled, objects ...
I may would have to make some changes here and there, but it apears solid to me ...

The only thing why I didn't applayed the new code yet is that I somehow fear to loos the old one ... I'll have to make a back up of it, even if its nothing special on it, to be honest ... I even would say that the whole code is crap, ... but its my baby :(

I even will have to add a lot of new values, like the float that tell the code of strong my shields are and so how strong the effects of the controls are, not to mention the pill of stuff I'll have to do to make the jet controls (that a little jet, like you know from real spacecrafts, which a supposed to work even if your hit by EMP, and will make fun when you got gravity to fight with :D )

So there may will pass some time till I got jing and jang in perfect flow for this task, but once I got it I can applay it to the editor and got something ... yeah ... I actually don't know why I did stop working on the editor and made that ... but it will be done soon ... ?


Greg the Mad

Forcing the ship to turn

Hey, it worked!

I now got a ship that turns in use of forces.

It might not be finished as I only turn the ship propably and not accelorate it with them ...

Hey ... while I was writing the last line I read the article on wikiperdia about torque (How the heck to pronounce that word?) and read there that a force dose accelorate a mass and rotates it if the force goes not straigt through the center of gravity ... GREAT!

All I need now is to get that some how into a system ... where I put the keys (AWSD) and the mouse position in and get the rotation out ... with pysics!!!

Now that I more or less got the basics, all I need it to draw a ground concept of it on paper, falt that paper, create a cigarett, smok it, use the ash as shampoo and I can create the control system for a space ship!!!

Why the fuck I want to make it with forces?
Easy! Not only that I so can make that shield stuff that I've talked of last post, but also that I'll get a realistic change in fly physics when I change the weigth and sice of the ship!

AWSOME!!!


Greg the Mad

... and it made damage

Well I actually spend 20 mintues on this new physics thing yesterday ...

I stoped it because it ended up with my ship shooting through my little solarsystem.
Ther problem was not that I don't got any control about the physics, but because I ended up without any control over the forces. It was like my first trys of 3D motion.

The problem is that I don't got those anti momentum shield yet, that I've spocken of. All that they would make is to applay a force that would affect the actuall velocity so that its always pointing into the direction the ship looks. No problem, applay a force that rotates the ship and deliveres enought acceloration that also turns the actuall velocity vector.
But how dose a Force realy turn a object like a ship?

F = m * a

M = F * l

M = J * 'alpha'

J = ?

'alpha' is that what I need, but how dose I got J?
My ships are normaly not a easy shape so I could use the basic shapes J's for that ...
One way would be to easy take every object as a sphere and use J=2/5 m*r^2 ...
But somehow I would never be quite happy with it, but for now it have to be enougth ...

Also how dose I know how much a force dose rotate a object and how much it accelorates it? I don't got an answer on this one yet ...

And I made a misstake.
Its a habbit I dislike, but which can be handy from time to time. ... Somehow I don't got fear ... OK, I got fear from ... I can't think of anything yet, but I got it ... sometimes, as long its nothing like to code physics. What I mean is that did not prepare for that yesterday. Ther was no line I've drawn on paper before I started, and that is not good. You easyly loos track if you work like that ... and I'll have to change this!

And I'll start now with it ... today ... soon!
And make some basice logic for the physics!


Greg the Mad

A Apple hit my head ...

Last week I spend around 5 minutes in coding anything usefull, and even less in doing anything meaningfull, I think oyu can imagne how I feel now about the last week ...

And just on monday I've seen something that should change my code, and now is the moment I'll start with it!

I watched Serenity and found out that the system I used till now woun't work in futur. Till now I tolled the space ship where to be in the next frame, but that would get hard to tell, once I start to make stuff like landing on planets (shaking), or if one of two engines is brocken and the ship starts turning around all three axis ...

And so I plan to use some physics for that, easy stuff like F=m*a => a=F/m only to accelorate the ship and later a use a little method to change the resulting Vector based on the rotation of the ship. (I easyly could turn the velocity vector, but that would not fit to my planed design ;) ).

