Forum posts

Daft Punk - Aerodynamic

Seems like an appropriate enough thing to listen to while finishing up my aerodynamics coursework.

I used to have one of those, but it didn't seem worth it. There was absolutely no resistance on the brake pedal, or for turning the wheel. You could probably get ones nowadays that fix those problems or have force feedback though, I dunno because I'm not really a racing games kind of guy.

Although that might actually be pretty good with an Oculus Rift. You wouldn't even have the issue of losing your place on the keyboard, because it's a big wheel instead.

I'm actually doing the majority of this in brushwork because I don't have much modelling knowledge relevant to GoldSrc modelling.

Also, go Kepler:

I'm actually intending to use that model in the bridge of the ship as a map, but I will probably have to add in some brushwork details to show orbits and stuff.

[Edit]
WIP navigation hologram on the bridge:I still need to add in more details to the hologram itself, not to mention some actual surroundings.

I also need to sort out the missing faces in the 'bowl' where the emitter is.

That is an excellent idea. I will do that right now.

[Edit]
How's this?It's not really a sprite, rather a func_tank with a high range and speed of rotation set to additive render mode.
It does however give an unintentional yet cool effect when you look from the night side of the planet:

Thanks everyone!

Also I may have cheated a bit with the lighting.

As for the texturing, it wasn't too bad. Most of the difficulty was in figuring out how to apply the base image. I decided upon distorting it so that it would wrap around the sphere correctly instead of being a horisontal projection. That way, as long as I got the scale right, I could just figure out the equator and then alt+right click the rest without worrying about the texture being applied wrong.

This leads to stretching at the poles, but since the player's ship is in an equatorial orbit this shouldn't really matter as much.

[Edit]
I didn't forget about that Joebam, although I'm not 100% sure where the original files are.
Seeing how I haven't worked on that in three years however, I am beginning to wonder what the hell is wrong with me. That was at the time my most promising mapping project, so I'll have to recommence it first chance I get.

After a lot of messing about with figuring out spherical and cylindrical profections and stuff:It's hard to tell, since I have yet to make the correct skybox, but it has the ring system in place, and it's even in shadow at the back if you look closely.

I still need to make the moons, and the ship in which the player will be, but the hardest part seems to be done so far.

I want that shirt Archie is wearing.
That design definitely translates well to shirts.

Is that the new Battlefield game?

And because of the new computer I forgot to upload the images of my spaceplane.

The plane docked with a station:The spaceplane is the lower one. The thing at the top is an unmanned refuelling craft. It goes up on a rocket, jet fuel is transferred over to the spaceplane, then it deorbits and lands back at the space station.
The 'tug' to deorbit it is currently 11.8km away but that's no big distance to perform an RCS rendezvous.

The glider coming in to land after deorbiting:An early iteration of my improved spaceplane design:Final design:One of the main problems I had with the spaceplane designs were getting them to be light enough to achieve orbit with what rocket fuel they could carry.
On older versions I would basically fly for twenty minutes just under the operational ceiling, then when I had burned enough fuel I would shut off the jets, close the intakes, turn on the rocket engine and fly up. The problem with this is that it's hard to keep the plane stable for long enough to do that. The final design has one central jet fuel tank, and the two jet fuel tanks are replaced with rocket fuel. This both gives me less jet fuel to lug around and gives me more rocket fuel to achieve orbit.

A good trick I found for anyone who plays KSP was to place some intakes under the fuselage angled downwards. At 20km altitude, even travelling at 1000m/s with those large wings, you have to maintain a high angle of attack to keep altitude. This angles the intakes away from the incoming air, which can cause engine burnout (not a nice thing to happen with a jet aircraft) so having those angled intakes really helps keep everything running smoothly.

I spent a while constructing a geodesic sphere in Hammer on the basis that since there are no 'poles', there shouldn't be any noticable texture seams at any one point.It was a promising concept, but the end result didn't closely approximate a sphere to the eye, especially up close, and texturing it so that everything aligned was an effort.
Combined with the fact that it took a long time to make I think it means it's not a particularly feasible technique, unless you're specifically trying to make one for whatever reason.

