A Small Update

It's been awhile since I last posted in this little blog and I thought it was time to let people know I was still alive and kicking.

I've been working on Kon version 1.0.11. So far here's the changelog for that version:

• Fixed a small issue of certain modes not displaying all of the data (such as opping not showing who was opped).
• Changed the logger and display so that it shows which channel the line appears in. I.e. [#channel] <> message
  
• Fixed an error that would cause the bot to chop off the ":" in an emoticon if that was the first thing said in a line.
• Added a /CLEAR command to the console. Will clear the window of all text.
• Worked on the reconnect code...again.
• Added method to handle the appearance of KICK messages.

Regarding the reconnect code this time around: I'm pretty sure it works a whole lot better but it still seems to have flaws. For some reason I just can't seem to get it to work correctly. Sometimes the bot will reconnect, but most of the time it gives an error that persists. And sometimes it'll reconnect but disconnect immediately after without reason. But I'll keep at it.

This version is not available for download just yet.

For some reason I felt compelled to sign up for Twitter. I really don't know why and I'll probably rarely even use it beyond this initial mention of it. But who knows? http://twitter.com/iyouboushi

I entered, and failed, NaNoWriMo this year. My (unfinished) novel can be found by clicking here. I still need to update the blog and continue the story. I do intend to finish the novel, I just don't know when.

Barring some pointless Internet Drama, there's nothing else to mention. Thus this update has come to an end.

Kon version 1.0.10 release

This is a fairly small update with most of it intended to move the bot to towards multiple channel use. Here's the full changelog:

• Fixed a small potential bug with !utter
• Changed !randomTalk # so that it reflects a message when the % has been changed.
• Changed randomTalk so that setting it to 0 will really shut it off.
• Changed the /join console command so that more than one channel can be joined.
• Changed all commands to display the text in the channel in which the command was used.
• Added a !join #channel command. User level.
  
• Added a !part #channel command. User level.
• Adjusted many commands to work with multiple channels rather than the defined channel.
  

Download Binaries: Click here
Downlod Source: Click here (and download all the files)


Oh yeah. There's also a README text file in the zip now that explains the various commands and how to set the bot up.

Enjoy!

Nomad Moogle - Version 1.4

Wow, I never thought I'd be posting another update to this bot, especially after all this time. But here it is!

version 1.4
Added guild points into the crafts list for people to keep track of.

The command to update the amount:
!update guildpoints (character) (amount)


If the amount is 0 or empty (null) it won't show "guild points" on the list.


If you're wondering what happened to version 1.3, I never released it. Why? Who knows? But here's what it added:

version 1.3
Fixed a few minor things.
Added the command: !lookup (char name) (info, jobs, crafts, all)]
it does the same thing as !character lookup but is shorter and easier to remember
Added the command: !character info (char name) [(info, jobs, crafts, all)]
it does the same thing as !character lookup

GH3 Metalhead and Elroy Budvis

Hey all!

I just wanted to write a quick blog to say how much I really love Guitar Hero 3. And I wanted to show off the two Wii & PS2 exclusive characters since I wasn't even able to find a picture of them online.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

I'm not using the default guitars in the video though, as Elroy is now using Metalhead's original guitar (the laser gun) and Metalhead is using some other guitar. I forgot to switch them back. Oops.

But it's still awesome.

Idle RPG DS version 0.2, New Game Started

I wasn't originally going to announce the release of this version as it really doesn't add a whole lot to show for the player. But I didn't want people to think that progress wasn't being made towards this game. Admittedly I haven't worked on it as much as I could have (curse you Guitar Hero 3!) but I am working on it at a snail's pace.

Download: version 0.2


In this version..

- Started the "new game" function.
That means the player can click on the 'new game' menu option and it, gasp, works.

- Added the ability to name your character name and the character's class name
Once the player clicks 'new game', a keyboard pops up on the bottom and allows a 25-character player name and a 25-character class name. The class name has no effect on the game itself, just like the IRC version. It's just for looks.

- Added the save function to the game.
After entering the class name it'll save what the player has inputted and kick it back out to the main menu. TO BE ADDED: a "are these names okay?" type question before saving them.

