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  • Building the Elusive Windows Phone Panorama Control

    When the Windows Phone 7 Developer SDK was released a couple of weeks ago at MIX10 many people noticed the SDK doesnt include a template for a Panorama control.   Here at Clarity we decided to build our own Panorama control for use in some of our prototypes and I figured I would share what we came up with. There have been a couple of implementations of the Panorama control making their way through the interwebs, but I didnt think any of them really nailed the experience that is shown in the simulation videos.   One of the key design principals in the UX Guide for Windows Phone 7 is the use of motion.  The WP7 OS is fairly stripped of extraneous design elements and makes heavy use of typography and motion to give users the necessary visual cues.  Subtle animations and wide layouts help give the user a sense of fluidity and consistency across the phone experience.  When building the panorama control I was fairly meticulous in recreating the motion as shown in the videos.  The effect that is shown in the application hubs of the phone is known as a Parallax Scrolling effect.  This this pseudo-3D technique has been around in the computer graphics world for quite some time. In essence, the background images move slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in 2D.  Here is an example of the traditional use: http://www.mauriciostudio.com/.  One of the animation gems I've learned while building interactive software is the follow animation.  The premise is straightforward: instead of translating content 1:1 with the interaction point, let the content catch up to the mouse or finger.  The difference is subtle, but the impact on the smoothness of the interaction is huge.  That said, it became the foundation of how I achieved the effect shown below.   Source Code Available HERE Before I briefly describe the approach I took in creating this control..and Ill add some **asterisks ** to the code below as my coding skills arent up to snuff with the rest of my colleagues.  This code is meant to be an interpretation of the WP7 panorama control and is not intended to be used in a production application.  1.  Layout the XAML The UI consists of three main components :  The background image, the Title, and the Content.  You can imagine each  these UI Elements existing on their own plane with a corresponding Translate Transform to create the Parallax effect.  2.  Storyboards + Procedural Animations = Sexy As I mentioned above, creating a fluid experience was at the top of my priorities while building this control.  To recreate the smooth scroll effect shown in the video we need to add some place holder storyboards that we can manipulate in code to simulate the inertia and snapping.  Using the easing functions built into Silverlight helps create a very pleasant interaction.    3.  Handle the Manipulation Events With Silverlight 3 we have some new touch event handlers.  The new Manipulation events makes handling the interactivity pretty straight forward.  There are two event handlers that need to be hooked up to enable the dragging and motion effects: the ManipulationDelta event :  (the most relevant code is highlighted in pink) Here we are doing some simple math with the Manipulation Deltas and setting the TO values of the animations appropriately. Modifying the storyboards dynamically in code helps to create a natural feel.something that cant easily be done with storyboards alone.   And secondly, the ManipulationCompleted event:  Here we take the Final Velocities from the Manipulation Completed Event and apply them to the Storyboards to create the snapping and scrolling effects.  Most of this code is determining what the next position of the viewport will be.  The interesting part (shown in pink) is determining the duration of the animation based on the calculated velocity of the flick gesture.  By using velocity as a variable in determining the duration of the animation we can produce a slow animation for a soft flick and a fast animation for a strong flick. Challenges to the Reader There are a couple of things I didnt have time to implement into this control.  And I would love to see other WPF/Silverlight approaches.  1.  A good mechanism for deciphering when the user is manipulating the content within the panorama control and the panorama itself.   In other words, being able to accurately determine what is a flick and what is click. 2.  Dynamically Sizing the panorama control based on the width of its content.  Right now each control panel is 400px, ideally the Panel items would be measured and then panorama control would update its size accordingly.  3.  Background and content wrapping.  The WP7 UX guidelines specify that the content and background should wrap at the end of the list.  In my code I restrict the drag at the ends of the list (like the iPhone).  It would be interesting to see how this would effect the scroll experience.     Well, Its been fun building this control and if you use it Id love to know what you think.  You can download the Source HERE or from the Expression Gallery  Erik Klimczak  | [email protected] | twitter.com/eklimczDid you know that DotNetSlackers also publishes .net articles written by top known .net Authors? We already have over 80 articles in several categories including Silverlight. Take a look: here.

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  • Career development as a Software Developer without becoming a manager.

    - by albertpascual
    I’m a developer, I like to write new exciting code everyday, my perfect day at work is a day that when I wake up, I know that I have to write some code that I haven’t done before or to use a new framework/language/platform that is unknown to me. The best days in the office is when a project is waiting for me to architect or write. In my 15 years in the development field, I had to in order to get a better salary to manage people, not just to lead developers, to actually manage people. Something that I found out when I get into a management position is that I’m not that good at managing people, and not afraid to say it. I do not enjoy that part of the job, the worse one, takes time away from what I really like. Leading developers and managing people are very different things. I do like teaching and leading developers in a project. Yet most people believe, and is true in most companies, the way to get a better salary is to be promoted to a manager position. In order to advance in your career you need to let go of the everyday writing code and become a supervisor or manager. This is the path for developers after they become senior developers. As you get older and your family grows, the only way to hit your salary requirements is to advance your career to become a manager and get that manager salary. That path is the common in most companies, the most intelligent companies out there, have learned that promoting good developers mean getting a crappy manager and losing a good resource. Now scratch everything I said, because as I previously stated, I don’t see myself going to the office everyday and just managing people until is time to go home. I like to spend hours working in some code to accomplish a task, learning new platforms and languages or patterns to existing languages. Being interrupted every 15 minutes by emails or people stopping by my office to resolve their problems, is not something I could enjoy. All the sudden riding my motorcycle to work one cold morning over the Redlands Canyon and listening to .NET Rocks podcast, Michael “Doc” Norton explaining how to take control of your development career without necessary going to the manager’s track. I know, I should not have headphones under my helmet when riding a motorcycle in California. His conversation with Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell was just confirming everything I have ever did with actually more details and assuring that there are other paths. His method was simple yet most of us, already do many of those steps, Mr. Michael “Doc” Norton believe that it pays off on the long run, that finally companies prefer to pay higher salaries to those developers, yet I would actually think that many companies do not see developers that way, this is not true for bigger companies. However I do believe the value of those developers increase and most of the time, changing companies could increase their salary instead of staying in the same one. In short without even trying to get into the shadow of Mr. Norton and without following the steps in the order; you should love to learn new technologies, and then teach them to other geeks. I personally have learn many technologies and I haven’t stop doing that, I am a professor at UCR where I teach ASP.NET and Silverlight. Mr Norton continues that after than, you want to be involve in the development community, user groups, online forums, open source projects. I personally talk to user groups, I’m very active in forums asking and answering questions as well as for those I got awarded the Microsoft MVP for ASP.NET. After you accomplish all those, you should also expose yourself for what you know and what you do not know, learning a new language will make you humble again as well as extremely happy. There is no better feeling that learning a new language or pattern in your daily job. If you love your job everyday and what you do, I really recommend you to follow Michael’s presentation that he kindly share it on the link below. His confirmation is a refreshing, knowing that my future is not behind a desk where the computer screen is on my right hand side instead of in front of me. Where I don’t have to spent the days filling up performance forms for people and the new platforms that I haven’t been using yet are just at my fingertips. Presentation here. http://www.slideshare.net/LeanDog/take-control-of-your-development-career-michael-doc-norton?from=share_email_logout3 Take Control of Your Development Career Welcome! Michael “Doc” Norton @DocOnDev http://docondev.blogspot.com/ [email protected] Recovering Post Technical I love to learn I love to teach I love to work in teams I love to write code I really love to write code What about YOU? Do you love your job? Do you love your Employer? Do you love your Boss? What do you love? What do you really love? Take Control Take Control • Get Noticed • Get Together • Get Your Mojo • Get Naked • Get Schooled Get Noticed Get Noticed Know Your Business Get Noticed Get Noticed Understand Management Get Noticed Get Noticed Do Your Existing Job Get Noticed Get Noticed Make Yourself Expendable Get Together Get Together Join a User Group Get Together Help Run a User Group Get Together Start a User Group Get Your Mojo Get Your Mojo Kata Get Your Mojo Koans Get Your Mojo Breakable Toys Get Your Mojo Open Source Get Naked Get Naked Run with Group A Get Naked Do Something Different Get Naked Own Your Mistakes Get Naked Admit You Don’t Know Get Schooled Get Schooled Choose a Mentor Get Schooled Attend Conferences Get Schooled Teach a New Subject Get Started Read These (Again) Take Control of Your Development Career Thank You! Michael “Doc” Norton @DocOnDev http://docondev.blogspot.com/ [email protected] In a short summary, I recommend any developer to check his blog and more important his presentation, I haven’t been lucky enough to watch him live, I’m looking forward the day I have the opportunity. He is giving us hope in the future of developers, when I see some of my geek friends moving to position that in short years they begin to regret, I get more unsure of my future doing what I love. I would say that now is looking at the spectrum of companies that understand and appreciate developers. There are a few there, hopefully with time code sweat shops will start disappearing and being a developer will feed a family of 4. Cheers Al tweetmeme_url = 'http://weblogs.asp.net/albertpascual/archive/2010/12/07/career-development-as-a-software-developer-without-becoming-a-manager.aspx'; tweetmeme_source = 'alpascual';

