Fragmented Post

I'll be posting on a few different subjects in this post, so scroll to the bolded area that interests you.


Game Optimizing Tip: Conga Loading

Adding and removing objects from a game can cause a bit of lag. This is evident when dealing with numerous objects that need to be loaded/unloaded. This is why I usually just move existing objects around, like raindrops or particle effects. The bigger problem comes from objects that have to be swapped out, like NPCs or monsters. You don't want enemies milling about hundreds of units away from the player, and capping the spawn rate makes this worse. Still, removing all those unrendered  monsters and adding fresh could cause a dip in frame rate. Why not deal with them singularly?

The idea is to connect signals between the monster and a router node. The router node can be anything, but it needs a script to handle signals and connecting them. Signal connection via script is a bit tricky, so I won't go over it here, but it is a great skill to learn.

When the monster/NPC need to be unloaded, or a node needs to load an entity, it first polls the router with a signal containing itself and a request for the action. The router then adds this node to a list of either incoming, or outgoing. While running, the router swaps between out or in (boolean value) every tenth or twentieth of a second. If there are nodes queried,  then a signal is sent allowing the node to either add something, or remove itself. This allows for a single-in single-out entity loading system, reducing load.

To do something every second, or second-fragment, use a delta timer. This is just a variable that has the delta, or frame time, added to it. Once it reaches a specific amount or greater, an if statement allows some code to be run and the timer variable is reset to 0.

Who Duolingo: Tips for Duolingo

I use the Duolingo app to learn Spanish. While it won't make you a pro, it will give you the skills to converse a bit in another language. Here are several tips and things I've noticed.

Start with small daily goals until you get used to the app. Daily goals can be changed in the app settings, usually a gear or those three dots. I started small and worked my way up to the highest amount.

Double mint lingots.With a few exceptions, you get lingots when you meet daily goals or complete a level. You can sometimes watch an ad to double those lingots. When on wi-fi, go ahead and double the lingots. On data I don't watch the ad unless I am doubling two or more lingots. Lingots are useful for doing tests, getting a few extras, and getting more lingots. If you have plus, lingots lose some of their value. I think you can also give lingots to others by upvoting their comments on a lesson (the speech bubble when you complete a lesson).

Gotta do my stories. Sometime around the second section, I unlocked the stories.These are short stories that are easy and short. They tend to give over twenty XP for each one and usually take a few minutes. Since you can re-do the stories, this is the bet way to get plenty of XP. However, reaching the daily goal this way will NOT earn any lingots. Using it to get close, then doing a lesson or practice for the remainder, will give you lingots. XP boost does not work with stories.

Double XP may not be free. Occasionally, the shop will allow you to get double the XP from your lessons, but it is a bit complicated. Reaching your daily goal under this juice won't net you any lingots. reaching another level will get you lingots. Using the XP boost doesn't work on stories. I'd avoid using the XP boost until you have reached the daily goal, to maximize points and lingots.

Testing 1-2 testing 1-2. When you start a lesson, or course, there is a light-bulb and a key. The light-bulb opens a primer on the lesson, giving you tips. The key allows you to take a test and level-up the course. For just five lingots (or zero with plus) you can level up your skills. This is useful if you are good at a course and are getting bored, but sometimes it is better to do the entire course instead. A successful test nets twenty points, failure nets a disappointed Duo. If you fail, either finish the course normally, or try again later (like a day or more).

The hard easy is an easy hard. You may notice that some lessons are harder than others. Tests are no exception, so it is better to take a test after a hard lesson. This gives a greater chance that the test will be a bit easier. There is no guarantee, but it can help.

Slow and steady wins the test. Slowing the dialog on lessons that have dialog may be annoying, but don't take chances during a test. You may think you have the listening skills down cold, but some vocalists are better than others and I've let my pride fail me a few times. Personally, I'd take every hint that Duo gives, especially when I'm a little unsure. Since tests don't have many hints, I'd slow the dialog for a slight edge.

You know nothing, and the birb knows it. Each section has several courses. At the end of a section, there is a test. In my foolishness, I assumed I knew some Spanish. From ZERO to TEN I chose one and was promptly put in my place for my pride. Starting at zero, especially for the first section test, is advisable.

Report it. Duolingo isn't perfect. Sometimes it gives you wrong hints or an answer you give should be accepted. At the end of a lesson, you can ether see user's comments (text baloon) or report a problem (flag). If there is a problem, flag it and explain it. Together we can make Duolingo better. Try to be respectful, unlike me; I tend to have a temper.

Green and red. Correct answers get a green popup while wrong answers get a red popup. Those popups can obscure your answer, hindering learning. Touch a blank area of the popup to slide it down. Now you can check how wrong you were and learn from it.

Play for me, Little One

I had a plan to finish Little One by the end of 2019. That didn't pan out like I had hoped. Most of the items left to add are minor and I could add two or three per day. Since there is another project I wish to get started upon, I'll probably default to adding an item to Little One each day and focus on my next project. For now I'm just trying to make sure Little One is in a beatable form before the next update. The ending will be sparse, and I'll add both it and the opening later, but it should be completable.

My plan is to rest for New Years (eve, day, and day after). I'll try to upload a build on the last day of 2019, but I have to pick up some medicine that day and this post won't be tweeted until that day or after. On the days I'm resting, I'll flesh out the plans for my next project. The ending scenarios are planned, so I'll work back from those. Mostly, I'll be listing the mechanics and writing pseudo-code for them.

