Creating Virtual Landscapes
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Richard A. Hawley | March 2013 | Open Source
Tools are everything in game development today. Let me quickly tell you a story. Back in 1983 home computers were simple enough that you could create a virtual city (made of blocks) using nothing much more than pen and paper to scratch out lines of hexadecimal code. The code would then be entered (by hand) over several coffee fuelled evenings and assuming you got every number correct and didn't suffer a tape loading error you could make amazing new worlds. If this sounds primitive and a lot of hard work, well it was. The technological equivalent of scratching out lines of dirt with a plough. Pioneering stuff.
Modern three-dimensional games are several orders of magnitude more complex than Sandy White's 1983 Ant Attack on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. To create lush visuals expected from current games, we rely on a host of tools to generate content at different stages of production. Quite often, terrain is the canvas on which content is painted, if you think about it, while you might play a game and think how great the scenery looks, you're not necessarily looking at the terrain but rather the textures, vegetation, buildings and everything else that artist has constructed around it. Before we dive into using GROME we're going to cover some common caveats that apply to most game engines.
In this article by Richard A. Hawley, author of Grome Terrain Modeling with Ogre3D, UDK, and Unity3D, we're going to look at:
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Describing a world in data
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Texture sizes
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Game world scales
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Starting a new GROME project
Implementing the data model
by
Kerri Shotts | March 2013 | Open Source
In this article by Kerri Shotts, author of PhoneGap 2.x Mobile Application Development Hotshot, we'll be creating two JavaScript files in the www/models directory named quizQuestion.js and quizQuestions.js.
Read Implementing the data model in fullMiscellaneous Gameplay Features
by
David Wyand | March 2013 | Cookbooks Games
Torque 3D is a complete game engine. It supports graphics, sound, user input, networking, and gameplay. Gameplay are the rules for your game that make it unique. These are the challenges the player must overcome.
In this article by David Wyand, the author of Torque 3D Game Development Cookbook we will be looking at various parts of Torque 3D that help you expand on the gameplay rules that are already available, and help you build your own.
Read Miscellaneous Gameplay Features in fullIntegrating Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Application fundamentals
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Leslie Vail | March 2013 | Enterprise Articles Microsoft
This article by Leslie Vail, author of Developing Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Applications, will present a series of questions developers should ask themselves, and answer, before beginning development. You will learn about the various tools available for customizing Dynamics GP along with the skills required to use them. You will learn what you should have in your development-tool arsenal and where to get it.
The key topics in this article include:
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Defining the project
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Overview of available tools
Core .NET Recipes
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A P Rajshekhar | March 2013 | .NET Cookbooks Enterprise Articles Microsoft
This article by A.P. Rajshekhar, author of .Net Framework 4.5 Expert Programming Cookbook , will cover recipes related to core concepts in .NET, which will include the following:
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Metadata-driven programming: The first six recipes will cover how to use attributes as metadata for specific purposes such as validation and localization.
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Reflection: The Processing custom attributes via reflection recipe will tell you how to use reflection to create metadata processors such as applications or libraries that can understand custom attributes and provide the output based on them.
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Asynchronous file I/O: This is a new feature for file input/output introduced in .NET 4.5. The Using asynchronous file I/O for directory-to-directory copy recipe will cover this feature.
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Dynamic programming: .NET 4.0 introduced the concept of dynamic programming, in which blocks of code marked as dynamic will be executed directly, bypassing the compilation phase. We will look at this in the last recipe, Accessing JSON using dynamic programming.
In this article we will cover:
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Implementing the validation logic using the Repository pattern
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Creating a custom validation attribute by extending the validation data annotation
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Using XML to generate a localized validation message
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Extending the validation attribute for localization
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Creating custom attributes
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Processing custom attributes via reflection
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Using asynchronous file I/O for directory-to-directory copy
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Accessing JSON using dynamic programming
Planning your lessons using iPad
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Shubhangi Harsha Sumit Kataria | March 2013 | e-Learning
This article by Shubhangi Harsha and Sumit Kataria the authors of Teaching with iPad How-to , will take you through the Planbook application, using which you can carry out your regular lesson planning on your iPad.
iPad is a device that fascinates not only gadget-loving people but also teachers and professionals alike, for its varied applications coupled with great screen and looks.
Planning lessons is one of the main tasks a teacher has to perform almost every single day. There are many apps available for this purpose for the iPad. Let us choose the Planbook app here because it makes it very easy to create, modify, and share plans. Its user interface is pretty illustrative and it is definitely a good app to start with even if you are not comfortable and proficient with iPad apps.
Read Planning your lessons using iPad in fullBackTrack Forensics
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David De Smet Willie Pritchett | March 2013 | Cookbooks Networking & Telephony Open Source
In this article, we will cover:
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Intrusion detection and log analysis
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Recursive directory encryption/decryption
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Scanning for signs of rootkits
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Recovering data from a problematic source
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Retrieving a Windows password
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Resetting a Windows password
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Looking at the Windows registry entries
Computer forensics involves using various means to analyze, report, and recover information from computers or digital storage media, generally for legal purposes. The outcome in general is to provide the information gathered in such a way that it is useful for the person requesting the information. This includes the recovery of passwords, analyzing computer break-ins or attempts, recovering data from a hard drive after it's been "erased", and so on. In the article by Willie Pritchett and David De Smet authors of BackTrack 5 Cookbook we will examine how BackTrack can be utilized for forensic purposes.
