Scene chugging along

I completely forgot what I'd planned to work on, and just futzed with the skin of the dumpster and the ground; after the Lucas presentation.

Still need to add lines, power cables... and figure out what the focus is. Still dumpster focus drawing... how to make that the point?

Game 2 steps forward

I feel like jumping around and dancing with joy. And eating a whole pizza first. Or maybe second would be better. I got the Tankity Tanks game 2 big steps forward today:
I cut off the turret top and made it a seperate object, as mention earlier, which was a big programming leap of faith that bounced around painfully a few times before landing well.

And I added the mouse target cursor. For some reason the update of such didn't work well unless the mouseX and mouseY were forwarded to the update function, instead of called from there. Also the mouseOver events are really screwy, but I think it's by-passed for now.

Also trying to use the google sites to link the files to instead of the SOU one, which will someday go away.

Added note: you have to click once in the screen before the tank will move

Surgery successful

I have successfully removed the turret and made it a seperate object, which is updated each cycle to the tank's position but has no rotation, yet. I did understand the linking from the examples, but I'd been neglecting the turret's constructor method.
Figuring out how to get the turret to point at the mouse will be fun. So far I can't remember enough trig to take the mouse x/y and the tank x/y and get the angle between the two. Then I'll have to convert that to whatever flash wants.
But first to find that mouse icon including tutorial for a cheater's way to figure out the mouse inclusion.

Ok really Stopping now

I stepped away after the last post, came back and moved the wall like I talked about. I think it's an improvement, but now the dumpster in the corner draws the focus. All the lines kinda point at it... maybe I should re work the 'story' to fit something sinister in the dumpster.

Dusting Out the Alley way

Having hit a few bumps on the happy flight of point pushing modeling, I decided to come back to the Scene thing that is kinda the final. I touched on the bump maps of the trash cans again, threw together an eletical box greeble/nurnie, then dove into tweaking the lighting and camera angle. I wan the audience to wonder what is around the corner, and the bright point source back there does kinda beckon, but it needs more stuff to hit than the two greebles. Also I'd like more interesting lines, some power lines crossing or hugging the walls (which are really blank). I know that should be possible....
Finally, part of me wants to push out one of the walls, the stairs one, by about a trash can's width. I think I'll start next time with that.

Back in the code saddle again

Playing with the tanks code was like a sunny day for the flower of my coding synapses, now they want more.
I tried to pick up an old project, a final for a class that I did OK in and which I could improve my grade by re-submitting the project (if it was better).
The project is open ended enough, and my needs and goals are contrasting enough that I don't really know what I'm doing. So I'll blab about it here.
The project guidelines are to use Visual Basic to create a little program that is useful. And provide documentation and comment the hell out of the code.
My idea is to have an inventory system for the Lighting Fixtures over at the college theatre dept. All this really needs is an excel file and the know how to have a few equations, allowing one to have totals that change as instruments are purchased or used.
However that doesn't use VB, and doesn't streach the learning muscles. So i'm trying to have a Database of some sort, and use either SQL or hard code in VB the functions for the totaling.

Today I worked at remembering all this stuff, and setting up the database, and trying to do some SQL queries. VB doesn't play nice with Access for me, so I'm trying to use VB's preferred MS SQL server lite 3.5 or something like that. You set up the tables through VB (lame), do the sql through VB (really lame), and can only view the thing through VB (lame). And the VB's way of doing SQL kick my butt so far. I want to lean, but this doesn't feel useful, so I don't want to learn it.
So, I'll hard code the math part and whack on the SQL till it just gives me some Select commands and an Update to reference.
Later, for now it's time to decompress with some web comics.

Miles suggestion

Miles suggested to combine the Tankity Tank game with some visuals of 3d creations, importing still renders and Photoshoping some drop shadows.
Also I could ask Cody if he'd lend me his little arsenal of tanks and such for it.
This post is so I don't forget