Blogs

OK, I had to post this up just because it made me crack up:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081031-the-call-of-cthubuntu.html

So the AI stuff is crunching away, ships are moving better but not quite right, and the mission handling is also under way. Right now, I'm pushing Project Make It Pretty. Alot of the code to make it pretty is already there. Yesterday, I added the capability to have fat stacks of engine flares, which will go a long way to making it pretty (looks awesome with the turn jets, BTW). We're going to need to get the particle editor integrated into the greater editor sooner rather than later, though, so that we aren't using smoke contrails for ion engine flares.

Here's a quick reference in an Ars Technica article about how Escape Velocity was one of the most longed-for Mac-only games. http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/09/18/mac-only-feist-a-ga...

Hey guys, prototype 2 is a go! I'm going to zip it up and make it available, but that is really a stop gap method. If you don't have Eclipse and Subversion set up yet, well, https://www.cwssoftware.com/wiki/index.php/Connect_to_Subversion_Reposit...!

Basically, you need to have that going so that you can contribute back- if you mod the scenario, for instance. Even you tech-phobic writers should be plugged into Subversion, and now is as good a time as any to learn.

Let's set up a chat for a subversion tutorial, so that I can tell you all a bit about how the system works.

Well, the paying job anyway. Just put in my 2 weeks at AGP on Monday, off to better and brighter horizons. The new job is a consistent 9-6 job in AG, working on web development. I won't be as accessible during the day anymore, but I also won't be going till so late at night and totally gone on Tuesdays.

Pay wise, it's a lateral move, but the change of scenery is much needed. Plus I'll save money on Gas because of the shorter commute, so that is good.

Well, just got the news today that the owner of the building we're in is selling it, and wants everybody out by the end of the month. Whoo-hoo. So, everybody, keep your eyes out for cheap office space in the SLO area, and I might need to call upon your mighty backs to get my server rack moved again.

What a pain!

Prototype 2 for Sephil Saga is well under way right now, and most of my time has been devoted to the coding aspects, trying to get it out to you guys. I thought we only had a little more to do; I was sort of right, sort of wrong. I forgot that marking off "Spaceports" on the list meant having WORKING spaceports, so the mission BBS, trade center, shipyard, bar, etc, all that stuff had to be working. Most of it is now!

I've read through Travis' critique of EVN several times since he posted it way back when, and it's good stuff. I don't have the energy to write out a thorough analysis of the game like he did, unfortunately, and I've been meaning to post this for a while, so I'll just outline my thoughts.

Stuff I liked:

- The ships and their graphics. Each faction had a great design aesthetic, and the ships and outfits were all really well done.
- Federation and Polaris space was fleshed out really well. Interesting, unique worlds and stations with a lot of history and even some ambiance.

We've implemented a "Virtual Office" system that seems to be really working- combined with the amazing efforts of the new locals. Nothing like having somebody actually be able to kick your butt to keep you moving and motivated. And that motivation seems to be spreading to the CWS Software Remote Nodes (AKA people who aren't physically Here). We've had a lot of time schedule conflicts- life does go on, after all- but seems like we're getting people back into the fray. I'm contemplating activating our sound engineer, something I can't take lightly (talk about busy!

So the business is dead. Mac will be taking all the assets he can in an attempt to recoup our outlays, and maybe start it himself based in Fresno. Shortest serious business venture in recent memory as far as I know.