Robots, Snakes, and A Cup Of Coffee -- On The Go

Well, it's been quite some time since I've made a post, almost 3 weeks, and quite a bit has happened. First up, Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Karmic Koala was released and it is GREAT. I had some problems with a crashing desktop environment (GNOME) but that was caused by a third-party program. I also became more accustomed to Windows 7 but getting back to Karmic... The version of Flash released with Karmic has amazed me. Although this probably wasn't admitted to often, due to Adobe's history of taking a long time to get things stable, Ubuntu's previous versions of Flash had instabilities and situations where it just wouldn't work. I'm proud to say that the new version of Flash has not only fixed instabilities but they've got flash games working amazingly and you can't even tell the difference between it and the Windows version. Karmic is also a bit nicer looking and includes a kernel update. Onto the snakes, I decided to learn Python since Perl was just too much like C++ and Lua is almost entirely an extension language. I must say, Python is quite amazing. Not only is it powerful but it's capable of running on the web,  it's widely used and extremely well documented. My first Python project has been released however I can't pin a version number on it since it's a Web Application. Feel free to check it out here. Although there is still the matter of the non-Facebook version still having the publish button even though it will not work, I'll be fixing that eventually. Off to the robots! I recently (a few days ago to be exact) purchased a new phone and if you've been hearing about new phones lately, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about from the title of this post. The Motorola DROID! Looks like after a few years of falling behind and stumbling along trying to keep up with Samsung and LG, Motorola took a bite into the apple that is the future. Motorola made a deal with Google to create a phone running the latest version of their mobile OS, Android OS. Android OS, although commonly compared to iPhone OS, is really nothing of that sort. Android OS and iPhone OS appear similar in the sense that they both have home screens (springboard on iPhone OS) and they both have the same type of application launchers but when it comes down to it, Android 2.0 blows iPhone OS out of the water. Deep deep down, they're both running that good ole Unix kernel but there's a comparable difference. iPhone OS is basically just OS X watered down with a new Desktop environment. This is fine for some people, but I'd prefer some REAL work go into my phone's OS. Android 2.0 can run widgets, background apps, and do pretty much everything a Jailbroken iPhone can do. Oh right, and it doesn't require extra work. However, I dislike Android 2.0 at the moment for the sole reason of : The API is in Java. As you may or may not know, I hate java. I know a bit of it, and I don't have a problem with people who use it, but I just don't like it. Might be that Java was my first real experience with coding aside from batch files and shell files and I didn't really get into learning it properly but I learned how to make use of a library and some of the syntax rules by trial and error. I'm still considering that C++ blog but being as this blog doesn't really have any frequents I don't see a point in making another one. Now, you're probably wondering why I'm talking Android up if I hate the API/SDK and as a programmer that should be important but there's a great reason. Google's releasing a new little toy for programmers around this Christmas to run as a cross-platform C-esque language. It's called Go and it combines aspects from both Python and C which pleases me as I'm experienced in both. Also, for those who wonder why I use experienced rather than mastered it's because my philosophy about programming is that there's no way to master a language, programming is not only infinitely expanding but there's always gonna be multiple ways to conquer one problem. Thus, there isn't a way to truly master any given programming language. the coolest part about Go is that it's been stated [un]officially that Go will run on mobile devices which means that Go will run Android 2.0 and I as well as many others suspect that Go will be integrated into the SDK and will become a major part of Android 2.0 programming. Since Go will be brand new, everyone will be at around the same level although programmers with experience in C[++] and Python will have a bit easier of a time. All together, the past few weeks have been pretty eventful especially since this post didn't cover all of it. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Update + Push :(

