Lag.Com's Haven

wok

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:53:44 GMT

So, first week of work over. Comments? It's pretty good; uses the brain and my skills. That's more than I can say for every other job I have been in.

:D

10is

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:40:40 GMT

If you've been watching Wimbledon this year, you'll have noticed the rising star that is Andy Murray. A british player and quite good at that, he's received ridiculous amounts of coverage and slow-motion replays of him being generally quite happy through the tournament so far.

Just this evening was his match against one Richard Gasquet of France, an excellent player seeded a few ranks above Murray. He quickly took the first two sets and got to a comfortable 5-3 lead. Then something happened.

All the yobs arrived in the audience.

From that moment on, every single fault from Gasquet was met with 30+ seconds of cheering from stupid spectators, and Gasquet lost his service game and eventually that set. Despite his complaints, nothing was done, and the crowds' cheers just got louder and louder.

After he lost the 4th set, he took a bathroom break, leaving amongst prevalent booing. When he got back on he was booed again, and during his first service game of the set the crowd loudly applauded a double fault. He went on to lose that game, and after some long and difficult games, the match.

Gasquet didn't play versus one person, he played fifteen thousand and one. Murray is actually a great tennis player, but he didn't win purely on his own merits this time.

I feel sick.

blah blah blah

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:14:38 GMT

so like I started designing an RTS too. zing

Actually what I wanted was to make Stars! into a screensaver, but it seems incredibly difficult to find any information on its file formats, and I can't work out the encryption myself. So instead I'm writing an RTS with aims towards having a screensaver that shows random games. Cool, huh.

Of course it could actually be a game too but graphics etc. blah blah blah someone draw me some

lag.com's as yet unnamed 4x game

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:09:37 GMT

Focus is on planets, not empires.
Races are user-created but also have some non-changeable/semi-random factors.
Research beginnings heavily influence what can be done full stop. i.e. quickly researching Biotechnology makes EVERYTHING they do biotech.
There are ordinary colonists but also 'Personalities' who have their own stats, etc.
Many, many different rare and random/triggered events, i.e. balrog
Micromanagement is only possible on the planet 'you' are on.
Personalities can disagree with your orders etc.
Ships are built by component. 'Builder' personalities can 'critical build'
Can choose 'terminology-list' fo flavour for race, e.g. King/Emperor/Benevolent Ruler for Life for PC's title
Technology/Minerals etc. have random names each game (and per race?)
Diplomacy is complex. Multiplayer is transparent; nobody knows which races are PC or NPC.
Not just 'Science' can be researched - 'The Arts', other stuff too

this is mainly for Mike but feel free to comment

PC Gamer, January 2002

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:02:47 GMT

Uh. I was going to post this like a year ago. It was still in my Semagic 'saved drafts', so... enjoy. Real post coming up :p

Halo is a beautiful, intelligent and forward-looking game, which takes the tricks the genre has evolved, post-Half-Life, on the PC and fused them via elegant game-surgery to a rarely seen depth of design. Console gamers won't know what's hit them. Us lot - perhaps more used to visionary shooters - should be equally impressed. Halo is luscious and radiant and clever and sexy and will never, ever, in a million years, come out on the PC.

Yes, you heard right. And ignore Bungie's statements to the contrary. Yes, they want to do Halo for the PC and Mac. Of course they do. That was their original vision. The sad fact is that it simply isn't their decision any more. Microsoft own them. And since Halo is such a triumph, they'd be utter idiots to let it slip to the PC.

And that's a good thing.

Out of all the next generation console launchers, with Halo, Microsoft - unbelievably - are the only ones who've managed to include an everyone-must-play-this title in their line-up. The PS2 suffered abominable updates in the form of Ridge Racer V and Tekken Tag Tournament. Gamecube's initial trio of games, while lovely, aren't going to appeal to anyone but Nintendo's faithful. Super Monkey Ball is brilliant, but I challenge you to explain why rolling a ball with a monkey is the future of videogaming to anyone whose testicles have been affected by the dread pull of gravity. And Dreamcast is already dead, so let's forget about that. Halo stands up admirably to the PS2's second-generation games, such as the gangsta-fronting GTA 3. It's something that could genuinely sell machines. Or, to use the horrible industry phrase, Halo is a genuine killer app for the Xbox.

