Unrelated post, I know, but I needed somewhere to stick this info so I'd be able to find it myself in future.
Since version 37 (approximately), Chrome has had blurry, awful text by default. Not nice at all. Turns out the fix is pretty simple, but may not be permanent. I sincerely hope Google doesn't make DirectWrite a requirement. Anyway... to fix:
1). Go to chrome://flags/#disable-direct-write
2). At the top of your screen, highlighted in yellow, is an option to disable DirectWrite. Enable to this option.
3). Restart Chrome. Fixed!
Sunday 21 December 2014
Thursday 26 December 2013
Thursday Merry... Boxing Day!
A belated Merry Christmas to you all!
You know, all those ones of viewers...
You know, all those ones of viewers...
Thursday 13 June 2013
I'm Not Dead Yet
I know what you're thinking: "Well, so much for that endeavour." I haven't stopped working....I'm just not working on CubeScape. I did some serious thinking, and came to the rather unpleasant conclusion that I would be far better off working on something that people will want to buy. The problem is that Minecraft is THE cubic voxel sandbox game, and people don't tend to want to buy "Minecraft rip-off" and "Minecraft clone" games - which is what CubeScape would seem like.
For those of you who were actually interested in CubeScape, do not fear, I WILL finish it...one day.
Now, I suppose you're wondering what I've been up to.... what have I been working on that is better than CubeScape? Actually, it's a game that everyone will want because it's based loosely on an IP that no one's ever heard of but is really cool. It's a 3D Clonk. Basically a massive/giant/huge/enormous 3D sandbox with smooth diggable voxel terrain and do-anything gameplay, but also supporting scenario-based gameplay, where there are specific goals and rules. It will be multiplayer, and, like Minecraft, will support both 1st-person view and 3rd-person view.
I'm planning to make this game in DBPro. "Wait, what? Planning to? So what have you been doing all this time?"
I've been working on the voxel terrain plugin for DBPro. That's right, I'll be releasing (via TGC's website) the voxel terrain plugin for all to use. But it's really hard to make, so I need to stop wasting time here and get back to work on my plugin.
Signing Off
As soon as I finish the plugin (or possibly before), I'll post more information here as to what's actually happening in the aXeHead Games Studio (my bedroom ;) )
For those of you who were actually interested in CubeScape, do not fear, I WILL finish it...one day.
Now, I suppose you're wondering what I've been up to.... what have I been working on that is better than CubeScape? Actually, it's a game that everyone will want because it's based loosely on an IP that no one's ever heard of but is really cool. It's a 3D Clonk. Basically a massive/giant/huge/enormous 3D sandbox with smooth diggable voxel terrain and do-anything gameplay, but also supporting scenario-based gameplay, where there are specific goals and rules. It will be multiplayer, and, like Minecraft, will support both 1st-person view and 3rd-person view.
I'm planning to make this game in DBPro. "Wait, what? Planning to? So what have you been doing all this time?"
I've been working on the voxel terrain plugin for DBPro. That's right, I'll be releasing (via TGC's website) the voxel terrain plugin for all to use. But it's really hard to make, so I need to stop wasting time here and get back to work on my plugin.
Signing Off
As soon as I finish the plugin (or possibly before), I'll post more information here as to what's actually happening in the aXeHead Games Studio (my bedroom ;) )
Thursday 4 April 2013
Tuesday & Wednesday Nothing
Nothing happened. I've been incredibly busy with other things. Sorry.
Also the idea is that I won't be combining days every time, only when necessary.
Also the idea is that I won't be combining days every time, only when necessary.
Tuesday 2 April 2013
Weekend & Monday Learning
11.50pm Scary Pointers And Nice Reference Variables
Ok so I AM listening to Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites by Skrillex right now (it's actually one of my favourites), hence the name, but it does also have something to do with what I've been doing recently (in the past 20 minutes). I suddenly realised that I didn't really know when was the best place to pointers. I've always thought of myself as a pretty good programmer, but I definitely won't be until I work out where the best places for pointers are. *searches google* Ok this question has been asked quite a few times, and in every instance the highest-rated answer said that the best place was "only where necessary". Obviously pointers can be dangerous and can cause bugs that are difficult to find, but I'd never really thought about it before. Well, time to go through a fairly large amount of code and remove as many pointers as possible. It won't take too long, and it's actually quite relieving finally knowing that it's best to avoid pointers if at all possible. I mean, they have their uses and advantages (for example, they are theoretically faster to pass into functions than just normal variables because they don't have to copy all the data in), but they can be so much more confusing that it's not worth it. Anyway I now have a MUCH better grasp on the concept of pointers and the way data is handled in C++ generally.
Over the weekend I did little work on CubeScape, mostly because I decided that the weekend should be my days off from CubeScape. I played BioShock Infinite quite a bit since my brother (whose name is Lachlan aka Megaman1574, btw) bought it on Friday. He's finished it already, but I still have probably a quarter of the campaign to go. Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow so I can uninstall it to free up some disc space (I have only 10GB free out of 700GB).