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  • XNA Screen Manager problem with transitions

    - by NexAddo
    I'm having issues using the game statemanagement example in the game I am developing. I have no issues with my first three screens transitioning between one another. I have a main menu screen, a splash screen and a high score screen that cycle: mainMenuScreen->splashScreen->highScoreScreen->mainMenuScreen The screens change every 15 seconds. Transition times public MainMenuScreen() { TransitionOnTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); TransitionOffTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.0); currentCreditAmount = Global.CurrentCredits; } public SplashScreen() { TransitionOnTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); TransitionOffTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); } public HighScoreScreen() { TransitionOnTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); TransitionOffTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); } public GamePlayScreen() { TransitionOnTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); TransitionOffTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5); } When a user inserts credits they can play the game after pressing start mainMenuScreen->splashScreen->highScoreScreen->(loops forever) || || || ===========Credits In============= || Start || \/ LoadingScreen || Start || \/ GamePlayScreen During each of these transitions, between screens, the same code is used, which exits(removes) all current active screens and respects transitions, then adds the new screen to the screen manager: foreach (GameScreen screen in ScreenManager.GetScreens()) screen.ExitScreen(); //AddScreen takes a new screen to manage and the controlling player ScreenManager.AddScreen(new NameOfScreenHere(), null); Each screen is removed from the ScreenManager with ExitScreen() and using this function, each screen transition is respected. The problem I am having is with my gamePlayScreen. When the current game is finished and the transition is complete for the gamePlayScreen, it should be removed and the next screens should be added to the ScreenManager. GamePlayScreen Code Snippet private void FinishCurrentGame() { AudioManager.StopSounds(); this.UnloadContent(); if (Global.SaveDevice.IsReady) Stats.Save(); if (HighScoreScreen.IsInHighscores(timeLimit)) { foreach (GameScreen screen in ScreenManager.GetScreens()) screen.ExitScreen(); Global.TimeRemaining = timeLimit; ScreenManager.AddScreen(new BackgroundScreen(), null); ScreenManager.AddScreen(new MessageBoxScreen("Enter your Initials", true), null); } else { foreach (GameScreen screen in ScreenManager.GetScreens()) screen.ExitScreen(); ScreenManager.AddScreen(new BackgroundScreen(), null); ScreenManager.AddScreen(new MainMenuScreen(), null); } } The problem is that when isExiting is set to true by screen.ExitScreen() for the gamePlayScreen, the transition never completes the transition and removes the screen from the ScreenManager. Every other screen that I use the same technique to add and remove each screen fully transitions On/Off and is removed at the appropriate time from the ScreenManager, but noy my GamePlayScreen. Has anyone that has used the GameStateManagement example experienced this issue or can someone see the mistake I am making? EDIT This is what I tracked down. When the game is done, I call foreach (GameScreen screen in ScreenManager.GetScreens()) screen.ExitScreen(); to start the transition off process for the gameplay screen. At this point there is only 1 screen on the ScreenManager stack. The gamePlay screen gets isExiting set to true and starts to transition off. Right after the above call to ExitScreen() I add a background screen and menu screen to the screenManager: ScreenManager.AddScreen(new background(), null); ScreenManager.AddScreen(new Menu(), null); The count of the ScreenManager is now 3. What I noticed while stepping through the updates for GameScreen and ScreenManager, the gameplay screen never gets to the point where the transistion process finishes so the ScreenManager can remove it from the stack. This anomaly does not happen to any of my other screens when I switch between them. Screen Manager Code #region File Description //----------------------------------------------------------------------------- // ScreenManager.cs // // Microsoft XNA Community Game Platform // Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. //----------------------------------------------------------------------------- #endregion #define DEMO #region Using Statements using System; using System.Diagnostics; using System.Collections.Generic; using Microsoft.Xna.Framework; using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Content; using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics; using PerformanceUtility.GameDebugTools; #endregion namespace GameStateManagement { /// <summary> /// The screen manager is a component which manages one or more GameScreen /// instances. It maintains a stack of screens, calls their Update and Draw /// methods at the appropriate times, and automatically routes input to the /// topmost active screen. /// </summary> public class ScreenManager : DrawableGameComponent { #region Fields List<GameScreen> screens = new List<GameScreen>(); List<GameScreen> screensToUpdate = new List<GameScreen>(); InputState input = new InputState(); SpriteBatch spriteBatch; SpriteFont font; Texture2D blankTexture; bool isInitialized; bool getOut; bool traceEnabled; #if DEBUG DebugSystem debugSystem; Stopwatch stopwatch = new Stopwatch(); bool debugTextEnabled; #endif #endregion #region Properties /// <summary> /// A default SpriteBatch shared by all the screens. This saves /// each screen having to bother creating their own local instance. /// </summary> public SpriteBatch SpriteBatch { get { return spriteBatch; } } /// <summary> /// A default font shared by all the screens. This saves /// each screen having to bother loading their own local copy. /// </summary> public SpriteFont Font { get { return font; } } public Rectangle ScreenRectangle { get { return new Rectangle(0, 0, GraphicsDevice.Viewport.Width, GraphicsDevice.Viewport.Height); } } /// <summary> /// If true, the manager prints out a list of all the screens /// each time it is updated. This can be useful for making sure /// everything is being added and removed at the right times. /// </summary> public bool TraceEnabled { get { return traceEnabled; } set { traceEnabled = value; } } #if DEBUG public bool DebugTextEnabled { get { return debugTextEnabled; } set { debugTextEnabled = value; } } public DebugSystem DebugSystem { get { return debugSystem; } } #endif #endregion #region Initialization /// <summary> /// Constructs a new screen manager component. /// </summary> public ScreenManager(Game game) : base(game) { // we must set EnabledGestures before we can query for them, but // we don't assume the game wants to read them. //TouchPanel.EnabledGestures = GestureType.None; } /// <summary> /// Initializes the screen manager component. /// </summary> public override void Initialize() { base.Initialize(); #if DEBUG debugSystem = DebugSystem.Initialize(Game, "Fonts/MenuFont"); #endif isInitialized = true; } /// <summary> /// Load your graphics content. /// </summary> protected override void LoadContent() { // Load content belonging to the screen manager. ContentManager content = Game.Content; spriteBatch = new SpriteBatch(GraphicsDevice); font = content.Load<SpriteFont>(@"Fonts\menufont"); blankTexture = content.Load<Texture2D>(@"Textures\Backgrounds\blank"); // Tell each of the screens to load their content. foreach (GameScreen screen in screens) { screen.LoadContent(); } } /// <summary> /// Unload your graphics content. /// </summary> protected override void UnloadContent() { // Tell each of the screens to unload their content. foreach (GameScreen screen in screens) { screen.UnloadContent(); } } #endregion #region Update and Draw /// <summary> /// Allows each screen to run logic. /// </summary> public override void Update(GameTime gameTime) { #if DEBUG debugSystem.TimeRuler.StartFrame(); debugSystem.TimeRuler.BeginMark("Update", Color.Blue); if (debugTextEnabled && getOut == false) { debugSystem.FpsCounter.Visible = true; debugSystem.TimeRuler.Visible = true; debugSystem.TimeRuler.ShowLog = true; getOut = true; } else if (debugTextEnabled == false) { getOut = false; debugSystem.FpsCounter.Visible = false; debugSystem.TimeRuler.Visible = false; debugSystem.TimeRuler.ShowLog = false; } #endif // Read the keyboard and gamepad. input.Update(); // Make a copy of the master screen list, to avoid confusion if // the process of updating one screen adds or removes others. screensToUpdate.Clear(); foreach (GameScreen screen in screens) screensToUpdate.Add(screen); bool otherScreenHasFocus = !Game.IsActive; bool coveredByOtherScreen = false; // Loop as long as there are screens waiting to be updated. while (screensToUpdate.Count > 0) { // Pop the topmost screen off the waiting list. GameScreen screen = screensToUpdate[screensToUpdate.Count - 1]; screensToUpdate.RemoveAt(screensToUpdate.Count - 1); // Update the screen. screen.Update(gameTime, otherScreenHasFocus, coveredByOtherScreen); if (screen.ScreenState == ScreenState.TransitionOn || screen.ScreenState == ScreenState.Active) { // If this is the first active screen we came across, // give it a chance to handle input. if (!otherScreenHasFocus) { screen.HandleInput(input); otherScreenHasFocus = true; } // If this is an active non-popup, inform any subsequent // screens that they are covered by it. if (!screen.IsPopup) coveredByOtherScreen = true; } } // Print debug trace? if (traceEnabled) TraceScreens(); #if DEBUG debugSystem.TimeRuler.EndMark("Update"); #endif } /// <summary> /// Prints a list of all the screens, for debugging. /// </summary> void TraceScreens() { List<string> screenNames = new List<string>(); foreach (GameScreen screen in screens) screenNames.Add(screen.GetType().Name); Debug.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", screenNames.ToArray())); } /// <summary> /// Tells each screen to draw itself. /// </summary> public override void Draw(GameTime gameTime) { #if DEBUG debugSystem.TimeRuler.StartFrame(); debugSystem.TimeRuler.BeginMark("Draw", Color.Yellow); #endif foreach (GameScreen screen in screens) { if (screen.ScreenState == ScreenState.Hidden) continue; screen.Draw(gameTime); } #if DEBUG debugSystem.TimeRuler.EndMark("Draw"); #endif #if DEMO SpriteBatch.Begin(); SpriteBatch.DrawString(font, "DEMO - NOT FOR RESALE", new Vector2(20, 80), Color.White); SpriteBatch.End(); #endif } #endregion #region Public Methods /// <summary> /// Adds a new screen to the screen manager. /// </summary> public void AddScreen(GameScreen screen, PlayerIndex? controllingPlayer) { screen.ControllingPlayer = controllingPlayer; screen.ScreenManager = this; screen.IsExiting = false; // If we have a graphics device, tell the screen to load content. if (isInitialized) { screen.LoadContent(); } screens.Add(screen); } /// <summary> /// Removes a screen from the screen manager. You should normally /// use GameScreen.ExitScreen instead of calling this directly, so /// the screen can gradually transition off rather than just being /// instantly removed. /// </summary> public void RemoveScreen(GameScreen screen) { // If we have a graphics device, tell the screen to unload content. if (isInitialized) { screen.UnloadContent(); } screens.Remove(screen); screensToUpdate.Remove(screen); } /// <summary> /// Expose an array holding all the screens. We return a copy rather /// than the real master list, because screens should only ever be added /// or removed using the AddScreen and RemoveScreen methods. /// </summary> public GameScreen[] GetScreens() { return screens.ToArray(); } /// <summary> /// Helper draws a translucent black fullscreen sprite, used for fading /// screens in and out, and for darkening the background behind popups. /// </summary> public void FadeBackBufferToBlack(float alpha) { Viewport viewport = GraphicsDevice.Viewport; spriteBatch.Begin(); spriteBatch.Draw(blankTexture, new Rectangle(0, 0, viewport.Width, viewport.Height), Color.Black * alpha); spriteBatch.End(); } #endregion } } Game Screen Parent of GamePlayScreen #region File Description //----------------------------------------------------------------------------- // GameScreen.cs // // Microsoft XNA Community Game Platform // Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. //----------------------------------------------------------------------------- #endregion #region Using Statements using System; using Microsoft.Xna.Framework; using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Input; //using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Input.Touch; using System.IO; #endregion namespace GameStateManagement { /// <summary> /// Enum describes the screen transition state. /// </summary> public enum ScreenState { TransitionOn, Active, TransitionOff, Hidden, } /// <summary> /// A screen is a single layer that has update and draw logic, and which /// can be combined with other layers to build up a complex menu system. /// For instance the main menu, the options menu, the "are you sure you /// want to quit" message box, and the main game itself are all implemented /// as screens. /// </summary> public abstract class GameScreen { #region Properties /// <summary> /// Normally when one screen is brought up over the top of another, /// the first screen will transition off to make room for the new /// one. This property indicates whether the screen is only a small /// popup, in which case screens underneath it do not need to bother /// transitioning off. /// </summary> public bool IsPopup { get { return isPopup; } protected set { isPopup = value; } } bool isPopup = false; /// <summary> /// Indicates how long the screen takes to /// transition on when it is activated. /// </summary> public TimeSpan TransitionOnTime { get { return transitionOnTime; } protected set { transitionOnTime = value; } } TimeSpan transitionOnTime = TimeSpan.Zero; /// <summary> /// Indicates how long the screen takes to /// transition off when it is deactivated. /// </summary> public TimeSpan TransitionOffTime { get { return transitionOffTime; } protected set { transitionOffTime = value; } } TimeSpan transitionOffTime = TimeSpan.Zero; /// <summary> /// Gets the current position of the screen transition, ranging /// from zero (fully active, no transition) to one (transitioned /// fully off to nothing). /// </summary> public float TransitionPosition { get { return transitionPosition; } protected set { transitionPosition = value; } } float transitionPosition = 1; /// <summary> /// Gets the current alpha of the screen transition, ranging /// from 1 (fully active, no transition) to 0 (transitioned /// fully off to nothing). /// </summary> public float TransitionAlpha { get { return 1f - TransitionPosition; } } /// <summary> /// Gets the current screen transition state. /// </summary> public ScreenState ScreenState { get { return screenState; } protected set { screenState = value; } } ScreenState screenState = ScreenState.TransitionOn; /// <summary> /// There are two possible reasons why a screen might be transitioning /// off. It could be temporarily going away to make room for another /// screen that is on top of it, or it could be going away for good. /// This property indicates whether the screen is exiting for real: /// if set, the screen will automatically remove itself as soon as the /// transition finishes. /// </summary> public bool IsExiting { get { return isExiting; } protected internal set { isExiting = value; } } bool isExiting = false; /// <summary> /// Checks whether this screen is active and can respond to user input. /// </summary> public bool IsActive { get { return !otherScreenHasFocus && (screenState == ScreenState.TransitionOn || screenState == ScreenState.Active); } } bool otherScreenHasFocus; /// <summary> /// Gets the manager that this screen belongs to. /// </summary> public ScreenManager ScreenManager { get { return screenManager; } internal set { screenManager = value; } } ScreenManager screenManager; public KeyboardState KeyboardState { get {return Keyboard.GetState();} } /// <summary> /// Gets the index of the player who is currently controlling this screen, /// or null if it is accepting input from any player. This is used to lock /// the game to a specific player profile. The main menu responds to input /// from any connected gamepad, but whichever player makes a selection from /// this menu is given control over all subsequent screens, so other gamepads /// are inactive until the controlling player returns to the main menu. /// </summary> public PlayerIndex? ControllingPlayer { get { return controllingPlayer; } internal set { controllingPlayer = value; } } PlayerIndex? controllingPlayer; /// <summary> /// Gets whether or not this screen is serializable. If this is true, /// the screen will be recorded into the screen manager's state and /// its Serialize and Deserialize methods will be called as appropriate. /// If this is false, the screen will be ignored during serialization. /// By default, all screens are assumed to be serializable. /// </summary> public bool IsSerializable { get { return isSerializable; } protected set { isSerializable = value; } } bool isSerializable = true; #endregion #region Initialization /// <summary> /// Load graphics content for the screen. /// </summary> public virtual void LoadContent() { } /// <summary> /// Unload content for the screen. /// </summary> public virtual void UnloadContent() { } #endregion #region Update and Draw /// <summary> /// Allows the screen to run logic, such as updating the transition position. /// Unlike HandleInput, this method is called regardless of whether the screen /// is active, hidden, or in the middle of a transition. /// </summary> public virtual void Update(GameTime gameTime, bool otherScreenHasFocus, bool coveredByOtherScreen) { this.otherScreenHasFocus = otherScreenHasFocus; if (isExiting) { // If the screen is going away to die, it should transition off. screenState = ScreenState.TransitionOff; if (!UpdateTransition(gameTime, transitionOffTime, 1)) { // When the transition finishes, remove the screen. ScreenManager.RemoveScreen(this); } } else if (coveredByOtherScreen) { // If the screen is covered by another, it should transition off. if (UpdateTransition(gameTime, transitionOffTime, 1)) { // Still busy transitioning. screenState = ScreenState.TransitionOff; } else { // Transition finished! screenState = ScreenState.Hidden; } } else { // Otherwise the screen should transition on and become active. if (UpdateTransition(gameTime, transitionOnTime, -1)) { // Still busy transitioning. screenState = ScreenState.TransitionOn; } else { // Transition finished! screenState = ScreenState.Active; } } } /// <summary> /// Helper for updating the screen transition position. /// </summary> bool UpdateTransition(GameTime gameTime, TimeSpan time, int direction) { // How much should we move by? float transitionDelta; if (time == TimeSpan.Zero) transitionDelta = 1; else transitionDelta = (float)(gameTime.ElapsedGameTime.TotalMilliseconds / time.TotalMilliseconds); // Update the transition position. transitionPosition += transitionDelta * direction; // Did we reach the end of the transition? if (((direction < 0) && (transitionPosition <= 0)) || ((direction > 0) && (transitionPosition >= 1))) { transitionPosition = MathHelper.Clamp(transitionPosition, 0, 1); return false; } // Otherwise we are still busy transitioning. return true; } /// <summary> /// Allows the screen to handle user input. Unlike Update, this method /// is only called when the screen is active, and not when some other /// screen has taken the focus. /// </summary> public virtual void HandleInput(InputState input) { } public KeyboardState currentKeyState; public KeyboardState lastKeyState; public bool IsKeyHit(Keys key) { if (currentKeyState.IsKeyDown(key) && lastKeyState.IsKeyUp(key)) return true; return false; } /// <summary> /// This is called when the screen should draw itself. /// </summary> public virtual void Draw(GameTime gameTime) { } #endregion #region Public Methods /// <summary> /// Tells the screen to serialize its state into the given stream. /// </summary> public virtual void Serialize(Stream stream) { } /// <summary> /// Tells the screen to deserialize its state from the given stream. /// </summary> public virtual void Deserialize(Stream stream) { } /// <summary> /// Tells the screen to go away. Unlike ScreenManager.RemoveScreen, which /// instantly kills the screen, this method respects the transition timings /// and will give the screen a chance to gradually transition off. /// </summary> public void ExitScreen() { if (TransitionOffTime == TimeSpan.Zero) { // If the screen has a zero transition time, remove it immediately. ScreenManager.RemoveScreen(this); } else { // Otherwise flag that it should transition off and then exit. isExiting = true; } } #endregion #region Helper Methods /// <summary> /// A helper method which loads assets using the screen manager's /// associated game content loader. /// </summary> /// <typeparam name="T">Type of asset.</typeparam> /// <param name="assetName">Asset name, relative to the loader root /// directory, and not including the .xnb extension.</param> /// <returns></returns> public T Load<T>(string assetName) { return ScreenManager.Game.Content.Load<T>(assetName); } #endregion } }

