Commented 7 years ago2016-06-24 19:46:23 UTC
in journal: #8715Comment #46187
Honestly this would be funny in a strategy-simulation game, but this is reality and it's sad. I always disliked one time voting or referendums. It's basically rolling a dice that can negatively impact people's lives.
Commented 7 years ago2016-06-22 19:23:56 UTC
in journal: #8713Comment #49692
Well, you DID write a book about the Source SDK so I'd say you've left your mark on this domain. Hobbies change in life, but sometimes we revisit them.
I hope your personal improvement goes well and bring a positive change to yourself, this world and the TWHL community.
We all come back from time to time. TWHL is still my number one tab, even though I don't get a lot of information from here, but it's the online social aspects of keeping an eye on the regulars.
Commented 7 years ago2016-06-19 11:45:44 UTC
in journal: #8712Comment #42410
Condolences to your wife.
Getting a house must be quite cool. It's also a rare thing to hear these days as not many people afford to buy a place to live anymore... at least not in urban locations. Most pay rent, which is absurdly high for lower-end salaries.
You work from home in game dev?( freelancer websites?)
Commented 7 years ago2016-06-11 07:57:04 UTC
in journal: #8710Comment #68028
I think that is dock connector.
You should try to save up some money for a new laptop though, or maybe if you can't afford a new one you could try investing in a second-hand laptop. For some decent gaming I'd only go as low as 2012, when the Ivy Bridge was released. Some of the CPUs have the Intel HD4000 which is powerful enough to play League of Legends for example on 15 inch screens.
If you're not moving anywhere soon the better option is to invest in a desktop system, you can find way more easily used parts on the internet.
Here's a tip for finding cheaper parts: online marketplaces are not necessarily where you'll find the cheaper options, but you can use them to gt an idea for the price of what you're looking for. Instead, see if you have computer/gaming communities or forums in your country where they have trading threads. There's a slight chance people will be selling at lower prices there.
Commented 7 years ago2016-05-14 19:06:57 UTC
in journal: #8703Comment #62844
Instead of lamenting about this, let's face the reality:
1. In the immediate future, Windows 7 is going to expire. It's an excellent system even today and I still see it as a modern operating system. I think it has 4 more years of support if I'm correct. I know it's going to outlive that just as Windows XP did, which is even now used in many enterprises that can't afford to update systems that just... work.
2. Fortunately, software has advanced sufficiently that the linux-based systems are now a good alternative. Honestly if one is not professionally bound to applications that work only on Windows, you can switch with no problems to linux. And linux is not hard to tackle either: Ubuntu is retarded-proof. Even more advanced distros are easier to maintain these days. The only one I've tried and was hardcore was Arch linux, but it falls in another category. There are also the BSD-based systems, but those are usually meant for server-side.
3. Most of the people I know who use Windows 10 don't complain, they even praise it, but most of them have the "I've got nothing to hide" attitude. From my point of view, these people don't get the point. As I see it, it's not about you at the personal level(even though you should care...), but the fact that someone is milking the masses of data and using that data in its self-interest. Because they can. Because it's natural. Until now the consumer was the one who had to be pleased. Now he needn't be. Now the corporation can adjust its services so as to provide maximum perceived quality(by the consumer) while minimizing costs. But the fact is that Windows 10 is a 10/10 OS without its privacy flaws. So, onward to point 4.
4. I'm sure you've all seen the news: people all over the world use ad-blockers and marketing companies are not happy. Their hunger for too much and forgetting to be reasonable led to their demise: people, at least initiated people, hate seeing so much ads( I personally don't use an ad-blocker, instead I simply don't visit sites that are 80% ads and 20% content... it's a good indicator that the site is shit, but I've always accepted seeing ads as long as they're reasonably placed). Well I think that's what's going to happen with privacy invasion too, even if it's much harder to tackle. People will become educated in what internet privacy means. For Windows 10 there are already solutions for blocking telemetry with software. A more aggressive one would be a custom built router software that detects these telemetry aspects.
