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Geek Culture / TGC Newsletter - Issue 53 (June 2007)

Author
Message
BatVink
Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:08
The newsletter has been released into the wild, using the new mailing system.


If it hasn't arrived in your inbox just yet, you can get it online:http://www.thegamecreators.com/data/newsletter/newsletter_issue_53.html

Raven
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 23rd Mar 2005
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:11 Edited at: 1st Jun 2007 21:21
what's wrong with Ricks' forehead?! seems to keep twitching.

[edit] Rick, if your watching.
I'd suggest that next time, make the video either like a keynote or if it's just talking a simple podcast would've worked better.
In-fact I reckon a pod-cast although not visual if done right would really improve interest. I mean it's a little bland watchig someone talking into a camera on their own.

Keynotes generate alot of enthusiasm not purely from showing what actually is there so much, but images that show concepts of what people can expect. It's then easier to visualise.

A podcast with a regular interviewer asking key questions about products that either users have, or trying to find out more information about new features. Again the play between people would capture interest much better and get people more excited that normally would think "whatever" about things like this.

I'm fairly good at hyping even without anything to show, can get people excited about just about anything. Excitement = More Customers = More Money Usually this power of mine is used for things that often never get released, but something that will be bet the effect would end up much better.

Benjamin
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 24th Nov 2002
Location: France
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:24 Edited at: 1st Jun 2007 21:27
I see you took the liberty of putting your wife on the front cover.






Nice newsletter though, must take you ages putting that thing together.

Tempest (DBP/DBCe)
Multisync V1 (DBP/DBCe)
zenassem
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Mar 2003
Location: Long Island, NY
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:32
New Contest... looks good.

They are running a competition for a new cover with a prize of £250 (that's almost $500 USD at current exchange rates) and of course, a copy of the book displaying YOUR cover design.

xplosys
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Jan 2006
Playing: FPSC Multiplayer Games
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:36
Quote: "They are running a competition for a new cover with a prize of £250 (that's almost $500 USD at current exchange rates) and of course, a copy of the book displaying YOUR cover design."


Brings back memories of a computer system and a game publishing contract to me.

I'm sorry, my answers are limited. You must ask the right question.

dark coder
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 6th Oct 2002
Location: Japan
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:52
Quote: "Brings back memories of a computer system and a game publishing contract to me."


I don't recall this.

MikeS
Retired Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 2nd Dec 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 21:54
Very nice issue BatVink, I always look forward to the first of each month.



A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
(Formerly Yellow)
MikeB
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Apr 2007
Location: My Computer, Shropshire, England
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 22:10
Awesome, thanks, it had got junked *hits head on desk for 3rd time today*.


E.D.

Alquerian
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Mar 2006
Location: Reno Nevada
Posted: 1st Jun 2007 22:29 Edited at: 1st Jun 2007 22:31
I was hoping to win a $20 gift certificate to buy PlantLife... I guess I will just have to write my own vegetation app

I am also glad to see that Tim made IgLoader free to the public now. The licensing costs previously was prohibitive for most people to do anything with it. Additionally, Just so everyone knows, it hasn't worked with DBP since before version 6.0 of DBP. I haven't tried it with 6.6, but the sandboxing was an issue on all the other versions of 6.x DBP that I have used. It was something that was changed in DBP that was making them incompatible, not IgLoader FYI.

Visit the Wip!
JerBil
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th May 2004
Location: Somewhere along the Z axis...
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 01:04
Thank you TGC for the $20 voucher, and Rick, you don't look a day over 30.

Ad Astra Per Asper
Seppuku Arts
Moderator
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Aug 2004
Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 01:12
Hey hey, cheers for the $20 voucher TGC. Nice once again BatVink, good stuff on the newsletter.

Support the return of Cow-Fishing! Hook up Paris Hilton and die!
bond1
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 27th Oct 2005
Location:
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 01:48
Happy B-day Rick!

----------------------------------------
"Your mom goes to college."
My FPSC stuff at http://www.hyrumark.com
Zombie 20
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 26th Nov 2006
Location: Etters, PA
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 01:58
Happy b-day rick!

Batvink-Great job on the newsletter, they are getting better with each issue . Keep up the good work.

I'm excited about odyssey creators, when i do upgrade to pro, i'm going to have so much to work with i'm going to be dizzy.

Jon Fletcher
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 7th May 2005
Location: Taunton, UK
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 02:58
Happy Birthday! might be a bit late but ah well.

great newsletter as well.

FredP
Retired Moderator
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 27th Feb 2006
Location: Indiana
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 05:23
Happy birthday,Rick.I feel for you...I'll be 40 on Halloween.

kBessa
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Nov 2006
Location: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 17:48
YAY! LightEngine was mentioned on the "From the Forums" section and I didn't realised that on the first run (I was too sleepy yesterday, that's what I had to read the Newsletter again).