I tend not to get leaks because the largest source of leaks for me would be off-grid vertices from VM work or clipping, but I am extremely fastidious about that.
I've just spent the last two hours trying out a new texturing technique for spheres which involves rotating brushes, and most of that time has been spent fixing messed up vertices.

Assuming that doesn't work, a crude method is to cover half of the map with a giant brush, then compile. If it compiles without leaks, then the leak is in the area that was covered, and if it doesn't, it's in the uncovered area.
Cover half of the leaky part of the map and compile to narrow it down further, and so on. It can be tedious but it works, unless you have multiple leaks.

Be careful with that, it looks like an invalid solid nightmare waiting to happen.

I sometimes have that problem. Do you have to be far away from the brushes, or just not right up against them?

There seems to be a minimum selecting distance, where if you're within that distance then it will select the brush behind the one in front of you, or none if there are none behind it.
It might be different between different versions of Hammer, or different graphics cards or something.

Last night I managed to build a single stage to orbit spaceplane in Kerbal Space Program. It has just enough fuel to rendezvous and dock with a station if I time the launch just right, although since it has a fairly good amount of excess RCS, perfect launch timing shouldn't be too important.
If I set up a network of refuelling stations to allow for inclination changes and maybe send up a few rocket tugs to deorbit the plane without using any main fuel reserves, then it should be able to reach any point on the planet and return to home base. If I slap on a probe core to allow me to fly it without a pilot then I can use it to pick up any Kerbals that landed in the wrong place and bring them home.

Since I'm on a university computer at the moment I have no screenshots, but I will upload some tonight.

Also, my brother got GTA:V when it came out, but I'm probably going to have to end up waiting a long time to get a chance to play it.

Is that something to do with the Floating Islands compo Striker? Those look like they may be rotors.

Do the bottoms of those brushes line up perfectly on grid with the ones below them?
That line looks to be the same colour as the other rock texture in that image.

I have no exercise routine but I am beginning to not be so overweight anymore.
I've gone from 95-100kg to <85kg in a few months, and I'm intending to start walking a few km daily.

Luckily due to my body shape I don't actually look that fat. Broad shoulders make my gut less obvious and a large head makes my shoulders less obvious.
Also, for some reason I have really muscled lower legs. I figure it's related to the fact that I used to get really intense muscle cramps all the time in them for a long time, like some kind of unintentional exercise.

I am left handed, but I use a mouse right handed. I also shoot right handed, although that is because I am really nearsighted in my left eye.

I am ambidextrous with cutlery. I think.
I think I have a preference for which hand holds the knife, and which one holds the fork, but I tend to just eat whatever way they are laid out.
It leads to problems when I'm eating if I put them down, then pick them up a minute later and it feels like I'm holding them the wrong way.
I've had a few meals spoiled in the past because I can only concentrate on how my hands feel weird, rather than the food.

I tend to get very uncomfortable if I have to get out of bed while somebody is in the room. I don't know why, but even if I'm wearing a full set of pyjamas I have to wait for whoever is in the room to leave.
Luckily this doesn't crop up often.

I also tend to get very focused on what I'm doing if it's something engaging.
One time I was working on a map (or SketchUp model, I can't remember) for about 36 hours straight. In that time I hadn't eaten, drank or slept, and I hadn't even noticed the passage of time.
I went to meet a friend for lunch about a mile away, and since I was a few minutes late I decided to run, but since I had gone so long without anything I nearly collapsed.
I try not to do that anymore.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab2 10.1, and while I initially thought I wouldn't use it as much as my laptop I found that I use it a lot more during the college semester, although that is somewhat related to the fact that my laptop is only partially functional. That said, it is a very useful tool to have for college, as I can have all my textbooks on it in .pdf form, which is not only lighter than carrying a load of books around, but it takes up less desk space. Having a tablet with a 7" screen would only improve that. It's also quite good for web browsing or playing games before the lectures actually start.
Also, if you can get a way to rip DVD's to an .avi (or similar) file, or perhaps use some other popular way to get movies in that format, then it is excellent for watching movies or TV shows while commuting. I find the stylus on mine to be quite useful, as the marks it leaves on the screen are less noticeable than fingerprints. (If you're on a bus, then the changing angle of the sun as the bus moves makes it impossible to always angle the tablet so glare is reduced). Having a total commute/waiting for lectures to start time of around 2 hrs, it generally means I can end up watching a movie a day at least, so it's an excellent way to pass the time.
(I can also use mine as a television remote, which is pretty cool.)