I too have that icon and I'm still reluctant to update. I waiting one more month( afaik, June is the last month you can get it for free).
Commented 7 years ago2016-05-07 05:05:54 UTC
in journal: #8700Comment #62832
Scratching your left part of the head with your right hand at its finest. I thought that our teaching methods are old, but at least our teachers use Dropbox and the like for stuff like this.
Commented 7 years ago2016-04-22 18:56:18 UTC
in journal: #8696Comment #67376
As a maker at heart, I will always hate testing. Ok maybe it's too early to generalize, I don't have much experience. But testing stands in the way of my creativity flow.
Commented 8 years ago2016-02-01 14:12:18 UTC
in vault item: Tokyo ComplexComment #18222
Your map is a concentrated cocktail of good interior design - at least by CS:GO level design standards. Had I not downloaded this from TWHL I could have easily took this map as an included map in the game, that's how advanced your skills are imo. Well, it's true that you also got help from Deen, and team effort shows off. I have to say though that I've never been a fan of the plasticky feeling a lot of these modern source engine maps have, but I'm going to try to ignore that, seeing that nobody has anything against it.
About the gameplay: paradoxically I don't like that I get lost in this office complex as it's built like an anthill, but I like that because of this there's no real "camping" spot. Choke points are everywhere and that ensures action, even with few players( I played 5vs5 with bots).
How much effort did you put into this? The details are incredible, and I'm not literally referring to small details. I seriously question how do you get inspired to connect all these areas, to come up with the visuals and overall theme? It's a mixture of a lot of elements yet they come together just fine. I'd find very difficult to stay on track with such a map, so for that I'm giving 5 shiny stars! A map to be played on a TWHL server, whenever we'll get one :).
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-29 15:02:27 UTC
in journal: #8659Comment #50160
Your story reminds me of a processor upgrade I had in 2010. You must have been really enthusiastic about the purchase and totally forgot about compatibility details. I know that the motherboard was from 2007 and on Gigabyte's page the processor I was going to buy was listed as compatible, but with a newer BIOS version. I risked flashing the BIOS, but it worked and I had a beefier PC.
I don't know why I'm picturing DiscoStu as having the afro from your story... probably because of his avatar.
Now I can't get my priorities straight! I don't know if I should continue to save money for a car or invest in a desktop and sell my laptop... although its Nvidia 650m still bears the weight of lots of modern games.
At this point I could invest in a system centered around Skylake i7 6700, with 16GB of DDR4. I'd have to wait probably 2-3 months before buying a graphics card - the intel 530 integrated graphics is powerful enough to run games with some decency in FullHD. Then I'd invest in this Asus GTX 970 Turbo OC. It's a piece of beauty, you don't see every day GPUs painted white. As a matter of fact, this card was on sale these days in some stores from my country. One could get it for about 300$. I wonder if I should wait until USB type-C becomes popular on motherboards though.
All these beefy hardware discussions makes my mouth really moist.
Also, you walked in the store to buy the GPU? I thought most of the people order them online. The only computer hardware I ever bought physically from a store was a hard disk...
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-28 23:13:50 UTC
in vault item: ctf_thirdstreetComment #19812
This map should be played whenever we'll get another HL deathmatch server.
From the layout of the map I deduced that it's meant for team deathmatch, the "green" vs "orange" color arrangement suggests this. There are some inconsistencies, such your attempt to cover the fact that the map is just a cubicle with the T-junction at one end of the street. But it's not long enough and you can see the sky edges. Also, the absence of another T-junction at the other end of the street, or maybe a creatively rounded entrance, is a sign of laziness :P. Speaking of the illusion of location, you can spend a bit more time adding some additional "buildings" behind the existing ones. They don't need to be very detailed, actually, perhaps just some facades would do. You can afford to do this, I tested the r_speeds on the top of the roof and they don't seem to exceed ~2000 wpolys. With todays computers, I think you can honestly go towards the 4000 wpolys limit for multiplayer. For example, in my dm_researchvessel map I get over 7000 w_polys in some places, but it plays at 60FPS even on my laptop.