And, make no mistake, Xbox needs one. It's entering a very tough market. Without something of quality at the head of their game-spear, they'd be doomed. But they've got Halo - so they've now got at least a fighting chance of ramming it through the throats of their foes. Good for Mr Gates' bank-balance, perhaps, but why should you, the archly intellectual PC gamer, pull your bleary eyes away from your 21" monitor? If the Xbox dies, surely it'll just mean we get all those games back which were hastily shunted over towards the Microsoft's puke-green-garlanded box, yes? Well, no.

Firstly, there's one thing about the future of games that we know for sure: that they're going to be grotesquely expensive to make. Horribly so. Third-world nations could be fed for the amount our multinationals are going to funnel into producing increasingly realistic breast-bouncing physics. The average company - i.e. everyone except console manufacturers - is only going to be able to recoup their expenditure by developing across as many formats as possible. If the PC isn't included in their, it will atrophy to the point where it's a backwater hobby. Because no matter what hardware you buy, you need decent software to show it off.

A conversion between a PS2 and a PC is a considerably harder task than a conversation from Xbox to the PC (and vice versa). So if the Xbox sells, it makes it more financially feasible for games to be moved across onto the PC, or included as part of the original concept of the game rather than a limp afterthought. It's been argued that the Xbox is the PC's Trojan horse in the living room. I'd argue that the Xbox is also the PC's Trojan horse into the accountants' financial fortress, giving us access to budgets akin to the $40 million or so spent on Shenmue.

So - if Xbox sells, we'll see more and better PC games. For the Xbox to succeed, it needs a God-kissed game to sell it from the start. It's got one. It's got Halo. And for it to really help Microsoft, Xbox has to be the only format it's possible to play it on.

So kiss Halo goodbye.

After all - what have we lost? One exemplary first-person shooter. And in a year that's should feature everything from Duke Nukem Forever to Deus Ex 2 to Unreal 2 - not forgetting the possibility that Half-Life 2 may appear - that's something we can afford to give up. Sacrifice Halo's body on the obsidian altar of the Xbox. Let its blood flow through the still veins of the corpse. Let Halo PC die, so the Xbox can live.

And let the Xbox live so we can use it to our own ends.

I particularly enjoy the last paragraph.

NAVIGATION VIA SATELLITE

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:35:19 GMT

DID YOU CALL ME A SATNAV?

Cinema tomorrow, hoohah!

AND AGAIN WITH THE ADJECTIVES

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:46:16 GMT

Alright, I made a page for HDMWF.

HOLY DRAGON METEOR WAR FORCE

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:26:08 GMT

Haiku² for geoffasraelis
trying to grab now if any of you fucks care it's my birthday
@

Created by Grahame

lol

I know, haven't posted much here. I'm working on a turn-based strategy game called HOLY DRAGON METEOR WAR FORCE. I think I covered most TBS names there. I'll have a webpage up for it some time this year. Currently I have a scrolling 16x16 tile-based engine with sprites above it, so it's going pretty well. I've nicked some sprites from Fire Emblem 7 (Lyn and Eliwood, so far) to use as tokens, and also the Tausendfussler from SRT: Original Generation (lol). I'll have 'battle scenes' eventually I guess, but I'm no artist. For now I'll have combat occur on the map, like most TBSs if you turn battle animation off. I'm just trying to go from my ideas to code right now. I have the whole character data shit ready, next is linking that information to a map token.

So yeah, if anyone wants to draw me some 16x16 (or bigger, Lyn's token sprites go up to about 24x28 or so) sprites to fit on my battle map, I would be very grateful. Try and have the hair colours be separate in the palette so I can recolour them based on the character. Eventually I will need a bajillion sprites - the combinations are endless:
* Hair colour, style (at least 5)
* Gender (at least 2, lol)
* Race (at least 10)
* Class (at least 20)
Oh, and then of course all the Mecha and mounts need map tokens too. The Tausendfussler is cool and all, but it doesn't exactly look like a dangerous ship, does it.

So yeah, that was pretty long, and I didn't even mention myself! I'm okay. Mike is a great friend. Elly is a great friend. Looking forward to the 15th!

Craze: Part VI

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:36:25 GMT

So, uh, here you go. It's quite short this time.
Part VI

Picture the scene from above. A grand castle, flanked on one side by thick woods. If you look closely, you

would see an interesting scene there; several Sarinahsi dancing around, chasing through the trees, and...

ah. Perhaps it is best not to look there, right now.