- The main menu will now tell you if there's a game to continue (won't be grayed out)
If the player's card allows FAT, it'll be easy to confirm if the player and class name saved correctly because "Continue" won't be grayed out anymore. The continue option still isn't clickable but at least it'll let people know if it's saved right.


I don't know when the next update will be but it should contain at least the start of the actual game. So until next time.....

Idle RPG DS version 0.1, The about menu is done!

I decided to start working on the game a little earlier than expected. I wanted to get some of the more basic stuff out of the way and start a menu. I'm kind of proud of the end result considering I've never really touched C before this.

The screens are a little bland but considering the original version of Idle RPG is ran on IRC, which is text only, I don't want to make it too flamboyant. Keeping it simple to pay an homage to the original and to try to keep the size of the game down.

Download: version 0.1

Sorry, no source yet. Probably won't be released for awhile. Especially while in development. We'll see when it's done.


In this version:

+ The title graphic.
+ The main menu
+ The about menu
+ Added the abilty to check for FAT support and display a warning if unable to use it.


That's.. it. More to come when I start working on the actual game engine. I'll start that after I get some questions answered over on PAlib's forums.

Until next time.....

Idle RPG DS

Did you know regular ol people like you and me can write programs to work on the Nintendo DS? Well, while I'm sure some of you know of the "homebrew" scene (as it's called), I have recently installed all of the IDEs and programming tools necessary to actually do it.

My first test of programming on the DS will be with idle RPG. For those who have never heard of it, it's a "game" (loosely) in which you earn experience and level up based on how long you "idle" (don't touch anything). It's popular on IRC chatting networks. Basically if you talk, quit, join, or do anything other than idle you take a penalty and have to wait longer before you level up again. As you level up you find random equipment that enhances your stats and randomly fight other players of the game (the winner gets time taken off his/her amount and the loser gains time).

It's not really exciting but I think this would be a great test of learning how to program on the DS. Such a game would require learning how inputs and outputs work, how to recognize key presses, recognize when the stylus is being used, how to use random functions, etc etc. Everything that would be necessary in a real game.


Planned:

+ Tons of equipment that it can randomly pick from.
+ Stats on top screen, 5 most recent "news" on the bottom screen.
+ The same time penalty for touching any of the buttons and using the stylus as you would via talking and such in the IRC version.


Something I would like to add in a future version (i.e. way down the road):

+ The ability for a ranking/score system. Compare your rank with others.
+ graphic icons for the equipment.
+ maybe a little character running around doing things while the DS is idle.


We'll see how it goes. I'll start coding it next week once I'm done with all the preplanning. You know, assuming Tropical Storm Fay doesn't make Panama City into the next Atlantis.

Call This Number ... Working Again!

Thanks to Geemer of irc.esper.net, I finally found another free voice mail box to replace the old one I had. WOOHOO! So if anyone wants to call and leave some crazy anonymous messages, please feel free.

646-495-9204 with the extension: 96810


Yeah, it's a little longer than the old one. But it's free, so what can I say?

Weeeeeee!

Call and leave insane messages!

And here's the page with all the old messages and, hopefully, new messages to come: http://iyou.cyberbotx.com/voicemessages/

New Forum

Hey all. I'm just writing a quick blog to let everyone know that we have a new forum. While my old one won't be shut down, everyone is encouraged to sign up for and post on the new forum: Icy Internet Prison.

Help make IIP a popular place to post!

Kon version 1.0.9 release

A fairly decent update for the bot.

As previously mentioned, this update changes the way sentences are structured. The topic, if the bot can find one, is now no longer the first word of the sentence. Instead it tries to build a bit of the sentence around it.

Another major change is the way the LB Brain is constructed. With this version it starts a longer depth to try and help with the pure randomness. People who compile Kon can turn off the longer depth and go back to the shorter depth by changing the variable shortDepth in LB.cs to true. The reason I did this is for those larger brain files. The larger the brain file the more random it starts to become. If you increase the depth, however, it should still be random but not to the point of insanity. Unfortunately, there's no way to convert your old brain files over so you'll have to start over.

This update improves the look of IRC in the bot's window including the appearances of: PART, NICK, NOTICE and MODE messages. It also allows the bot to see who joins multiple channels, whereas before it would only show the one channel set to join at start.