Regarding the general aesthetic of the thing, it gives a general impression of good taste and aspiration of an overall theme, with some anomalies. Although I like the fact that it doesn't claim to be rich in fine details, being centered around fast action, some things could have been tuned a bit better. The majority of the textures have a dark tone, but some back alleys are poorly illuminated. I would have spiced up the atmosphere with some more strategically placed lighting fixtures. Then, you have these gothic statues, which really help set up the identity of the map, but the modern street racing cars in those garages are a harsh contrast.
About the gameplay I can't tell much, it seems to allow a good flow for the player.
All in all, it's a gret map and it deserves some server time!
You know what'd be an unsettling thing? Having another T-junction at the other end, end then creating one or two "cars"(tracktrains) that pass regularly. I don't know why I thought about that, but the contrast of those passing cars with the static nature of the rest of the map would make it creepy :)).
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-26 00:51:41 UTC
in vault item: c31_captainterrorComment #20134
I'm back here to say that according to a 2016 quote, your map not only that is cool(already proved by the many positive reviews), but it has 13% more quality because of jets!
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-22 12:10:42 UTC
in vault item: TWHL TowerComment #19737
Finally got past that. Strider's Jjapanese apartment is well thought and really nicely designed. IT ignited some sort of curiosity in me, like a thing long forgotten, about the unusual beauty of the japanese decor. Perhaps I'll try my hand at one of these too some day. The Gong was a really nice touch, but I didn't quite get the reference.
The roof action was intense and actually died two times. Unfortunately, something happened and a door got blocked, I don't know if this is normal but I've spent about 10 minutes trying to figure if I should go another way and finally just noclipped through it. The fact that there was an RPG waiting for me there and I actually shot down the helicopter using the rifle makes me think the stuck door was a glitch.
All in all, this was really beautiful and I sort of regret that I'm so busy and didn't have time to participate too.
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-20 13:47:52 UTC
in vault item: TWHL TowerComment #19744
I played until The Mighty Atom's floor were I got stuck.
I have to say that although the styles are different, it looks like everything falls into place. Urby as usual is in the realm of Black Mesa architectural style, but that's no problem as it links the other areas well. I loved the Time facility! It was Jessie's, right? I was confused for a couple of moments until I understood what's happening, care to share the secret for the illusion?
In one room there was a big rocket-like structure with an interesting grate. I was disappointed that it did nothing :(.
People of TWHL never let you down when it comes to imagination: I've found a man shot in his head and a dead hooker. The visual style in many maps reflect the maturity of the skill and for a mapper there's always something new to learn.
Unfortunately I think I'm only half-way through the mod. In The Mighty Atom's map, I've got the keycard but it doesn't work with the exit door. Instead I can put it in a socket in the computers room that the scientist opens for you. But I'm confused as to what happens next since the exit door still doesn't open. Using no-clip doesn't work either.
5 stars for a mod that I haven't finished yet but it made me like it thus far. Another excelent piece of community work that helps establishing the identity of TWHL!
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-18 21:52:00 UTC
in journal: #8657Comment #62788
Get yourself an email at Proton Mail. Free encrypted email, it requires a kind of 2-step authentication: first into your account, and then to unlock the inbox.
The advantage of email security is lost if you send emails to providers like Google which openly admit of scanning the email. But it's not like we're not used to that...
I think you have to wait 1 or 2 weeks before you get your account, or maybe now it's instant idk...
Happy birthday you massive electron donor!
Thank you guys for the kind thoughts.
ID 7009 will surprise him.
Somebody should deliver some cake there.
In any case, happpy birthday!
I always disliked one time voting or referendums. It's basically rolling a dice that can negatively impact people's lives.
I hope your personal improvement goes well and bring a positive change to yourself, this world and the TWHL community.
We all come back from time to time. TWHL is still my number one tab, even though I don't get a lot of information from here, but it's the online social aspects of keeping an eye on the regulars.
Getting a house must be quite cool. It's also a rare thing to hear these days as not many people afford to buy a place to live anymore... at least not in urban locations. Most pay rent, which is absurdly high for lower-end salaries.
