Portal 2 and Gamestop Power Rewards

So i finally decided to pick up portal two from Gamestop. Speaking of which have you checked out their new program? By doing nothing but my usual shopping ive already gotten a free used game and enough points to buy the halo shotglasses. If they hadnt taken them off the site that is... I was really looking forward to them too. Ah well we cant have everything right?
Back to Portal 2. It was almost a dissapointingly easy game in that I was finished in a couple of days of casual playing. (Not sure of exact hourage ill get back to you on that.) But the new items such as the light bridges, red and blue gel, and gravity...things, really added to the game. You had to think in several different dimensions at once and plan out how you were going to bounce here there and then make the gravity there. All while avoiding certain death.
And the storyline! Man was that a suprise! The whole time i was thinking no way so thats why!... Ill try and keep the spoilers down for anyone who hasnt played yet. I havnt had a chance to try out the 2 player mode because my roomate's too lame but there you go.
Overall I give it a 8/10 and the only reason its low is because i felt that the game wasnt long enough. It felt more like it should have stayed a steam game for 20$ or so rather than a full 60$ xbox 360 game(which is what i got it for). So yes buy it, yes enjoy it but for me at least theres not much of a replay value. I think it will soon turn into other games.
-Norbert
P.s. Flammable lemons sound like a great idea.

Funny Programming Story

Found this while stumbling and found it rather funny.
"Mutant Marsupials Take Up Arms Against Australian Air Force

The reuse of some object-oriented code has caused tactical headaches for Australia's armed forces. As virtual reality simulators assume larger roles in helicopter combat training, programmers have gone to great lengths to increase the realism of their scenarios, including detailed landscapes and in the case of the Northern Territory's Operation Phoenix herds of kangaroos (since disturbed animals might well give away a helicopter's position).

The head of the Defense Science & Technology Organization's Land Operations/Simulation division reportedly instructed developers to model the local marsupials' movements and reactions to helicopters. Being efficient programmers, they just re-appropriated some code originally used to model infantry detachment reactions under the same stimuli, changed the mapped icon from a soldier to a kangaroo, and increased the figures' speed of movement.

Eager to demonstrate their flying skills for some visiting American pilots, the hotshot Aussies "buzzed" the virtual kangaroos in low flight during a simulation. The kangaroos scattered, as predicted, and the visiting Americans nodded appreciatively... then did a double-take as the kangaroos reappeared from behind a hill and launched a barrage of Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter. (Apparently the programmers had forgotten to remove that part of the infantry coding.)

The lesson?

Objects are defined with certain attributes, and any new object defined in terms of an old one inherits all the attributes. The embarrassed programmers had learned to be careful when reusing object-oriented code, and the Yanks left with a newfound respect for Australian wildlife. Simulator supervisors report that pilots from that point onward have strictly avoided kangaroos, just as they were meant to."

So please, remember to define parents and inheritance?

Irrlicht

So lately I have been working on learning how to make 3d video games in c++ as I spent the previous year supposedly becoming proficient in c++ at Clarkson. I was skeptical at first when I took the classes but now that im activly using c++ to try irrlicht(German for will o' the wisp or mad lights) I am surprised to discover how much I did learn these last few semesters. The last time I tried it I had no idea what all the * or -> were for and now I read it naturally and smoothly. As a result I feel confident enough to storyboard out a free to play FPS for Windows and Linux(hopefully). It wont look that stellar as I'm not that great with 3d modelers or animators, but with luck it will be a nice start to what I hope will be a large portfolio in 3 years. And I'll need that portfolio in order to get a good job once im in the "real world". Well no spoilers of the game for you yet; I want to make sure I have it all planned out before I actually start coding anything so that I dont just wing it as I write.
     As for the actual engine(irrlicht; remember?) I have found it pretty straight forward. There's the scene, the gui, etc. Level of Detail is built in, (just tell it how far away to clip and culling is done automatically in most render formats offered; I'm going with Direct3D) it supports any file format I could care to use or name and the methods are pretty obviously located. I'm quite pleased with the way it is set up and will likely use its companion(IrrKlang) for the audio engine. Well off to story boarding, ill give you an update soon.
     Heres a picture of a wall rendered with the Direct3D engine. The FPS is wicked high because its pretty much just a flat texture.

Team Fortess 2 for Free!

My Favorite Class

So im sure many of you know TF2 is now free to download and play. I had been thinking about getting it for a while but now im glad i waited. Ive been playing for quite a bit and have decided that the Sniper is my favorite class, mostly because its gratifying to drop a heavy who's going bezerk. If anyone wants to play add me on steam at snakeman2058 and send me a message!

Biomass Fuel Cells

So lo and behold I sent another fruitless evening stumbling instead of working and found an interesting alternative energy source. A group of scientists (I cant recall where from but im sure they mention it in the video. Forgive me for not saying "after the jump") have developed a fuel cell that basically harnesses micro-bacteria to break down biomass and pulls the electrons out and into a circuit, thus powering a system. In the below video they demonstrate a clock and an admittedly slow moving robot. Well worth a few minutes and hopefully enough development that cars are measured in mile per steak.

Working full time sucks.

Alot. Also the next Doctor Who isnt for another 2 weeks. Things keep getting better and better...

Teetering on the...Brink

So...Brink. I feel like this is a classic case of too much hype. Yes, the game looks awesome. Yes, it sounds amazing and yes it is fun to play. But there are some drawbacks. First the crippling multiplayer lag. I know that most games have lag issue when they first come out but this is weird lag, like the code is wrong or something. It wouldn't be that much of a problem is the singleplayer was anywhere near challenging. The AI is dumb and scripted and there is no way to coordinate assaults. And the opponents are easier to gun down than a barn while your armed with an asteroid the size of the sun. As for the balance and game play that is also lacking. Unlocking everything is laughably easy and can be accomplished in a single sitting. The class system is treated too loosely and so you spend all this time customizing for a preferred class, and then suddenly have to switch in-order to complete an objective. Also one of the biggest downfalls in my mind is the sniper rifles. Let me set something down: I love sniping. BF:BC2 is one of my favorite games for this reason. And while I prefer games where a torso shot wounds but doesn't insta-kill, headshots should always make the person explode into a pink mist. I mean its their head. Its kind of essential. In tandem, the S.M.A.R.T. system is not as easy to use as the trailer made it out to be. There are a few set area where you leap, vault, slide etc. and the maps are definitely too linear to fully explore this system. Finally the lack of a split screen is another worry for me. I mostly play with friends and for that reason love halo. In my opinion, if the game exists it should have split screen. Guests are not necessary but enjoyed and you should definitely allow full accounts to play on the same console. Brink has this in common with BF:BC2 and it is the only thing i hate about that game. All in all, heres hoping that Bethesda learns from this and makes a sequel that is everything Brink is not.