With this post, I bring in a new category- Ideas. It's use will mostly be for my own benefit, since my organization skills with "notes" are a bit sketchy... though I'm sure other readers might find some ideas they would like to utilize. For my first idea, I have something that I've yet to see done: distributed computing on the PSP.
One of the features of the PSP is it's WiFi connectivity. There is support for AdHoc and Infrastructure modes, so you can play games with your buddies in the same room, or connect to the internet and play online (or browse the internet). It is this feature that, while browsing the Microsoft Research site and coming across ConferenceXP, sparked the idea for distribute computing with the PSP.
Distributed computing has a long list of uses, but as an example I'm sure everyone (at least everyone who reads this) has seen or heard of, let's use distributed rendering as our "demo application". A distributed rendering setup is usually referred to as a render farm. The basic setup I had in mind for a PSP version would include a que manager/server, and the process clients.
The que manager would be responsible for queuing up tasks and sending them to the process clients to be worked on. Process clients will send task statistics back to the que manager. The que manager would have a GUI so the user running that PSP can get a visual representation of what exactly is going on with the current tasks.
Each of the process clients would also have a GUI, allowing them to take a peek at the overall task statistics, as well as what the other process clients are up to. Once a job was completed, the que manager and process clients would be informed, and shown the final rendered image.
Now imagine the other applications of distributed rendering- such as medical research. There are plenty of gatherings related to say, cancer cure research. Add to that gathering a small booth with a WiFi setup, with a que manager server (which could also be a PC for example). Now every person there walking around with a PSP could run the processing client tool, and help contribute to finding a cure for cancer. Of course, the image of a bunch of lab coat adorned scientist and doctors walking around with PSPs sticking out of their pocket protectors seems a little odd...
This example could also be initiated without the server actually being there, as essentially all that needs to happen for the que manager to send tasks and organize jobs, is communication to the clients. There are numerous ways of achieving this. As a matter of fact, I could on for pages about different ways of doing things with this idea- but the base idea is there.
Until we meet again.
12.21.2008
12.20.2008
Rant: The Greed of Developers
Another day, another rant. Today it'll be on the topic of developers, and just how greedy they can be. I know most of the readers here are likely to be developers, so while reading. try and keep an open mind.
I was recently browsing the forums around QJ.NET, specifically in the PSP development areas. I came across a thread title "Gamemaker File Port". I took a peek because I was curious, having had a short fling with GameMaker. What I read there, is what spawned today's rant.
Since it would be difficult for most of you to go and check the thread out yourselves because you have to signup to read, I'll copy and paste. It was a short-lived thread:
MSeven: is it possible to port Gamemaker files (.gml or somehting) to psp, or have a GML player?
FreePlay: ...No.
Xandu: Nope, that's good or else the PSP scene would be filled with more newbies than it is now..
MSeven: but better games
FreePlay: ...No.
Glynnder: no way.. people would just want dev status. if anyone ever codes this, release one that runs at <1fps.
As you can see, I left the format unchanged other than text color, size, etc. The spelling is all the same. I could easily bash these fellows for being poorly representative of intelligence, but that's another rant that was already covered. No, what gets me here is something I see all over the place.
There was an obvious lack of an actual answer. Because for all intents and purposes, a GameMaker file reader of some sort is totally possible. What functionality or the full extent of it's use would be up to the developer, and how much energy they were willing to put into it. But the fact stands- it is possible. No one bothered to mention that, and thus they were incorrect.
The Rant comes into play, with the statement made by Glynnder, "if anyone ever codes this, release one that runs at <1fps."
This is somewhat off-topic, and quite nearly deserving of it's own Rant post... but the whole QJ.NET network seems to be full of a rude and seemingly unintelligent community. Every other post is either someone far too naive and lazy to get anywhere with their problems, or some person on a major high-horse.
I hate how post counts represent people's worth. To me what is important is the value of the posts made. What's better, 4,533 posts full of "...No", or 126 posts full of "No, but what you could do is [insert lengthy informative help here]. Hope that helped, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask."?
Perhaps I'm spoiled by communities like the Ogre3D forums/wiki. They have structure... post counts are never brought into play, and people really help. And man alive, do they ever share knowledge. I honestly don't think I've come across another forum that even matches their level of maturity.
So back to greedy developers. In an age of open-source, community driven projects, etc, how is it that developers can be so cruel sometimes? The way I see it, if you don't want to share it, don't even announce it. What, do you want a cookie? Great, you have something you made, that ends there.
However, if you intend to release what it is that you're working on, status updates, teases, and beta tests are awesome. These developers are actually doing something, that affects those around them, usually in a good way. They're making something, that helps someone, somewhere. Somehow.
So if you're a greedy jerk-a-holic of a developer, and you only talk about your projects for glory or give false answers out and demean others simply to give yourself an edge... well all I can say is you've proven to me that you aren't that great of a developer in the first place, since you have to rely on these shady tactics to do so.
Until we meet again.