The last major advancement for this update is what I call RandomTalk. RandomTalk is exactly what it sounds like: it allows the bot to randomly talk when it's not being addressed. It works on a percentage that's set in the config file. There's also a command that admin and users can use to set it: !randomTalk [#]. By itself (!randomTalk) the bot will tell you what percent it's set at. With a number from 1 to 100 (example: !randomTalk 100) will set the percent to that number. To turn it off set it to -1.

And that's all for this update.

Download Binaries: Click here
Downlod Source: Click here (and download all the files)

Kon version 1.0.9 In Development

It seems like I just can't stop messing with Kon. Even after the release of 1.0.8 six days ago, I've already started development on the next version. Not only that, I've already fixed a bug and improved the sentence development bit of LB Brain.

Thus far:

• Fixed a small bug that prevented Kon from seeing the first word in a sentence if it could potentially be a topic of a sentence.
• Changed the way topics are picked so that it randomly chooses one if there's more than one.
• Changed the way topic sentences are constructed. Now Kon tries to build the sentence AROUND the topic, not START the sentence with the topic. This may or may not work as intended.
• Added a little more filtering to LB Brain responses to try and not end up with a lone " or a misplaced ) at the end of sentences.
  

More to come.

Kon version 1.0.8 release

Another update to the chatterbot! Hooray!

This update will be rather small compared to the last update. Still, I think it's taken a step forward in the right direction on becoming a much smarter bot.

This version fixes the notorious "null message" bug. In previous versions Kon would cause an error to happen (and potentially crash) when someone typed kon: with no text sent to the bot. This version fixes that and Kon will give a random sentence.

As I mentioned in the last post, Kon's Google Brain was broken and has been fixed to work again. It's not any smarter, nor do I intend to try and make it any smarter, but it's at least working again.

This version also starts two different methods to try and increase Kon's intelligence. First up, a grammar fixing function. This function will attempt to fix certain grammatical mistakes such as changing "am you" to "are you." Right now it doesn't fix a whole lot but hopefully in the future it will.

Second, Kon (when using the LB Brain) will now attempt to try and find a "topic" in what people say to him. Why? Because he tries to build his response around the topic that he finds. Note that this only works with the LB Brain and isn't a true topic finder. Right now it's just seeking for uncommon words. This will hopefully improve as time goes on. There's a new admin and user command, !toggleTopic, that will turn this function on and off.

Finally for this update, I noticed that my LB Brain files were getting to be rather massive in size. Knowing how Kon builds random sentences with this brain I thought I'd write a little utility to try and reorganize the brains and hopefully speed Kon up. Thus the "LB Brain Utility" was born. This small 20KB program comes packed with Kon and, for now, sort the brain files so that all the starting sentences are near the top. For example:

START_SENTENCE Isn't that
another line
another line 2
START_SENTENCE another start

will become

START_SENTENCE Isn't that
START_SENTENCE another start
another line
another line 2

If your LB Brain files get rather large (mine was almost 2MB) it is recommended to run this utility at least once a week. Warning: do not run this program while Kon is actively connected to a channel. Disconnect him first THEN run it. Otherwise there's potential to corrupt the brain files.

And that's all for this update. Enjoy.

Download Binaries: Click here
Downlod Source: Click here (and download all the files)

Broken Google Brain

I've become aware that Kon's "Google Brain" is now broken. Apparently something has changed with the way Google returns their results so the current regex pattern is broken. I'm going to fix it and release an update sometime in the near future.


-Edit-
Because I'm not ready to upload the next version just to fix "Google Brain" but still want people to know how to fix it (if they want to use it) I'll post the new regEx pattern here.

Click to expand to full size

Keep in mind all this does is fix it so that it will work again. It doesn't improve the results any, so the brain is still basically useless. I don't forsee me trying to fix that anytime soon.

New Site is Live!

Woohoo! I finished my new design faster than expected. Soooo... my new site design is now up and ready to be viewed by the world!

I'm actually rather proud at how it came out. It may not be the most complex site in the world but it works great for what I need it to.

Everything that was up on the previous site is now on this site. There are a few things that aren't quite done yet, such as the history of my site (a look at my site from 1999 to now) but I can add that at a later date.

