Replacing my Coding Project with a 3D Game Collaboration

In a previous post, I mentioned my plans for coding a text-based RPG derived from an old school project of mine. I planned to port it from Java to C++ and then provide a clickable graphical user interface using Qt. I had completed a considerable portion of the code, even with my arm in a sling, but I just grew bored.

I didn't have an original story, it was just generic stuff. I was focusing on being able to get the code to 'just work', which it did, because it was simple enough. So I deleted that dull NetBeans project and decided to start afresh.

I buzzed up two friends of mine, who are also coders, and suggested we collaborate. Now we've chosen the Irrlicht Engine as our graphics engine. Irrlicht is a free, open source, feature-rich 3D engine that supports C++. It is completely cross-platform and supports D3D, OpenGL and also includes its own software renderer. Its got a great community and from what we've found out, the API is pretty clean.

It sounds a bit crazy going for a 3D game project, with no experience whatsoever with gaming engines. We do however, know how to code, so we'll do what we can for now, amidst our academic commitments. During this summer though, this project could really heat up. Game programming is hard, we know, but we're up for this.

As for a story-line, I did some brain-storming immediately after ditching my NetBeans code and after a couple of hours, I came up with a story-line. At the moment, its not very detailed but it has potential to be expanded. I do know a friend who has a good story-line in mind and depending on what he's got and what's feasible, we'll choose what to work on.

We don't have a name for the project yet. We're just going to concentrate on getting familiar with Irrlicht for now. If anyone happens to be familiar with Irrlicht, I'd appreciate some feedback here. 

Posted via email from Terminal Variant

Apple Tablet Event Liveblog

At 10 A.M. PT, on this day, Wednesday, January 27, 2010, Apple is going to unveil its "latest creation" in the form of a Tablet. I'm hopeful that Steve is going to present it himself and turn on the Reality Distortion Field again. If not, then Phil Schiller probably will and although it might not have the same effect, the Tablet will probably still be there for all to see. While that is obviously the big focus, I'm expecting some announcement relating to iTunes and I'm hoping for some news on a new MacBook Pro line as well.

So if you're tuning in here, I'll be following the event via stream, but I'll do my best to provide a good experience here on the blog. If you're the kind who likes to be spoilt for choice, there's always Engadget and Gizmodo to follow for the latest as it happens. I'll be updating this page as the event takes place. This is my first attempt at a liveblog, so try and take to it kindly.

Posted via email from Terminal Variant

Apple splashes the paint before the big day

As an enthusiast of all things tech, I just can't but help feel excited (understatement, really) before the big event. January 27th at 10 AM PST is the date and time to put on your phone calendars right now. I'm going to try and live blog this one. I don't have the biggest audience on my blog, but I always pretend I do (screw you, if you're laughing at this). It'll be night time here in Mumbai, 11.30 PM IST to be specific. If someone's got a video feed or there's an official one, I'll link to that too.

I'll just leave you with this quote from the charismatic genius himself, before he takes the stage, once again, to present a new innovation to the world.

Apple at the core, its core value, is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better.

Posted via email from Terminal Variant

If Steve Jobs Had Just One Wish…

It’s like I’ve said for umpteenth time now, Techcrunch (who just got hacked and restored back again), you guys aren’t giving me credit for predicting the Tablet’s gaming potential. Even Mossberg didn’t see it coming.

Posted via web from Terminal Variant

On paper – Tech heavyweights compared

This doesn’t say a word about market share, profits or the like. Its just an indication of the kind of artillery these giants happen to carry.

You would think that Apple could take over a couple of startups with smart search algorithms to complete the dots. Or that Microsoft and Google could acquire a few startups that specialized in embedded systems to do the same. But its not so easy to budge a real rock in the search engine market like Google. Bing tried to, but its still just beating at the edges of Google’s supreme foundations.

One row that could have been added to the above table, is mapping services. Microsoft has Bing Maps while Google and Yahoo have their respective namesake versions of the same. Apple bought Placebase last July and might be working on entering that market as well.