That would be the first step to create the final ship behav, with anti- external force shields, anti momentum shields, atmosspheric control trusters, multiple engines typs and all that stuff can be toggled on and off.
That would add a nice simulation touch to my game. I your ship is heading towards a enemy ship and you start shooting, but instead of stoping shooing and flying pass the ship, you just disable your anti momentum shield and the thrusters, so that you can turn your ship will you stay on your flypath, enabling you to continuo the shooting.

Its just a little detail and the player may woun't use it that often, ... but he can!

So enougth talk, I'll now grap my old prototype and try to applay that new system, wish me luck!


Greg the Mad

Its getting better

My cold is getting better. I already was at school yesterday for a test, ... which was a mistake ...

It don't look that good if you sneeze and all that snot hangs out of your nose ...

Not to mention the amout of hankys I needed. I run out after the 6th lesson, fortunatly it was the last lesson and because of my high driving skill (which disables every kind of sneezing while I drive) I made it home in time to reach for the first hanky and make a big honk.

... This adventure persueded me to stay at home for the next day (today). Yes, I got school on saturdays, ... as long I don't got a cold.


Anyway. I finaly found out why I make all that stuff, no not the point of life, I figured that out years ago, no, but why I write this blog while it appears that I'm the onlyone who reads it.

Not only that I practise my english skills, but also because its great to get thougth, no matter what kind of thoughts, into a string. To focus them, got think about them, to make them better!

In the last post I've writen that I did nothing about my editor project, guess what I did just a few minutes after a I'vs clicked on 'PUBLISH POST', yep, I sat down and spend some hours in my project,
I'm may didn't added that great pile of code (because I still don't fell that well), but I did at least something! Thats all what it is about, ... the project, the editor and the game.

No, I don't mean that I only make it now to wast some time, but because I don't have to learn all that stuff now.
I found a public school in vienna, that got a field of study called: "Game Engineering and Simulation Technology'. Its a masters degree and so I'll have to make a bacelor before that, something like ... computer science.
So I got a way of finaly becoming a Game Designer, I realy can afford the money for! (ONLY: ~400€ à semester!).

But just think about it ... How cool It had to be in a interview to be able to say: "I got a degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Bacelor of Computer Science and a Master of Game Engineering and Simultaion Technology" ... I know that still woun't get me the job and stat I'll need stuff like my current project (port folio), good ideas, sympathy, evil madness powers, hamster like skills and luck to get a job, ... but ...
Man, ... that would be so cool!

All I need now is to finish my current school (D'OH!) and pass the accepance test. The test should be that hard and the school thing ... well ... we'll see :)


And yes, it look like not only my cold is getting better. :D


Greg the Mad

Handkerchief Invaders

Not only that I was sick at the start of my holidays last month, I now got a nother cold again ... even worst ...

I'm actually not that guy that stays at home if he got a little cold, but this one stricked me down ... I've stayed at home for the last 3 days and have done nothing, apert form producing 3 paper bags full of used handkerchiefs (and more to come).


... I hate such kind of cold ... sometimes is takes me 3 handkerchiefs for one honk, and I don't want to go into the details now ...

I also have done nothing about the Mad-Ed, ... I actually didn't even opend the C# Express Edition ...

But ... if you didn't already noticed I spend 5 minutes in the html of my blog, changed some collors and scales, it may not be perfect yet, but ... I just like green. :)


Greg the Mad

Rethink

I finaly found some tim yesterday to solve my littl array problem.

The problem was that I've forgotten to thing about the stuff that I've already done.
When I was working on my game prototyp I used a array for the astroids, and each astroid contained a nother array for the shards that would fly away once the astroid is hit (I never finished that feature).

And there I found my solution: Stupid me has forgotten that for a array you should use 'struct' instead of 'class' for your ... class (I don't know the details about programming).
And once I got that, C# tolled me that I can't initilize a value in a struct, that means that I can't give it a value.
And then I thougt that I have to give it some where else this value, ... and bingo!

