Today's Fun

Well the run of the prototype today went pretty well. I'd post an update to the last map there with the changes but they barely show up yet, maybe next time it will be worth the space to upload it. It worked out fine and I think the several of us who showed up had a good time. The next running will be in about two weeks most likely, maybe three. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a lot of coding done and won't have too many issues getting my homework done. Im tired though so i'll post some more tomorrow.

Later
-Toraux

The World for the Prototype

Communications Blitz

Its been a hectic couple of days, but I think I'm back under control for the most part. Got some coding done so far, and a bunch more to be done tonight if I can keep it straight. I fixed up and improved some core functionality that doesn't really reach the surface but it makes me feel better none the less. My upcoming stuff to do is all basically communications. I'll be coding new comm features and commands in the following order: shout, help, announce, news, emote, and socials. Hopefully it won't take too much work to get these all done but you can never tell. One thing I learn from engineering is stuff comes up and gets in your way and you can never use your time how you want.

As I mentioned before, check out the tester group and come log in this weekend when I run the prototype. This will be a warm up for the first big one where we'll try to pick up more interested people.

Sign up here.

We'll, I think I'll go start working on shout, should be fun. C-ya all this weekend.

-Toraux

Prototype Running Next Weekend

This past weekend I took the old prototype version of Dynamic I had that was written in python and installed it on my PC that I have at home for weekend use. It seems to be intact. I would like to allow people to try out building and exploring on this codebase to try and get people more interested in the overall project. The first step for this is going to be getting a smaller group of people on there first to make sure nothing is broken and tweak a few performance issues to make sure it will run ok with a larger load. Anyone who is currently in the Tester group is invited, and anyone who joins the tester group between now and Saturday can as well. The time will probably be something like 2 to 5 PM Eastern Standard time. Join the tester group for more info. Next time I run it I will be inviting people from various mud forums and websites. By the way, the link to join the tester group is up on the sidebar.

Hope to see you all there.
-Toraux

Screenshot

Like I said a few weeks ago, here is a screenshot of my desktop. The theme is available here.


-Toraux

Getting in Gear

I think the feel for coding is coming back, I really want to get coding again, and I wish I had more time. Hopefully I'll be able to arrange things so I'll be moving forward quickly. I'm currently working on expanding some of the chatlog functionality, (arguments to change the number of items returned per page and arguments to allow searching for keywords and phrases). After this I have a whole bunch of fixes and tweaks I'd like to do, then its on to a whole slew of communications improvements. I'll be adding the shout command as well as news, announcements, help files, socials, and the emote command. Once all the communications tweaks are in then I'll probably be looking to take on someone to start compiling help info and possibly work on building a list of socials and soft coding them.

I will also be looking for a webmaster/web designer soon to start developing a new layout for the blog and one for the eventual site that will be launched. The third new position I'll want to fill will be a marketing position which will basically be someone to try and build recognition and grow the potential user base. This will happen around the time that I finally decide on a name for the game that will be based on the Dynamic MUD engine.

This weekend I'll be trying to see if I can get the old python version of dynamic to fire up on my win 98 machine I have at home as I'll be there for the weekend. I should also be home the following weekend, so maybe I'll get it to work. Once it works and I've made sure it's stable enough and maybe add some admin commands I'll open it up for several hours some weekends as a publicity thing, let people try out that facet of the game and see if they like it. I also think sometime over the next few weeks I'll code up the portal program that will stream data through the fire wall here which should be good, maybe I'll be able to run tests while at school after all.

Anyway I'm going to try and code a few things before I head to Operating Systems and then home to teach tonight.

Later,
-Toraux

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Tomorrow, September 19th is international Talk Like a Pirate day, Arrrrrrr!

I know I'm dragging my feet but getting going again after a hiatus takes time, its hard to just stand up and code... especially when the first few things on the todo list are boring. I got a few more database things to do to back up then I'll be moving onto comms. Besides that I don't think I have much to report tonight.

Oh yeah, I have a general plan for a tunneling program that should allow me to serve up Dynamic MUD through the routers and fire walls of school. That should also be on my list of things to do over the next week or two is code that up.

