We live as long as we fly
I propose we organize a conspiracy to destroy the Microsoft corporation.
The game was using the previous version of Managed DirectX - everything worked.
I rewrote it for the XNA Framework - the physics started calculating incorrectly, off by a millionth, which is impossible to track down and figure out where and what the bug is.
And what am I supposed to do now?
Some guys from my ISP's local network keep offering me to smoke some weed.
Maybe because of that, I had a strange dream.
Like we're sitting at my dacha and puffing away like crazy. But we're smoking not with those characters from the local network, but with two coworkers. At the same time, the room is full of other people, but they aren't paying much attention to us: they're writing some papers or reading.
Even though the smoke is rising in a thick column (as if a bonfire is burning), it doesn't seem to affect us. Then the coworkers wander off to who knows where, and I go into the next room, where the floor is currently torn up because renovations are going on. Three little men in doublets are sitting there: one is a meter tall, the second - half a meter, and the third is absolutely tiny. They tell me that they are the band Scissor Sisters. To which I reply that they can do whatever they want and be whoever they please, but to me the music of Scissor Sisters is completely uninteresting.
After that, I go outside. There I see a strange scene: one coworker is mowing the grass with a halberd (even though I have a lawnmower at the dacha), and the second one is putting the cut grass into a metal bucket.
At this curious moment, my dog scratched at the door, and I woke up.
I don't believe in any kind of unscientific obscurantism at all: astrology, psychics, spirits, etc.
But there is one bit of nonsense I do believe in: that a name affects a person's character, or else that people are given names that reflect their character. The former is more likely, since it can at least be explained by the fact that a person associates themselves with their name and hears it spoken many times, including at an early age, when it sinks into the subconscious. Pure speculation, of course, but I have to find some way to explain this enormous plank in my own eye.
According to my modest observations, in one line each.
Andreys are distinctive and original, which can make them slightly unpleasant. But I like Andreys, although other people often find them a little crazy.
Mikhails like attention and showing off.
Eriks are slightly headstrong and arrogant, and enterprising.
Eduards are cheerful and reckless guys who generally don't trouble themselves with deep thought.
Arthurs are petty tyrants :-), or, more precisely, vain and stubborn; their character can sometimes be difficult and domineering.
Vladimirs are familiar to us from jokes about Little Vova and the unforgettable old geezer Ilyich, so there's no need to write anything here.
Vladislavs resemble Vladimirs, but are more dreamy and easily carried away.
Dmitrys are cunning, keep their own counsel, and make plans.
Igors are slightly dry and logical, somewhat meticulous and cynically skeptical.
Nikitas are "people with delicate emotional constitutions", otherwise known as temperamental artists.
Alexeys are hard to describe in one line, but I'll try: fairly gentle homebodies, but because they can be mama's boys or
womanizers, they can sometimes be harsh.
Alexanders are the most normal and well-balanced people; they know how to work and how to live.
Yuris are a little pedantic and generally closed off from other people, but I don't know many Yuris.
Yevgenys are also hard to describe in one line, but generally they are fairly open to the world, kind of normally crazy overall. That is, they seem normal, but sometimes try to buck and do something outside the usual bounds. But since their character isn't really like that, it comes across as unnatural, unlike with Andreys.
Anatolys are fairly reserved people who don't much like abrupt intrusions into their inner world; in other words, you could say they are sensitive. They also seem fairly dependable.
Sergeys vary, because there are so many of them. On the whole, they are fairly straightforward, in the sense that they don't put on airs. But sometimes they seem to lack some vivid character trait, or perhaps our outlooks on life are just slightly different. (Though I know many wonderful Sergeys; they know who I mean)
I only know one Vasily, but he is dependable and normal.
Maxims are generally fairly gentle and pleasant people who are well liked in company. They are also not especially logical, but rather poetic. Because of this, they are sometimes a little stubborn and skillfully try to prove that their point of view is correct, even though a better, more solid solution can be found.
Viktors are sociable people, but at the same time they often have a good head for logic and are quick-witted.
Denises seem to enjoy doing unpredictable and strange things, but I don't know many Denises.
By the end, though, these stopped fitting into one line. I won't say anything about girls; that's a separate conversation. I won't say anything about the other names either; there isn't enough data. Besides, the internet is full of sites on the subject.
It would also be nice to write about what kind of music each of them likes, but that isn't so easy to do.
The weekend was productive, but I'm dog-tired.
I don't know if anyone will care, but I can write about Microsoft XNA Framework.
XNA Framework is a new game development platform from Microsoft, based on managed code and Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. It makes it super easy to create games for the XBox-360 game console and Windows. For now, the second beta of the Game Developer Studio Express Edition environment is available for enthusiasts and small developers, and it comes with the beta of the Framework itself.
XNA is meant to replace the existing Managed Direct X (which will no longer be developed) and eventually become the main platform for developers of moderately demanding games. XNA might also do the job for technologically advanced games, but the performance question isn't entirely clear yet.
So anyway, on Saturday I ported my long-suffering game to XNA. What changed in XNA compared to Managed DirectX?
The classic right-handed coordinate system from math and physics textbooks instead of the computer left-handed one. This is great for beginners and for general understanding, but bad for existing computer 3D textbooks and existing MDX projects that need porting to XNA.
Next up: creating a new game got even easier since XNA has a ready-to-use Game class built in. You just inherit from it, and you immediately get a ton of useful functionality.
Naturally, making games cross-platform is a breeze now, but Game Developer Studio Express can't be used for commercial games for X-Box 360. For that, you'll have to buy the Professional version, which comes out in the summer.
On the downside - XNA currently has no GUI and no text rendering capabilities.
And lastly - XNA is now a tiny 2 MB library instead of the idiotic Managed Direct X approach, where you had to install a special version of DirectX that included the Managed part. This makes me very happy.
Truth be told, it's extremely frustrating that running my tiny 2D game will require:
1)Installed .NET Framework 2.0
2)Installed DirectX of the latest version (specifically the latest one)
3)Installed XNA Framework
4)Over two hundred! megabytes of RAM. A nightmare, I know. I hope this still changes.
5)A video card with Shaders 2.0 support (this still needs to be tested, it might not be required)