A row that could be added with only Microsoft having a foothold in thanks to the XBox, would be gaming. In a recent tweet, I mentioned that the invitation of IGN and a few other gaming companies to Apple’s media event in two days time, probably hinted that Jobs’ latest innovation could indeed be as awesome as old Mossberg thinks it is.

I think eventually its always going to be between Microsoft and Apple as far as taking the rows of that chart down further are concerned. Google will probably add a few more that the former two wouldn’t compete in but that unfortunately could lead to unhealthy monopoly.

Right now though, I’m buzzing for the Apple media event in two days. I’m looking forward to their “newest creation” but if an upgrade to the MacBook Pro line is announced with the new Core i5 and i7 in place, then I will go nuts. I’m due a purchase in March and I don’t want to have to go for one of the old models.

Show us something amazing, Steve. More after the event.

Posted via web from Terminal Variant

My New Coding Project – an RPG codenamed ‘Inferno’

First off, I’d like to start with some bad news – I’ve dislocated my left shoulder. I won’t go into details about how it happened, but I can tell you that it was something that could have happened to anyone who was in my position. This happened exactly one week ago and I’m in a sling for about a month, as per the doctor’s recommendation. Its only now that I’ve been able to adjust myself to type with both hands with no pain barrier or positional discomfort. This incident means that my plans for physical fitness for this year will be on hold – for a long time.

Fortunately, its not the end of the world as far as activities are concerned. This means more time for reading and coding. Coding, ah yes. That brings me to the point of this post. Back in 2006, I wrote a project in Java for school, which was basically a text-based role-playing game (RPG). I’m a fan of fantasy books and films (but not much of a gamer) so I based some of the entities in the game on fantasy. Fast forward to 2010 now, and I have more experience with C, C++ and Java. Not enough for my liking due to academic commitments, considerably more nonetheless. Now is the time however, to get back to the standard I’ve set. I’ll be rewriting the code with a few things I couldn’t do back then. There’s no particular reason why I’m doing this project, its just for a bit of fun, really. I’m going to focus on ensuring that its very user-friendly and not some geeky garbage.

As much as I’d like to, I won’t be sharing my feature plan for the project here. If you’re really interested, get in touch with me via Facebook or email. At the moment I’m just writing it in C++ with a view to have the game functionality implemented. Once I’m satisfied with the text-based implementation, I’m going to turn it into a Qt project. The only additions then, would be to have a clickable interface as opposed to the console menu-driven one in C++. Qt does have potential for adding OpenGL graphics to make it more like a real 3D game. I have no experience in coding in OpenGL and at this point of time, I don’t plan to use it. Right now, I’m going to keep it simple and make sure it does what I want it to.

The final Qt product will be cross-platform and free to use. The name I used for the project back in 2006 was ‘Evolution Inferno’. For now, I’m just going to simply call this project ‘Inferno’. I’ll post updates to this project as and when I can.

To conclude, I’d like to share this whitepaper I came across while browsing Stack Overflow, that compares Qt and Java for large-scale GUI development. Its an interesting read if you’re a programmer. Until my next post, later chums.

First off, I’d like to start with some bad news – I’ve dislocated my left shoulder. I won’t go into details about how it happened, but I can tell you that it was something that could have happened to anyone who was in my position. This happened exactly one week ago and I’m in a sling for about a month, as per the doctor’s recommendation. Its only now that I’ve been able to adjust myself to type with both hands with no pain barrier or positional discomfort. This incident means that my plans for physical fitness for this year will be on hold – for a long time.

Fortunately, its not the end of the world as far as activities are concerned. This means more time for reading and coding. Coding, ah yes. That brings me to the point of this post. Back in 2006, I wrote a project in Java for school, which was basically a text-based role-playing game (RPG). I’m a fan of fantasy books and films (but not much of a gamer) so I based some of the entities in the game on fantasy. Fast forward to 2010 now, and I have more experience with C, C++ and Java. Not enough for my liking due to academic commitments, considerably more nonetheless. Now is the time however, to get back to the standard I’ve set. I’ll be rewriting the code with a few things I couldn’t do back then. There’s no particular reason why I’m doing this project, its just for a bit of fun, really. I’m going to focus on ensuring that its very user-friendly and not some geeky garbage.