Well, good news is : Windows 7 has Internet now, I got that one working. The bad news : I'm pushing the release date for ReFRACT V2.0, it's pretty much done though. Hence the 16-page source code packet I had today in school. However, the code is quite bugged and it needs some serious work. There's also some features I dropped but will have time to add now that it's pushed. I'm not entirely sure of the push date as of now. I may discontinue the project, which sadly happens a lot. I haven't really worked on something consistently. Project ideas are always welcome, since I'm so uncreative. Feel free to comment with any ideas, aside from that I might be starting a C++ tutorial blog since the only good tutorial I found was on cplusplus.com but was very limited in what it taught you. This tutorial was my basis for learning, but I had to turn elsewhere for everything else. I seriously need ideas though, ideas. ideas. ideas. FEED ME TEH IDEAS. I seriously need a good project. One good project and I could probably put Deviant Core Ltd. on the map. Not that we make any money as a nonprofit organization... but it'd be pretty cool having some real help around here. It's just me at the moment. No alternative authors, developers, etc. Just me. So, if you've got experience and are willing to contribute to projects as a team, you can also help with that. I'm thinking this is the first time I've actually mentioned the fact that we've got no staff aside from me, thus making "We" a royal we. Well, if I go to our website designer Mitchell Andrews and go : "bitch, you're part of the crew now." Then, you could say we've got two people. But hey, what can I say... there aren't exactly a lot of freelance developers looking to work in a development team. So Deviant-Core is a release front-end at the moment. I guess being a network top-level domain finally makes sense. Anyway, to sum it all up :
IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS!
DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!
WEB DESIGNERS WEB DESIGNERS WEB DESIGNERS!
C'mon... you get FTP access for the last two :)
Just ask Mitch, he got his own domain name and root-access to his own site from me. Domain name was a one time thing though.

Windows 7 and You (Plus Some Other News)

Well, first off : ReFRACT v2.0-0 is coming along nicely, it should be ready by the release date and I'll be proudly displaying the completed source code come the 30th. Aside from that, I got my desktop up and running with Windows 7, which is quite nice. However, since it's Microsoft, it's got some problems. First off, my $100 wireless card from Belkin doesn't have a driver for Windows 7, so now I have to buy an $80 USB wireless card and hope that Win7's generic USB wireless card driver works. Whilst my machine is up and running again, I still can't access the Internet. This may cause a delay for the Win32 version of ReFRACT v2.0-0. Quick note, if you didn't realize I changed my formating for versions. This is because I learned it differently when I read the .deb documentation. Essentially it works like this : version.edition-revision. Not very different from my old way, version.edition.revision, but still. Also, in file names it'll be expressed as : 2,0-0 because .'s have been known to interfere with file types on Windows. Anyway, aside from the problem with my wireless card, I'm very pleased with Win7. Not that I'd get off my precious Linux computer to use it for anything other than gaming, but it's nice. Personally, I look forward to playing some Steam games on it. Especially the future game of the year, Global Agenda. However, they haven't gotten back to me on the closed beta. Good news is it's gonna be released Q1 2010, which isn't far off.

Another 10 Day Summary

Yeah... I keep posting these 10 day summaries because I don't really get as much time as I'd like to post on this blog. However, I will be posting more often on this blog (hopefully) and I'll keep everyone updated. Over the past 10 days, I've managed to do quite a bit. First off, I created a WebKit-based web browser named Al Gore's Intrawebz Acces0r, AGIA for short. Then, I decided to read up on the Debian Packaging (.deb) Documentation. So with my new-found knowledge of Debian Packages, I created a .deb for the POSIX only AGIA. I also created an iPhone Web Application Emulator that I named iPhoner. iPhoner will be cross-platform, however : my Windows machine is down at the moment and I have no way to compile it under Windows. However, the source is Qt and thus is ready for immediate compile under Windows with the proper Qt setup. iPhoner for POSIX is also distributed as a Debian Package. I also checked out Lua a bit more for a World of Warcraft addon, but it's still in beta stages. On a non-programming note, I went to the GameX Expo in Pennsylvania. I got to play Dante's Inferno, which was pretty good but insanely hard. I also got to try an up-and-coming MMORPG based in a future where warfare has become entirely dependant on special operations agencies. It's called Global Agenda. You can learn more about it here. Unfortunately, the website has quite a few typos, but the gameplay was quite solid. You can even try to get into the beta for it on the site. However, it's a closed beta at the moment. I'm still waiting to get in, but I have a special referral code from the convention, however I don't want to post it up on the Internet... So, that's pretty much what I've been up to over the past 10 days.