All I had to do was to initialize those values later in the Form1 class, there where I also initialize the Build1 class.


And I tryed it, it work. I can load a moden, place it and save the whole scene, the next step (which should be easy *fingercrossing*) is to load a scene,

And once that is done I'll have a look in flexible array and how to realize them. Many because I currently useing a arrays with a standard range of 100, ... wich can lead to pretty big file scizes of around 42kb, only the normal saving of the empty arrays ...

And after that ... Features ...

But: Baby steps, baby, ... baby steps! :)


Greg the Mad

Fazit:

What did I manage to do in that 1 and a half week:

• Changes in the propertygrid affect the model
• Able to save files ... more or less ...

Not as much as I hoped to do, but if you consider that all that other stuff only is just differnt use of stuff I've already done ... it should not be hard or take much time to make those stuff later.

Now I got different problems, like a Level3D class thats, always, seams to be 'null' ... so that I can't use the Obstacel class array that it contains to save the model paths.

Level3D?

Jop, Level3D.

I actually spend some time to get a idea on how I'll build the editor. The basic of it all will be the Build class, it will contain a array of Leves and maybe some other stuff. And a Level3D is a ... 3D level, ... unlike a 2D level ...

I plan to make the editor flexible, so that if someone wants to make a 2D game, he just has to click on 'add 2D Level', and if he want to make a 3D Level he has to click that button.

The clou is that you also will (should) be able to combine those two types of levels. From simply using 3D stuff for the game and 2D stuff for the interface/menu to real game play parts in both styles.

When I look back, I realy have to say that I'm impressed by myself, ok, I asked the XNA community about that save thing, but all that other stuff was made bymyself, only using tutorials and my own geniusity. Once I got rid of that 'null' I don't know anything that should stop my from making the first demo ... but ... there probably will be something I hadn't meet yet ...

PS: Cool! If you enter "Greg the Mad" (with ") in Google, nearly all links on the first page are about me! That means that I'm the only one in the world who uses the nicname 'Greg the Mad'! I'm unique!

Greg the unique Madman!

Save Terror!

Lets say that I never had saved anything befor, to beginn with.

So I was complet on the edge of my knowledg when I first thought of saving the editor and its values. I first tryed to get some infos about that out of the 'How do I' files from C# Express. It only contained a hint on how it works, ... for the 360 ...
My next try was the internet. But unlike all the other problems I've got earlyer, ther was no working standard solution for this (WTF?).
... So I did that what I actually do every day, but not to get support for something. ... I've writen something in a online community.

Fortunalty there where some nice programmer gurus, who know exactly how to do this and that.

A few hours later (I start to get lazy ... don't work that much in holidays ... that sucks ...), I got the first 'Hello.mad' file on my PC saying 'Hello World'.

... aint it nice? ... To have his own file format? :D ...


Today I started to connect the Editor values with the save file method. ... It worked ... till I pressed the button saying 'Save ... ' ... the programm crashed ... :D

Now a few hours, a round Crackdown, to come down and a lunch later, I finaly figured out that the XmlSerializer, I'm using to save the file, dose not support the Model Class from Xna ... Bastard.

Genious as I am, I already came up with a ways to solve that problem, ... it may take a while till I changed to whole save code to work without the Model class (I'll save the path of the model files), but its a light at the end of the tunnel, and normaly those lights are not from a train :D


Greg the Mad

The First Pic of

Hi,

I just reworked some of the 'Select' lines of my editor and also made the property grid affect the actuall model, which ... is quite a lot.

I now can place different model in space and ... watch them, ... from many points of view.

(Thats more than I could do with the NWN2 Toolset ... :p )

The white wire orbs are the bounding sphere, and ... yes, ... they don't fit ...

The space ship sphere don't even get displayed ...

So, thats all for now, cu

Greg the Mad

How NOT to do it.

I'm impressed. I'm confused

How did they ... I tryed it! I tryed it so hard, but still I can't think how they do it.