As much as I’d like to, I won’t be sharing my feature plan for the project here. If you’re really interested, get in touch with me via Facebook or email. At the moment I’m just writing it in C++ with a view to have the game functionality implemented. Once I’m satisfied with the text-based implementation, I’m going to turn it into a Qt project. The only additions then, would be to have a clickable interface as opposed to the console menu-driven one in C++. Qt does have potential for adding OpenGL graphics to make it more like a real 3D game. I have no experience in coding in OpenGL and at this point of time, I don’t plan to use it. Right now, I’m going to keep it simple and make sure it does what I want it to.

The final Qt product will be cross-platform and free to use. The name I used for the project back in 2006 was ‘Evolution Inferno’. For now, I’m just going to simply call this project ‘Inferno’. I’ll post updates to this project as and when I can.

To conclude, I’d like to share this whitepaper I came across while browsing Stack Overflow, that compares Qt and Java for large-scale GUI development. Its an interesting read if you’re a programmer. Until my next post, later chums.

Consumer Economics – Nexus One vs iPhone, Droid & Palm Pre

If you happened to follow my Twitter feed or actually watched the unveiling of the Nexus One like I did, then you might be wondering whether its worth forking out the cash on this phone. If you consider a two-year deal, the Nexus one would cost $2,580 and you stand to save about 50% over the iPhone ($3780). Also, it’s going to be a while before the Nexus One is available in every country in the world, but it might be worth the wait as early adopters aren’t usually at an advantage.

The rumours before the launch of the Nexus One regarding battery life also seem to be true with a near 2 hour difference over the iPhone 3GS. We’re all obviously going to have to wait for Apple to respond in June at WWDC with a possible new iPhone. Although we could get a glimpse of what to expect as early as the end of this month with the media event Apple is said to be planning. iPhone OS 4.0 will most likely be previewed, so we could see whats brewing in the software front of the new iPhone.

The only question now for consumers would be – do you plan to ditch your existing phone for the Nexus One?

Posted via web from Terminal Variant

Speculating the guts of the upcoming MacBook Pro lineup

Intel’s going to be spilling the chips on us on January 7 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Arrandale, the code-name for the i5 chip will most likely be implemented in Apple’s new line of the MacBook Pros which have reached the end of their current cycle of approximately 200 days.

The problem though, is that Nvidia has pulled out of chipset development. The current line of MacBooks relies on the Core 2 Duo processor with a custom chipset from Intel that supports the Nvidia 9400M integrated graphics solution. The 9400M is of course, far more powerful than Intel’s current graphics solution. However, with Nvidia seemingly out of the picture as far as an integrated solution is concerned there seems to be a bit of a problem. Where is Apple going to get their GPU power from? Gizmodo suggests four possibilities and I’ll tell you what I think of each:

Possibility 1: Some kind of discrete or separate graphics cards for all MacBook Pros

Yes, I’m jumping straight to this and saying, this one in my opinion, is the most likely solution. The higher models of the MacBook Pro work with the ability to switch between integrated and discreet graphics, which is like switching from a power-saving to a performance graphics scheme.Possibility 2: Suffer the crappier graphics on lower end models.

Something’s got to give, really. I believe there is no way that Apple’s going to jump from the 9400M to the integrated graphics which is in the processor itself, in the new Arrandale line. One of the underlying technologies in Snow Leopard is Open CL which utilizes the graphics cards to boost processing performance. This would beat the point of their future plans altogether.

Possibility 3: A customized set of hardware of some kind from Intel, either on the processor or chipset level that would let the next MacBooks match the power consumption and graphics capabilities of current models.

The key word to note here is ‘current models’. This solution would imply something along the lines of an Arrandale + Nvidia 9400M combo. Which would, don’t get me wrong, work. But it isn’t practical when you look at your competitors. Dell and the others would laugh themselves sore if it came to this. But recent history is on Apple’s side, as Intel have favoured Apple with their new line of releases – the MacBook Air’s ultra-portable processor is proof of the same.

Possibility 4: Apple’s gonna wait on something else before upgrading from Core 2 Duos.