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  • Xbox Live Traffic Light Tells You When It’s Game Time

    - by Jason Fitzpatrick
    Why log on to see if your friends are available for a game of Halo 3 when you can glance at this traffic-light-indicator to see if it’s go time? Courtesy of tinker and gamer AndrewF, this fun little hack combines a small traffic light, an Arduino board, and the Xbox live API to provide a real-time indicator of how many of your friends are online and gaming. When the light is red, nobody is available to play. Yellow and green indicate one and several of your friends are available. Hit up the link below to check out the parts list and project code. Xbox Live Traffic Lights [via Hack A Day] HTG Explains: How Antivirus Software Works HTG Explains: Why Deleted Files Can Be Recovered and How You Can Prevent It HTG Explains: What Are the Sys Rq, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break Keys on My Keyboard?

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  • Configuring Expert Search in Communicator 14 and SharePoint 2010

    Communicator 14 provides functionality to be able to search for contacts not just by name, but by skill.  For example a customer service agent at an airline can search for other agents with Travel Advisory experience by typing the search criteria into the Communicator search box and performing a search by keyword.  The search results will return users who have specified that skill in their profile on their SharePoint My Site.  This is actually pretty easy to configure, Ill show you how. Create Search and People Search Results Pages in SharePoint Communicator 14 Expert Search works by using the SharePoint 2010 Search Service to search SharePoint for user profiles with matching keywords.  This requires that you have an Enterprise Search site in your site collection which includes the search service and also the People Results pages.  The easiest way to do this is to create a Search Center site in your site collection. Note: I get an error when trying to create an Enterprise Search site in a Team Site in the SharePoint 2010 RTM bits, so I created it as a site collection that is evident in the URLs you see below. In the screenshots below, you can see that the URL of the SharePoint search service in the Search site collection is http://sps2010/sites/search/_vti_bin/search.asmx, and the URL of the People Search Results page is http://sps2010/sites/Search/Pages/peopleresults.aspx. Point Communications Server 14 to Search and People Search Results Pages For Communicator 14 to be able to perform an Expert Search, you need to configure Communications Server 14 to point to the Search Service and People Search Results page URLs. From a server with the OCS Core bits installed, fire up the Communications Server Management Shell and type Get-CsClientPolicy. Scroll down to the bottom of the output, were interested in setting the values of: SPSearchInternalURL SPSearchExternalURL SPSearchCenterInternalURL SPSearchCenterExternalURL SPSearchInternalURL and SPSearchExternalURL correspond to the internal and external URLs of the SharePoint search service in the Search site collection, while SPSearchCenterInternalURL and SPSearchCenterExternalURL correspond to the internal and external URLs of the people search results pages. Well use the Communications Server Management Shell to set the values of these CS policy properties. For simplicity, Im only going to set the internal URLs here. Set-CsClientPolicy SPSearchInternalURL http://sps2010/sites/search/_vti_bin/search.asmx     -SPSearchCenterInternalURL http://sps2010/sites/Search/Pages/peopleresults.aspx Log out and back into Communicator.  You can verify that these settings were applied by running the Get-CsClientPolicy cmdlet again from the Communications Server Management Shell. However, theres another super-secret ninja trick to verify that the settings were applied: Find the Communicator icon in the Windows System Tray Hold down the Ctrl button Click (left) the Communicator icon in the Windows System Tray do not depress the Ctrl button You should now see an extra menu item called Configuration Information, click it. Scroll down and locate the Expert Search URL and SharePoint Search Center URL keys and verify that their values correspond to those you set using the Set-CsClientPolicy PowerShell cmdlet. Configure a Sharepoint User Profile Import Im not going to provide detailed steps here except to say that you need to configure the SharePoint 2010 User Profile  Service Application to import user account details from Active Directory on a scheduled basis. This is a critical step because there are several user profile properties e.g. SipAddress that are only populated by a user profile import.  When performing an Expert Search, Communicator can only render results for users who have a SipAddress specified. Add Skills to User Profiles Navigate to your My Site and click on My Profile.  This page allows you to set many contact details that are searchable in SharePoint.  Were particularly interested in the Ask Me About property of a users profile.  Expert Search searches against this property to find users with matching skills. Configure a SharePoint Search Crawl Ensure that you have a scheduled job to crawl your Local SharePoint Sites content source.  Depending on how you have this configured, it will also crawl the My Site site collection and add user properties such as Ask Me About to the search index. Thats It! SharePoint 2010 provides new social and collaboration features to help users find other users with similar skills or interests. Expert Search extends this functionality directly into Microsoft Communicator 14, allowing you to interact with the users directly from the search results. Did you know that DotNetSlackers also publishes .net articles written by top known .net Authors? We already have over 80 articles in several categories including Silverlight. Take a look: here.

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  • Create a Slide Show in Windows 7 Media Center

    - by DigitalGeekery
    Are you looking for a nice way to create and display a slide show from your photo collection? Today we’ll show you how to create a slide show, how to add music to it, and watch it from the comfort of your couch in Windows 7 Media Center. Create Slide Show Launch Windows 7 Media Center and click on the Picture Library tile found under Pictures and Videos.   In the Pictures Library, scroll across to slide shows and click on Create Slide show.   Enter a name for the slide show and click Next.   If you are using a Windows Media Center remote, click on the OK button to bring up the onscreen keyboard. Use the directional buttons to navigate across the keyboard and press OK to select each letter. Click Done when finished. Select Picture Library and click Next. Select the pictures to include in your slide show. If using a remote, navigate through the images and press OK to select. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the selections. When you are finished, click Next.    Now, we can review and edit the slide show. Click the up or down pointing arrows to move pictures up and down in the order.  (more intuitive titles would be helpful in this case as opposed to the randomly generated titles in the example below) If you are finished, click Create. You can also choose to go back and add music to your slide show. (or even more pictures) We’ll take a look at adding some music in our example. Click on the Add More button.   Add Music to Your Slide Show Here we’ll select Music Library to add a song. Click Next.   You’ll now be able to browse your Music Library to select songs for your slide show. Select your songs and click Next.   When you are finished adding Music and Pictures click Create.   Once your slide show is saved, you can play it any time by going to clicking on slide shows in the Picture Library, then selecting the slide show title. Select play slide show when you’re ready to enjoy your new production.   If you ever want to edit or delete the slide show, select it in the Picture Library, and scroll to Actions. You’ll see those option under additional commands. You have the option to Edit Slide Show, Burn a CD/DVD, or Delete. Editing Slide Show Settings Within Media Center, go to Tasks… Click on Pictures…   Then choose Slide Shows. From the Slide Show settings you have the option to Show pictures in random order, Show picture information, Show song information, and Use Pan and zoom effect. You can also adjust the length of time to display each picture, and change the background color. Be sure to click Save to apply and changes before exiting. If you choose to show picture information, the picture title, date, and star rating will be displayed in the top right.   If your slide show is accompanied by music and you choose to show song information, you will get a translucent overlay for a few seconds at the beginning of each song to indicate the song, album, and artist. One of the really cool things about creating a slide show in Windows 7 Media Center is you can complete the entire process using just a Media Center remote. Can’t get enough slide shows? Check out how to turn your desktop into a picture slide show in Windows 7. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Using Netflix Watchnow in Windows Vista Media Center (Gmedia)Add Color Coding to Windows 7 Media Center Program GuideIntegrate Boxee with Media Center in Windows 7Schedule Updates for Windows Media CenterTurn Your Desktop into a Picture Slideshow in Windows 7 TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Case Study – How to Optimize Popular Wordpress Sites Restore Hidden Updates in Windows 7 & Vista Iceland an Insurance Job? Find Downloads and Add-ins for Outlook Recycle ! Find That Elusive Icon with FindIcons

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  • Solving Null Entity Problems with JPA Data Controls in PS1

    - by shay.shmeltzer
    Turns out there is a slight bug that seems to prevent you from doing interactions (update, scroll) with the results of a JPA named query that you dropped on a page using ADF Binding. People are running into this when they are doing the EJB tutorial on OTN for example. The problem is that the way the binding is set up for you automatically doesn't allow you to actually access the iterator set of records to do follow up operations. When I last checked this was solved in the next release of JDeveloper, but in the meantime there is a quick simple way to resolve the issue by changing the refresh condition of the oiterator in your page binding. Here is a little demo that shows the problem and the solution:

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  • BoundingBox created from mesh to origin, making it bigger

    - by Gunnar Södergren
    I'm working on a level-based survival game and I want to design my scenes in Maya and export them as a single model (with multiple meshes) into XNA. My problem is that when I try to create Bounding Boxes(for Collision purposes) for each of the meshes, the are calculated from origin to the far-end of the current mesh, so to speak. I'm thinking that it might have something to do with the position each mesh brings from Maya and that it's interpreted wrongly... or something. Here's the code for when I create the boxes: private static BoundingBox CreateBoundingBox(Model model, ModelMesh mesh) { Matrix[] boneTransforms = new Matrix[model.Bones.Count]; model.CopyAbsoluteBoneTransformsTo(boneTransforms); BoundingBox result = new BoundingBox(); foreach (ModelMeshPart meshPart in mesh.MeshParts) { BoundingBox? meshPartBoundingBox = GetBoundingBox(meshPart, boneTransforms[mesh.ParentBone.Index]); if (meshPartBoundingBox != null) result = BoundingBox.CreateMerged(result, meshPartBoundingBox.Value); } result = new BoundingBox(result.Min, result.Max); return result; } private static BoundingBox? GetBoundingBox(ModelMeshPart meshPart, Matrix transform) { if (meshPart.VertexBuffer == null) return null; Vector3[] positions = VertexElementExtractor.GetVertexElement(meshPart, VertexElementUsage.Position); if (positions == null) return null; Vector3[] transformedPositions = new Vector3[positions.Length]; Vector3.Transform(positions, ref transform, transformedPositions); for (int i = 0; i < transformedPositions.Length; i++) { Console.WriteLine(" " + transformedPositions[i]); } return BoundingBox.CreateFromPoints(transformedPositions); } public static class VertexElementExtractor { public static Vector3[] GetVertexElement(ModelMeshPart meshPart, VertexElementUsage usage) { VertexDeclaration vd = meshPart.VertexBuffer.VertexDeclaration; VertexElement[] elements = vd.GetVertexElements(); Func<VertexElement, bool> elementPredicate = ve => ve.VertexElementUsage == usage && ve.VertexElementFormat == VertexElementFormat.Vector3; if (!elements.Any(elementPredicate)) return null; VertexElement element = elements.First(elementPredicate); Vector3[] vertexData = new Vector3[meshPart.NumVertices]; meshPart.VertexBuffer.GetData((meshPart.VertexOffset * vd.VertexStride) + element.Offset, vertexData, 0, vertexData.Length, vd.VertexStride); return vertexData; } } Here's a link to the picture of the mesh(The model holds six meshes, but I'm only rendering one and it's bounding box to make it clearer: http://www.gsodergren.se/portfolio/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Screen-shot-2011-10-24-at-1.16.37-AM.png The mesh that I'm refering to is the Cubelike one. The cylinder is a completely different model and not part of any bounding box calculation. I've double- (and tripple-)-checked that this mesh corresponds to this bounding box. Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?