I was recently browsing the forums around QJ.NET, specifically in the PSP development areas. I came across a thread title "Gamemaker File Port". I took a peek because I was curious, having had a short fling with GameMaker. What I read there, is what spawned today's rant.
Since it would be difficult for most of you to go and check the thread out yourselves because you have to signup to read, I'll copy and paste. It was a short-lived thread:
MSeven: is it possible to port Gamemaker files (.gml or somehting) to psp, or have a GML player?
FreePlay: ...No.
Xandu: Nope, that's good or else the PSP scene would be filled with more newbies than it is now..
MSeven: but better games
FreePlay: ...No.
Glynnder: no way.. people would just want dev status. if anyone ever codes this, release one that runs at <1fps.
As you can see, I left the format unchanged other than text color, size, etc. The spelling is all the same. I could easily bash these fellows for being poorly representative of intelligence, but that's another rant that was already covered. No, what gets me here is something I see all over the place.
There was an obvious lack of an actual answer. Because for all intents and purposes, a GameMaker file reader of some sort is totally possible. What functionality or the full extent of it's use would be up to the developer, and how much energy they were willing to put into it. But the fact stands- it is possible. No one bothered to mention that, and thus they were incorrect.
The Rant comes into play, with the statement made by Glynnder, "if anyone ever codes this, release one that runs at <1fps."
This is somewhat off-topic, and quite nearly deserving of it's own Rant post... but the whole QJ.NET network seems to be full of a rude and seemingly unintelligent community. Every other post is either someone far too naive and lazy to get anywhere with their problems, or some person on a major high-horse.
I hate how post counts represent people's worth. To me what is important is the value of the posts made. What's better, 4,533 posts full of "...No", or 126 posts full of "No, but what you could do is [insert lengthy informative help here]. Hope that helped, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask."?
Perhaps I'm spoiled by communities like the Ogre3D forums/wiki. They have structure... post counts are never brought into play, and people really help. And man alive, do they ever share knowledge. I honestly don't think I've come across another forum that even matches their level of maturity.
So back to greedy developers. In an age of open-source, community driven projects, etc, how is it that developers can be so cruel sometimes? The way I see it, if you don't want to share it, don't even announce it. What, do you want a cookie? Great, you have something you made, that ends there.
However, if you intend to release what it is that you're working on, status updates, teases, and beta tests are awesome. These developers are actually doing something, that affects those around them, usually in a good way. They're making something, that helps someone, somewhere. Somehow.
So if you're a greedy jerk-a-holic of a developer, and you only talk about your projects for glory or give false answers out and demean others simply to give yourself an edge... well all I can say is you've proven to me that you aren't that great of a developer in the first place, since you have to rely on these shady tactics to do so.
Until we meet again.
12.13.2008
Tool: MaPZone
Today we have a gem that some of you may already know of. It's an awesome texture authoring tool named MaPZone- developed by Allegorithmic, who also created imageSynth. They also have some middleware for developers worth checking out if you have the cash to spend.
MaPZone is downright awesome. It's compositing graph based interface is very intuitive, and the endless possibilites of texture creation are amazing. The fact that it exports diffuse, normal, specular, and opacity maps (plus others) is quite useful for game developers/designers. Really, this tool empowers those with less skill to texture by hand, to create good looking stuff, and in a short amount of time.
Textures created with MaPZone automatically tile, which is a real bonus. There are expensive stand alone tools for this alone, and it isn't easy to do this by hand- you can't always make your textures follow a standard. Or rather, can't always get them to turn out with the same results.
Another cool feature is the real-time 3D preview. It shows your texture and it's corresponding maps (normal, specular, etc) put to use in a shader. Very handy to get a little peek at how it will look in your engine, and helps to tweak it more to your liking.
All in all, I'd say this was a "must have" for any indie developer looking to quickly create textures for their project. 3D artists will of course find it useful as well. So go get it!
Until we meet again.
MaPZone is downright awesome. It's compositing graph based interface is very intuitive, and the endless possibilites of texture creation are amazing. The fact that it exports diffuse, normal, specular, and opacity maps (plus others) is quite useful for game developers/designers. Really, this tool empowers those with less skill to texture by hand, to create good looking stuff, and in a short amount of time.
Textures created with MaPZone automatically tile, which is a real bonus. There are expensive stand alone tools for this alone, and it isn't easy to do this by hand- you can't always make your textures follow a standard. Or rather, can't always get them to turn out with the same results.
Another cool feature is the real-time 3D preview. It shows your texture and it's corresponding maps (normal, specular, etc) put to use in a shader. Very handy to get a little peek at how it will look in your engine, and helps to tweak it more to your liking.
All in all, I'd say this was a "must have" for any indie developer looking to quickly create textures for their project. 3D artists will of course find it useful as well. So go get it!
Until we meet again.
12.10.2008
Tool: ScribeFire
Okay, so at this point it's becoming quite obvious that I'm a total liar. I know I said this blog would be dedicated to Flash and ActionScript, but I've been finding other worthwhile topics to blog about. Today we have a new addition! Tool Recommendation. Every now and then, I'll share a tool that I find helpful, and I'm sure many others will too.