How dose BioWare/Obsidian work with such a editor (NWN2 Toolset)?!?
OK, its powerfull and got a lot of features, but ... the camera!

You only can orbit stuff with you camera!
If you want to work on a open field you first have to place a object in the middle just to have a good few.

... you can't move the camera freely! That stops any kind of creativity! Even I was able to make a better camera movement in my Editor!

I thought of may making a little NWN2 modul, ... but that ... its impossible to make a good modul, without planing ever detail 2D before. ... that sucks!

C'mon!

If anyone read this, and too works on a Editor, or something similar:
The NWN Toolset is no good guideline, talking about camera control.
Keep that in mind.


Greg the Mad

WTF?

Do you know those moments wher you can't believe your eyes?

Today was on of those moments.
I stood up, maundered to the window and as I opended the curtain, a beam of white blind my sight.

SNOW!! Snow in March!!

That was a great start into the day. It had to be.

My cold is nearly gone, and I did some stuff for my Editor project, Mad-Ed.


I currently working on the little feature, that makes it possible to click 3D objects with the cursor, which is quite interesting.

I already made some stuff featureing the cursor and its connection to the 3D world, so the basics only where copy and past stuff, but that what made the new thing so interesting was that, that the mouse class form XNA, only provides the absolut position of the cursor, starting on the top left corner of the screen. So if your game window is not located at that point you have to use a offset, to get correct results.
Sounds easy.
But how to get the actuall position of an windows form, while its not in full screen?

... Don't look to me, I don't know it either!


I also dicovered that the bounding spheres, of my loaded modes, are beyond good and evil.
The bounding sphere of the table mesh, from the XNA Picking sample, spans the entire field of view! ... just somthing else I have to work on.


But on the other hand dose the actuall clicking feature code work, I just can't controll what I click ...


Greg the Mad

Strike 1, Strike 2, waiting for 3 ...

Strike 1:

A little cold smack me in my face right at the start of the holidays. Probable a chronicle desease, I got it at the start of every holidays ...

The problem I got with the cold is not the amount of handkerchiefs all around me, but the permanent ... 'down' feeling it provides ...

Strike 2:

Suddenly a copy of NWN2 appeared on my desk. I'm actually not that great fan of round based combat, nor the fan of level up's that take 10% of the entire game play, but I have to admit that it is quite charming. ... Just watching what my character dose, ... its like a fantasy movie, just with figures hovering over the just killed bodys.
A nother cause why I got myself the game was the NWN toolset it contains.
I don't plan to create any module for the game, but I want to have a look on how BioWare (who hade programmed the toolset) thinks about game development tools, and may applays some ideas on my Mad-Ed.
And no that mean not that I'll just blindly copy their editor.


While I'm talking about my editor:
I don't got any great new feature yet (read Strike 1, and 2), but I did create a little grid, like you may know it from other editors. That actually made me think about the scale I'll use there, but I'll have a look into that problem later. Now its about the cursor and telling the editor to care about what I do with it. :) ... so ... once I'm fine again ... and NWN2 is beaten ...


Greg the Mad

1 and a half week work

Its raining outside my cosy cold room. Its a steady rain. No wind moves any drop away from its choosen path. I just fewed my Mail-Box, only advertisement.

Infront of me, 1 and a half week of nothing.

No plans, no work, no duty.

That means that I got comlpet 1 and a half week that I can spend in my Editor Project with the new name: Mad-Ed.

Status of today:

• 3D View Window with Controls ... done
• Loading Objects ... done
• Display Properties ... done

Planed:

• Changes in the Property Grid will change stuff in 3D View
• Move/Scale/Rotate controls
• Change DisplayMode
• Save Levels

... Its actually not that much that I've planed, but that what a pro would make in just a few days, probably will take me a few weeks ...

Lets see :)

Greg the Mad

A light at the end of the Workshop

Some how, I realy don't know how, I managed to get some time, somewhen between learning for school, trieng to get my gamescore back and playing on the new HD-TV from my perents.
And this time was use to work on my Workshop, project.

