The Last Starfighter

Universities got pretty good at teaching [C], too. They were turning out competent - I stress the word 'competent' - graduates at a phenomenal rate. That's what caused the problem.

via artlung.com

Permalink | Leave a comment »

A day in the life of a Google SRE.

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:55:50 -0700

On July 2, from 6:45 AM PDT until 12:35 PM PDT, Google App Engine (App
Engine) experienced an outage that ranged from partial to complete.

via groups.google.com

This is what we call a "post-mortem" in the biz. This is the kind of thing I do, but for a different service.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Ray-Tracing in Roguelikes

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:24:48 -0700

The great thing about a game that uses the console for display is that you can use otherwise prohibitively expensive operations to do things. Ray tracing is one example. Basically, ray tracing simulates actual beams of light, so rendered images look astoundingly real. Unfortunately, even at 800x600 (one of the lowest resolutions), so many rays are required (at *least* one per pixel: 480,000) that it's practically impossible to maintain even 30fps, considered a minimum frame rate.

When your game only has around 2000 pixels, though, crazy things are possible. Such is the life of a roguelike developer. While other algorithms exist around the web for this sort of top-down ray trace, I've come up with a version of my own that I'm excited to implement.

Rays get sent out at angle θ from the origin, where the player sits. The entire algorithm is translatable to any origin, but my player will always be at the center of the screen, which simplifies things. These rays use Bresenham's line algorithm to walk, character by character, until they hit something that blocks line of sight. While they walk, their path can be changed as desired to simulate mirrors, portals, whatever. Once they hit a wall, the algorithm increases θ just enough to move to the other side of the character at that distance. Then another ray is sent at the new θ, and the process continues.

On an 80x25 console (standard size), with all characters being used for display, the algorithm will need only 210 rays at most to determine line of sight. Lighting can be added afterwards, if desired; lighting from the origin (if the character is holding a torch, for example) only needs an "age" on the ray to work just fine. The math required to update θ is also (relatively) simple. All characters are 1x1 (in this coordinate system, anyway), and the distance can be computed by clamping the ray to the center of the blocking character and determining the θ of the ray to the center of the character next to it (in the correct direction). The "next" character should always be determined as the one *farther* away, in a particular (counter/clockwise) direction. This can be determined just from θ itself, in eight ranges.

And there you go; ray tracing in a roguelike, with all sorts of cool possibilities. Hopefully I can get it to work. :)

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Introducing the Google Chrome OS

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:50:00 -0700

What is Windows? It's that thing, in the background, that lets you run all the applications you want to run.

But what if all your applications were written in Javascript and HTML, and had URLs instead of .exe files? With all the extra power built into Chrome, they could still write to file systems, store data, work offline, do sophisticated graphics and parallel processing -- these are not hypotheticals, this is what Chrome can do right now. We're just beginning to scratch the surface of what an app written from Chrome can do.

via seldo, on news.ycombinator.com

Combine this with Gaikai, and a $200 (or less) netbook can do everything you might want to do.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

TopatoCo: And My Axe Shirt

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:56:41 -0700

via topatoco.com

I want this. :-D

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Spelunky v0.99.9

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:16:17 -0700

via forums.tigsource.com

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Bad Gods™ | Safety Notice

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:52:12 -0700

via badgods.com

Judging from some of the stories, the Wii remote is the deadliest and most destructive weapon ever created.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Hugh Laurie: "Wodehouse Saved my Life"

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:02:29 -0700

By the middle of the fifth chapter I was able to use a knife and fork, and I like to think that I have made reasonable strides since.

via pgwodehousebooks.com

In case you didn't know, Laurie (of House fame) was Wooster in an awesome British comedy series based off of Wodehouse's books of that name.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

"The Teapot"

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:28:20 -0700

Yes, this is the original. How cool is that?!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:18:15 -0700

Permalink | Leave a comment »

The Original 'Lambda Papers' by Guy Steele and Gerald Sussman

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:55:07 -0700

Gerald Jay Sussman and Guy Lewis Steele, Jr.. "Scheme: An Interpreter for Extended Lambda Calculus". MIT AI Lab. AI Lab Memo AIM-349. December 1975. Available online: ps pdf.

via library.readscheme.org

The original lambda papers are really interesting, and occasionally hilarious. Check them out, reprinted here.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

DPerry.com: Gaikai - Video Demo

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:43:52 -0700

via dperry.com

Wow.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Save My Game: Preparing to Improvise

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:27:08 -0700

No matter the setting you use, your first -- nay, only -- priority is to create instances of fun and excitement for you and your players. The lofty gods of setting purity will never curse you if you cross the streams, and you can ignore all the annoying demagogues on the internet who will.

via wizards.com

Permalink | Leave a comment »