I like to hit up the FireFox addons section every once in a blue moon, and look at the "Featured" or "Recommended" sections. It had been a little while, so I snuck over and took a look today. What timing! Right up front was ScribeFire, a tool for bloggers. Install this puppy, and you can post to your blog easily from within FireFox, without actually being at your blog's dash. Setup is simple, and there are a good amount of features. I'm using it right now as a matter of fact.
It's the little things that make me happy, and ScribeFire certainly has a few- a simple shortcut to bring it up (F8), built in tools for useful stuff like TrackBack URLs, promoting, and even some monetization tools. I've yet to really dig into it, but I can tell this nice extension will be a permanent friend to my FireFox installs. You're sure to enjoy it if you are a blogger.
Until we meet again.
I like to hit up the FireFox addons section every once in a blue moon, and look at the "Featured" or "Recommended" sections. It had been a little while, so I snuck over and took a look today. What timing! Right up front was ScribeFire, a tool for bloggers. Install this puppy, and you can post to your blog easily from within FireFox, without actually being at your blog's dash. Setup is simple, and there are a good amount of features. I'm using it right now as a matter of fact.
It's the little things that make me happy, and ScribeFire certainly has a few- a simple shortcut to bring it up (F8), built in tools for useful stuff like TrackBack URLs, promoting, and even some monetization tools. I've yet to really dig into it, but I can tell this nice extension will be a permanent friend to my FireFox installs. You're sure to enjoy it if you are a blogger.
Until we meet again.
12.08.2008
Rant: Examples of Forum Idiocy
Okay, I know I said this blog was going to be related to Flash and ActionScript... but after running into multiple annoyances while browsing various forums today, I just had to make a post about this. I guess it will be nice to break things up a bit once in a while too.
I'm sure we've all run into twits on the net, specifically on forums. I know I have. Here are my biggest pet peeves that are common to run into:
* People posting on forums, quoting someone. That's not a big deal, it's a nice feature to have. The dumbshit violation? Quoting someone's picture. Or a whole long line of pictures, just to say "cool!1!!". Morons.
* People starting threads, just to be the first to swoop in on that topic. Okay, this isn't so bad. But coupled with thread abandonment, or plain stupidity, this is a vile action that should be punished with at least a 24 hour ban.
* The oh-so-common troller. You've gotta love it when someone lowers their level of intelligence and wastes their own fucking time, just to piss someone else off. Why these people are allowed to breath in the first place is way beyond me.
* People flaming someone who asks an intelligent question, or states something that's obviously true, simply because they have low post counts. Okay, I understand the value of community. It's a great thing to feel known and respected somewhere. But I can say that many, many times I've been flamed by and absolute retard who feels he has something on me, simply because his post count is 7,328 and mine is 56. Thing is, my 56 are all intelligent. His 7,328 are full of 1337 speak and moronic role-playing sequences of someone buttering his toast for him.
* People who don't search. For the love of god! I hate this. What kind of an ass shaver hasn't heard of Google, or the forum search function? 99% of the time when someone wastes bandwidth, database space, and time to ask a question, it's been answered 50 times before. These people should be cordoned off from the internet, and only be allowed to look at a DOS screen for the rest of their life.
So there you have it folks. The common crap you'll see from absolute morons, on forums. Have anything to add? I'd like to hear it. It's always good for a chuckle, and it just plain feels good to share.
Until we meet again.
I'm sure we've all run into twits on the net, specifically on forums. I know I have. Here are my biggest pet peeves that are common to run into:
* People posting on forums, quoting someone. That's not a big deal, it's a nice feature to have. The dumbshit violation? Quoting someone's picture. Or a whole long line of pictures, just to say "cool!1!!". Morons.
* People starting threads, just to be the first to swoop in on that topic. Okay, this isn't so bad. But coupled with thread abandonment, or plain stupidity, this is a vile action that should be punished with at least a 24 hour ban.
* The oh-so-common troller. You've gotta love it when someone lowers their level of intelligence and wastes their own fucking time, just to piss someone else off. Why these people are allowed to breath in the first place is way beyond me.
* People flaming someone who asks an intelligent question, or states something that's obviously true, simply because they have low post counts. Okay, I understand the value of community. It's a great thing to feel known and respected somewhere. But I can say that many, many times I've been flamed by and absolute retard who feels he has something on me, simply because his post count is 7,328 and mine is 56. Thing is, my 56 are all intelligent. His 7,328 are full of 1337 speak and moronic role-playing sequences of someone buttering his toast for him.
* People who don't search. For the love of god! I hate this. What kind of an ass shaver hasn't heard of Google, or the forum search function? 99% of the time when someone wastes bandwidth, database space, and time to ask a question, it's been answered 50 times before. These people should be cordoned off from the internet, and only be allowed to look at a DOS screen for the rest of their life.
So there you have it folks. The common crap you'll see from absolute morons, on forums. Have anything to add? I'd like to hear it. It's always good for a chuckle, and it just plain feels good to share.
Until we meet again.
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