With final exam season running rampant and winter holidays looming ahead, it's a busy and exciting time 'round here. The uni course that I have been tutoring this term has its final exam tomorrow, so I have been exceedingly busy with work revolving around said item. Marking will occur on Wednesday, and promise to be a very long day. [smile]
I am really looking forward to finishing up this term, and getting back home for Christmas and the holidays. I'm the sort who really appreciates the things like spending Christmas with the family; reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' on Christmas Eve with the family, and other softy stuff like that. Filling up on eggnog is also high on the priority list!
With the approaching New Year's comes the question of how many items on my Resolutions list from last year I managed to accomplish. *gulp* I'm not sure how well I did, but I always look forward to setting another fresh new set of goals at the morn of the next year.
In related news, I have just confirmed that I will be returning to Sony Creative Software in the summer of '09 for my next co-op term. SCS is a small software development subsidiary of Sony with an office full of extremely talented and interesting folks. I had a great time there last time, and I'm positive I will again.
Skirmish progresses -- but of course!
Over the last few months I have felt myself becoming more and more attached to Skirmish. The project began well over a year ago, and I have put a countless number of hours into its development.
Since the recent addition of me moving the project (finally) over to Subversion, I have become much more considerate about the changes that I make and what coding practices I use. Skirmish is starting to feel more and more like a real software development project, which I have been approaching in a more and more professional manner.
Recently I implemented the 'Shrapnel Claymore' item, which is an item which the player can plant in the ground. If an enemy (or anyone if friendly-fire is off) walks past the 60-degree cone in front of it, it will detonate, spewing forth dozens of small chunks of razor-sharp shrapnel.
The interesting part is that the shrapnel chunks are of a type called 'Projectile Props', which are like regular props (def'n: objects which follow the physical laws within the game), but cause damage to players. This means claymores can be planted facing walls on an angle, and upon detonation, the shrapnel chunks will bounce 'off' the side of that wall and allow players to hit enemies around corners. Another neat, although unintended, feature is that if a second explosion occurs nearby when the shrapnel chunks are in mid-air, they can be knocked away from their intended target.
Of course, many not-as-fun tasks await me as well. Some bug fixes and optimizations lay ahead, which are standard fare, although I'd also like to get in user and host commands as well (team chat, private messages, kicking/banning players, spawning guns, etc). At this rate, I'm wondering if I'll ever release this darned thing! [grin]