GO CHECK IT OUT

New Website Design Coming

I've finally gotten sick and tired of my current website design. So I'm working on a new one. It's going to be a little easier to edit pages down the road if I want to add more pages to a certain category. It's also brighter.

Here's a sample image.



Hopefully this site will be done in a few days.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 07

Well, everyone, this is the end for this short little movie. I have finished all I'm going to do with it.

Honestly, I'm disappointed at the final result. And I'd like to go on record and state that I really dislike the post stage of filming. Filming the scenes was interesting and kind of fun, despite having a lot of lighting issues. Thinking up all the various ideas (even if I could never actually get them to work) was also really fun. Editing and trying to add sound/music and get the effects to look right.....not so much fun.

I'm kind of upset that half of the scenes I had in my head didn't make it at all (due to editing problems or just being unable to do it). I'm also rather mad that most of the sound I recorded didn't come out either (most of it came out with a high pitch whine that caused headaches and ear-gouging pain). And after spending so much time on it, and wanting to move onto something else, I had to just finally say "that's it, no more" lest I spend months working on the smallest details.

So what you'll probably see is nothing like what I wanted it to look like. But you know, that's okay. It's been a pretty interesting learning experience and I have a new profound respect for those individuals out there that do this stuff for a living.

Will I do another (better) video in the future? It's possible. I'm itching to do a better video to prove to myself that I CAN do a better video. But it won't be for awhile. This has really burned me out. So who knows when it'll be done or what it'll be about.

And that's really all I have to say about that now. I suggest you go watch it and see for yourselves.

CLICK HERE TO GO WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 06

Editing in After Effects is really a lot easier than I thought it would be. Despite saying this, however, I have to say that I'm really frustrated with at how hard some things have turned out to be.

A few of the effects have been extremely painless to add to the video. The one in this photo has eaten away several hours of my life and it's still not done. Ah well. I'll get it eventually.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 05

Filming has finished! WOOHOO!

I'm quite glad that I managed to finish filming. I'm disappointed with how dark the scenes came out though, even with the addition of extra lighting. I'm not able to fix that at this time, however, so everyone is just going to have to deal with it. Sorry. Even if I were to try and reshoot every scene again, I don't think I could make it any lighter. I've already added as many lights as I could find and it's still really dark.

But since it's not a fancy production meant to rival Hollywood, I'm not going to worry too much about it.

Here's a preview image.



Now I'm off to spend a week in post, trying to do the one major special effect and combine all of this mess together into a movie.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 04

Work continues on the movie!

I have filmed the final live action scene to appear in the movie. The acting is so bad that it should be funny to see. I would do takes over and over to try and get the acting better but keep in mind that this movie is not meant to be taken all that seriously. It's supposed to be cheesy. And besides, most gamers aren't actors to begin with.

With that in mind, I can't show any pictures from the final scene. Sorry. Instead I will show a picture of a "place holder" I've been using to hold places in the film until I'm ready for them.



The entire movie has been structured and all of the title cards have been finished. The opening and credits are also both done. I have a little bit of live action left to shoot and then quite a bit of post-production to do with editing and, hopefully, movie layering. The latter scares me as I've never done anything like this before and hope that I CAN do it. If not, I might have to rethink an entire portion of the film.

But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 03

I ran into another snag earlier today. It seems that FRAPs, the software I use to capture the screen, has stopped working. I have yet to figure out WHY it randomly decided to stop. I can't seem to fix it though.

To make matters worse, I've been unable to get any other screen capture software to work, including VirtualDub and Camstudio. Either they record at a weird size that won't work for me or they won't record sound (or both).

THANKFULLY, I had a backup plan. And while it's been a royal pain to make work correctly, I have been able to record the footage of the game that I needed.



With all the game footage recorded I have to now focus on recording the live action stuff and piecing it all together.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 02

It took awhile but I finally beat Vundo and got my machine back to normal. Production has resumed.

I went ahead and filmed the first live action scene.



Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture, it's rather dark. I hope the rest of the live action footage will not turn out so dark.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden: Production 01

I'm already having technical difficulties on the first day! Can you believe this?

