I've been getting a lot of messages about my partnership with YouTube. For months, I've been saying I wanted to do a video with tips on getting accepted. I have finally done it:
Hopefully that helps some people!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Changes
I am finally, officially, a college graduate. I mentioned before that I finished my classes. I have my degree in hand now. The great disappointment I have is I spent way too long getting this associates degree. That said, I'm not done with school.
I'm currently searching for a job. I can't find what I'm looking for yet. I'm open to a lot of possible job titles, but my problem is I either don't have the experience or education they're looking for, or the job is full time. I'm willing to travel an hour to work if necessary, but job opportunities are not in my favor. I'd pick a full time job if I thought I could handle that on top of school, but I think the best thing for me right now is part time. I want to continue my education for two more years to get a BA, so I don't want to keep my hands tied down without some leverage.
I am hoping I can get this squared away soon. I don't want to not have a job a month from now, because I don't enjoy what I currently do, and I would like to feel more independant and make more money. We'll see how if goes I guess.
I'm currently searching for a job. I can't find what I'm looking for yet. I'm open to a lot of possible job titles, but my problem is I either don't have the experience or education they're looking for, or the job is full time. I'm willing to travel an hour to work if necessary, but job opportunities are not in my favor. I'd pick a full time job if I thought I could handle that on top of school, but I think the best thing for me right now is part time. I want to continue my education for two more years to get a BA, so I don't want to keep my hands tied down without some leverage.
I am hoping I can get this squared away soon. I don't want to not have a job a month from now, because I don't enjoy what I currently do, and I would like to feel more independant and make more money. We'll see how if goes I guess.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Truth Behind Praise
This is a rant. If you don't like rants, you are free to ignore the the next couple paragraphs.
There's one thing I really can't stand about people. I can't stand how some of them suck up to you when you're really good at something, but play you down when someone does a better job. I can't stress how many times over the years I've been let down by people I thought genuinely liked me as a person and were truly friendly people.
Anymore, when someone starts praising something I do, I immediately become skeptical of that person. I've almost gotten to a point of paranoia. It's bad. I don't like someone playing me up, and then trashing me when I'm not #1 anymore. What's fair about that?
Something that is even worse is when someone doesn't like you at all until you impress them with something, then suddenly you're their best buddy. I hate that more than anything. That is also something I've seen a lot of in my life. I've impressed so many hundreds of people and gotten so much praise for different things I do, rather it's being the guy who really made Sonic ROM hacking a big thing, or playing a musical instrument, or impressing people with my overall knowledge at a young age; and yet it's so disheartening to know that few really choose to get to know me on a personal basis and see me for the person I am inside. Suddenly, when you make a mistake, you're ridiculed for no real good reason and you begin to realize that they neither liked you nor disliked you to begin with. Essentially they see you as an icon of sorts, but never really a person.
By tomorrow, I'll be fine. Occasionally though, I get in these little moods where I have to ask myself how many people truly appreciate who I am. That's a horrible thing to ask one's self. I know I'm loved, but does it extend as far as I sometimes believe it does? What really cheers me up is when after I've gotten a hard time by those who choose to tear me down, someone comes along and tells me they still believe in me. That means a whole lot, and more people should say it.
Anyway, I needed to vent because sometimes it's not helpful to hold it in and never say anything. I just wish there were more people who were as friendly as I am.
There's one thing I really can't stand about people. I can't stand how some of them suck up to you when you're really good at something, but play you down when someone does a better job. I can't stress how many times over the years I've been let down by people I thought genuinely liked me as a person and were truly friendly people.
Anymore, when someone starts praising something I do, I immediately become skeptical of that person. I've almost gotten to a point of paranoia. It's bad. I don't like someone playing me up, and then trashing me when I'm not #1 anymore. What's fair about that?
Something that is even worse is when someone doesn't like you at all until you impress them with something, then suddenly you're their best buddy. I hate that more than anything. That is also something I've seen a lot of in my life. I've impressed so many hundreds of people and gotten so much praise for different things I do, rather it's being the guy who really made Sonic ROM hacking a big thing, or playing a musical instrument, or impressing people with my overall knowledge at a young age; and yet it's so disheartening to know that few really choose to get to know me on a personal basis and see me for the person I am inside. Suddenly, when you make a mistake, you're ridiculed for no real good reason and you begin to realize that they neither liked you nor disliked you to begin with. Essentially they see you as an icon of sorts, but never really a person.
By tomorrow, I'll be fine. Occasionally though, I get in these little moods where I have to ask myself how many people truly appreciate who I am. That's a horrible thing to ask one's self. I know I'm loved, but does it extend as far as I sometimes believe it does? What really cheers me up is when after I've gotten a hard time by those who choose to tear me down, someone comes along and tells me they still believe in me. That means a whole lot, and more people should say it.
