This is from the most recent build of FGF:
Yes, it is my own implementation of the Aero style of windows done in XNA. What does this mean? Well I have decided that although the simple way of doing a menu system in games is fine for simple situations, I want something more powerful and prettier to look at. Thus I have started working on a new UI library for Thrust that is based on Aero and similar interfaces. I am doing it in a fully customizable but lightweight manner and working on Xbox 360 compatibility.
Get it while it is hot! CNN has a ton of money and have hologram technology:
What’s next, the Death Star?
This is a fundamental topic in C# and if you plan to do any development at all with the language you need to know this. Override is used for changing the behavior of the original type’s method or property. The new keyword, in this case, is used for scratching the existing behavior but only in the current type. To better explain this, consider the following code.
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| public class Foo{
public virtual void Print(){
Console.WriteLine("I am a Foo!");
}
}
public class Bar{
public override void Print(){
Console.WriteLine("I am a Bar!");
}
} |
If we declare a Bar and cast it to a Foo in the above code, we will still get “I am a Bar!” when we invoke the Print method. However, if we change the code to the following things will get messed up a bit.
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| public class Foo{
public void Print(){
Console.WriteLine("I am a Foo!");
}
}
public class Bar{
public new void Print(){
Console.WriteLine("I am a Bar!");
}
} |
If we instantiate a Bar, we will get the new functionality. However, if we cast that Bar object into a Foo, we will get the implementation provided by the Foo. So be sure of what you are using and why!
Oh Fallout 3, how I love thee. The game is fantastic. A must buy for anyone interested in shooting people, leveling up, causing massive destruction or any combination of the above. But oh how the main story is just one let down after another. I have mistaken this game for a game made by Bethesda; a game where your actions directly influence the story at pinnacle moments. Instead this is a game where you are built up to a high and then let down when the story takes a sudden left turn and you have no choice but to follow it. And these sudden left turns, oh how predictable they are, are so basic that it just makes you bleed with agony over what could have been.
But in the end, I am going back to start a new character and do it all over again. That is how good this game is.
We had snow yesterday! But it didn’t stick…
It seems as though Microsoft is putting a lot of work into Windows 7. Much more than we (the public) ever thought. And it also seems that they have been working on a lot of the details which is a VERY good thing. Among the new UI functionality and look, I find this to be one of the coolest additions: Color Hot Tracking. It extracts color information from the icon and moves the glow around based on your mouse position. As a UI guy, this gets my blood pumping. As a consumer, it is nice to see they are changing the taskbar finally.
However, I must say that I love my current taskbar. I wish I could have the new graphical features with the current style: text and small icon. Why? Because I am dependent on knowing where each Window is on the taskbar and getting feedback by quickly reading the text. If I have multiple Messenger windows open, it is nice to be able to quickly scan them rather than having to use a grouping mechanism which requires 2 (or more) clicks.
Anyways, Windows 7 has been really exciting for me. Aside from Visual Studio 2010, W7 is starting to be the most exciting software release ever for me. I just hope Microsoft follows through on this one…
I have decided that I should give my opinion about the game. Why? Because this is the internet and if I don’t, who will? This review will not give out a score and is not going to simply list the pros and cons of the game. Rather I am going to give reasons why the game is good or bad and then argue with myself.
What’s good about Fable II?
- Simplicity
- For: For those that know me, it is no surprise to hear that I am not a huge RPG fan. I never actually completed Fable I and the only other RPG games I have played include Diablo II, KOTOR and Oblivion. Thus I thoroughly enjoy the simplicity of Fable II. The controls were very easy to pick up and the aiming for combat is incredibly easy. Just point, slash, dash and bash! But the simplicity doesn’t stop there: the best part is the quest trail. I hate games that just expect you to know where to go and Fable II fixes that with a dotted trail that shows you the way.
- Against: I am going to have to disagree. Although the simplicity of controls is good, the fighting leaves a lot to be desired. I wish games would employ both simplicity and depth. Allow those who want to spend time learning controls do so by giving them advanced moves via combos. But the lack of depth and complexity doesn’t always have to be about fighting. The lack of any sort of mini map is incredibly frustrating. The lack of a more complex potion setup is also very painful. Because the game picks potions for you, you could end up munching on fatty foods that suprise suprise, make you fat!
- Short But Sweet
- For: The game has a perfect length without having to resort to tons of fetch-it quests. The worst thing about modern RPGs is in the name of providing an open atmosphere they just include tons of extra side quests that turn out to be nothing more than walking across the world to get an item for someone. The best part about the questing in Fable II? Some of the side quests fit in with the story and make sense. The second bad thing about modern RPGs is fetch-it quests that just do not make any sense.
- Against: You couldn’t be more wrong! Fable II is the shortest RPG ever made and it is so short it is actually painful. You know a game is bad when you can spend more time mucking about in town than you do finishing the main story. Furthermore, I do not believe a game has to resort to fetch-it quests at all. Fable II makes good use of interesting quests with side stories that are awkward, funny, and even a bit frightening. They should have spent a litle more time extending it!
What sucks?
- Glitches!
- For: There is no excuse for game ending glitches whether it is joining a coop game of someone who hasn’t made it to the main game or not being able to get out of dialog. I will go as far as saying that anything dealing with the A button is glitchy. It doesn’t matter, even putting away your weapon doesn’t work sometimes!
- Against: Yep, no excuse and no argument here!
- Lack of depth
- For: Why are there so few weapons? So few clothes? So few spots to discover? The world is small, the clothes are boring, there is no armor and there are no weapons to really find except for the legendary ones. Fable II pales in comparison to games like Diablo II where there are almost endless possibilities.
- Against: Why do you need so much depth? It made sense for Diablo II because the game was about farming. It was a hack and slash where you played just to get better items. Fable II is not about that; it is about the story! If there were more weapons, it isn’t as if you would be using them. You would just get the best and that would be it.
- For 2: That is true! Perhaps they should try making multiple types of weapons with different looks that all do the same damage or have the same attributes. That way players can at least customize their looks. A game like Fable II needs to support gamers’ desires for being unique.
I am having so much fun with the game whether it is spending money on hookers, beer or scaring the townsfolk. That’s right, I went evil with my first character…
I was working in Photoshop CS2 tonight on a theme for a website and discovered a problem. When I uploaded the image to the web and opened it in Google Chrome and IE8, I noticed a significant problem with the colors.
Left: Photoshop CS2, Right: Saved JPEG in Google Chrome
Full Design Image
If anyone understands what is going on here, please let me know. I know it has to do with the Color profiles of the image. When I change the profile to “Dell 2408″ in CS2, they are the same. But this begs the question: what will it look like on other peoples’ computers?
Tunnel
November 5, 2008 12:02 pm | 
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