Journals

Snehk6 years ago2017-04-21 13:33:28 UTC 3 comments
Today I made a ModDB page for my project, officially starting it's development.
Jessie6 years ago2017-04-20 11:39:08 UTC 13 comments
Solved
I need to confer with some fellow mappers about a map element I have in mind. (For HLDM.)

The idea would be an elevator of sorts, but without any moving platforms. There would be a square platform, with other levels of square platforms directly above/below. The players should be able to move upward/downward through the platforms at will, but also be able to walk across the platforms normally. Movement between platforms should be smooth, probably controlled with gravity. Ideally, players would be able to shoot through the platforms.

What do you suppose the best way to try to implement such a system be?
Main issues:
  • Being able to pass through a platform one can walk and stand on.
  • Movement between those platforms.
  • Consideration of multiple players. (If it works apart from this, suggest it anyway. I might still have a use for it.)
Worst comes to worst, I'll just make regular elevators, but hey, if we can come up with a working system for this...
Crollo7 years ago2017-04-14 06:19:26 UTC 16 comments
Something I'm trying to wrap my head around...
7 Months ago, August 20th 2016, I quit smoking by trading it with vaping, after 4 years of smoking.
First few months I noticed I wasn't having the miraculous health & mental improvements that you hear about from ex-smokers and quitting smoking catalogs. The way I understood it at the time was that I would feel like a non-smoker but with the stimulant effect of nicotine.

Fast forward 5-6 months and I'm definitely not feeling all that much better (or even different) than I did while smoking, and through a few quit attempts I'm almost certain the nicotine itself is to blame.

While I don't believe vaping is the horrible devil that certain people seem to try and make it out to be, I'm not entirely certain about the peachy image that people try to make out of it.
Any negative experiences with it (such as mine, more on that later), seem to be argued almost exclusively with anecdotal evidence (you're stupid and don't know how to use a vape, you must have health problems unrelated to vaping, etc), with no consideration that perhaps vaping itself may contribute negative side effects.
The positive experiences are also almost entirely anecdotal: "I feel better"; You've been smoking your entire adult life, so how can I define exactly what "feeling better" means exactly?
Does feeling better means you're just happy to not be hacking up a lung, regardless of how both the nicotine and the delivery system (inhaling vapor particles comprised of pg, vg & nicotine) affect you? Or do you somehow know what it is like to have lived as an adult for any period of time, for some stupid reason took up smoking and then finally took up vaping, before sharing your experience?

Now what's been bouncing around inside my head is this:
Smokers are the most common type of addict. They will lie, blatantly ignore all types of evidence that they are harming themselves, defend their habits to a great degree of irrationality, and change their lifestyles and goals based on the physical and mental limitations imposed by smoking.
I have heard many stories about people's experiences with vaping... I also vividly recall many stories about smoking years ago. Hmph...

Now where this becomes interesting for me is that despite the claims of "feeling like new" I've heard so often from vapers, there is a very distinct disparity between said vapers I've met, vs non-smokers.
I worked in a vape shop for a few months and met quite a selection of vapers, and not a single person I've met has stood out to me in any regard... While the non-smokers (other than the ones who handicap themselves by being greatly unhealthy in other regards) I've met have always stood out to me greatly with their energy and "sharpness", even if they aren't strictly "healthy".

But finally, ask a vaper if they consider themselves an addict.
Many of them will (and I have heard it myself as well) claim that vaping is much healthier than smoking and that they only continue to vape because they enjoy it (which indirectly says they could easily quit if they wanted to, although I've also heard that part said directly many times as well).
Now, tell a vaper about how you left your vape at home and often they will completely reverse over their previous statements and join in with how nervous, anxious and stressed they were in previous situations where they couldn't vape for some reason or another.

So I ask two questions: Have we simply created a more digital addiction that solves none of the problems from before?
And can we say with certainty that vaping can even approach the quality of life of a non-smoker?

And with all that said,
April 14 2017-I quit vaping.
I look forward to the next few days of absolute anxiety hell from nicotine withdrawals... Thanks for reading. :)
Snehk7 years ago2017-04-13 14:30:21 UTC 4 comments
Took on an UAV VLOS course (drone pilot, with the aircraft within visual line of sight - in human language). Spent whole day in a hospital to get through medical examination yesterday and got papers allowing me to start flying courses.

Starting with extremely boring lectures that are hard to memorise/comprehend due to data overflow (too many small details six hours a day, quite badly introduced at that). Add to it that the instructor looks like Bruce Lee incarnate, which kinda distracts...

Out of 30 hours of the course, 3 are meant for simulated flights and only 3 for real flying. Licence for this type of aircrafts have to be renewed every 5 years, but you get assigned to government pilot list.
Shepard62FR7 years ago2017-04-11 18:01:23 UTC 23 comments
So, I'm an uncle from now on.

Should I teach him programming/mapping or both in a few years ? ^^
Tetsu07 years ago2017-04-11 13:53:08 UTC 10 comments
I'm streaming on Twitch!! Www.twitch.tv/tetsu0sh0

Well not right now...

I plan to stream every Tuesday night at around 8:00pmEST EDT (GMT-4). possible Sunday streams as well depending on how my weekends go.

I'll be mostly mapping but there might be some modeling thrown in there too. This will be related to half life 1 and 2 mapping and modding.

