Vertex Decls :(

//The below code is entirely wrong. Don't use it
//This is an example of how OFF my vertex DECL was.
//Lets say I learned my lesson and learned some SWEET
//STUFF about D3D in the process
D3DVERTEXELEMENT9 decl[] =
{
{0,
0,
D3DDECLTYPE_FLOAT3,
D3DDECLMETHOD_DEFAULT,
D3DDECLUSAGE_POSITION,
0},

{0,
sizeof(D3DXVECTOR3),
D3DDECLTYPE_D3DCOLOR, /*COLORS!? DELICIOUS!*/
D3DDECLMETHOD_DEFAULT,
D3DDECLUSAGE_COLOR,
0},

{0,
sizeof(D3DXVECTOR3)+sizeof(D3DXCOLOR),/*EW*/
D3DDECLTYPE_FLOAT2,
D3DDECLMETHOD_DEFAULT,
D3DDECLUSAGE_TEXCOORD,
0},

{0,
sizeof(D3DXVECTOR3)+sizeof(D3DXCOLOR)+sizeof(D3DXVECTOR2),/*even more EW*/
D3DDECLTYPE_FLOAT3,
D3DDECLMETHOD_DEFAULT,
D3DDECLUSAGE_NORMAL,
0},

D3DDECL_END()
};

Jubilance

I've spent this break thinking and just...cleansing if you will. I have been in a very “troubled” state for a couple of months now and it was really past overdue that I do something about it.

So I spent these days sleeping, cooking, talking to old friends, and watching a little show called how I met your mother. I cannot describe how this combination of things have helped me re tune myself. The sleeping helped re-align my sleep schedule so I wouldn't wake up when the day was over; in fact I woke up at 9 am everyday and it felt amazing.

Cooking helped me work out some of that stress I was feeling (I know this sounds lame but really, it did) and helped me get back into the groove of doing things.

Talking to some of my old friends helped greatly in showing me who I was before things went downhill and really helped me think about what has happened.

How I Met Your Mother reminded me of old friends and situations. I miss the days where I could trust EVERYONE I was close with and didn't have to deal with pesky things in between us (it was the outside factors that took care of that) and it helped me think of all the things we faced and how we came out unscathed. I miss those days and I miss my home in New York.

It seems as if the alone time in between all these things helped me organize everything that has happened and everything I was feeling into a nice compact box to sort with everything else I have dealt with. I can safely say that after this break I am back in working form and I no longer am troubled.

Nope.

Not one bit.

Attached is a video I recorded on the same subject. It will get the same message across just in video format. Thanks for reading!

Software Engineering Day 1 Lab 1 Notes.

Here are the notes for SWE L1

relativePath = \dir1\dir2\somefile.txt

CurrWorkDir = "C:\SomeFolder\"

char [] token = "\\";

fstream mystream;
mystream.open(filename,flags);

flags
std::ios_base::in, out, trunc, binary, app, ate

ate - puts our read and write pointers at the end of the file

seekp - seeks the write pointer
seekg - seeks the read pointer

seekp(num of bytes you want to seek, where you want to seek from);

seekp(0,std::ios_base::beg);
cur
end



// existing ioPakFile;
fstream fileIn;
ioPakFile.seekp(dir offset, std::ios_base::beg);
char buffer[256];
unsigned int nRead;
unsigned int nTotal = 0;

while(fileIn.good())
{
fileIn.read(buffer,256);
nRead = fileIn.gCount();
ioPakFile.write(buffer,nRead);
nTotal += nRead;

}
fileIn.close();
//EVERYTIME YOU MUST CLEAR IT AFTER YOU CLOSE
fileIn.clear();
//YOU MIGHT WANT TO CLEAR BEFORE YOU OPEN AGAIN

Age != Skill;

So I've got a little problem. I'm angry, not because of anything serious but because of how naive I was just over a year ago.

I followed this podcast last year on competitive gaming. I thought these guys were godsend, probably the only people that understood how I felt about video games....and then I learned how to make them.


I see now just how ridiculous these people were and why they always got into arguments.

It's only been one year but I fully understand how to create video games from the ground up.

I've learned the core components of C++, Windows GDI, DirectX, C#, VisualBasic, Java, GDI+, as well as various data structures, compression algorithms, and design patterns for code architecture.

Yet after all this these same people dismissed me in a debate on video games because of my age.


Quite frankly, I'm insulted.

However, I see now that arguing with these people would continue the trend.

An ouroboros if you will.


Whatever, I'm not going to let it get to me.

I know what capabilities I have and what I've learned.

I know how to make a game and understand why things happen. So I'm okay with this.

*Late Night*

Having a late night...I have to catch a ride with my roommate tomorrow at 8ish. Kinda sucks because I can't sleep now. I hopefully am meeting a friend who works at Full Sail's career development department.

In the mean time I suppose I'll code the tile editor for my teams game Tainted Ink. Listening to the Cave Story remix while doing so is quite awesome. SO AWESOME ACTUALLY.

I know I haven't updated enough so I think I will from here on out.


..


Just don't expect any amazing writing skillzzzzzzz
CAVE STORY
just the ramblings of a game developer.

If you haven't played it yet I suggest going to go get it. In fact here is a nifty link for you all. Pre-patched with the english patch. Don't worry, it's free. So this isn't illegal, Cave Story is getting ported to the Wii too so enjoy it now! Then enjoy it again on the Wii!!!

Link:
Cave Story(Free + Pre-Patched for English)

D.G.A.F: E3 Special Episode 1!!!

Episode 1 is up boys and girls! Have at it!!

Direct Download: Here

E3 Madness

So lately I've been obsessing over E3. I mean, it couldn't have come at a better time. Classes are over, I have a lot of free time, and I have the internet all to myself at my apartment. PERFECT FOR FANBOYS LIKE ME. So you can imagine how happy I was to receive a phone call from my old friend. Asking me to start up another podcast. (I used to have one on Mypodcast.com but it died and then their servers crashed so everything was lost).I didn't think twice and agreed, our first episode should be uploaded fairly soon now. Though I fear it may get swept away in the wake of Microsoft's E3 Press Conference. Oh well, we'll just have to make another one!!


Stay tuned!