One Picture, ThousandWords

Here's a cliche for you: "A picture is worth a thousand words."
For whatever reason, two weeks ago I was thinking about this phrase. I thought, wouldn't it be cool to come up one thousand synonyms for a short description of a picture?
Then, an even better idea: What if I generated a picture from those words? Then it would be a picture made of a thousand words.
Enter ThousandWords. After about two weeks of on-and-off work, a functioning product is available.

Generated art is far from perfect, with odd coloring problems and slow, heavy image scaling, but as a proof-of-concept it functions well. Code can be downloaded from my public github repository.

Wiimotelib for Small Basic, v0.1

A week or two ago I started teaching my little brother to code using Small Basic. It works surprisingly well, especially as a beginner language. That said, it's fairly limited. Fortunately, it's possible to write extensions to the language using .Net. So last night, I hacked together a wrapper of sorts for Brian Peek's WiimoteLib.

Included in the package is the binary (place it in the lib folder in the Small Basic installation folder,) an example (below,) and the source (in C#.)

Currently, button values can only be read in real time, so you have to put the program in a constant loop. This is pretty common, but those who are just starting Small Basic may find it weird.

Download

Sample code:

c = 0
While(c = 0)
  c = WiiRemote.Connect()
  TextWindow.WriteLine("Connecting!")
EndWhile
TextWindow.WriteLine("Connected!")

WiiRemote.SetLights("true", "false", "false", "true")

buttonA = 0
lastButtonA = 0

buttonB = 0
lastButtonB = 0

While(1 = 1)
  buttonA = WiiRemote.A
  buttonB = WiiRemote.B

  If ((buttonA = 1) And (lastButtonA = 0)) Then
    TextWindow.WriteLine("Button A pressed!")
  endif

  If ((buttonB = 1) And (lastButtonB = 0)) Then
    TextWindow.WriteLine("Button B pressed!")
  endif

  If WiiRemote.Home = 1 then
    Program.End()
  EndIf

  lastButtonA = buttonA
  lastButtonB = buttonB
EndWhile


iSquirrel 0.2

After an hour's diligent work and dedication, iSquirrel 0.2 features a clunky but functional way to view a SquirrelMail setup on an iPhone.
Sets up exactly the same as Squirrelmail. Currently, there is not way to empty the trash :D
Download

Blast from the Past

I've been updating my Google Site today, for I've discovered that x10hosting's downtime is horrible. Anyway, as I was uploading projects in a more organized, zipped fashion, I decided to try out MMOtel2.

What memories. The cool thing is, it works pretty well! Unlike FSBlog, my first big project that was intended to be user-friendly.

Beginning RPG Development

I've decided that I'm going to try and write an RPG, and I'm going to try and document its development. So far, I know two things:
1. It has to be simple to control. I'll have Wiimote support for Windows with Bluetooth.
2. It has to run on an Xbox360.
I'm going to modify my Input360 class from Copter360. And I've created the project file.
So far, so good.

DBP2K9

So, as the title suggests, I'm getting together a team of people I know to work a game for the Dream Build Play 2009 competition. I highly doubt that we'll win, but it gives us free trials of the Creators Club features, and I think that it will be fun.

FaceBook app

ColleXNA Wiimote

ColleXNA now has Wiimote support, thanks to Brian Peek's WiimoteLib!

All I did was modify my Input class, so the new modifications can be used in other games now too!

EDIT: Now with Wii Balance Board support!

ColleXNA: Now with DirectInput!

I modified ColleXNA to use a class of my own making: The InputMan class.
I got the idea from the Coding4Fun book, where you create a similar (not identical) class.
MY class also includes support for, get this, DirectInput devices! XNA has no way of using any joystick except that of an XBOX360, but DirectX does.
Anyway, I need to figure out some sort of build system for this project, so I can pump out more releases.

ColleXNA

I’ve completed the XNA tutorials on 2D game development and created my own game: ColleXNA!
Admittedly, the idea is only semi-original. I was searching for a game idea to try and re-create, and I thought of Secret Collect, a Homestar Runner game.
I used the basic idea that you're a block that looks a little like Strong Bad, and you collect blocks that look nothing like him.
I changed it a bit though. Blue blocks increase your score, and yellow blocks increase your speed. You get 20 seconds to get the highest score possible, and that’s it. All in all, it’s a very simplistic game, but a major milestone for me, I think.