I wonder how long Apple would wait, but again this seems a bit unlikely. As I mentioned in the previous point, recent history is on Apple’s side and we probably won’t have to go here. In the event that we do, then I’d say Apple’s probably willing to take the hits as they would know what they’re doing. Still seems too unconventional if you ask me. Then again, stranger things have happened.

Possibility 5 (bonus!): Apple is going to make their own hardware in the near future (thanks to Kaiser-Machead).

This one wasn’t part of the original Gizmodo article, but browsing through the comments brought up this idea as well. Apple acquired PA Semi who were low-powered chip designers back in 2008 for $278 million. Interestingly, they are based on Apple’s former Power architecture. There’s certainly something brewing there, but thats for another day. The emphasis, if put on ‘low-power’ could mean something for its mobile platform through the iPhone or the mobile computing platform through the MacBook and MacBook Pro line. The iPhone, I must point out uses a Samsung chip based on ARM’s instruction set.

Or for that matter, and I didn’t think I was going to bring this up in this article at all, for the upcoming tablet platform, which I might add this point is widely up for speculation when it comes to actual naming it. So will Possibility 5 happen? Unless Apple’s got something in its magic hat for us that it still hasn’t pulled out, or for that matter, the press hasn’t managed to pull out early enough, its unlikely to happen in the immediate future. But, its something we can really look forward to, especially if Apple decides to forge itself into a self-sufficient enterprise in computing in the future.

With Apple reportedly scheduled to host a media event on January 26, 2010, the focus now seems to be on the upcoming Tablet, which as many will point out, Steve Jobs is really happy with. Of course, he’s happy, he is the frigging genius behind it. I’m not going to dive into the speculation about whether its going to be a 7″ or 10″ tablet or both, or whether its going to be an ebook reader or not. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a mini Reality Distortion Field when Steve takes the stage for the event.

Also, there is CES to look forward to soon and Apple will be there as well. Its frustrating that I know who to get party invites from but I just can’t make the travel at this point of time. But a day will come when I will be there, and boy am I looking forward to that!

Posted via email from Terminal Variant

Unreal Engine 3 on the iPhone 3GS: A change of hands among portable gaming giants?

Popped in on Gizmodo right now, only to see this. I can’t say I didn’t see this coming being aware of the GPU power present in the iPhone 3GS, made possible by OpenGL 2.0. Still, I’m just going to say it… WOW.

Epic have so far just released a demo of the Unreal Engine 3, that powers the big guns in the gaming industry, Gears of War and BioShock, Unfortunately, if you’re an iPhone 3G user, you’re going to lose out, because while future games will probably work, albeit with worse graphics, the developers plan to shut you out from running them. From what I’ve read, EA have said that the iPhone 3GS is faster than the Nintendo DS. So iPhone 3G users, you guys are in for a real treat in the near future!

Open GL 2.0 ES brings the kind of textures, shadows and lighting we’re used to on high-end PC games. We’re still not at the level of top-end console graphics, but obviously this is a step in that direction with endless possibilities. So basically everyone is going to be astounded when the iPhone 3GS comes out with a new set of gaming titles in the near future.

I don’t think hardcore handheld gamers will be too eager about this though. The absence of physical buttons and the lack of a proper controller is going to be a change that will be hard to adapt to.

Does this spell the end of the DS and PSP? Far from it, really. I think there’s a long way to go before this technology becomes mainstream. Also, when you’re developing a product aimed at a specific audience (gamers), you’ve got to have your product tailored to the needs of a common member of that audience. So I think Apple would be taking a bit of risk by forcing the whole touch-gaming experience on its consumers. Will it work? We’ll know in time. Then again, the Wii was something similar with motion-sensing, but to some extent I feel that was a bit of a gimmick, but that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, purely from a technology point of view, I think this is worth enjoying and I believe we’ll see something similar attempted on the Android possibly, in the near future, with Epic suggesting that they are planning “to make this available to licensees at some point in the near future”. We’re all looking forward to that.

Posted via web from Terminal Variant

Arrington vs Chandra: An official bitchfight over whatsername?