That said, I personally find web browsing on a tablet to be really inconvenient, due to the amount of websites that automatically default to the mobile version (and then sometimes default to it again when you click 'view desktop version'). Plus the fact that on my tablet I am limited to 16 tabs on the browsers I have tried, although that might not be the case with the one that you linked to.

I've just set up Sledge, and after configuring it I started a new map and it crashed. I accidentally pressed send error report before I filled out the box to say what I was doing, so if you just got an error report around 12:37am GMT that was mine.

I've downloaded it, but have had no opportunity to test it as of yet so I don't know if this bug is present. In Hammer if you had the entity properties window open and you changed any values, then switched to the flags tab it would reset those values you changed. I had to change the values, close the window then reopen it if I wanted to edit the flags.

I would do it but I really need to clean my room first. There are tools and college notebooks everywhere.

I think I may have to limit myself to one tower defense piece. There won't really be room for any more.

I'm not really sure whether the HL/SOHL debate has been resolved, but should we begin?My entry will have a bit with round bits.

I'm in, with no preference for either engine.

By typing it like:
{url=www.website.com}YourTextHere{/url}
Except with square brackets.

And I'm listening to some 1920's Pulp Fiction

Here are a few screenshots that I've taken, all done without using developer mode.

Here is Bill, who doesn't seem to like the Gemini capsule that I downloaded for him. Strange, it has a corned beef sandwich and everything!Here is a lovely shot of the exterior of the Gemini capsule, showing Kerbin just about to eclipse the sun.Of course, seeing as this is a Gemini capsule I need to do a Mun flyby, with a free return trajectory....
I think I might need to brush up a bit on my NASA history.Here's the core of my fancy new station which I hope to use to refuel rockets for interplanetary voyages.Here's the crew module coming in to be connected to the station.I had intended to use it to partially fill the currently empty station core, but since I screwed up the maneuvering for the rendezvous so it only has enough fuel to deorbit the command module once the crew module has been attached. (And even then I'm not sure it has enough to do it accurately)

The rocket splits in two, and the crew module plus command module is docked with the station.Since I wasn't happy with the amount of fuel left in the rocket, I docked it with the station so it can be deorbited when I send another rocket up, carrying only fuel.And doing that was a pain in the ass. I had placed the RCS thrusters so they would allow for translation of the individual components without rotation, but I found out too late that the rocket component was completely out of RCS fuel. So I had to cancel the rocket's rotation, and then manouvre the entire station to dock with it. I hadn't placed the RCS thrusters with that in mind, so every time I tried to move it it started spinning. I managed to dock the two after about half an hour though.

Yep. I've been playing it mostly non-stop for the past week. I probably shouldn't, as I've had exams.

And that's a pretty cool pic Daubster.

If that is the case, should there be a rule that the mapper has to put at least some thought into making it look like the building would be structurally sound?
For example, not having a single large open space unless it is one of the uppermost floors.

Mine is set to cycle between these two:I prefer the first image, but due to the aura around the sun I can't MS Paint-shop the HUD away completely, which is why I've also got the second image there.

Even more movies:
Apollo 13
Brazil
Dark City
Memento
Memories
Miracle Mile
Paprika
The Usual Suspects

I'd say the ones here that stood out were Apollo 13, Brazil, The Usual Suspects and Miracle Mile.
I wish I hadn't known about the ending of The Usual Suspects beforehand, as it seems like it would have been a fairly good twist. When I started watching Miracle Mile I didn't have particularly high hopes for it but I was quite pleasantly surprised.

And I'm still trying to get a hold of Wings of Honneamise, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a way to get a copy.