A ring of Vahn, with the occasional huge Galthold shining in the moonlight. In places thicker than others;

a sign of the times, and of distressing changes within the's world's population. A lone Galthold, darker

and murkier than the rest, makes his way closer through the woods. Surprisingly nearby, a very out of

place Mrrel; hidden and watchful.

Then it begins. The screaming noise of air being vaporised and streaming off the small object as it

streaked through the sky. The unbearable roaring as every stone in the castle's walls begins to shake as

one, caught in the reverberation of the air.

Followed shortly by the explosion. Shouts of agony die out against the sheer volume of impact, crashing

through several layers of millenia-old rock, wood, and eventually, soil. Beaten by this new adversary, the

castle falls onto itself, crushing those within. The lucky ones manage to avoid the initial onslaught of

falling masonry, only to choke to death in the dust.

The army has scattered, some caught by the blast or by the flying stones it propelled outward. Some of the

survivors band together. Some of the Sarinahsi from the wood stagger out, injured or dying. Confusion

reigns as the Galthold flee the scene.

Chaos. Uzrai stands in awe, drinking in the air.

cachots et dragons

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:06:22 GMT

So are we doing it tonight or not?

Craze: Part V

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:54:50 GMT

Bit of a gap, I know. Shut up.

Part V

Unfortunately, until now you have not heard about the Mrrel. Though there is not a great deal to say; they

are a small, round and spiny bunch, somewhat like hedgehogs but many times over the size. Friendly since anybody could remember, all species enjoyed free passage through their vast lands. This allowed the war to spread at incredible pace, and many battles were fought inside Mrrel territory. Refusing to ally with either side, their political stance annoyed many important people, but the risk of losing the advantage of movement kept their anger in check.

Thelm was nothing special among his people, though perhaps a little more inclined to violence than most. However, such things were regarded a result of the rather rowdy parties that the Mrrel hold for themselves when nobody else is looking. Sire of many a children, he had travelled the many villages in search of the fine lass he would eventually settle with, but had been rejected (after the obligatory nights of passion) too many times for him to count.

Embittered by his experiences, he journeyed further than before into the lands and found himself in many a strange event. Despite the tussles and scrapes, he became a mercenary of sorts doing odd jobs for interested parties. Though the Vahn often turned up their noses at his violent behaviour, they were not above asking them to take care of certain things.

For now he was in no man's employ. Hidden in the gorse near his hastily doused campfire, he watched the legions of troops begin their night-time siege of Intarelli. Quietly they moved into position.

Perhaps more than just Thelm were in the audience. A bright star, sparkling serenely, made its presence known in the dark sky. A few Galthold regarded it curiously, but it was ignored by their Vahn allies. The Sarinahsi, caught up in their revelries, never saw it coming.

Craze: Part IV

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:53:26 GMT

Well, seeing as I am half-obligated to post a part every four days, here you go.

Part IV

So, perhaps you are wondering about the Galthold by now. Next we spy on their doings, their
most ancient city in the far north. An onlooker would surmise it has been gradually carved out
of the very rock, but they would be wrong. Vast in size and scintillating in colour, Graz Ulok
has stood for nearly as long as the first race has existed. A fitting companionship, for a
species made of crystal.

Living conduits for electric energy, many feet tall and massively muscular, any Galthold is
the focus of the room (and often the convesation). Despite their bulk and evident strength, by
most measures they are a calm and peaceful race. It is likely that nobody would know of their
unshakable determination and martial might if not for the war with the Ikufti.

Uzrai however, is not a typical Galthold. He may possess the enormous translucent body of his
peers, but his mind is different, tainted by violence and twisted by loss. Not allowed to
re-enter his homeland, instead he occupies himself with destruction and chaos. Occasionally
his travels take him to Vahn cities, where they treat him as any other of their honoured
allies, but unbeknownst to them, his mission is often different than those they task him with.

For instance, now he reads the carefully thin writing on the letter. Centuries of contact with
those birdlike fools had taught Uzrai enough of their strange, angular script to read official
declarations. Such was the document he left laying on top of the mangled corpse behind him. Soon he would have to report back to Kisunarabn for more information from his Sarinahsi friends. He smiled grimly, remembering the scholars' latest theories of Vahnic writing. They were getting close. Maybe he'd have to throw a spanner in the works.

Craze: Part III

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:20:44 GMT

New avatar. I'll use it when I'm posting parts of the Craze story. The image comes from the Magic: The Gathering card 'Crystal Golem', illustrated by Mike Dringenburg. You'll find out why pretty soon.

