Spherack Reloaded Progress…
Well I’m pretty excited to announce these past couple of days with school out of the way I’ve been hard at work here and there trying to get Spherack back on its feet. I’m finally starting to get to those highly requested features that will really turn the tides of gameplay. I’ve started by upgrading the cosmetics a little bit… Rather than appearing completely flat, players and landscapes now give drop-shadows behind them to give more depth. It actually supplies for a very nice visual effect while in-game and can be turned off through the new options menu.
Yes, an actual options menu, and I mean IN-GAME options! Rather than instantly quitting the game when you hit the escape key, you’ll open up this window from which you’ll have quite a few choices I think you’ll all like. As I said, you’ll be able to adjust the in-game settings, and you’ll also be able to change your team in-game and switch weapons. New weapons! They’re coming! I’ve already got a rocket launcher made up and its filled with awesome!A variety in weaponry is sure to bring a fresh approach to gameplay as some have their advantages as well as disadvantages. Choose what works best for you and suits your interests.
There’s a lot of things to come in the future update. When it will come I can’t say, but for now stop by my new bug tracker at http://flyspray.AndrewNatoli.com to browse and submit your own feature requests and bug reports! I’d love to hear your ideas on what I should add and change, so why keep them to yourselves?
I might go about posting some screenshots from the upcoming build soon. I apologize for the lack of progress the past few months but hope you’re excited for what’s to come!
GML Patch v4.0.1 Now Available
Well I just finished working on a slight update to GML Patch earlier and now here’s the release. This really is a really minor update but hey, it’s something, right? All of the changes lied in the Update.exe file. (Updated source included) The main issue I saw was when it would launch, the window would only show after the update was completed, thus leaving the user clueless for a moment as to what’s going on.
List of Changes…
- Fixed issue where window would appear after update is completed instead of during it
- Removed changelog button by default (can be easily re-inserted in VB.NET)
- Revised the updater window design
Click here to download GMLPatch_4_0_1
Video: Global Warming?
Well this one was a lot of fun to make. Some friends came and asked me for help making a video for one of their classes and I offered to do the filming and editing for it. After just two days of filming and editing, the video was finished and adored by tons of viewers throughout the school. Pretty awesome. Just adding a disclaimer to be fair: Not all interviews reflect the actual views and opinions of the people being questioned. Enjoy!
Ants & Grass?
It’s more likely than you think. Decided to play around with my Digital Camera a bit. Really wish I could buy an SLR but that’s not going to happen for a while. This one still takes really nice photos for a Digital Camera though, so I’m not all too miserable over it. (Canon Powershot SD790IS)
Facebook Fanpages Have Gone Too Far
Originally intended as a marketing tool to help businesses and developers advertise their products to a large mass of active users, Facebook’s Page system has gotten a bit way out of hand. We remember when “groups” came around, right? There had become a group for everything. If the title of the group described you, you’d join it. Suddenly you were cool. That hasn’t become enough though; soon after Facebook’s most recent change which included adding “Suggested Pages” to the homepage, the abuse of the page system has exploded. No longer are people joining the “I like blowing myself up” group, they’re becoming “fans” of blowing themselves up. Just think of how sick it sounds already!
Oh hey, It’s “Google Feedburner?”
I’ve used Feedburner a few times in the past and have run a few feeds through it, but a visit by me to their site was more of a tri-monthly thing, and in return I wasn’t aware of what had been going on there over the past two years. In May of 2007, Google had acquired Feedburner but not until about two years later was the change complete. Browsing through some old blog entries from April, I’ve read up on complaints by users on how the service had become very peevish and unreliable. “The RSS Blog” even asked Is Feedburner Dying? Perhaps the developers behind Feedburner were just too busy with what surfaced a few weeks later; users flocking to feedburner.com found themselves on a Google login page and from there-on, feedburner.com became feedburner.google.com. Not the biggest inconvinience perhaps, but it probably would have been nice to users if Google could have just kept Feedburner under its original domain like Yahoo! did with Flickr.
Who Wears Shoes to the Beach Anyway?
My latest video is here at long last, being the result of some extreme boredom between my friends and I one day after school. We headed down to the beach which was completely empty and just did what ever came to mind. The result came out pretty awesome, in my opinion at least.
I Don’t Usually Buy Apple Products…
…but the iPod Touch has become the first exception to my rule. Now, in terms of computers, a Mac would meet just a small few of my wants and needs, therefore I’m obviously a Windows person. As for the iPod, I’ve always been a supporter of other MP3 Players, especially the Microsoft Zune. Sure it’s not the “fad device” but face it; Microsoft has one totally awesome device right there and it’s not high in price at all. Simple to use, small, and probably the easiest player to throw videos on considering it accepts wmv movies and not some weird format unique for each model iPod. Throw FM radio on top of that and you have an awesome, cost-effective device. (In-fact, the 4GB models are down to $99)
“No Swimming?” O rly?
I must say, I feel very cheated.
I took this picture at the Blydenburgh County Park in Suffolk, earlier today on my new Canon PowerShot SD790 IS. I bought the camera yesterday and I absolutely love it. Not only does it have a load of built-in auto features to take beautiful shots up to 10MP, but the extra effects available allow for tons of photo styles and loads of fun. Totally worth the $170 I paid for it. (Sale Price. Originally it’s $199)
You can grab the original high-res image here.
Multiplayer Networking Setup v2.0!
I’ve just finished designing a new multiplayer network for D+Pad Games and Spherack Reloaded. The update involves the addition of my server to the mix of connections going on but adds reliability to the server list and allows us to bring users more data before having them connect to a multiplayer game. For example, you’ll be able to find out who’s in the server, what map is being played and also there will be a player lobby available for users to chat and meet up before joining. Though this new project means I’ll be delaying work on a new game I have in mind, it really doesn’t hurt to expand with what I’ve already got, right? Click on the image to see the diagram full-size, as well as the previous set up!