BatVink, thanks for the mention! Really appreciated

And congratulations for the newsletters. Great content every month. I'm waiting for the next!
BatVink
Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 2nd Jun 2007 22:41
The Winmerge link in the newsletter should be http://www.winmerge.org

And thanks for the encouraging feedback, it's appreciated

AlexRiva
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Jan 2005
Location: Monza, Italy
Posted: 3rd Jun 2007 12:48
I, too, have to thank you for the inclusion of my game G-Speed in the Newsletter!



Visit my new website: http://www.maskedbear.com
RickV
TGC Development Director
24
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 27th Apr 2000
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 4th Jun 2007 11:05
My birthday is not till the 19th, so I'm still in my 30s! Just about to go over the hill...

The video was a last minute thing. I wanted to try get across how things were going and the version of X10 I had just didn't do what I wanted (bugs you see). Next month they'll be less of me and more action.

Financial Director
TGC Team
[Check out Jed McKenna - http://www.wisefoolpress.com/]
zenassem
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Mar 2003
Location: Long Island, NY
Posted: 4th Jun 2007 11:07
Sure your just trying to double up on Birthday wishes and gifts. Happy Birthday!

I'll say it again on the 19th, don't worry!

Jeff Miller
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 22nd Mar 2005
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posted: 5th Jun 2007 04:22 Edited at: 5th Jun 2007 04:23
Rick - you've got just 15 days left to become a child prodigy.

I love how you kids think 40 is over the hill. Here is what I was up to during the year Rick was born: starting engineering college, learning Fortran, learning to type one program line per card on a keypunch machine, waiting forever to have the simplest program run on the college mainframe - it gives me a huge paper printout showing all my errors, neatly wrapped around my stack of punchcards that make up the program, and affixed with a rubber band, all stuffed in a slot in a cabinet. You leave the program there at mid-afternoon, and your results are back the next mid-morning. One tiny typo = one day's delay in finishing it. No such thing as a monitor. No such thing as a computer at home, or even in my home town! Tech has come a long way. Given those days, you can imagine how much I love PCs, programs like DBPro, and getting your errors almost instantly.
BatVink
Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 5th Jun 2007 10:28
Jeff, you're another step up the chain from me. I love the fact that I wasn't born with today's technology - I've watched it happen, and loved every step of the way. But I started with the ZX80/81 and Dragon 32 (after owning an original Pong machine). Work started with an IBM System 38, but they still had an old System 3 card sorter in the back for me to chuckle at. Cards were thought of as permanent, so years after the system shut down, the company was still using the stock to write on as scrap paper.

Jeff Miller
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 22nd Mar 2005
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posted: 5th Jun 2007 14:30
Batvink - I was thinking of how much space Cash Curtis II would need to store his DBP Geisha House program on those darn punch cards. I calculated that it might fit in some cars.

I too have loved every step of the way with tech. Tomorrow I turn 58, but rather than make a video of myself walking into a mausoleum and closing the door behind me, I'm treating myself to a new finger drive. The concept of me carrying in my pocket, wherever I go, every file I need instead of lugging those damn cards around makes me feel mellow.
BatVink
Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 5th Jun 2007 16:07
Here you go - nostalgia for the oldbies, a history lesson for the newbies.

This is basically 10 bubble-sorters in parallel. If you want to sort your products in alphabetical order, you throw the cards (one per product) in one end, and it bubble-sorts them again and again and again, until there is nothing left to sort.



Freddix
AGK Developer
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 19th Sep 2002
Location: France
Posted: 5th Jun 2007 21:07
@BatVINK: I'm like you :p I did start with an old ZX81 and Laser 200 :p After ... i continue with Oric Atmos and Apple][e :p

Technology changes so many times

Gandalf said: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"
Odyssey-Creators - X-Quad Editor - 3DMapEditor
jasuk70
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 3rd Dec 2002
Location: Hemel Hempstead
Posted: 6th Jun 2007 13:27
Ooo Oric, Tyrann was my favourite game in my early years and turned me into a CRPG junky

Anyone remember the Jupiter Ace? 1, 1, +, =

Jas

----
"What is this talk of 'release'? Klingons do not'release' software. It escapes leaving a bloody trail of developers and quality assurance people in its wake!"
JimB
22
Years of Service
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Joined: 21st Sep 2002
Location: UK
Posted: 23rd Jun 2007 23:13 Edited at: 23rd Jun 2007 23:14
My first computer http://www.trs-80.com/trs80-models-model1.htm the one on the left,using the expansion interface I got a whopping 48k of ram
JerBil
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th May 2004
Location: Somewhere along the Z axis...
Posted: 24th Jun 2007 00:50
Yep, I had a TRS-80 Model I and was thrilled when I got the monitor and Level II Basic.
They were a lot of fun to program, and I learned some Z80 assembly
and wrote a simple word processor using a mix of basic and machine
code for justifying a page of type.

Ad Astra Per Asper
PowerSoft
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Oct 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 26th Jun 2007 19:01
Thank you TGC, I've NEVER won anything like this before I'm soo happy.....

The Innuendo's, 4 Piece Indie Rock Band
http://theinnuendos.tk:::http://myspace.com/theinnuendosrock

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