While getting all the software installed I somehow contracted the trojan Vundo. It has proved incredibly difficult to remove completely from my machine.

To make matters worse, a cleaner I got to remove Vundo has more or less wiped out Windows. I'm in the process of restoring my computer and getting everything back up and running.

Production cannot continue until I get everything back up and running.

The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden

Time for something a little different. Instead of a computer program I've decided to try my fate at creating a short little movie dealing with Ninja Gaiden. I'm calling it "The Five Gamer Stages of Ninja Gaiden" and it involves what "stages" a gamer goes through while playing one of the most difficult NES games ever created.



Please stay tuned to this exciting new project!

Attn: Sears Employees

This post is very disturbing and I would recommend everyone read it. I bring it up now because we're entering what Sears is calling "Operation Fresh Start" (or, alternatively, "Operation Spring Cleaning"). As those who work there know, this operation involves everyone cleaning the store from top to bottom. Everything from dusting to repainting fixtures. I post this as a caution and as a "please take care" while you're doing this stuff.

This post below was taken by an ex-Sears employee from 2004 during a topic about cleaning the stores.

Not too long after I went to work for Sears I developed a severe asthma like lung condition. I couldn't walk across a room without panting and gasping for air and I had coughing spasm so severe that I would separate ribs and even pass out due to the pressure on the carotid and temporal arteries during a cough spasm.

It was diagnosed as adult onset asthma and since there is no cure, I began to receive treatment for the symptoms which helped somewhat. I worked there another 6 years before the symptoms got so severe that my doctors decided to look for a trigger. I had one coughing spell so severe that I actually had a small stroke that lasted until I passed out and the cough spasm subsided. These symptoms would grow in severity when I was at work and then subside somewhat when I was forced to take time off so I began to sense a pattern.

Aside: That's why my typing is so terrible today. I use the middle fingers of each hand in my hunt and peck typing technique and my left hand tends to fall behind my right if I try to go to fast. I used to type an accurate 40 wpm this way, and now I'm lucky to get 25 because I have to keep correcting right/left typos.

Anyway, I was sent off to LA for some extensive allergy testing and other tests that would determine what there was in my blood. Turned out I had no common allergies. My blood was full of mold spores from the type of mold that grows inside air conditioner ducts when they aren't maintained and I tested reactive to that.

The dust samples I took in, obtained simply by wiping a clean paper towel over the merchandise that I was dusting every day contained a significant number of asbestos fibers. The store had asbestos floor tiles that had been laid down when the store was built in 1975 and they were cracked an old. We suspected the floor buffers were stirring them up and causing them to float around in the air in the store. This was also during the remodel and they were constantly tearing these floors up and grinding them down to install new flooring in certain areas.

Their only precaution was to hang some loose plastic sheets around the construction area. The guys (contractors) doing the work all wore masks to prevent infiltration. We, as store associates, were of course not allowed to wear masks. Might frighten the customer into waiting until the project was over to come in and spend his dough.

The last thing that I tested positive for was organic spores brought about by... don't laugh... the infestations of pigeons that lived on the roof of the building and in the air ducts and AC air intakes. Our LP manager went up there and he said that not once did his feet actually touch the roof but that he was walking on inches deep crusts of pigeon crap. They had pulled all the rain gutters and downspouts off the buildings because they'd plug up with pigeon shit and flood the roof. The sidewalks under the edges of any overhang were often 2-3 inches deep in the stuff, especially in the winters when the rain would wash it off the roof itself.

So, pigeon mites, pigeon crap and the various little critters that existed in the dead, decaying carcasses of dead birds turned out to be not as harmless as you might think. This stuff was all being sucked in by the AC, and spread throughout the store and while others had various symptoms, yours truly had a hypersensitivity to all of it. In other words I got REALLY sick. It joined up with my heart failure to make me the grouchy old fart I am today.

Anyway, those are the three things you can look for if you're having any chronic respiratory problems or allergic reactions that ordinary testing isn't finding a trigger for. Toxic mold, asbestos fibers and pigeons. The unholy trinity Of Sears.

Oh by the way, once I had exposed this situation, Sears refused to run the air conditioners that year until mid-June, well into the 100+ degree season here in California's central valley and only after a couple of customers had nearly passed out and complained. Two associates had actual health problems with the heat also, but the BC manager accused them of being wusses, which was exactly what he had accused me of.