There will be a lot of trial and error but that's how it goes.

Tune in tonight for the first scheduled stream!
I'm working on a hl2 map where there's half fps problem solving and action, half 3rd person space shuttle flying.

Last time on the stream I got the ship controls working but they're difficult to use and they can be vastly improved. I'll be upgrading the control scheme tonight!

I hope to see you there!
Archie7 years ago2017-04-08 04:37:50 UTC 6 comments
I got to see one of my favourite bands of all time last night. Utterly, utterly phenomenal performance - somehow from a bunch of geriatrics.

My voice is gone from singing and shouting, my ears are ringing and I can't stop grinning.
satchmo7 years ago2017-04-01 02:59:32 UTC 5 comments
My dad is recovering from open heart surgery.

He's been through a lot, but the worst is over.
Instant Mix7 years ago2017-03-30 17:25:29 UTC 4 comments
Give a shit about Quantum Computing?
Want to know why my Compo 34 entry is nonexistant?
Want to potentially learn something fascinating?

Well, have I got the PDF for you!
Download me here!

In all seriousness, I've spent the last semester alongside a bunch of other Computational Physicists who've been tasked with writing up a classical simulation of a quantum computer. Not only this, but we've also provided as much potential background information that you may want, including a nice introduction to quantum mech & quantum computation.

You'll probably need some knowledge of matrices and algebra ( Don't worry if you don't understand all the equations, in all honesty I don't really know them either, however can explain what they all do.)

I have password protected the document as it techically is coursework and therefore don't really want it circulating, however I trust everyone here at twhl doesn't want to ruin my life. Honestly though, if you are interested in this stuff, it's 35 pages of pure joy. The password should be obvious.
Striker7 years ago2017-03-22 10:13:11 UTC 7 comments
Hammer, although having a spartanic interface, is still a role model for other level editors through its common sense. And this, after almost 20 years from its conception.

2016 GDC talk
DiscoStu7 years ago2017-03-21 16:53:15 UTC 7 comments
"Unable to update apps. Insufficient storage space on device."
Check, 480MB free
Uninstall 2 apps and clear data cache
400MB free
User posted image
Ghost129er7 years ago2017-03-15 20:16:12 UTC 3 comments
So, uh, made a temporary TWHL Discord channel which I will remove once PB or some Admin has made the official discord channel.

http://discord.gg/qr6ufCH

Hope y'all can use it for VoIP in the DM server and stuff like that, though we already have VoIP in game, it's still cool if others want to chat and would rather not spam the Shoutbox me thinks.

Mainly did this because I couldn't find Archie's TeamSpeak channel IP that we used on the CS:GO comp and was like, welp, I'ma just do this.

Admins, if you want me to delete the channel, say so, will do it instantly. I will be manually filtering members, so keep that in mind. This is mostly for the frequently TWHL active members.

Gl, hf peeps.
Admer4567 years ago2017-03-14 20:50:25 UTC 15 comments
This day came, the day when I played CS 1.6, in my school, with my rival (she always gets A's, lol), while my classmates were watching me.

It all came as an agreement between my class teacher and me. Basically, I was refusing to decide to go on the future school trip to Montenegro.
So, we made a compromise, and arranged this little "event".

In fact, this could be the best maths class ever! I wish there be more moments like this.

My classmates didn't believe me that I made the school map in 7th grade, so I showed them the actual map. (and I'm the only one in my school, lol)

Unfortunately, I cannot copy-paste the whole blog here because it would take too much time. It's 22:50 here, that's 10:50PM!
So, you can still read it here.
Crollo7 years ago2017-03-11 15:55:02 UTC 4 comments
So I've been playing Rainbow Six: Siege quite a bit lately after finally having a decent enough system to run it, and I have to say I am massively disappointed with it.

I love the game to death as a concept.
I love the tactical, slow and methodical teamwork that is involved as attackers, as well as the strategic gameplay of the defenders. It is incredibly satisfying to take your time, plan out your attack/defense [in real time], coordinate it with your team and come out on top.
However, I found that the netcode absolutely wasted all of the effort that was put into these ideas, and would go as far as saying the game is unplayable in it's current state.

A significant portion of my deaths were a result of an enemy managing to pull off what appeared to be super-human reflexes, but the killcam showed they had far more time to shoot me. Sometimes they would not even appear on my screen at all and yet I was on their screen for more than half a second before they killed me. Mind you none of the games I played had ping any higher than 90, and many of these deaths had people with twice(!!!) my ping.

My very first few rounds I felt that I simply was rushing myself too much, but some very apparent patterns began to form once I had gotten comfortable with the controls and overall gameplay.
So after a particularly bad game, I decided to try and do some research into the netcode of the game and I found this.
I cannot even begin to understand how ubisoft could possibly believe this acceptable not only because this is a game highly touted as a "competitive" game, but also because the entire basis of this game relies on accurate information between client/server. It is simply not fun to have the drop on somebody, only to have them rush around a corner and one-shot you in a nanosecond.
Even more abysmally, ubisoft has acknowledged the issues, and claimed they would fix them over a year ago.

If I was asked to summarize my experience with Siege, I would simply say don't bother. With the netcode in it's current state, you may get lucky and earn a few good kills but the netcode will take the rest of your efforts and beat you over the head with them until you give up.