Source code is available from Popfly, but this won't work on an XBOX360 or Zune until/unless I get an XBOX360 controller to test out the Gamepad class thingy.

Making progress!

I was chugging along at a nice pace this after noon when I realized: Tiled is great, but too complex and buggy (I ran into a maze resizing bug that didn't allow me to load the maze right anymore)
I'm probably going to create my own tile editor that will be slightly more user friendly and less buggy.
I got the guy walking around though!

New features for Harry Potter MMORPG

(I put the HP MMORPG in there so people looking on Google will find this blog!)
Well, I'm adding rudimentary Inventory support, as well as having the 1st and 2nd floors done. No classes yet, but maybe I'll think of a way to put 'em in and someday you'll be able to attend classes with your friends (and get detention/house points taken away.)
I've had a few people test it and so far it's working fairly well. I've gotten two common rooms in (Hufflepuff and Slytherin) but I'm not sure what to do about the Ravenclaw tower because there isn't really a set entrance for it. I'll probably put the entrance on the 7th floor leading into a corridor...and then the statue...
Feel free to use the badge at the top to ping ideas at me when I'm available. If I don't respond, don't worry, because I'm probably playing a game (currently Cave Story.) Send me an email.

H*O*G Screenshot

Yesterday I put in some of the lower floors (kitchens and Hufflepuff common room) and I put a screenshot up on the HOG website...
See here!
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Now playing: The Who - Who Are You
via FoxyTunes

Harry Potter MMORPG, almost ready

Well, I've converted my Thy Dungeonman resources into a Hogwarts, text based explorer!
Called Hogwarts Online Game (HOG), I've gotten as far as letting people choose their houses. As for gameplay, I love Monkey Island and LucasArts adventures, so it's going to be full of puzzles and "quests" and no leveling-up business.
Because it's based on the ROFLiron scripts (Beatlefreak's Really Easy Interactive Fiction Engine or BREIFE) anything with an internet connection and a telnet client (Linux...) can connect.
I'm also working on a web-based user-stats thingy using FreeBASIC for CGI.

Can 'o' Features

The ROFLiron Server (as well as TDMO, its showcase game) has gotten a few new features today.

• Hardcoded user/password dialogs
• Debugging messages
• Minimize to system tray
• No account can be used if it is already logged on
• Room switching command (in room scripts)
• Optimized parser (sort of)
  

Several others are being worked on (like the ability to create an account and change password) and it's actually proving to be fun.
Another project I'm working on is called LANChat, which will only be able to chat over local networks, send poorly-but-effectively encrypted packets, and have standard "bosskey" features.

New release of MMOtel2

Ready them updaters, everyone, a new version of MMOtel2 is hot off the presses!

Complete with an entire server manual, it's ttly 31337.

I recommend deleting everything MMOtel2 related that's in your updater directory and running update, because the new update consists of ONLY the executables, because I embedded the graphics into Roomedit and MMOtel2 themselves...but they're still "programmer graphics."

Lotsa improvements

I've released a new MMOtel2! Check the website for details.
Included out-of-the box is a new feature: auto-login!
Check the site to see how to change the main path, and below that, type your username, and below that, your password.

MMOtel2: Massive development

Well, amongst the new features are:
Improved, customizable web interface
Account creation from web interface
Code reorganization (hooray for me!)
Games fixed for bugs not found initially
I'm working on it right now actually! I hope to get a new version, maybe a source release and a SourceForge page, soon.

Work is happening!

Well, I've completed a somewhat major feature: automatic updater!
I plan to complete that for a final release, and also write out some needed code to server and client to get ready for server-sided graphics.
Also of note, I'm taking the readme out of the build packages. It can be found here.

More news

Well, I'll start by saying that I DID make an effort to remove the Inet ActiveX control from MMOtel2, but, I couldn't. All the servers I tried (web servers) insisted on gzipping (or some other encode method) the entire HTTP request and I couldn't receive it from Winsock.
What does this mean?
It means that everybody has to install the All-In-One controls from the MMOtel2 main site. It also means that support is [possibly] cut off from Win98 and older versions of Windows. I MIGHT work with the all-in-one controls, but I haven't tested it yet. Somebody out there...?
Isn't there another alternative?
Well.....I could use API functions, but that would mean cutting off support for the aforementioned older systems indefinitely. Or I could create another master server, but how? I don't have another server running, and Google, to be honest, is probably most reliable.
Long story short: I'm not taking it out. It's simply too convenient. I might, however, distribute both installers AND zips for convenience.