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  • Project Euler 18: (Iron)Python

    - by Ben Griswold
    In my attempt to learn (Iron)Python out in the open, here’s my solution for Project Euler Problem 18.  As always, any feedback is welcome. # Euler 18 # http://projecteuler.net/index.php?section=problems&id=18 # By starting at the top of the triangle below and moving # to adjacent numbers on the row below, the maximum total # from top to bottom is 23. # # 3 # 7 4 # 2 4 6 # 8 5 9 3 # # That is, 3 + 7 + 4 + 9 = 23. # Find the maximum total from top to bottom of the triangle below: # 75 # 95 64 # 17 47 82 # 18 35 87 10 # 20 04 82 47 65 # 19 01 23 75 03 34 # 88 02 77 73 07 63 67 # 99 65 04 28 06 16 70 92 # 41 41 26 56 83 40 80 70 33 # 41 48 72 33 47 32 37 16 94 29 # 53 71 44 65 25 43 91 52 97 51 14 # 70 11 33 28 77 73 17 78 39 68 17 57 # 91 71 52 38 17 14 91 43 58 50 27 29 48 # 63 66 04 68 89 53 67 30 73 16 69 87 40 31 # 04 62 98 27 23 09 70 98 73 93 38 53 60 04 23 # NOTE: As there are only 16384 routes, it is possible to solve # this problem by trying every route. However, Problem 67, is the # same challenge with a triangle containing one-hundred rows; it # cannot be solved by brute force, and requires a clever method! ;o) import time start = time.time() triangle = [ [75], [95, 64], [17, 47, 82], [18, 35, 87, 10], [20, 04, 82, 47, 65], [19, 01, 23, 75, 03, 34], [88, 02, 77, 73, 07, 63, 67], [99, 65, 04, 28, 06, 16, 70, 92], [41, 41, 26, 56, 83, 40, 80, 70, 33], [41, 48, 72, 33, 47, 32, 37, 16, 94, 29], [53, 71, 44, 65, 25, 43, 91, 52, 97, 51, 14], [70, 11, 33, 28, 77, 73, 17, 78, 39, 68, 17, 57], [91, 71, 52, 38, 17, 14, 91, 43, 58, 50, 27, 29, 48], [63, 66, 04, 68, 89, 53, 67, 30, 73, 16, 69, 87, 40, 31], [04, 62, 98, 27, 23, 9, 70, 98, 73, 93, 38, 53, 60, 04, 23]] # Loop through each row of the triangle starting at the base. for a in range(len(triangle) - 1, -1, -1): for b in range(0, a): # Get the maximum value for adjacent cells in current row. # Update the cell which would be one step prior in the path # with the new total. For example, compare the first two # elements in row 15. Add the max of 04 and 62 to the first # position of row 14.This provides the max total from row 14 # to 15 starting at the first position. Continue to work up # the triangle until the maximum total emerges at the # triangle's apex. triangle [a-1][b] += max(triangle [a][b], triangle [a][b+1]) print triangle [0][0] print "Elapsed Time:", (time.time() - start) * 1000, "millisecs" a=raw_input('Press return to continue')

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  • Difference between Windows and Linux development environments?

    - by Ryan
    I have an interview coming up soon for a Business Analyst position and the recruiter mentioned some feedback from a prior candidate that was interviewed who said the interviewers asked him what the difference between a Windows and Linux development environment was. Are there some high level things I need to be aware of from a business point of view when working with a development team or designing an application on Windows vs Linux?

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  • Interleaving Arrays in OpenGL

    - by Benjamin Danger Johnson
    In my pursuit to write code that matches todays OpenGL standards I have found that I am completely clueless about interleaving arrays. I've tried and debugged just about everywhere I can think of but I can't get my model to render using interleaved arrays (It worked when it was configuered to use multiple arrays) Now I know that all the data is properly being parsed from an obj file and information is being copied properly copied into the Vertex object array, but I still can't seem to get anything to render. Below is the code for initializing a model and drawing it (along with the Vertex struct for reference.) Vertex: struct Vertex { glm::vec3 position; glm::vec3 normal; glm::vec2 uv; glm::vec3 tangent; glm::vec3 bitangent; }; Model Constructor: Model::Model(const char* filename) { bool result = loadObj(filename, vertices, indices); glGenVertexArrays(1, &vertexArrayID); glBindVertexArray(vertexArrayID); glGenBuffers(1, &vertexbuffer); glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vertexbuffer); glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vertices.size() * sizeof(Vertex), &vertices[0], GL_STATIC_DRAW); glGenBuffers(1, &elementbuffer); glBindBuffer(GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER, elementbuffer); glBufferData(GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER, indices.size() * sizeof(unsigned short), &indices[0], GL_STATIC_DRAW); } Draw Model: Model::Draw(ICamera camera) { GLuint matrixID = glGetUniformLocation(programID, "mvp"); GLuint positionID = glGetAttribLocation(programID, "position_modelspace"); GLuint uvID = glGetAttribLocation(programID, "uv"); GLuint normalID = glGetAttribLocation(programID, "normal_modelspace"); GLuint tangentID = glGetAttribLocation(programID, "tangent_modelspace"); GLuint bitangentID = glGetAttribLocation(programID, "bitangent_modelspace"); glm::mat4 projection = camera->GetProjectionMatrix(); glm::mat4 view = camera->GetViewMatrix(); glm::mat4 model = glm::mat4(1.0f); glm::mat4 mvp = projection * view * model; glUniformMatrix4fv(matrixID, 1, GL_FALSE, &mvp[0][0]); glBindVertexArray(vertexArrayID); glEnableVertexAttribArray(positionID); glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vertexbuffer); glVertexAttribPointer(positionID, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(Vertex), &vertices[0].position); glEnableVertexAttribArray(uvID); glVertexAttribPointer(uvID, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(Vertex), &vertices[0].uv); glEnableVertexAttribArray(normalID); glVertexAttribPointer(normalID, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(Vertex), &vertices[0].normal); glEnableVertexAttribArray(tangentID); glVertexAttribPointer(tangentID, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(Vertex), &vertices[0].tangent); glEnableVertexAttribArray(bitangentID); glVertexAttribPointer(bitangentID, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(Vertex), &vertices[0].bitangent); glBindBuffer(GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER, elementbuffer); glDrawElements(GL_TRIANGLES, indices.size(), GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT, (void*)0); glDisableVertexAttribArray(positionID); glDisableVertexAttribArray(uvID); glDisableVertexAttribArray(normalID); glDisableVertexAttribArray(tangentID); glDisableVertexAttribArray(bitangentID); }

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  • Sysadmin Nightmares – Server Room Disasters [Videos]

    - by Asian Angel
    There you are, looking at a pristine server room when disaster suddenly strikes! Whether it is fire, floods, or other causes you will feel sympathy for the sysadmins involved when watching this collection of seven server room disasters that Wired has put together. You can view the other six videos in the collection by visiting the Wired post linked below… Server Snuff: 7 Videos of a Sysadmin’s Worst Nightmares [via Fail Desk] HTG Explains: How Antivirus Software Works HTG Explains: Why Deleted Files Can Be Recovered and How You Can Prevent It HTG Explains: What Are the Sys Rq, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break Keys on My Keyboard?