10 Day Summary of Deviant-Core Work

Well, as it turns out, I put work on hold yet again for ReFRACT v2.0, but don't worry, I'm giving the first official release date : October 31st, 2009. So, it's dropping on Holloween. Now, since I haven't really been keeping anyone updated, I'm sure you're wondering what's been going on since 10 days ago. Well, first : there was a problem with spam-advertisers on the forums, which should be clearing up. There's also a new project, take this as it's official announcement. The iBlog. It's much like this blog, yet it's for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Obviously compatible with all versions, simply go to : http://blog.deviant-core.net/ and you'll be able to access the iBlog. I'm looking out for an icon, so if you can make one, it'd be much appreciated. The iBlog is also looking for more authors, so you can comment here about that or you can send me an email at : aaron@deviant-core.net. The iBlog is currently in Beta stages, but it's turning out pretty well. I might be adding comments soon, and it'll loosely resemble blogger, which I happen to like. Currently, there's a 20,000 character limit on posts, but I might decide to raise it. Also, as a nice feature : you can use html in your posts. Please note : I will not tolerate redirects, outward links (outward linking isn't allowed on the iBlog), or any other sort of virus/malware/spyware or just generally annoying html coding. Pop-ups included, however : I may be adding some iPhone-stlyed pop-ups soon, if I see it fit. So, that's what's been happening over the past 10 days, oh and I also took a look at Lua and Perl.

Tar'alan and 2.0 : Back on Track

That's right! I've gotten back to working on Tar'alan and 2.0, I haven't really added much since the last update, but I'll be working on it again, so it should be ready soon. Till then, I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Tar'alan and 2.0 Delayed

Sadly, I'm unable to work on programming at the moment and I am unaware of when I'll be able to get back to working on it. Sooner or later I'll get the chance again and I'll finish up the work. It should be relatively soon. I've already managed to get started with reworking the API. I'm estimating ~2400 lines of code will go into Tar'alan and another 100 into the API update. I've also reworked the folder system and am going to be adding a character system with saved naming and more. You should also expect some other cool features like saving quest logs or printing them to a file, possibly even a load/save system for the quests. Any more ideas would also be appreciated, a lot of work will be going into this patch so I'll be putting in a lot of hard work.

Pre-Release : Tar'alan

I'm going to be starting work on a new campaign soon, entitled : Tar'alan. Here's a short compiled list of the features it'll have, comment here if you've got any ideas for more.
Features :

• (X, Y) Coordinate Location System
• Fully Working Quest System
• Quest Log WITH Save To File Capabilities.
• Bonus Stat Compatibility (ANX, DEP, HOP, HYP)
• Possibly a NEW plugin!
• Multi-Character Compatibility (Up to 3)
• SAVED Character Naming System
• New Stat Indexing System
• A New Stat?!?!?! 5 Core Stats?!?!?! :O
• Revamp -> Revamp -> Revamp!
• New Patch Version, 2.0.0
• New Debug Commands... not that this matters to most of you...
• Combat System Improvement!
• Non-Weighted Combat System! (100 str won't screw up your magic!)

Note : v2.0.0 WILL render old campaigns useless, please consult your local campaign maker (at this moment, me), about whether or not the switch to 2.0.0 will affect you!

EDIT:::

Might include :

• API updates (the Include folder)
• Fixed stat system, atm the bonus stats will greater the effect on the stat it effects every time you play a campaign, so 5 times and you could end up with -103 int.
• API additions ::
• ways to win
• non-death ways to lose ::
• timer dying
• too many moves....
• etc.

• etc.

• Cheat Codes... possibly.
• New random encounter system!

Note : V2.0.0 will be the first FULL release, V1.1.1 and V1.0.0 were both Open Betas, pre-V1.0.0 was a closed alpha stage version.

Open.Net and ReFRACT Release

Well, I've finished coding ReFRACT and Deviant-Core is rolling it out with a whopping 1100 lines of code. ReFRACT is PURE C++, the standard release version consists of 1 CPP file and 10 Header Files. This release is Version 1.1.1, as version 1 had some errors with segmentation faults and quest logging which pushed the release date back and caused us a bit of editting. I also had to drop some of the flooring from version 1, as Microsoft Visual Studio didn't like it when I tried to compile with floors on floats, don't ask me, ask M$. The current release is seemingly perfect. If you happen to find a bug/glitch/whatever please comment here with it or contact me through email. As always, my contact information is in my profile. Now for some links!
Open.Net Root
Direct Download
Forum Release Post

A Brand New Blog, A Brand New Day

The Deviant-Core Blog is here! We've got everything you could ever think of besides a blog, and now it's finally here. This blog will probably effectively replace our twitter, as I personally enjoy blogger better. I'm also starting to recruit new developers for Deviant-Core, so if you've got any talents in : PHP, C++, C, C#, or HTML, send me an email. All of my contact information is available in my profile, feel free to check that out. For those who want to be part of Deviant-Core, I'd prefer knowledge in either C++ or PHP/HTML, as both of those are highly needed to work with the projects I've set up. It's offical guys, Deviant-Core is here to stay.
Thanks for Visiting The Blog!