[WIP] INFRA by SAC

[Drury]

Why do you keep arguing? It's no good. I just wanted to gently remind SAC about Grand Opening. Maybe she forgot. But then you shoved up with your negative comment and then even kept on when I replied. I know you're mod and I recently broke some forum rules, but now you're overreacting.

I know, I'd be banned already on some other forums, but trust me. I know how's it when people exert pressure on you. And I even know about real-life and internet life stuff.

But I could say "SAC, GIMME SITE NAO!" as well. And again, I see no reason to react like you did.

[Hyronymus]

Why do you keep arguing? It's no good. I just wanted to gently remind SAC about Grand Opening. Maybe she forgot. But then you shoved up with your negative comment and then even kept on when I replied. I know you're mod and I recently broke some forum rules, but now you're overreacting.

I know, I'd be banned already on some other forums, but trust me. I know how's it when people exert pressure on you. And I even know about real-life and internet life stuff.

But I could say "SAC, GIMME SITE NAO!" as well. And again, I see no reason to react like you did.

So if you know why be so demanding? That is my entire point I'm raising.

Treat others like you want to be treated yourself. It's a very valuable atittude in life that will get you far.

[SquireJames]

Maybe she has taken time off to work on that Zionistic RTS she came up with...

[SAC]

Hmm, and once again I sort of fail to deliver what's been suggested by myself at least!

Well, sorry!

The things is, as mentioned before, I started a new job in a neighboring country and this has obviously taken a bit more time to adapt to then I initially realized. Second of all, it has been Christmas and New Year which also has taken up quite a bit of my time - for obvious reasons. And third of all, and most importantly to be honest, I recently invested in two new external hard drives.

Currently I'm going through and sorting out all files stored on my older external hard drive, in order to store all files on the two new ones, and also put some of the stuff on two other computers - for back-up reasons. And since I have tons and tons and tons of graphics stuff on that older external hard drive, I believe it's more important for me right now to make sure all that is safely preserved for the future.

On top of that I'm considering moving my site to another host, but that's a decision I'm going to take later on this spring. Anyways, due to the above mentioned I can safely say I was a bit too optimistic as far as the Grand Opening of Simuscape concerns. It'll be opened up alright, but not during this month though!

Let me get back to you on this!

Again, sorry!

[Hyronymus]

We'll be happy when you do find time for Simuscape. Just get yourself settled first.

[wallyweb]

... I started a new job in a neighboring country

Research into international transportation systems.

Second of all, it has been Christmas and New Year which also has taken up quite a bit of my time - for obvious reasons.

A person who values family values ... a most excellent character.

I recently invested in two new external hard drives.

More room for more graphics.

and also put some of the stuff on two other computers - for back-up reasons.

Excellent foresight.

I'm considering moving my site to another host

I search of good value for your investment.

Again, sorry!

For what? Everything looks good and positive to me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[SAC]

Thank you both!

Yes, it does take some time to settle in, especially when it comes to a new job in general. Then consider having this job in a different country!

Still, I have decided to focus entirely on getting my external hard drives ready, incl. the back-ups, to ensure that all my graphics - amongst other things - are safe and sound!

[andythenorth]

SAC - do you use a version control system? It would be well-recommended.

Even with multiple external drives things can go wrong....

[maselbe]

Hmm, and once again I sort of fail to deliver what's been suggested by myself at least!
Again, sorry!

Maybe you should just try the blizzard approach and tell people : "It's done when it's done."

To be honest i'm waiting impatiently as well for the "grand opening" of your site, but I understand there are more important things in life than getting a website online.