Part III

Much more ancient than the relatively young Vahn are the Sarinahsi, a populous race of scaly-skinned warriors living in many small tribes dotted around the great western marshes. At home in battle, they originally entered the great war between races as a 'training exercise' more than to aid their allies. There didn't seem to be many Ikufti left anymore, as it was. Perhaps they were not worthy of their help after all. Nevertheless, the war continued, fuelled by the bloodlust of the Sarinahsi people.

Chieftain's daughter Iztaru was thoroughly enjoying the spoils from their latest campaign, breaking over the border into Vahn territory. Though many tribes had reported small victories, they were the first to have taken an entire fortress city. Living in a stone house was novel. She would never have thought of it.

Laying languidly on the former ducal throne, she stripped herself of her ammunition belt and crossbow, delicately pulling the sharpened extensions off her real, and somewhat smaller claws. Thus purified, she sunned herself lazily. From what the clever-dicks had told her, this room had been built so that at certain times of day, sunlight would burst through the small windows into carefully placed mirrors. The result would be a brilliant shine reflected off the white marble throne, and she fully intended to be at the centre of it. The thought of so much attention from the heavens made her growl in anticipation.

Elsewhere in the castle, Sarinahsi scholars pored over the thin, scratchy writing of the Vahn in search of understanding. Conjectures were made and considered, rough drafts were drawn up yet hopes were dashed. Very little was known about the Vahn language, let alone the script. These notes would join the sparse documents seized by other tribes and perhaps in time, genuine comprehension would result.

Iztaru's cry of delight echoed throughout the castle. One by one the sages looked to one another, then returned their eyes to books.

Craze: Part II

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:50:58 GMT

Here's a bit more. Do comment or ask questions.

Part II

The most recent of evolved species on Alum is the Vahn. Years of constant predation from the more muscular and quick creatures surrounding the northern steppes gradually forced these deep-thinking people to the air. Standing perhaps two metres tall on ungainly legs, these bird-men have carefully created a culture of extreme rigidity; king over council, council over dukes and so on down to the individual ranks of peasant in their assigned lands. The chain reports back to the capital city, Das Indek, a beautiful yet relatively small construction on the underside of an enormous cliff. Whereas on a different planet this might be explained by massive advances in engineering technology, its builders were no bricklayers but what can only be described as magic-users.

In a small tower along the south-east-facing expanses of the city, Mikalao sat tapping his talons on a large marble desk. Tall even for a Vahn, his impressive posture and complex clothes marked him as one of the nobility, while the small necklace of darkly hued crystals implied something else.

Still held in one hand, a letter states thus (translated for your convenience):
All Marquesses are to send at least three in ten or more of their vassals to Der Garrisan in preparation of the impending siege upon Intarelli. All Magi of sufficient skill to defend themselves and a company of three hundred warriors are also required to attend this force. Our allies also send reinforcements.
--- Lord Jared Tokrin, Duke of Der Garrisan

Underneath lie the signatures of all seventeen members of the council, neatly inked and underlined. The official seal of sovereignty ended the list of names.

After scanning the letter for the final time, Mikalao stands and steps slowly to the large wooden wardrobe at one side of the long room. Aside from this functional furniture, only a few decorative and colourful tapestries hang down the walls, between them many windows. Withdrawing several long staves, he closes the wardrobe again and lashes them to his back, tying a long cloak over them.

A few seconds later, he swoops neatly out of a window, catching a warm current and flying south-west.

Craze: Part I

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:42:52 GMT

Seeing as I lack the resources to create the MMO I had envisioned, and I do not currently have a development machine to use for work on the single-player version, I have decided to work on the story to Craze here. I don't know how much I will write in advance, but I know a great deal of the plot already. Feel free to ask me questions.

Part I

War is a relative thing.

To some people, it means little. "Today, President Somethinginov of Suchandsuchistan declared war on the neighbouring country of Similiaristan", they hear from their televisions. Perhaps something to be vaguely worried about, yet secure in the knowledge that it doesn't really concern them. The alarmed citizen might be worried on the effect on imported goods prices.

For others, the effects are impossible to ignore. When the small, neatly typewritten letter finds its way to your door; the family splits between the worrying women and the able men, sent off to fight a country for the good of one man sitting in an expensive chair. The flick of ash from a dictator's cigar can affect more lives than a person can ever hope to meet in a lifetime of work in the mines, or the trenches, or the factories.