I've been playing an awful lot of Kerbal Space Program recently. I don't have any screenshots atm though, I'm on a library computer and my laptop currently doesn't seem to like the internet.
I've got about 150 screenshots though. Usually I don't tend to take may, but I find KSP tends to be a very screenshottable game.
I was really happy with myself on Monday because I managed to land (and subsequently crash) an unmanned rover on Minmus, the second moon of the starting planet. Yesterday I discovered developer mode, and unlimited fuel, so I made a manned mission to the Mun complete with a Munar rover, and I came across a massive stone arch. Apparently there are three of them, as well as some stone monoliths and a memorial to Neil Armstrong at the coordinates of the Apollo 11 landing.
I'll have to see if I can find that memorial, and perhaps upload some of those screenshots on the weekend.

I shall have to look those up.
And my friend recommended Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, which I will try to get a copy of. We've both got similar interests, namely spacecraft and aeronautics, and they apparently both feature quite heavily in it so I am definitely interested.

I've never really watched anime before, but I decided to watch Spirited Away because I had heard it was good, and Adam Savage recommends it. After seeing it, I decided to see what other animes I could watch. I had seen Steam Boy before and quite liked it, so I decided to watch Akira after hearing it was by the same guy. I wasn't disappointed. I especially liked how well it was animated, the only flaw I noticed was that when they're in the police station after Tetsuo is taken away, the colours on the badge of one of the officers disappear a few times.

I was quite surprised at the start to hear the name Tetsuo.
I suppose that's where you got your name then?

I've watched quite a few recently, in alphabetical order:

Akira
Apollo 18
eXistenZ
Hollow Man
Inception*
Metropolis
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*
Pulp Fiction*
Red Dawn (original)*
Spirited Away
Steamboy*
Taxi Driver
The Thirteenth Floor

* Not the first time watching these

The ones I would call notable for being very good would be Akira, eXistenZ, Spirited Away and Taxi driver, only counting the ones I hadn't seen before.

What a friendly hedgehog.And I like that one (c)Striker.

I've been watching the Rocky movies, as I'd never seen them before. They're quite good actually, especially the first one. And now I am getting a few cultural references which had previously eluded me.

Also, I'm watching Primer in between my lectures and stuff on my tablet, generally 5 or 10 minutes at a time. It's slow paced enough that watching it this way isn't actually that bad, and I'm hoping that watching it slowly will give me time to think about it and more properly understand exactly what's happening, because after the first time I saw it I was completely lost.

It's a name, short for Stuart.

You mean you don't already have those? I thought everyone did.

Whenever I hear people talking about the possibilities of the vastness of space it reminds me of the Boltzmann Brain idea and it makes me sad because it is a depressing thought.

And on the subject of dreams, I used to have a problem with dreams related to getting up in the morning. I would very often be woken up for school, then drift off to sleep and dream that I had gotten out of bed and gotten dressed. I would be woken up again, as I hadn't come downstairs yet, but because when I'm half asleep I'm an idiot I wouldn't get out of bed, believing that I was already dressed and ready for school. Then I would fall asleep amd it would happen again. Those dreams were the worst.

I'd be willing to host up to 250GB of maps, if there are that many. I've still got 500GB left on my external HDD, and I may be getting another soon, so I might have more free space in the future.

I don't have it a anymore Stu, although I can't find any info on it. It was about 2-4 feet tall, black and white, and if I remember correctly it could only turn left (so a right turn would be a 270 degree left turn)

As for scary experiences waking up, today I got an awful shock.
I've been backing up my stuff to get ready to reinstall Windows, so last night I left my computer on to compress a ~50GB folder.
I fell asleep when it was at about 30%, but I woke up today to find it was still only at 50%! Oh the horror!

That reminds me of a ghost(?) story I once read, about a young boy who wakes up in the middle of the night. He picks up his teddy bear and goes into his parents bedroom, but they're not there. He gets scared and goes downstairs to look for them, but once he reaches the bottom of the stairs a thick, malevolent darkness starts to rise out of the dark, so he drops his teddy bear as it chases him upstairs and into his room where he hides under the covers and passes out. The next day his parents tell him they never left their room, nor did they hear him calling for them, but they never found his teddy bear after that. Was quite well written iirc.