Anyway, I needed to vent because sometimes it's not helpful to hold it in and never say anything. I just wish there were more people who were as friendly as I am.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
The SAGE Release & Upcoming Release
Many people couldn't come to grips with the SAGE release of the ProSonic engine only being available for Mac. I did this because the engine wasn't where I wanted it to be for it's second release, so instead of missing SAGE and thus missing a great promotional opportunity, I prepared the engine for SAGE and limited the number of people who could play it. This would allow it to get the attention I wanted for it, and it allowed it to be tested by people who were interested.
The downside is although there were plenty of downloads, I got feedback from maybe only one or two people. That isn't helpful at all. Perhaps that's my mistake for misjudging what I thought would happen. Still, I have no regrets about holding back on a Windows release.
A new release will definitely happen in September. I have not decided on an exact day yet, but you'll hear about it from me as soon as I make a decision. The September release will include a couple extra features not available in the SAGE release. It will be released for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and MS-DOS. Some of the goals I originally set in my 7-point plan will not be accomplished by September. The reason for this is because I have reviewed some of my original plans, and quite frankly, some of them aren't absolutely essential in my opinion. They'll be done sometime, but they're not a "must-have."
Some things you can expect is further scripting support, slightly improved GPI support, VGZ compatibility (the SAGE release only supported standard VGM), and several editing utilities that can be used to modify data and customize the engine.
Object scripting is still in early stages of development, so there will only be certain aspects of it supported. I also plan on changing the way the backgrounds are rendered, but only after the September release (I don't want to get myself into a jam and create problems I can't fix in time.)
That's all there is to say about my engine for the moment. Keep coming back for future updates.
The downside is although there were plenty of downloads, I got feedback from maybe only one or two people. That isn't helpful at all. Perhaps that's my mistake for misjudging what I thought would happen. Still, I have no regrets about holding back on a Windows release.
A new release will definitely happen in September. I have not decided on an exact day yet, but you'll hear about it from me as soon as I make a decision. The September release will include a couple extra features not available in the SAGE release. It will be released for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and MS-DOS. Some of the goals I originally set in my 7-point plan will not be accomplished by September. The reason for this is because I have reviewed some of my original plans, and quite frankly, some of them aren't absolutely essential in my opinion. They'll be done sometime, but they're not a "must-have."
Some things you can expect is further scripting support, slightly improved GPI support, VGZ compatibility (the SAGE release only supported standard VGM), and several editing utilities that can be used to modify data and customize the engine.
Object scripting is still in early stages of development, so there will only be certain aspects of it supported. I also plan on changing the way the backgrounds are rendered, but only after the September release (I don't want to get myself into a jam and create problems I can't fix in time.)
That's all there is to say about my engine for the moment. Keep coming back for future updates.
Friday, July 24, 2009
ProSonic for Mac
If you have MacOS X 10.5 on an Intel platform, you can run it! Download the new release of ProSonic for Mac here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/120479118/c300b1e6/ProSonicR2M.html
This release will not be available to Windows users. Instead, they will have to wait for the September release. It does not run on PPC Macs, and it will not run on any other version of MacOS X. You must have 10.5.
I'd like to thank the man running SAGE this year (sorry, I don't see your name anywhere) for hosting this. This is great publicity, and it means a lot! I'd also like to thank CyberKitsune for making this Mac port possible!
ProSonic, for anyone who doesn't know a whole lot about this, is a game engine based directly off the original Sonic engine used in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3. If features 68000 emulation so some objects and routines from the Sonic 2 disassembly can be used, ProCode scripting language designed to make customizing the engine simple, VGM and WAV audio playback support, a built-in level editor, and a direct port of all Sonic's physics from Sonic 2.
When running ProSonic, you should be aware that the engine is not a finished product. This is basically a tech demo that shows off many new features that were not available in last years release. I also took the time to polish this release to be sure it wasn't filled with bugs.
Running ProSonic:
All the key commands are available in the Readme file included with the program. Pay close attention to the [i]M[/i] key. That is your friend. The menu allows you to customize some settings such as vsync and audio volume. It can also be used as a cheat menu (and yes Super Sonic works!) Also, the F11 key can be used to reload a zone. If you change the zone number on the menu and press F11, you will go to that zone.
The attraction stage is used as a entry portal to the other zones included with ProSonic. If you walk up to an area that says "zone warp", you will be warped to the zone number indicated. There are four warp points. See if you can find them all without cheating!
Level Editing:
Although it was made during the first release, this video is a tutorial on how to use the level editor in ProSonic. The other editors are disabled in this release but should be available in the September release.