To still others, it is a list of statistics. Numbers to pore over, to frown at and to present to superiors, who flap them in the faces of others and to relink the chain of command. Numbers to be read but not appreciated, to be analysed but kept at a distance. Numbers which will later be hung over the heads of the dictator and his cigar, tried for war crimes, but paying a different price than any they had imagined.

To the Ikufti, war is an ancient thing. It is respected and feared, yet fueled. Eons ago, longer even than most species can remember, a bitter enmity had formed between them and the most primal of creatures imaginable. Whole races had evolved since the beginning of this war, and likely many more would too if not for a very unfortunate series of events. For their war, even as epic as it seemed to the five sentient peoples of Alum, was nothing compared to the vast galactic conflict fought around them.

Of course, it would be a long time before any of them worked it out. Shorter than you might expect, though.

Aasokurafuto

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 01:44:15 GMT

My hand hurts like hell now. Trackmice suck. I just spent the last 2 hours making this:

Amazing, really. That's the card Earthcraft out of Magic: The Gathering. I even bothered drawing suitable mana symbols and the expansion icon. 'Tengwar' is of course J.R.R. Tolkien's script used for elven writing and other things. I used a phonetic mode for English - I'm not sure about some of the diphthongs. 'Ultima' denotes the druidic runes used for spellcrafting in the Ultima series of games, the Underworlds of which I know and remember most fondly. All the fonts used are my own bitmap ones, except from the first which is Agency FB, size 8. Just so I don't forget.

I'm considering adding other scripts/languages, but I don't have a foreign version of this card. Maybe I'll pick another one next time, I have plenty of chinese cards from Torment.

So it's Friday tomorrow. We doing anything?

hubris

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:00:49 GMT

"Digimon World - Dusk"
"Digimon World - Dawn"

They stole our idea. :(

For teh guys

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 10:59:03 GMT

So, I had an interview thingy at Ventura. Went quite well, I'm hopeful - maybe I can get through the training without throwing up! I was feeling good that day, so I got KFC on the way home, then bought Final Fantasy XII, which I am currently enjoying.
Thoughts so far:
Vaan is not as annoying (or as stupid) as Tidus: big plus
Licence system: cool idea, but buying everything twice is kind of irritating (licence + item)
FMVs and presentation: absolutely stunning! I love the architecture and polish
Overall: very good game, just not Final Fantasy. At the very least they should have called it FFT: Gaiden or something.

If anything is happening soon, please call me.

Topic

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:10:01 GMT

New icon, to 'celebrate' my idle learning of lojban.

That's vine (a fun cursive script adapted from one found at OmniGlot), tengwar (Tolkien's elvish), japanese (katakana), lojban-ization and, of course, the original.

I think 'xa' has to do for the initial 'la', because the rules say you can't start a cmene with 'la'. Maybe I should use 'ra' instead, as the katakana does.

.e'e ca le cabdei la xagdotkom. cusku bau la lojban.

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:06:25 GMT

I guess none of you fucks cared.

(Elly is exempt from this 'you')

Sound of Life Today

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:20:44 GMT

So, what's up in my hizzy?

Not a lot. Moved in successfully, applying for jobs etc. Next door's cat is extremely friendly but Sheba is not. My computer's broken (power supply uber alles), my laptop's broken (ditto). Not that I'm allowed on the internet anyway except for job purposes. Good job I'm devious.

Are we doing anything soon? I know you were trying to grab me last week, but... easier to grab now. If any of you fucks care, it's my birthday tomorrow.

No, I'm not angry, I'm just me.

CALL ME!

?!

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:24:35 GMT

OKAY WTF

MMOGOLF

funnies

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:03:54 GMT

Rz> that explains the eating
Rz> he's from some 3d world country like brazil
TildeStar> or america
EROTICO Y > peru* $$
Rz> 4th world
TildeStar> i've never lived in a 3 dimensional country
TildeStar> what's it like
Rz> easier to dodge

ZWEI

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:51:11 GMT

Go here.
Watch. Be amazed.

Also, this.
Be amused, but not amazed. :)

Shin Megami Tensei

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:54:52 GMT

Maikeru: My girlfriend's name is Mimothy.

Bah, picked the wrong names for character creation I guess. Bazard was #3, Maikeru was #2. :(