Anyway onto something requiring less thought.
-Toraux

Dynamic Fixed

Well dynamic runs again, and I think the database is all set. I wouldn't be surprised if I created a whole lot of bugs in the process of fixing everything and getting it running again. My next move will be to continue trying to test and see if I can find any of the bugs I created. I am also going to set up a means of backing up the database structure and data and possibly creating some documentation on the save format of the various structures that are saved. After that I'm going to move onto some of my older goals that I rehashed last night. I added some new ones and basically listed out everything I want to accomplish next. I made sure to include a lot of fixes and core improvements, I really want the core to be tight before I move onto the next set of goals including starting to fill in the real game and data. Hopefully all of this will go well. As for me now though, I think I'm going to play a game and de stress, then maybe do some more homework. Ill probably be back to coding by tonight though.

Later,
Toraux

Hope

So I think I might be using subversion after all. I wrote a shell script that will basically add all newly added files and then committing them. I will still need to take a few extra steps for renamed files but at the very least I won't lose anything. I already eliminated all the compile errors from the code based on the errors, I just need to fix some of the bugs and non compile errors and get the database fixed. Once this is all done I'll be able to get back to some forward stuff. I should be good to go some time tomorrow (I hope). Hopefully this will all go well, ill report in at least once tomorrow, maybe more times, depends on my progress and how I feel.

Later
-Toraux

Bad News!

Well all I can say is that I'm kind of disappointed. Subversion has let me down. Mostly because it isn't idiot proof enough to stop me from screwing up. Apparently last time I changed a file name.... I forgot to remove and read it to the subversion registry. I think I can fix the problem in an hour or two of work however... the two missing files had very little changes if I remember correctly, but enough that it might take a little work to get it running and debug.... Especially without any viable player data to use, ill have to fix that tonight and tomorrow too.

Im looking into alternate means of keeping backups of my data. One option I'm considering is writing a python script to back up all my data and keep log files. Instead of using the more efficient subversion and cvs methods of only storing changes, I would use a system that would just copy the entire set of source code. I need to think about this tonight and possibly tomorrow. Once I figure out what I will do ill move into implementing it and then fixing my source code and getting it back operational. I think backing up 100% of the code is viable because my working directory only is at about 1.4MB now, even if it grew to 10-20MB I think I have plenty of backup space. I will just need to back up every so often to CD's.

In other news I think I have a viable name idea, I'm still toying with it but maybe I'll let people know about it soon on here.

Anyway, I need a break, got to go cry because of my loss and stuff.
Later,
-Toraux

Coding This Weekend

The plans are official.... I'm staying on campus this weekend, which means between my massive hw assignments and school stuff ill be unpacking Dynamic and getting my plans in order, and hopefully working towards the next goals. Everything I do reminds me of the game, its sad really, its almost like the game wants to tempt me to find enough time to get back to it.

The name dilemma is still bugging me, I think I might just have to run a contest or some sort of public brainstorming contest to help come up with a name. I have ideas but they always have shortcomings. I really need something that will:

• Stand out in a list.
• Have a good acronym.
• Be original.
• Not suck.
• Entice people to play.
• Be representative of the game.
  

I might be posting open positions over the next month or so too, I think I might need some help to get certain things done and help get the word out.

Until next time.
-Toraux

Not Much News

There isn't much news to report today. Past few days I've been trying to keep my head above water with homework. I haven't forgotten about dynamic, I just need a break. I think this weekend I'm staying on campus so I should have some more time to get my stuff done with linux that I need done to get back to development. That and I'm back addicted to Shogun: Total War. Fun game, too bad I had to go to great lengths to get it to run again under Windows XP. I've also been picking up quite a bit from my World Civ's reading that seems to tie into the concept of villages, tribes, and nations in dynamic, and should shape how the development for that goes. Once I'm back full time development will speed right along.

Anyway, until later.
-Toraux

TGIF

Thankfully I get a few days to recuperate before my next week of school. It has been a pretty tough week getting back adjusted to school, and now I have a lot of hw to catch up on. Lots of reading for all my classes, thats basically my plan for tomorrow now that I'm home for the weekend. Come tomorrow night I'm heading back to school, hopefully on Sunday I'll be able to finish up my reading and clear out the remainder of my linux todo list. I think ill be posting a screen shot or two of my desktop, I think it looks quite cool. Hopefully I will have time to at least get the repository opened up on Sunday, if not it will happen next week sometime, I want to code!