You work from home in game dev?( freelancer websites?)
You should try to save up some money for a new laptop though, or maybe if you can't afford a new one you could try investing in a second-hand laptop. For some decent gaming I'd only go as low as 2012, when the Ivy Bridge was released. Some of the CPUs have the Intel HD4000 which is powerful enough to play League of Legends for example on 15 inch screens.
If you're not moving anywhere soon the better option is to invest in a desktop system, you can find way more easily used parts on the internet.
Here's a tip for finding cheaper parts: online marketplaces are not necessarily where you'll find the cheaper options, but you can use them to gt an idea for the price of what you're looking for. Instead, see if you have computer/gaming communities or forums in your country where they have trading threads. There's a slight chance people will be selling at lower prices there.
1. In the immediate future, Windows 7 is going to expire. It's an excellent system even today and I still see it as a modern operating system. I think it has 4 more years of support if I'm correct. I know it's going to outlive that just as Windows XP did, which is even now used in many enterprises that can't afford to update systems that just... work.
2. Fortunately, software has advanced sufficiently that the linux-based systems are now a good alternative. Honestly if one is not professionally bound to applications that work only on Windows, you can switch with no problems to linux. And linux is not hard to tackle either: Ubuntu is retarded-proof. Even more advanced distros are easier to maintain these days. The only one I've tried and was hardcore was Arch linux, but it falls in another category. There are also the BSD-based systems, but those are usually meant for server-side.
3. Most of the people I know who use Windows 10 don't complain, they even praise it, but most of them have the "I've got nothing to hide" attitude. From my point of view, these people don't get the point. As I see it, it's not about you at the personal level(even though you should care...), but the fact that someone is milking the masses of data and using that data in its self-interest. Because they can. Because it's natural. Until now the consumer was the one who had to be pleased. Now he needn't be. Now the corporation can adjust its services so as to provide maximum perceived quality(by the consumer) while minimizing costs.
But the fact is that Windows 10 is a 10/10 OS without its privacy flaws. So, onward to point 4.
4. I'm sure you've all seen the news: people all over the world use ad-blockers and marketing companies are not happy. Their hunger for too much and forgetting to be reasonable led to their demise: people, at least initiated people, hate seeing so much ads( I personally don't use an ad-blocker, instead I simply don't visit sites that are 80% ads and 20% content... it's a good indicator that the site is shit, but I've always accepted seeing ads as long as they're reasonably placed).
Well I think that's what's going to happen with privacy invasion too, even if it's much harder to tackle. People will become educated in what internet privacy means. For Windows 10 there are already solutions for blocking telemetry with software. A more aggressive one would be a custom built router software that detects these telemetry aspects.
I too have that icon and I'm still reluctant to update. I waiting one more month( afaik, June is the last month you can get it for free).
I thought that our teaching methods are old, but at least our teachers use Dropbox and the like for stuff like this.
That's closer to me than the other side of the planet, but yeah still very far :)).
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday though!
About the gameplay: paradoxically I don't like that I get lost in this office complex as it's built like an anthill, but I like that because of this there's no real "camping" spot. Choke points are everywhere and that ensures action, even with few players( I played 5vs5 with bots).
How much effort did you put into this? The details are incredible, and I'm not literally referring to small details. I seriously question how do you get inspired to connect all these areas, to come up with the visuals and overall theme? It's a mixture of a lot of elements yet they come together just fine. I'd find very difficult to stay on track with such a map, so for that I'm giving 5 shiny stars! A map to be played on a TWHL server, whenever we'll get one :).
I don't know why I'm picturing DiscoStu as having the afro from your story... probably because of his avatar.
Now I can't get my priorities straight! I don't know if I should continue to save money for a car or invest in a desktop and sell my laptop... although its Nvidia 650m still bears the weight of lots of modern games.