Today being Easter and a public holiday in NSW (and possibly elsewhere), Mum didn't require that I do my schoolwork (I have no idea why she lets us off school on public holidays....did I mention I'm homeschooled?), so I finally got stuck in and did some decent work on CubeScape. I wrote the loading queue that desperately needed writing so that when I finish the spreader system (I'll explain how all of this confusing stuff works in detail when it's all working properly) it can actually be used.
Also today we discovered a new game called StarForge which is chocca-block full of potential but so far isn't hugely well executed. It's getting better with every new version, though, so I have high hopes for it.
12.20am Signing Off
I just spent that last half-hour writing this blog post and since I have to go to Armidale tomorrow at about 2.00pm for Cadets (google AAFC) and I have schoolwork as well, I really need to go bed right now. Lachy (my brother, in case you hadn't got that yet) and I also have to get haircuts and I'm going for my green Ps, so it's a busy day tomorrow. Oh, for those of you who don't live in Australia and have no idea what I mean by green Ps, it's third stage of the graduated licensing scheme that we all have to go through to get our full driver's license. Learners, red Ps, green Ps, full license.
Ok this post is way too long now anyway so goodnight.
Ok so I AM listening to Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites by Skrillex right now (it's actually one of my favourites), hence the name, but it does also have something to do with what I've been doing recently (in the past 20 minutes). I suddenly realised that I didn't really know when was the best place to pointers. I've always thought of myself as a pretty good programmer, but I definitely won't be until I work out where the best places for pointers are. *searches google* Ok this question has been asked quite a few times, and in every instance the highest-rated answer said that the best place was "only where necessary". Obviously pointers can be dangerous and can cause bugs that are difficult to find, but I'd never really thought about it before. Well, time to go through a fairly large amount of code and remove as many pointers as possible. It won't take too long, and it's actually quite relieving finally knowing that it's best to avoid pointers if at all possible. I mean, they have their uses and advantages (for example, they are theoretically faster to pass into functions than just normal variables because they don't have to copy all the data in), but they can be so much more confusing that it's not worth it. Anyway I now have a MUCH better grasp on the concept of pointers and the way data is handled in C++ generally.
Over the weekend I did little work on CubeScape, mostly because I decided that the weekend should be my days off from CubeScape. I played BioShock Infinite quite a bit since my brother (whose name is Lachlan aka Megaman1574, btw) bought it on Friday. He's finished it already, but I still have probably a quarter of the campaign to go. Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow so I can uninstall it to free up some disc space (I have only 10GB free out of 700GB).
Today being Easter and a public holiday in NSW (and possibly elsewhere), Mum didn't require that I do my schoolwork (I have no idea why she lets us off school on public holidays....did I mention I'm homeschooled?), so I finally got stuck in and did some decent work on CubeScape. I wrote the loading queue that desperately needed writing so that when I finish the spreader system (I'll explain how all of this confusing stuff works in detail when it's all working properly) it can actually be used.
Also today we discovered a new game called StarForge which is chocca-block full of potential but so far isn't hugely well executed. It's getting better with every new version, though, so I have high hopes for it.
12.20am Signing Off
I just spent that last half-hour writing this blog post and since I have to go to Armidale tomorrow at about 2.00pm for Cadets (google AAFC) and I have schoolwork as well, I really need to go bed right now. Lachy (my brother, in case you hadn't got that yet) and I also have to get haircuts and I'm going for my green Ps, so it's a busy day tomorrow. Oh, for those of you who don't live in Australia and have no idea what I mean by green Ps, it's third stage of the graduated licensing scheme that we all have to go through to get our full driver's license. Learners, red Ps, green Ps, full license.
Ok this post is way too long now anyway so goodnight.
Saturday 30 March 2013
Friday Rain
1.50pm Lunchtime
I finished my schoolwork earlier than planned and I had no outside work to do so I got right down to business with CubeScape. I now have the chunk-loading idea cemented in my brain so I can't forget how I was going to do it. I also played around in Minecraft for a while in creative mode. I created a superflat level so I could fly really fast and watch how Minecraft loads its chunks. I'm pretty sure that my method will achieve a similar (if not identical) effect, except considerably more reliably; Minecraft was leaving quite a few holes in the landscape. Also hopefully faster.
I'm eating my lunch as I type this:
It's Cruskits with extra crunchy peanut butter. I did have four of them but I ate one.
It's raining quite a bit here at the moment. This is what I look at while I'm programming:
Well, that's what I look at when I'm not programming and when it's raining. When I'm programming I'm looking at my screen.
10.25pm Skyfall
Just finished watching the latest in the incredible Bond series, Skyfall. Loved every minute of it! Awesome-cool film with guns and explody things and ooooh I love the Bond films!
I'm sorry that you're not getting very many updates relating more to CubeScape, but I've been so busy with other things that I've mostly been working on concepts in my mind rather than code. I have written some new code, but not much.