[ZxBiohazardZx]

Blizzards Perspective:

Soon: Copyright 2004-2011 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. "Soon" does not imply any particular date, time, decade, century, or millennia in the past, present, and certainly not the future. "Soon" shall make no contract or warranty between Blizzard Entertainment and the end user. "Soon" will arrive some day, Blizzard does guarantee that "soon" will be here before the end of time. Maybe. Do not make plans based on "soon" as Blizzard will not be liable for any misuse, use, or even casual glancing at "soon."[1]

Very Soon
Another common term often misleading players into excitement for future content. "Very Soon" is guaranteed to arrive between now and the end of time with a higher chance of arriving on the "now" half of the time table. Although this means closer to now than "soon" there is no guarantee that you will live long enough to see the content finally release.
Now<--------------Very Soon--------Soon--------------->End of Time

Soon-ish
Current speculation believes "Soon-ish" to exist between "Soon" and "End of Time."[2]

Blizzard's Official Definition of Soon
“Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Blizzard Entertainment’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard’s success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.“[3]


Valve Perspective
See This Spreadsheet

[SAC]

SAC - do you use a version control system? It would be well-recommended.

Even with multiple external drives things can go wrong....

Not sure what you mean Andy. Currently I have three external drives for back-up purposes, (incl the old and first one I invested in), and apart from those I also have three computers with their own internal drives, (obviously ), and they all have the same set up, incl storage. Two of these computers are back home, along with two external hard drives, and the third computer is at my "room" where my work is. The third external drive is made to bring here and there, and so that one I use for adding new stuff so I can update ALL back-up units...

Maybe you should just try the blizzard approach and tell people : "It's done when it's done."

You got a point there. However, believe me, I'm working each available hour on my back-ups right now, before and after work, so I can get back to my TTDLX - both game and graphics work. And on top of that, getting my site up and running. And every time I get in here, I'm even more eager to get back to my TTDLX again.

Apart from that I also have Simuscape to worry about. To be honest, it's a lot of work and I believe I need to hire someone to help me there - with the technical stuff anyways... The work on my external drives are somewhat connected to Simuscape as ALL files that are going to be uploaded to that site are on these drives at the moment. Oh well, I'll get there eventually...

[Lord Aro]

SAC - do you use a version control system? It would be well-recommended.

Even with multiple external drives things can go wrong....

Not sure what you mean Andy.

e.g.

Mercurial
Subversion

there are many others, but they are the ones mainly used with OpenTTD

[Lakie]

I think its only fair to mention you'll need to think about how and where these kind of projects are stored, so that you can control the privacy of those repositories to what you'd prefer. You may need to talk with some people who understand how to achieve desired results if you take this route.

[Edit] Lord Aro didn't really explain what they are, they are version control systems. Effectively a master source is stored on a server and you work on local copies of that master repository on your computers. You generally commit (and push) yours local repository changes back to the server, and also update (and pull) changes from the server to your local repository.

[Edit] I'm not really the best at explaining such things, just as a disclaimer.

~ Lakie

[SAC]

Had a go at a different structure than I usually work with, but inspired by another building from a different game, I figured I should give it a try. I was looking at something to fill an empty space within the government area in Olympia, and here's the result;

[JacobD88]

...here's the result;

That is truly wonderful, the detail is incredible

The addition of the little figures throughout your work is such a great touch

[Kogut]

Pałac Kultury i Nauki?

[Hyronymus]

As always, amazing SAC.

[ZxBiohazardZx]

looks great in olympia

[SAC]

A tiny bit into skyscrapers at the moment, and having a small debate with myself about the sizes suitable - for the game and compared to other buildings in the game...

I've attached an example of some of the newest buildings made, and need some opinions. The left and right buildings are mine, and the middle one is an example of more classical structure originally made by Oz - or is it Lifeblood? Anyway, it's originally a 1x1 building put together 4 times and touched up for a complete structure. I also have a couple of new skyscrapers with the size 2x2 on their way making it into my game. Since "normal" height buildings are 1x1, wouldn't it be a bit more realistic to at least make skyscrapers fit a 2x2 tile instead? Opinions?

[FooBar]

the one on the left works best for me. Depending on surrounding buildings (height) it could very well be a skyscraper. The one on the right looks like a large building, but not a skyscraper, regardless it's a nice building. The one in the middle looks out of proportion: a building with that tapered shape should be at least twice as high.

All in all the graphics are very high quality, but this os what I think.