Anyway tired.
-Toraux

Coding This Weekend

I believe that all the updates and software have all been installed. My new stuff also worked with gimp, the graphics editor I wanted but couldn't get to work before my failure. Most likely on Sunday I will unpack the repository and see if my todo list is there and possibly start coding. Friday is my heaviest day class wise, and I still have to go about backing up all my critical config and install files so next time I pull a stupid move and nuke linux ill be ready.

Speaking of backups, if I find out my todo list isn't in the repository I will make a move to write a shell script to auto backup Dynamic MUD and the todo list at the same time. That way ill know what I have left to do if I'm ever forced to revert to an old version. Hopefully it wont take me long to get back on my feet. I want to make progress. I also think I'm going to reinstall Shogun: Total War. I'm about 95% done reading "The Art of War" by Sun-Tzu, and want to try applying the strategies to combat. That and I think the game is a good influence for ideas in terms of large scale strategic combat and tactical warfare that might spill over into Dynamic's design.

Anyway, tired as always.
-Toraux

Getting There

I'm almost back to normal. Got several packages left to install, and some backups of config files etc. Unfortunately I think I lost my todo file. Ill find out once subversion is installed and I open up my repository.

I figured out my Java problems yesterday, and I'm quite proud of myself. With Java transitioning between version 1.4 and 1.5 there is some complication i the installation process. The Java-config-1 script... used for setting your generation 1 virtual machine had a bug.. trying to reference a variable that didn't exist, so I cracked it open and commented out the line, and now I have Java. Eclipse is currently installing in the background, making writing this quite a pain in the ass.

Guess there isn't much else left to mention, ill hopefully have an update later.
-Toraux

Fixing Linux

Well, I'm still trying to fix linux. The core stuff is successfully installed but I'm still short most of my development tools and other day to day utilities. Next on my list is Java and Eclipse, followed by subversion and mysql. Java is giving me a hard time because of the transition from 1.4 to 1.5 so hopefully it will go more smoothly tomorrow. Hopefully I can get this stuff taken care of soon, I miss coding.

In other news Google Code Jam utterly destroyed me. I think I got problem 1, but problem 2 was way too hard to solve in the time allotted. And based on the high scores I'm not Indian enough to be a top contestant. Anyway, not that big of a deal, this way I wont have to worry about competing in round 2.

As for classes, had Digital Circuits and Operating Systems today. I think I'm going to like these classes! Circuits is basically going to be Digital Logic in CMOS I think, and Operating Systems will just rock. I've always wanted to code my own Kernel Modules and Device Drivers. Maybe ill finally be able to conquer the hardware that never wants to work in linux for me! Tomorrow is: Discrete Math, World Civs I, and Continuous Linear Systems. Discrete sounds like the teacher will make the class a bitch (he wont hit all the material but were still responsible for it), but at least it isn't calc. And I hear the professor for CLS is really hard, so hopefully that will go ok.

Hopefully ill have better news tomorrow.
-Toraux

What a Weekend

This was one hell of a weekend. The move in part went quite well. Everything happened quickly and without too much extra work. After that though it all went to hell. Saturday night I somehow managed to wipe out my gentoo install. Im right now trying to reinstall all the applications I had before the loss. Luckily I backed up DynamicMUD before I moved this weekend so no code is lost, just some time this week. Hopefully ill be ready to code again by Sunday, hopefully earlier, I guess we'll see.

The weekend however got worse.... Steve Irwin is dead. To me it feels almost like 9/11. I feel like I might wake up tomorrow and he'll still be alive. I don't really know why. I hope he didn't feel much pain, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, family, and his kids.

Anyway back on topic.... everything will be back to normal eventually. Ill try to check in again tomorrow, first day of class tomorrow: Digital Circuits and Operating Systems. Hope they'll be fun, and I hope I have the time to do CodeJam with all the other crap I have going on. Oh and on top of that I need to teach tomorrow night. The week gets more stressful!

Anyway back to life.
-Toraux

Busy Weekend

I'm done with working for another school year, wooooot. Tomorrow will be one busy day though, need to run to the bank and deposit some of the money I made into a CD and finish packing up for school. My move in window starts at 3:30 and goes until 6:30, hopefully there wont be a backup from the window before me. I will try to post something tomorrow night but it will depend on how everything goes, how tired I am, and the amount of free time I have. Once I'm settled I will be spending some time doing some practice for the google Code Jam that takes place starting Tuesday at noon. I will also be expanding and improving the communications modules.

Until then.... later.
-Toraux