Just a few minutes ago I got rid of a problem, because of which I was not able to load more then one model, and I also made the first try with the proparties.

It may will take some trys till I got a working propartie system, but it is a great feeling if you try something complet new and after the second try it. dose. work!!!

Once I got this, ... yeah ... then I probably have to thing about how to control, or even write background skripts with Workshop ... that woun't be a pice of cake ...

Anyway ... still can't wait form next weeks holidays :)


Greg the Mad

Still Workshop

I have already managed to use my CameraMovement class for the edito, even if I hade to change some controls (I was forced to replace the Arrow-Keys with the arrows on the number pad, because the windows form, too uses them).

Also I managed to load some meshes, but later failed ot use mor then one mesh, I tried to use a list for this, but I probably have to use a differnt solution (or rethink the list thing).

But when I keep in mind that all that I'm a complet zero in programming, its going pretty well.

I'll maybe will have the first 'move objects' features in a few days, and later (in around a month :P ) I'll be able to save those moved objects in a Workshop file (if I still call it workshop at this moments) and use them in a game.

If only I had not school ... I could work the whole day on my stuff, ... could ... but unfotuantly I'm lazy and only work when I got a straigt plan ... which I'm lacking at the moment, because I'm not sure yet how to load more then one mesh, ... maybe without list ...

... but I got 3 test this week, but on the other hand I'll have around two weeks holidays after that week ... can't wait!


Greg the Mad

Workshop

And again.

I droped something.

I droped the work on the space station models and stuff.

But I finaly started something that I planed much longer then all the other stuff.

My own editor!

Finaly I managed to get some knowledge out of the XNA samples and use them for my planes.
I don't know how much effort I'll put into the editor, but I'm sure that ther'll be a 'planet' button, where I just have to click and suddenly there is a planet cycling the sun. A button labled 'Astroids' and *pop* I got astroids! etc.

I've chosen the name Workshop for it, because I'm actually a mechanicle engineering studen, and I somehow feel connected to the word Workshop, even if I don't like to work in one ...
... Once I know a better name I'll change it ^.^

I don't got many feature yet (non to be honest), but I hope that I'll got the first feature at the end of next week, as long as I don't waist too much time learning for school ... :p


Greg the Mad

Drop, Station and Scale

I droped the physic stuff.

No, not because I would not be able to do it, but because its not worth the effort.
Just yesterday I created my second way of tracking physics (using energy instead of mumentum), but I was confronted with some bugs, like the one where the sphere suddenly started orbiting the cube (something that I tried to skriped for astroids, but didn't manage ...). And so I stoped it.

I plan to focus more on the actuall game then the tools all around.


And the next thing that is on my path is the implementation of space stations in my game.

I already made one centuries ago, but I don't like the style of it anymore. The new are build out of many little modules (like the actuall space stations are).
I spend the last day building those moduls, or parts, in blender. I also assembled the first few, but I still now sure about how they'll look, you know, where to place this airgas tank, where the container modul, etc.

And I also finaly made some researches in the scale of .fbx and .x file in XNA.
I discovered that .x files got a 1 to 1 porting from blender to XNA, but .fbx on the other hand got a 1 to 100 porting form blender to XNA.
It always was confusing when I made a new model, but coun't just implent it into my game, because it suddenly got the scale of the whole skysphere ...

At the same time, I made just a little test, wher I tried how close the XNA camer could come a mesh before it cuts thought the surface. 0.5 XNA Units was the first value that I tried and it worked for me, so I'll stay there.
I may could even go a little bit closer, but I don't have to.

So that was it today. I'll have another look into the stations tomorrow. So long and thanks for reading todays post.

;)


Greg the Mad

Waisted Time

And again, another week has past without leafing any trek.

I've spend the last whole week learning for school and some other stuff.

... ther even is nothing I can talk about ...

hopefuly ther'll be much more the next time I write ...


Greg the Mad