As for actual experiences of mine, there was once time when I was a child that I thought aliens were going to eat or abduct me. I woke up in the middle of the night to what I believed to be a noise, although I wasn't sure as by the time I was actually awake whatever it was had stopped. A few seconds later a very loud, garbled electronic sound came out of the darkness. I can remember it quite clearly, but it's difficult to describe, the closest sound I can think of is extremely garbled radio communication. It sounded a bit like that, except not recognisable as having been speech, and with a strong electronic edge to it.
This sound continually appeared and disappeared over the course of what felt like an hour, appearing for a few seconds at a time with a 10 to 40 second gap in between. I was shivering violently, trying to just pretend I was asleep, although it would have been obvious that I wasn't. I'm sure if I had anything in me I would have soiled myself, this was seriously the most fear I have ever felt in my life.
I eventually managed to fall asleep (or pass out from fear and exhaustion), and the next day I woke up to find no explaination as to what it was, and no evidence that anything had even been in my room.

Some months later I discovered an explaination. I had a remote control robot toy, which had an inbuilt speaker. I found out that if both the remote and the robot were on, and if you pressed the antennae off each other, then it would make the same noise.
This explained what the noise was, but unfortunately it raised two other questions.

How, in a room with no open windows or doors, where the air was completely still, did the two antennae suddenly start to touch each other on and off?

And why did the sound on that night sound like something was pressing the two together? There was a distinct difference between the sounds produced when they just brushed off each other lightly, and when they were pressed together and suddenly released, and the noise that night definitely sounded like the latter.

[The story is written in such a way as to be more spooky, although the events did actually happen as described]

You could do it the way TetsuO said, but it would probably be a good idea to make the floating blocks non-solid, and have stationary ones textured with the clip texture, assuming the blocks don't move enough for this to be noticable.
The constantly moving blocks might cause clipping errors and make moving up the path a pain, hence this method.

It seems to be pretty repeatable, I just did it twice. I forgot to take screenshots the first time. If you stand here:You can get results like this:They don't even get a chance to shoot you, the 12% health was from dealing with the first clone.

And if you hold down the fire button but release before the minigun starts firing, then it should stay spun up. It may appear not to be, but if you only heard the cycle up sound and not the cycle down then it should be good.

[Edit] I forgot to mention, but they don't follow the path of the blue arrow exactly. They run off into a corridor in the distance, then they come back a few seconds later and follow it.

I wasn't aware of that, danke.

And the first jungle mission was awful, you could be sneaking along for ages and then suddenly die because some enemies saw you before you saw them. And I could never get them to be consistent, I'd find out that near the mission start there are enemies walking on a nearby path with a straggler behind, yet on subsequent attempts I wouldn't be able to find them. And the part where you actually assassinate Ochoa is much easier if you bring the sniper rifle along from the first part, you can pretty much headshot him though a window from the mission start.

Anywho, I'm currently reinstalling C47 to see if the tactic I described is repeatable, or whether I just got through on luck.

Stu, I had a look at the game files and I extracted some of the map information, and I made this extremely accurate diagram, took me ages it did.The green line represents a metal gate, if you close that and stand in the corner next to it (where 47 is shown), then the 48's should all follow the blue line and come out the red door. It makes it as simple as simply clicking the LMB when the door opens. (iirc, there is a way to keep the minigun spun up so it shoots instantaneously. I think if you just tap the button, it spins up without shooting. I may be wrong though)
If you go to get the minigun, then there will be one clone loose by the time you get to that spot, but he shouldn't be much of a problem.

Also, the worst missions are the Columbian mission, although my least favourite missions in the series as a whole are the Japanese missions (outside) in SA. They are absolutely awful if you're trying for a Silent Assassin rating. Guards should not be able to recognise someone as an intruder from 50 feet away, through blinding snowstorms, while they're wearing a guards uniform that literally covers every square inch of skin.