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  • Separating physics and game logic from UI code

    - by futlib
    I'm working on a simple block-based puzzle game. The game play consists pretty much of moving blocks around in the game area, so it's a trivial physics simulation. My implementation, however, is in my opinion far from ideal and I'm wondering if you can give me any pointers on how to do it better. I've split the code up into two areas: Game logic and UI, as I did with a lot of puzzle games: The game logic is responsible for the general rules of the game (e.g. the formal rule system in chess) The UI displays the game area and pieces (e.g. chess board and pieces) and is responsible for animations (e.g. animated movement of chess pieces) The game logic represents the game state as a logical grid, where each unit is one cell's width/height on the grid. So for a grid of width 6, you can move a block of width 2 four times until it collides with the boundary. The UI takes this grid, and draws it by converting logical sizes into pixel sizes (that is, multiplies it by a constant). However, since the game has hardly any game logic, my game logic layer [1] doesn't have much to do except collision detection. Here's how it works: Player starts to drag a piece UI asks game logic for the legal movement area of that piece and lets the player drag it within that area Player lets go of a piece UI snaps the piece to the grid (so that it is at a valid logical position) UI tells game logic the new logical position (via mutator methods, which I'd rather avoid) I'm not quite happy with that: I'm writing unit tests for my game logic layer, but not the UI, and it turned out all the tricky code is in the UI: Stopping the piece from colliding with others or the boundary and snapping it to the grid. I don't like the fact that the UI tells the game logic about the new state, I would rather have it call a movePieceLeft() method or something like that, as in my other games, but I didn't get far with that approach, because the game logic knows nothing about the dragging and snapping that's possible in the UI. I think the best thing to do would be to get rid of my game logic layer and implement a physics layer instead. I've got a few questions regarding that: Is such a physics layer common, or is it more typical to have the game logic layer do this? Would the snapping to grid and piece dragging code belong to the UI or the physics layer? Would such a physics layer typically work with pixel sizes or with some kind of logical unit, like my game logic layer? I've seen event-based collision detection in a game's code base once, that is, the player would just drag the piece, the UI would render that obediently and notify the physics system, and the physics system would call a onCollision() method on the piece once a collision is detected. What is more common? This approach or asking for the legal movement area first? [1] layer is probably not the right word for what I mean, but subsystem sounds overblown and class is misguiding, because each layer can consist of several classes.

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  • Database Design - Surrogate keys: Part 1 of many (Rules for Surrogate Keys, E. F. Codd and C J Date

    - by tonyrogerson
    I started writing an article for my blog on surrogate keys drawing in the original research by E F Codd and C J Date, its getting a bit big :) so I'm going to chop it up into a number of posts over the coming weeks depending on my time. I'm interested in your thoughts and if you disagree please let me know but more importantly give me references back to papers stating why you take that position. Hope it makes sense. Surrogate keys There are two factions in the world of Database Design that...(read more)

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  • Awesome Bookmarklet Collection Ready to Select from and Add to Your Browser

    - by Asian Angel
    Bookmarklets are extremely useful additions to have for your everyday browsing needs without the hassle (or slowdown effect) of extensions. With that in mind tech blog Guiding Tech has put together a terrific collection of 21 bookmarklets that are ready to add to your favorite browser. Just scroll down and select/install the bookmarklets you like from the blog post and enjoy the enhanced browsing! You can see the beginning and end results from our sample use of the Search Site Bookmarklet in the screenshots above and below… Note: We altered the bookmarklet slightly to focus the search results through Google Singapore. How to Stress Test the Hard Drives in Your PC or Server How To Customize Your Android Lock Screen with WidgetLocker The Best Free Portable Apps for Your Flash Drive Toolkit

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  • How can I change my cursor behavior?

    - by Doug Clement
    When I am typing, my mouse cursor, if left on the text, will eventually auto-click in whatever space in the the text box I happen to be, causing me to type in the middle of a sentence. Also, the cursor in the text box will frequently stop mid-word and the screen will scroll down all of a sudden when pressing the space bar while typing. My question is, how do I change this behavior because it is driving me absolutely bat crap crazy. I have an Acer Aspire One D257 Netbook. I am not sure if it's a Xubuntu problem because it does this while I am using Windows 7 too. Any help would be nice, thanks!

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  • Workspace switching erroneously pins windows

    - by paniwani
    When switching from one workspace to the next using the Workspace switcher in the Launcher, I often see an orange square highlight, as if I am trying to pin a window to one side of the screen appear, although no window is even selected. Then after selecting a window, it is moved to the orange pinned position, which is frustrating. How do I fix this unwanted erroneous window pinning? I'm running Ubuntu 11.10. See screenshot:

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  • flicker when drawing 4 models for the first time

    - by Badescu Alexandru
    i have some models that i only draw at a certain moment in the game (after some seconds since the game has started). The problem is that in that first second when i start to draw the models, i see a flicker (in the sence that everything besides those models, dissapears, the background gets purple). The flicker only lasts for that frame, and then everything seems to run the way it should. UPDATE I see now that regardless of the moment i draw the models, the first frame has always the flickering aspect What could this be about? i'll share my draw method: int temp = 0; foreach (MeshObject meshObj in ShapeList) { foreach (BasicEffect effect in meshObj.mesh.Effects) { #region color elements int i = int.Parse(meshObj.mesh.Name.ElementAt(1) + ""); int j = int.Parse(meshObj.mesh.Name.ElementAt(2) + ""); int getShapeColor = shapeColorList.ElementAt(i * 4 + j); if (getShapeColor == (int)Constants.shapeColor.yellow) effect.DiffuseColor = yellow; else if (getShapeColor == (int)Constants.shapeColor.red) effect.DiffuseColor = red; else if (getShapeColor == (int)Constants.shapeColor.green) effect.DiffuseColor = green; else if (getShapeColor == (int)Constants.shapeColor.blue) effect.DiffuseColor = blue; #endregion #region lighting effect.LightingEnabled = true; effect.AmbientLightColor = new Vector3(0.25f, 0.25f, 0.25f); effect.DirectionalLight0.Enabled = true; effect.DirectionalLight0.Direction = new Vector3(-0.3f, -0.3f, -0.9f); effect.DirectionalLight0.SpecularColor = new Vector3(.7f, .7f, .7f); Vector3 v = Vector3.Normalize(new Vector3(-100, 0, -100)); effect.DirectionalLight1.Enabled = true; effect.DirectionalLight1.Direction = v; effect.DirectionalLight1.SpecularColor = new Vector3(0.6f, 0.6f, .6f); #endregion effect.Projection = camera.projectionMatrix; effect.View = camera.viewMatrix; if (meshObj.isSetInPlace == true) { effect.World = transforms[meshObj.mesh.ParentBone.Index] * gameobject.orientation; // draw in original cube-placed position meshObj.mesh.Draw(); } else { effect.World = meshObj.Orientation; // draw inSetInPlace position meshObj.mesh.Draw(); } } temp++; }