Remember, corporations may or may not care about you but no matter how they feel us employees should know better and deserve better treatment than something like this. Stand up for your rights and don't let them walk over you.

Escape from Zearz - Version 1.0.2

Another update!

I have completely recoded the game from scratch yet again because I have found a better method of drawing the graphics to the screen and for storing rooms. The end result is that I can go back to my original idea for directions. The compass is going to disappear, though right now the graphic for it is still present on the GUI. I haven't figure out what I'm going to replace that area with.

No snapshot for this version but if you download it and run it you will see the progress I've made. You can now interact with an NPC ("Ed") and talk to him a few times. He has a few different lines to say.

As of right now I'm borrowing a few sprites and backgrounds from other games. I'm still not completely pleased with it, but it was just meant to test the other stuff anyway. I'll be going back and revamping all of that in a future version.

This will probably be my last post about the game for awhile as the next version will take awhile.

Escape from Zearz - Version 1.0.1

So far so good. I haven't dropped the project, though all the work I did today on it really made me wish I could.

I had to change the GUI interface a little bit due to some serious complications I was having with some of my code. I also decided I really don't want to try and mess with a graphical inventory system for my first game. The complexity of that would be extreme for my first time so I'll stick to a text one.

As a result, the new GUI looks like this:

I'm fairly certain all of the GUI stuff is set. I also added the updater that I've used in three programs now so that the users can check for updates. It's under help->Check for updates.

Now I need to work on actually writing the game and getting interactive objects/puzzles in there.

Download Link
http://iyou.cyberbotx.com/programs/C-sharp/EscapeFromZears/

You can find all the various versions there. Keep in mind that until I've made mention of it, none of these are "official" demos and are just works in progress. You may not be able to get far into the game, if anywhere. Download and run at your own risk.

Escape from Zearz

What happens when Iyou has played too many SCUMM games and gets really bored? A new creation!

I think I have officially abandoned The Kingdom of Crim, though I may one day pick it back up. Instead I've decided to make a SCUMM-ish type game called "Escape from Zearz."

For those who have never heard of SCUMM (what, have you lived under a rock?), it's a scripting language used by LucasArts to create such games as Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken, the Monkey Island series and countless other games. All of them are considered classics and some of the best adventure games ever created.

Will my game even come close to that? Probably not. I'm not really trying to make a game on par with LucasArts and this is merely a learning tool for me. Still, I would like it to be somewhat fun and playable. That's my overall goal.

As of right now the title and the basic GUI screens are completed. I am borrowing the look of the GUI from the Indiana Jones SCUMM game for the moment. I suppose this really makes it more complicated than it needs to be, since I could use the later Monkey Island series style and limit myself to fewer verbs and commands, but what's life without challenges?

Here's a sample image:




With luck I won't completely drop this project and a playable demo will be out in the next few months. So stay tuned and hope for the best!

Kon version 1.0.7 release

The last time I touched Kon was back on Feb 28th. When I had closed down the IDE that final time I thought that it was probably the closest that I'd ever come to being able to make Kon "learn." To be honest, that feeling hasn't wavered all that much, but I have found ways to improve and enhance Kon since then.

First up are bug fixes. After having run Kon for a few weeks observing I've noticed a few major bugs that have popped up. Two of which caused the bot to go BOOM. I also discovered that it wasn't replacing "UNNAMED_USER" correctly with someone from the channel. That has since been fixed. Also fixed: when a user used to talk to Kon in query he would respond in channel. Now he responds in query to queries.

Another thing I really wanted to get done with the last version but got tired before finishing was separating commands into three types: admin, users, and everyone. This version has achieved this. There's one admin that must be set, then the admin can add multiple users. All of the commands have been split into one of those three categories.

One last thing I've done was go back and redo the LB brain so that it splits questions and all other lines ("statements") into separate files. If the user asks Kon a question he will ALWAYS respond with a statement. Otherwise, it will be a 50/50 shot on which one he'll do. It's not a huge change, but it might make things a little easier in the future should I choose to pursue other ideas I have.