Networking:
The news on TSSZ was that networking support was added to ProSonic. This is true. I must stress however that it is not available in this release because it's still very buggy. I'm hoping to have it ready for September, but I can't promise anything.
Sound:
ProSonic uses a sophisticated sound engine that allows the sound to be compressed when it approaches clipping. This helps get rid of some of the distortion you would normally hear when there are too many samples playing together. VGM and GYM files are both supported, along with WAV. One important thing to note -- VGM files must be uncompressed. Compressed (VGZ) files will not work with ProSonic. Some files are improperly given the "VGM" extension even though they're supposed to have "VGZ", so if a "VGM" file doesn't work, it's probably because it's really a "VGZ" file.
Scripting:
You can write code for your fangame using ProSonic's scripting capabilities. There are two options. You can write an object (or port it) using a 68000 compiler, or you can use ProSonic's scripting language, called "ProCode". Available here is a package containing the source code to all the 68000-based objects included with ProSonic, taken directly from the Sonic 2 disassembly. Click here to download the ProCode compiler, which also includes the ProCode script files used with this release of ProSonic. You will need to use WINE to run the 68000 compiler.
I will also be writing a guide on how to use the ProCode language soon. Check back here for that.
Screenshots:
No release would be complete without some of these! Check them out:
Final Thoughts:
I want to know what you think. Tell me what you liked about this release, what you didn't like, if you found any bugs or ran into any trouble, and any suggestions you have for future releases. Let me know -- leave a comment!
http://www.4shared.com/file/120479118/c300b1e6/ProSonicR2M.html
This release will not be available to Windows users. Instead, they will have to wait for the September release. It does not run on PPC Macs, and it will not run on any other version of MacOS X. You must have 10.5.
I'd like to thank the man running SAGE this year (sorry, I don't see your name anywhere) for hosting this. This is great publicity, and it means a lot! I'd also like to thank CyberKitsune for making this Mac port possible!
ProSonic, for anyone who doesn't know a whole lot about this, is a game engine based directly off the original Sonic engine used in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3. If features 68000 emulation so some objects and routines from the Sonic 2 disassembly can be used, ProCode scripting language designed to make customizing the engine simple, VGM and WAV audio playback support, a built-in level editor, and a direct port of all Sonic's physics from Sonic 2.
When running ProSonic, you should be aware that the engine is not a finished product. This is basically a tech demo that shows off many new features that were not available in last years release. I also took the time to polish this release to be sure it wasn't filled with bugs.
Running ProSonic:
All the key commands are available in the Readme file included with the program. Pay close attention to the [i]M[/i] key. That is your friend. The menu allows you to customize some settings such as vsync and audio volume. It can also be used as a cheat menu (and yes Super Sonic works!) Also, the F11 key can be used to reload a zone. If you change the zone number on the menu and press F11, you will go to that zone.
The attraction stage is used as a entry portal to the other zones included with ProSonic. If you walk up to an area that says "zone warp", you will be warped to the zone number indicated. There are four warp points. See if you can find them all without cheating!
Level Editing:
Although it was made during the first release, this video is a tutorial on how to use the level editor in ProSonic. The other editors are disabled in this release but should be available in the September release.
Networking:
The news on TSSZ was that networking support was added to ProSonic. This is true. I must stress however that it is not available in this release because it's still very buggy. I'm hoping to have it ready for September, but I can't promise anything.
Sound:
ProSonic uses a sophisticated sound engine that allows the sound to be compressed when it approaches clipping. This helps get rid of some of the distortion you would normally hear when there are too many samples playing together. VGM and GYM files are both supported, along with WAV. One important thing to note -- VGM files must be uncompressed. Compressed (VGZ) files will not work with ProSonic. Some files are improperly given the "VGM" extension even though they're supposed to have "VGZ", so if a "VGM" file doesn't work, it's probably because it's really a "VGZ" file.
Scripting:
You can write code for your fangame using ProSonic's scripting capabilities. There are two options. You can write an object (or port it) using a 68000 compiler, or you can use ProSonic's scripting language, called "ProCode". Available here is a package containing the source code to all the 68000-based objects included with ProSonic, taken directly from the Sonic 2 disassembly. Click here to download the ProCode compiler, which also includes the ProCode script files used with this release of ProSonic. You will need to use WINE to run the 68000 compiler.
I will also be writing a guide on how to use the ProCode language soon. Check back here for that.
Screenshots:
No release would be complete without some of these! Check them out:
Final Thoughts:
I want to know what you think. Tell me what you liked about this release, what you didn't like, if you found any bugs or ran into any trouble, and any suggestions you have for future releases. Let me know -- leave a comment!
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