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  • XNA 2D line-of-sight check

    - by bionicOnion
    I'm working on a top-down shooter in XNA, and I need to implement line-of-sight checking. I've come up with a solution that seems to work, but I get the nagging feeling that it won't be efficient enough to do every frame for multiple calls (the game already hiccups slightly at about 10 calls per frame). The code is below, but my general plan was to create a series of rectangles with a width and height of zero to act as points along the sight line, and then check to see if any of these rectangles intersects a ClutterObject (an interface I defined for things like walls or other obstacles) after first screening for any that can't possibly be in the line of sight (i.e. behind the viewer) or are too far away (a concession I made for efficiency). public static bool LOSCheck(Vector2 pos1, Vector2 pos2) { Vector2 currentPos = pos1; Vector2 perMove = (pos2 - pos1); perMove.Normalize(); HashSet<ClutterObject> clutter = new HashSet<ClutterObject>(); foreach (Room r in map.GetRooms()) { if (r != null) { foreach (ClutterObject c in r.GetClutter()) { if (c != null &&!(c.GetRectangle().X * perMove.X < 0) && !(c.GetRectangle().Y * perMove.Y < 0)) { Vector2 cVector = new Vector2(c.GetRectangle().X, c.GetRectangle().Y); if ((cVector - pos1).Length() < 1500) clutter.Add(c); } } } } while (currentPos != pos2 && ((currentPos - pos1).Length() < 1500)) { Rectangle position = new Rectangle((int)currentPos.X, (int)currentPos.Y, 0, 0); foreach (ClutterObject c in clutter) { if (position.Intersects(c.GetRectangle())) return false; } currentPos += perMove; } return true; } I'm sure that there's a better way to do this (or at least a way to make this method more efficient), but I'm not too used to XNA yet, so I figured it couldn't hurt to bring it here. At the very least, is there an efficient to determine which objects may be in front of the viewer with greater precision than the rather broad 90 degree window I've given myself?

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  • My raycaster is putting out strange results, how do I fix it?

    - by JamesK89
    I'm working on a raycaster in ActionScript 3.0 for the fun of it, and as a learning experience. I've got it up and running and its displaying me output as expected however I'm getting this strange bug where rays go through corners of blocks and the edges of blocks appear through walls. Maybe somebody with more experience can point out what I'm doing wrong or maybe a fresh pair of eyes can spot a tiny bug I haven't noticed. Thank you so much for your help! Screenshots: http://i55.tinypic.com/25koebm.jpg http://i51.tinypic.com/zx5jq9.jpg Relevant code: function drawScene() { rays.graphics.clear(); rays.graphics.lineStyle(1, rgba(0x00,0x66,0x00)); var halfFov = (player.fov/2); var numRays:int = ( stage.stageWidth / COLUMN_SIZE ); var prjDist = ( stage.stageWidth / 2 ) / Math.tan(toRad( halfFov )); var angStep = ( player.fov / numRays ); for( var i:int = 0; i < numRays; i++ ) { var rAng = ( ( player.angle - halfFov ) + ( angStep * i ) ) % 360; if( rAng < 0 ) rAng += 360; var ray:Object = castRay(player.position, rAng); drawRaySlice(i*COLUMN_SIZE, prjDist, player.angle, ray); } } function drawRaySlice(sx:int, prjDist, angle, ray:Object) { if( ray.distance >= MAX_DIST ) return; var height:int = int(( TILE_SIZE / (ray.distance * Math.cos(toRad(angle-ray.angle))) ) * prjDist); if( !height ) return; var yTop = int(( stage.stageHeight / 2 ) - ( height / 2 )); if( yTop < 0 ) yTop = 0; var yBot = int(( stage.stageHeight / 2 ) + ( height / 2 )); if( yBot > stage.stageHeight ) yBot = stage.stageHeight; rays.graphics.moveTo( (ray.origin.x / TILE_SIZE) * MINI_SIZE, (ray.origin.y / TILE_SIZE) * MINI_SIZE ); rays.graphics.lineTo( (ray.hit.x / TILE_SIZE) * MINI_SIZE, (ray.hit.y / TILE_SIZE) * MINI_SIZE ); for( var x:int = 0; x < COLUMN_SIZE; x++ ) { for( var y:int = yTop; y < yBot; y++ ) { buffer.setPixel(sx+x, y, clrTable[ray.tile-1] >> ( ray.horz ? 1 : 0 )); } } } function castRay(origin:Point, angle):Object { // Return values var rTexel = 0; var rHorz = false; var rTile = 0; var rDist = MAX_DIST + 1; var rMap:Point = new Point(); var rHit:Point = new Point(); // Ray angle and slope var ra = toRad(angle) % ANGLE_360; if( ra < ANGLE_0 ) ra += ANGLE_360; var rs = Math.tan(ra); var rUp = ( ra > ANGLE_0 && ra < ANGLE_180 ); var rRight = ( ra < ANGLE_90 || ra > ANGLE_270 ); // Ray position var rx = 0; var ry = 0; // Ray step values var xa = 0; var ya = 0; // Ray position, in map coordinates var mx:int = 0; var my:int = 0; var mt:int = 0; // Distance var dx = 0; var dy = 0; var ds = MAX_DIST + 1; // Horizontal intersection if( ra != ANGLE_180 && ra != ANGLE_0 && ra != ANGLE_360 ) { ya = ( rUp ? TILE_SIZE : -TILE_SIZE ); xa = ya / rs; ry = int( origin.y / TILE_SIZE ) * ( TILE_SIZE ) + ( rUp ? TILE_SIZE : -1 ); rx = origin.x + ( ry - origin.y ) / rs; mx = 0; my = 0; while( mx >= 0 && my >= 0 && mx < world.size.x && my < world.size.y ) { mx = int( rx / TILE_SIZE ); my = int( ry / TILE_SIZE ); mt = getMapTile(mx,my); if( mt > 0 && mt < 9 ) { dx = rx - origin.x; dy = ry - origin.y; ds = ( dx * dx ) + ( dy * dy ); if( rDist >= MAX_DIST || ds < rDist ) { rDist = ds; rTile = mt; rMap.x = mx; rMap.y = my; rHit.x = rx; rHit.y = ry; rHorz = true; rTexel = int(rx % TILE_SIZE) } break; } rx += xa; ry += ya; } } // Vertical intersection if( ra != ANGLE_90 && ra != ANGLE_270 ) { xa = ( rRight ? TILE_SIZE : -TILE_SIZE ); ya = xa * rs; rx = int( origin.x / TILE_SIZE ) * ( TILE_SIZE ) + ( rRight ? TILE_SIZE : -1 ); ry = origin.y + ( rx - origin.x ) * rs; mx = 0; my = 0; while( mx >= 0 && my >= 0 && mx < world.size.x && my < world.size.y ) { mx = int( rx / TILE_SIZE ); my = int( ry / TILE_SIZE ); mt = getMapTile(mx,my); if( mt > 0 && mt < 9 ) { dx = rx - origin.x; dy = ry - origin.y; ds = ( dx * dx ) + ( dy * dy ); if( rDist >= MAX_DIST || ds < rDist ) { rDist = ds; rTile = mt; rMap.x = mx; rMap.y = my; rHit.x = rx; rHit.y = ry; rHorz = false; rTexel = int(ry % TILE_SIZE); } break; } rx += xa; ry += ya; } } return { angle: angle, distance: Math.sqrt(rDist), hit: rHit, map: rMap, tile: rTile, horz: rHorz, origin: origin, texel: rTexel }; }

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