Download Binaries: Click here
Downlod Source: Click here (and download all the files)


Complete changelog:

• Fixed an error when you toggle the LB brain off that caused the bot to crash.
• Fixed an error with !LBinfo when the LB brain wasn't loaded.
• Tried to fix the reconnect command, again.
• Seperated the IncomingCommand method into its own file.
• Seperated the ConsoleCommand method into its own file.
• Seperated the logging method into its own file.
• Added !konInfo to the list of commands. This will send the version information to the channel.
• Changed the way the LB brain works by seperating questions and statements. Now when someone asks a question to the bot, it will reply with a statement (a non-question). Otherwise, it'll be random whether or not it asks a question or replies with a statement.
• Fixed a channel user list bug that wasn't showing the list of channel users after someone talked to the bot for the first time.
  
• Added a !channelusers command that will display all the users in the channel (for testing purposes) ** warning: don't use this command in an extremely busy channel with a ton of users (more than 30) or else it might crash the bot.
• Added an !utter command that will Kon to randomly say something to the channel.
• Added an admin section to the config file. Admins have access to all commands and have the ability to add 'users' to the list.
• Commands have been broken down by type: admin only, users, anyone.
  
• Fixed a bug in previous versions where Kon would spout two responses for one input line.
• Fixed a bug that caused Kon to reply to the main channel when someone messaged him in private. Now he will respond to private messages by messaging the person who is talking to him.
• ADMIN ONLY commands: !addUser (nick), !remUser (nick), !quit
• ADMIN AND USERS ONLY commands: !reload, !reloadAIML, !toggleAIML, !toggleGoogle, !toggleLB, !channelUsers, !utter
• ANYONE commands: !splash, !konInfo, !brainInfo, !LBinfo

Until next time...

Clam Digger - Version 1.0

"Oh, you gonna love this boy. Tyrone calls you up, you know - in the game - and he says 'I can dig more clams than you, stupid!' And you gotta say 'Nuh-uh, boy,' And y'all gotta race down to the beach with your buckets and your shovels, and the object of the game...is to find parking."

- Meatwad, ATHF

During my time spent on FFXI I've yet to find such a peaceful and relaxing hobby as clamming is. The area is just beautiful and it's a very nice break from farming and leveling. Of course clamming involves keeping track of your bucket weight and making sure you don't go too far over. This program is designed to help with that.

There are several online tools that do the exact same thing. One of which, "The Clamming Kit" (http://ffxi.lokyst.net/clammer/clamming.html) has been my inspiration in making this program. So now you're asking why you should be using this program instead of the online ones. Well, my program not only keeps track of the weight but also the value in gil that your current bucket is worth.

This means that you can assess your risk in trying to dig up another item as you get closer and closer to your bucket weight cap. If you're at 43/50 for example and your bucket is only worth 42 gil you might want to take the risk. However, if your bucket is at 43/50 and is worth 1700 gil you will obviously not want to take the risk.

I hope that you will find this program useful during your relaxing clamming time.

Version 1.0
Download
Screenshot

** Note: this program does require Microsoft's .NET Framework version 2.0 or higher.

Don't let this happen to you! Use this program!

Nomad Moogle - Version 1.2

Another quick update to the program. I forgot to mention version 1.1 here, so I'll go ahead and mention what it does in addition to version 1.2.

Download link


version 1.1
I went back and edited the commands to make them channel only (you can only use them in channels). I also changed the way !character lookup works, slightly.

The new command for it is:

!character lookup (character name) [(info, jobs, crafts, all)]

If you don't use any of the parameters after the character's name, it will display all the information about that character (info, jobs and crafts). Else you can specify what you want to know. There's also !character info and !check character that work exactly the same way.


version 1.2
You can now link multiple nicks to one character. This is handy if you use multiple nicks on IRC (like a few of my LS mates) and would like to be able to update your character with any of them.

The new command for it is:

!link (check, add, remove) (char name) [(nick to add/remove)]

!link check (character) will display all the nicks that are currently linked to that character.

[01:30] Iyouboushi> !link check Iyouboushi
[01:30] Moogle> [Names linked to Iyouboushi: Iyouboushi, Kiisuke]

You can add as many nicks as you want (or at least as many as mIRC will still process) but you must have at least 1 linked to the character. Oh and I also made sure Goldsmithing was showing up on the list (previously it wasn't).