Read BackTrack Forensics in full2D Graphics
by
Brecht Kets Thomas Goussaert | March 2013 | Enterprise Articles Games
In this article by Brecht Kets and Thomas Goussaert, the authors of Building your First Mobile Game using XNA 4.0 we create a basic framework for our game and add content to it.
Read 2D Graphics in fullConstructing and Evaluating Your Design Solution
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Andy Kirk | March 2013 | Open Source
The work we have undertaken over the past two articles has helped us to shape and refine our design concept leading to a visual specification that we believe will most effectively deliver against the requirements of our project. This completes our preparation work and we now move away from concepting and towards construction.
In this article by Andy Kirk the author of Data Visualization: a successful design process , we look at the broad variety of options for building our solution and the remaining important tasks to undertake before launching.
We will run through a selection of the most common and useful software applications and programming environments to help you select the most appropriate tool to match your design requirements and technical capabilities.
We will look at some of the key considerations around testing, finishing, and launching a design solution as well as the important matter of evaluating the success of your project post-launch.
Finally, we wrap things up with a discussion about the best ways for you to continue to learn, develop, and refine your data visualization design skills as you seek to master this fascinating and rewarding discipline.
Read Constructing and Evaluating Your Design Solution in fullOur First Project – A Basic Thermometer
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Andrew K. Dennis | February 2013 | Open Source
In this article by Andrew K. Dennis, the author of Raspberry Pi Home Automation with Arduino we are going to build our first project with the Raspberry Pi and Arduino shield — a thermometer.
You will need the following hardware items for this article:
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Raspberry Pi
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The Raspberry Pi to Arduino shield
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A thermistor
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The breadboard and wires we used to test the LED
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A 10k resistor
From a software standpoint, you will also be introduced to the Geany IDE and the Linux make command. Using these tools, we will write an application that converts the resistance returned from the circuit into three types of temperature, namely Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit.
Read Our First Project – A Basic Thermometer in fullYii: Adding Users and User Management to Your Site
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James R. Hamilton III Lauren J. O'Meara | February 2013 | Open Source PHP Web Development
As web developers, we are always looking for new and better tools to help us develop quality websites. Yii caught our eye as a great framework. It is known for performance. In addition to its speed, Yii provides great tools and features to help you get your job done quickly.
In this article by Lauren J. O'Meara and James R. Hamilton III, authors of Yii Rapid Application Development Hotshot, we will add a user table to the application database, and then generate the Yii scaffolding and customize it. We will extend the user management interface to utilize our user table fields.
Your Hotshot Objectives
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Adding a User Object with CRUD
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Making a User Management Interface
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Storing Passwords
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Activating Database User Login
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Enforcing Secure Passwords
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Adding User Functions – Wishlist
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Configuring User Access
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User Specific Menus
Configuring the ChildBrowser plugin
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Kerri Shotts | February 2013 | Open Source
In this article by Kerri Shotts, the author of Instant PhoneGap Social App Development, we will look into the installation and configuration of the ChildBrowser plugin.
Most PhoneGap plugins aren't terribly hard to install or configure, but they will undoubtedly play a vital role in your app, especially if you need to use a feature that PhoneGap doesn't provide on its own.
In our case, we will look at a plugin called ChildBrowser.
Read Configuring the ChildBrowser plugin in fullGetting started with Kinect for Windows SDK Programming
by
Abhijit Jana | February 2013 | Games Microsoft
In this article by Abhijit Jana, the author of Kinect for Windows SDK Programming Guide , introduces us to the Kinect for Windows SDK. It is a toolkit for developing applications for Kinect devices. Developing applications using Kinect SDK is fairly easy and straightforward. The SDK provides an interface to interact with Kinect via system drivers. The SDK includes drivers for the Kinect sensor, which interact with the device, and the OS and APIs interact with the device through program. Overall, the SDK provides an opportunity to the developers to build an application using either managed code (C# and VB.NET) or unmanaged code (C++) using Visual Studio 2010 or higher versions, running on Windows 7 or Windows 8. This article will explain the following aspects of Kinect SDK:
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Understanding the system requirements
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The evolutionary journey of Kinect for Windows SDK
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Installing and verifying the installed components
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Troubleshooting tips and tricks
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Exploring the installed components of SDK
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A quick lap around different features of Kinect for Windows SDK
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The Coding4fun toolkit
Let's look at them one by one.
Read Getting started with Kinect for Windows SDK Programming in fullNew iPad Features in iOS 6
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Renee J. Valdez | February 2013 | Open Source
This article created by Renee J. Valdez, author of Instant New iPad Features in iOS 6 How-to offers a break down of the apps that come natively installed on the new iPad.
Read New iPad Features in iOS 6 in fullGetting started with Bacula
by
Eugene Pankov | February 2013 | Open Source
The author of the book Network Backup with Bacula How-To, Eugene Pankov, explains how to set up the simplest Bacula Director and Bacula Storage installations and how the bconsole utility can be used to monitor and interact with daemons through this article.
Read Getting started with Bacula in full