Amidst all the JooJoo, I’ve taken a back seat on this story for a while. Right until now, where I felt somewhat obligated to update you on the matter in the way I see it. Well, Arrington filed a lawsuit against Fusion Garage even letting the public read the 41 page document. I got to about 7-8 pages and stopped. Not because there was some legal mumbo-jumbo that I couldn’t understand. But it sounded like Arrington was being a bit of a whimp. They say first impression is usually the last impression – I was hardly impressed with what I have read thus far. And I know how law can be interpreted to one’s preference in a particular side of a case, but there wasn’t much of that to be seen.

A Ctrl+F sequence brought up the find box for me and I entered the word “CONTRACT” (not case-sensitive of course). No results found. So obviously unless there is some legal jargon that I’ve missed to substitute contract, oh.. wait, lets have a look at the title of the lawsuit for any hint of that. No contract mentioned, then. And whats this about “false advertising/lies & deceit”? Really, Mr. Arrington? Was that all you could muster as part of the subject of the lawsuit? Do you want the judge to send your lawsuit papers to the recycling plant? Do you think your lawsuit will be recycled after the guys at the factory vomit over the pages when they read that crap?

Ok enough messing around, I’ll get straight to what I can draw from this so far and why Arrington is going to lose according to me. To be very concise:

  1. I wouldn’t expect someone of Arrington’s experience and knowledge of startups in the industry to not take precautionary (or more appropriately, professional) legal measures before embarking on such a project. I simply mean, he should have signed a contract. I understand that even when you’re setting up a startup and receive funding there are legalities involved at some level. Now, he put the whole story of how he was “heartbroken” when he felt that the guy who he was becoming good friends with over time, ended up “betraying him”. You can be friends with whoever you want, Michael, but where is your ethic when it comes to business? Your project is on the line, there are companies supplying hardware and you are supposedly trying to develop a product for the masses. So could you step up and get the job done? Oh, wait its a bit late for that with “intellectual property” rights now solely with Fusion Garage. Hardly intellectual when we know its a tablet for web browsing, but thats the legal stuff for you.
  2. With the kind of contacts Arrington probably has in the industry, he chose to work with an inexperienced, unproven startup. He could use the whole “but I had faith in them” excuse, but it is what it is – an excuse. As you sow, so shall you reap, Michael.
  3. The first thing that came out of Fusion Garage’s side was that there was a clear lack of communication between Arrington/TechCrunch and Fusion Garage. That of course, supplied the base to their other statement such as lack of hardware support on Arrington’s part as was promised, funding issues and what not. Basically Michael, you blew it. Again.

And to sum this whole bitchfight up: Michael, you are wasting your time in this whole issue. I neither know what you were thinking when you wrote the lawsuit, nor what you were thinking when you let everyone read it. I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve from all this. You had a few days of sympathy (one even from me, regrettably) but until you can provide something that’s as obvious as daylight then I see only defeat in your horizon. Get your act together, Michael. Go work on the Crunchpad again, learn from your mistakes and revive it if you really want it that bad.

Now, notice in my second point I used the word “inexperienced” to describe Fusion Garage as a startup. Clearly, either that or profound stupidity is the case from the fact that they are violating PayPal’s rules while taking pre-orders. To quote Gizmodo’s report:

The Joojoos are supposed to be delivered in 8 to 10 weeks, which is prohibited by PayPal:

ll.4 – Prohibited Transactions. [...] You also agree not to use your PayPal account to sell goods with delivery dates delayed more than 20 days from the date of payment, or to sell securities, business opportunities, franchises or multi-level marketing or goods with delivery delayed more than 20 days from the date of payment.

So there you have it folks, its all happening in the center of this bitchfight ring. Chandra vs Arrington. Really, you could make a video game out of this kind of ring match. Oh, I almost forgot. Walt Mosspuppet, the only technology journalist in the world shares his thoughts on the whole issue above my post. You really ought to read his blog and seek his approval before you pretty much buy anything. He’s also the self-proclaimed King of Twitter.

Now, I’m off to think of something to say on the Google phone. Boy, people will buy ANYTHING that is free these days…

Posted via email from Terminal Variant