News

I've been playing Terraria alot since the 1.1 update came out. I started over with a new character in a new world and recorded all my gameplay. I uploaded the videos to YouTube, and they are now available. Watching these videos may be soothing.

I've been messing around a bit with UgaritRL, but I doubt I'll get anything significant done before the end of the year. Right now, I'm trying to make item lists and a more creative system for character development.

Build 70 of UgaritRL is now available. Even though the build number only went up by one, this is as much of an update as any of the others. You can now visit the world map (which has some terrain, but no other areas are available). Teleporters and triggers are also implemented, though they serve little purpose at this time.

I plan to take the next week or so off from coding in the hopes that I will regain some of my motivation to actually put work into the game. I will most likely be changing jobs relatively soon, so it's likely that I will have less time in the future. This is bad news given how unproductive I already am.

Calfstronaut and the Computer Bug Infection has officially been released! Buy it now!

Build 69 of UgaritRL is now available. I started implementing the inventory system but never got to a point where it actually does anything. The main difference in this build is that some of the art is changed. I uploaded it mostly because I'm sending the art to someone.

Beta 8 of Calfstronaut and the Computer Bug Infection is available. Build 65 of UgaritRL is also available. Both were uploaded today.

Also, when you click on a buy button on the website, it will go straight to the page where you enter your payment information. No longer will you be forced to go through a page with a list of all the games. If you want to buy multiple games at once, you can still go to the buy page.

I've uploaded some videos of me programming UgaritRL. Here's the first one:

I don't know that these videos will be useful to anyone, but now you know that I'm actually working on UgaritRL. I might be able to post a new build in the next few days if everything goes according to plan. The problem is that nothing ever goes according to plan. If it did, I would be able to upload a new build every week.

Build 61 of UgaritRL is now uploaded. It's still only semi-playable, but there's a sign you can read (and only one major bug in the simplistic one-state dialogue system). All the information about UgaritRL, including current and old builds, is available on the UgaritRL page.

I added a list of "upgrades" for UgaritRL. It is highly subject to change, but, at least, there's something to look at.

I also removed some of the less interesting articles from the articles page. I may eventually replace them with something better and, hopefully, more relevant to video game programming or rpgs.

Calfstronaut and the Computer Bug Infection is now in beta. Go to the Calfstronaut and the Computer Bug Infection page to download the beta and then fill out the feedback form. If you fill out the feedback form, you'll receive a free copy of the game when it's finished.

Soon, there will be a page for Calfstronaut and the Computer Bug Infection. At that point, a beta test will start. I have renamed Angelband to UgaritRL, and there might be a new build soon.

I spent some time updating the website today. Aside from renaming Angelband, I also moved the old Rabbits demo to my bio and deleted alot of dead links. And, obviously, I added the menu at the top of the page. I used a free tool on the Internet to create it, and I'm not sure exactly how it works.

I've written a new article: Military Applications of Hyraxes. It brainstorms the possible military uses of hyraxes (which are sort of like mean bunnies) with a slant towards potential video game development. It may be considered humorous by some, but I have the nagging suspicion that others won't share my interest in hyraxes.

I've uploaded yet another build of Angelband. I uploaded it because of changes to the directories used by Character Assembler, but there is one other change. The game includes the ability to create screenshots by pressing F2 or clicking on a screenshot button within the game. These screenshots are saved in an obscure Saved Games/Orbital Cows Software/Angelband/screens/ folder in your user directory.

I've uploaded a new build of Angelband. However, the game is unchanged. The only difference is the addition of a Character Assembler program for creating character images by combining images of different body parts. Next, I plan to add dialogue with NPCs to the game. I just have to start working a little faster...

Also, I'm thinking I might change the name of the game to something a little different because it's not actually based on Angband. I was thinking I might call it "Demiurge" and make you play the game as a half-angel half-demon called a demiurge. Some of the abilities you have would make a little more sense this way. However, I would also kind of like to have a choice between a few very similar species. In this case, naming the game after one species would be exceedingly strange.

Eduardo seems to be moving right along on Calfstronaut and the Computer Bug Infection, but my work on Angelband has stalled slightly because of Starcraft 2 gameplay. I've been "working" on a utility program to create character images by piecing together images of different body parts. This should be done soon, but it depends upon how much I actually work on it. The next build may also include rearrangement of the status screen. I think I want to force the player to take the attribute upgrades before upgrading the skill upgrades.

Something Coyote said on the Rampant Games forum gave me the idea a while ago, but I never thought about a good way to implement. I think it will be something like: Magic Upgrade -> Upgrades for 4 Magic Types -> Upgrade for some better Magic Type.

It's kind of silly that I've been playing Starcraft 2 more than programming, but without Starcraft 2 we would all be truly lost.

I've finally created videos for Lucky's Puzzle Carnival:

It's funny because this is what I set out to do first, but it wound up getting done last.