The openings and endings of my project may be done with vector art. It seems easier to make several panel images and flip through them like a book. Text will probably accommodate the images. Since I'm doing this alone, and some days are better than others, I'll take the route of least resistance.

Aside from the story images, there are a few things to add before Little One is feature-complete. The critters need animations and additional coding. Beasts need to be planned, modeled, ect. Several parts will need models and textures before being added. Part droppers need to be coded and added. Player damage, sleeping, and recovery needs to be coded. Several props and a couple dialog elements are still missing. I'm going to try getting the vacucell to suck up other liquids, and the critters will bring several items to the game. Many of the building upgrades are unfinished as well, and need models, textures, and programming.


Better as of late than never.


 Yesterday (12-29-19) I felt like I was moving through molasses. I managed to get the material droppers done and in the game. These drop a few materials daily to assist with building and part creation. After a nap I felt much better, but I usually relax after I take my meds at six.

I've added quite a few things to Little One. Mostly the parts and upgrades crafting. The upgrades seemed to work well without any extra coding in other areas. Sometimes I'll go to add something just to learn it's either there already, or I've done the preliminary work; making a feature easier to add. Keeping future and related features in mind as you program will help you add the needed functions and code to support future additions. Planning can help immensely as well, and I should have planned Little One a bit more.

Rush is quite a drug.

You've put it off long enough. There is a stack of work to do and the deadline is fast approaching. Past self has played and laughed and it's time for future self to pay up. In a fit of panic you get started and do three days worth of work in a single night. The quality is fair, the efforts exhausting, and there is little time to rest. At least you had fun until then.

Usually this can be avoided if you just start small and work your way up, but it was my favorite way to work. That strung-out feeling is adrenaline, a chemical your brain produces in response to threats. I'd agree that a deadline is a threat, but it was made that way through the magic of procrastination. While I enjoy rush jobs, I have a problem.

The adrenaline my body produces causes chest pains. Sometimes it's discomfort when I slow down, other times it's terrible pain a day or two after. Here are the two major problems. Little one has about a week and change to be completed, and I'll be trying to build a bigger game within the space of a month. Add to that the last bits of planning for my next project has to be done this month.

Little one doesn't have too much more. The NPCs are done, player seems solid, critters are coming along. I'll have to finish up the critters, add some props, add the parts, and program the upgrades and part fabricators. Most of the programming is already done, I just have to make a ton of assets to add.

Textures and animations will take the most time. I might drop some features and add them later. Beasts and difficulty levels seem like the first to be dropped. The parts needed may be dropped to 20. Simple upgrades will include inventory cells, energy and health boosts. This week is going to be hard.

My next project was to make a game in two months; one bigger than little one. I wish I had spent more time planning, but I should have plenty of resources. Some of the things made for it will be added to Little One and vice-versa.  The map needs added detail and grid separation. For brevity, I'll put together the endings and work backward from there. This game's current design is just a list of notes.

The final two days of this month will be used to flesh out Little One a bit. I'm hoping I can get the opening and ending scenes together, but they'll probably just be vector images. New year's and the day after will be filled with numerous tests and final planning to get my next project up. Once done, I'll furiously prep the player and several resources, mostly from other resources I have. My collection of failures will help this next project succeed.

To Kill an Indie Game Dev

For those of you who don't know, I have a heart condition; two actually. I was born with a congenital heart defect called Tricuspid Atresia. This means the tricuspid heart valve is missing or abnormally developed. The defect blocks blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. A couple surgeries, when I was a few months old and again at two years, "fixed" the problem. I was on medicaid until I was about thirteen, or maybe a little younger. I was living with a guardian who felt it wasn't worth it to pursue my medicaid. My God bless his special heart. That's a southern insult/curse.

At around 16 I moved back with my mother, who had remarried (my father died from cancer when I was about eleven). I got my G.E.D. and mostly did physical labor to earn enough for what I wanted. Went to college, the second time I got degrees in networking and web design. This was a community college and it was almost a decade ago. Then, around early 2017 I noticed my heart didn't feel right.

It felt like someone squeezing my heart. I was out of breath, tingly everywhere, lightheaded, and I felt pressure in my chest. After a week or two of this, I went to the doctor. The EKG machine look about as old as me, but the doctor was skilled and nice. She diagnosed me with Atrial Flutter, a type of abnormal heart rhythm. Atrial Flutter is similar to AFib, but the beats are more regular. Basically, the top chambers of the heart beats 2-3x faster than the bottom chambers. I was originally prescribed aspirin and metoprolol.Later I was taken off aspirin and put on xarelto, another blood thinner.

Let's put this into stark relief for those that don't quite get it. I naturally have a fast heart rate and low blood pressure. The Atrial Flutter is triggered by an increase in my heart rate. The medicines I take lower blood pressure and thin my blood. Even standing can trigger my Atrial Flutter if I don't take my medicine. Most physical activity reduces the effect of my medicine. 

I live in the United States.

It is a shame that I need disability to get medicaid. I just want proper medical treatment for my heart, without being slaughtered by debt. This could have been fixed years ago, but the government is dragging this out, hoping I'll die or get discouraged. Thus, I'll be trying to do what I can to get support, but nobody seems to care. Attempted negligent homicide, and I'm not allowed to properly defend myself..

The symptoms are getting worse. Stress now causes near-debilitating chest pains, and my left arm has gone numb twice in two months. My new years resolution is to remove the threats to my health and well-being; permanently.

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