Over the next hour and a half (possibly more because it's Saturday tomorrow so I can sleep in a bit) I'll try to get as much of the new chunk-loading system in place as possible. Actually, to be a bit more specific, this chunk-loading system that I've been talking about isn't really a chunk-loading system at all. What it does is designates which chunks to load, not how to load them. I have an entirely different system for actually bringing the chunks from the server to the client and putting them on screen.
12.05am Heart Attack
For about an hour after that last update I wrote and re-wrote code...nothing actually does anything yet but it will all happen quickly when it happens.
I'm a big fan of Blender, so I love to watch the films the Blender team produces using Blender. Their latest is Tears Of Steel. On the latest TOS blog post, they mentioned they filmed the thing using a Sony F65. I got all curious and googled it. It's one of those massive professional cameras. Sony didn't list the price of it anywhere, so I did a quick look around and discovered that it's sold for $65000!!! AH! And the comments were saying that was a good price compared to most professional cameras! ARG!! $65000!! How in the name of.... how did the Blender team afford one?! And then I noticed a different camera for $80000....I'm not even going to go there.
12.25am Signing Off
Ok, so over the past few days I've got almost no work done. That always sucks. Probably more for you than for me, but I still don't like it. But don't worry too much; if I begin to get bored with the incredibly tedious work on CubeScape, this blog, if nothing else, will keep me going.
As soon as I've got a playable demo finished (just enough so you can walk around and jump and stuff) I'll start releasing alpha versions. I've already worked out the pricing: alpha=free, beta=$5, final=$10, plus if you bought the beta you get automatic access to the final version. Not if you got the alpha though. I'm not that nice.
My brother has bought and is downloading Bioshock Infinite tonight so will be interesting to play that when I finish Bioshock 2....
So TIRED goodnight :)
I finished my schoolwork earlier than planned and I had no outside work to do so I got right down to business with CubeScape. I now have the chunk-loading idea cemented in my brain so I can't forget how I was going to do it. I also played around in Minecraft for a while in creative mode. I created a superflat level so I could fly really fast and watch how Minecraft loads its chunks. I'm pretty sure that my method will achieve a similar (if not identical) effect, except considerably more reliably; Minecraft was leaving quite a few holes in the landscape. Also hopefully faster.
I'm eating my lunch as I type this:
It's Cruskits with extra crunchy peanut butter. I did have four of them but I ate one.
It's raining quite a bit here at the moment. This is what I look at while I'm programming:
Well, that's what I look at when I'm not programming and when it's raining. When I'm programming I'm looking at my screen.
10.25pm Skyfall
Just finished watching the latest in the incredible Bond series, Skyfall. Loved every minute of it! Awesome-cool film with guns and explody things and ooooh I love the Bond films!
I'm sorry that you're not getting very many updates relating more to CubeScape, but I've been so busy with other things that I've mostly been working on concepts in my mind rather than code. I have written some new code, but not much.
Over the next hour and a half (possibly more because it's Saturday tomorrow so I can sleep in a bit) I'll try to get as much of the new chunk-loading system in place as possible. Actually, to be a bit more specific, this chunk-loading system that I've been talking about isn't really a chunk-loading system at all. What it does is designates which chunks to load, not how to load them. I have an entirely different system for actually bringing the chunks from the server to the client and putting them on screen.
12.05am Heart Attack
For about an hour after that last update I wrote and re-wrote code...nothing actually does anything yet but it will all happen quickly when it happens.
I'm a big fan of Blender, so I love to watch the films the Blender team produces using Blender. Their latest is Tears Of Steel. On the latest TOS blog post, they mentioned they filmed the thing using a Sony F65. I got all curious and googled it. It's one of those massive professional cameras. Sony didn't list the price of it anywhere, so I did a quick look around and discovered that it's sold for $65000!!! AH! And the comments were saying that was a good price compared to most professional cameras! ARG!! $65000!! How in the name of.... how did the Blender team afford one?! And then I noticed a different camera for $80000....I'm not even going to go there.
12.25am Signing Off
Ok, so over the past few days I've got almost no work done. That always sucks. Probably more for you than for me, but I still don't like it. But don't worry too much; if I begin to get bored with the incredibly tedious work on CubeScape, this blog, if nothing else, will keep me going.
As soon as I've got a playable demo finished (just enough so you can walk around and jump and stuff) I'll start releasing alpha versions. I've already worked out the pricing: alpha=free, beta=$5, final=$10, plus if you bought the beta you get automatic access to the final version. Not if you got the alpha though. I'm not that nice.
My brother has bought and is downloading Bioshock Infinite tonight so will be interesting to play that when I finish Bioshock 2....
So TIRED goodnight :)
Friday 29 March 2013
Thursday Gaming
Very Quick Update
Signing Off
Going to bed now because I need to be able to get up at 8 tomorrow morning (technically today since it's just gone past midnight) for school and 7.5 hours' sleep is pretty much the minimum I can get away with on a regular basis.
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