At this point I could invest in a system centered around Skylake i7 6700, with 16GB of DDR4. I'd have to wait probably 2-3 months before buying a graphics card - the intel 530 integrated graphics is powerful enough to run games with some decency in FullHD. Then I'd invest in this Asus GTX 970 Turbo OC. It's a piece of beauty, you don't see every day GPUs painted white. As a matter of fact, this card was on sale these days in some stores from my country. One could get it for about 300$. I wonder if I should wait until USB type-C becomes popular on motherboards though.
All these beefy hardware discussions makes my mouth really moist.
Also, you walked in the store to buy the GPU? I thought most of the people order them online. The only computer hardware I ever bought physically from a store was a hard disk...
From the layout of the map I deduced that it's meant for team deathmatch, the "green" vs "orange" color arrangement suggests this.
There are some inconsistencies, such your attempt to cover the fact that the map is just a cubicle with the T-junction at one end of the street. But it's not long enough and you can see the sky edges. Also, the absence of another T-junction at the other end of the street, or maybe a creatively rounded entrance, is a sign of laziness :P.
Speaking of the illusion of location, you can spend a bit more time adding some additional "buildings" behind the existing ones. They don't need to be very detailed, actually, perhaps just some facades would do. You can afford to do this, I tested the r_speeds on the top of the roof and they don't seem to exceed ~2000 wpolys. With todays computers, I think you can honestly go towards the 4000 wpolys limit for multiplayer. For example, in my dm_researchvessel map I get over 7000 w_polys in some places, but it plays at 60FPS even on my laptop.
Regarding the general aesthetic of the thing, it gives a general impression of good taste and aspiration of an overall theme, with some anomalies. Although I like the fact that it doesn't claim to be rich in fine details, being centered around fast action, some things could have been tuned a bit better. The majority of the textures have a dark tone, but some back alleys are poorly illuminated. I would have spiced up the atmosphere with some more strategically placed lighting fixtures.
Then, you have these gothic statues, which really help set up the identity of the map, but the modern street racing cars in those garages are a harsh contrast.
About the gameplay I can't tell much, it seems to allow a good flow for the player.
All in all, it's a gret map and it deserves some server time!
You know what'd be an unsettling thing? Having another T-junction at the other end, end then creating one or two "cars"(tracktrains) that pass regularly. I don't know why I thought about that, but the contrast of those passing cars with the static nature of the rest of the map would make it creepy :)).
Source
Source of above source
Perhaps I'll try my hand at one of these too some day. The Gong was a really nice touch, but I didn't quite get the reference.
The roof action was intense and actually died two times. Unfortunately, something happened and a door got blocked, I don't know if this is normal but I've spent about 10 minutes trying to figure if I should go another way and finally just noclipped through it. The fact that there was an RPG waiting for me there and I actually shot down the helicopter using the rifle makes me think the stuck door was a glitch.
All in all, this was really beautiful and I sort of regret that I'm so busy and didn't have time to participate too.
Nicely done!
I have to say that although the styles are different, it looks like everything falls into place. Urby as usual is in the realm of Black Mesa architectural style, but that's no problem as it links the other areas well. I loved the Time facility! It was Jessie's, right? I was confused for a couple of moments until I understood what's happening, care to share the secret for the illusion?
In one room there was a big rocket-like structure with an interesting grate. I was disappointed that it did nothing :(.
People of TWHL never let you down when it comes to imagination: I've found a man shot in his head and a dead hooker.
The visual style in many maps reflect the maturity of the skill and for a mapper there's always something new to learn.
Unfortunately I think I'm only half-way through the mod. In The Mighty Atom's map, I've got the keycard but it doesn't work with the exit door. Instead I can put it in a socket in the computers room that the scientist opens for you. But I'm confused as to what happens next since the exit door still doesn't open. Using no-clip doesn't work either.
5 stars for a mod that I haven't finished yet but it made me like it thus far. Another excelent piece of community work that helps establishing the identity of TWHL!
The advantage of email security is lost if you send emails to providers like Google which openly admit of scanning the email. But it's not like we're not used to that...
I think you have to wait 1 or 2 weeks before you get your account, or maybe now it's instant idk...
You might not know that David Bowie was an actor too. A great movie he played in is The Prestige, which I recommend.