The only thing that I really have left for a future version is a search command. Well, and maybe adding in some of the other skills (combat, magic, etc). Otherwise, I think I'm finished with it. :)

Nomad Moogle - Version 1.0

A few days ago I had an idea for a new bot: an FFXI character tracker. Kinthoras of Esper.net and I talked it over and he decided to create one in Java. I decided to create my own, based on his Java bot, in mIRC's internal scripting language. I have just finished my first version and it does everything his does except searching (and that may be forthcoming in a future version).

Current commands:

!help
Displays this list in a private message

!stoneskin [enhancing/BLU skill level] [MND]
A Stoneskin/Metallic Body calculator that shows how much it will absorb

!create character [name]
Creates a character

!delete character [name]
Deletes a character you have created (cannot erase other people's characters**note they are GONE after you use this command. There is no retrieval)

!update job [character name] [job] [level]
Updates a character's job

!update craft [character name] [craft] [level]
Updates a character's craft

!update race [character name] [race]
Set a character's race

!update gender [character name] [male/female]
Set a character's gender

!update nation [character name] [nation]
Set a character's home nation

!update rank [character name] [rank]
Set a character's rank

!character lookup [name]
Display's a character's info



Where do you download this beauty you crazy FFXI/mIRC addicts? You can download it by clicking here. The loading information is inside the file itself as well as a command list. If you are unfamiliar with loading mIRC scripts, it's best to create a seperate folder (C:\moogle\ or C:\ffxi\ will work) with a copy of mIRC in the folder (version 6.16 or greater should work just fine). Once you do that, unzip the .mrc file in that folder, load mIRC and type /load -rs ffxi.mrc and it should load just fine. Now sign into your server, join the channel and (with a seperate client) try some of the commands.

This tracker is really only useful if you run an FFXI-based channel and want to have a little tool to help out with keeping track of characters. Hopefully it will continue to grow and include more and more functionality.


Here's a sample of what the bot may do. This is after I have input all of my information:

Iyouboushi> !character lookup Iyouboushi
Moogle> [Name: Iyouboushi] [Server: Quetzalcoatl] [Race: hume] [Gender: male] [Nation: Bastok] [Rank: 3-3]
Moogle> [Jobs: WAR: 32 | MNK: 11 | WHM: 8 | BLM: 8 | RDM: 17 | THF: 15 | PLD: 20 | DRK: 1 | RNG: 9 | NIN: 23 | DRG: 1 | BLU: 32 | COR: 18]
Moogle> [Crafts: Fishing: 2 | Alchemy: 0.8 | Bonecraft: 0.0 | Clothcraft: 4.2 | Cooking: 35.5 | Leathercraft: 0.0 | Smithing: 2 | Woodworking: 13.5]


My version is currently running on irc.esper.net in #Vanadiel. Please note that Esper has a pretty strict bot policy. If you choose to run your version on Esper, connect it to bots.esper.net or risk being banned. Also, if you do choose to run your own please don't run it in #Vanadiel as that will just be confusing.

If you have any suggestions or improvement ideas, please post them in a comment here.

More to come...

Kon version 1.0.6 release

Hey all. I'm not quite dead yet. And I really haven't been working on anything major. I decided to just go ahead and release what I had of Kon 1.0.6 to the public. You can download the binary by clicking here or the source files by clicking right here.

Here's what I did for this version:

• Changed "brain.kon" to "kon.brain" in order to keep consistency later on (with new brain additions).
• Updated AIML dll by myself in order to try and improve memory management. The new dll MUST be used in order for this version of Kon to work correctly (it is included in the zip and in both src folders).
• Improved and fixed the PING/PONG so that it finally sends the correct information back
• Improved most of the IRC code. The ReceiveData() method now uses a combination of IF/ELSE and SWITCH statements to determine what the server messages are showing up (for example "PING" or "PRIVMSG", etc). This was changed from pure IF/ELSE.
• Added multiple methods to handle various messages (QUIT method, PRIVMSG method, etc)
• Added a reconnect() method. ** It is in testing stages right now and may not work completely right.
• Added try/catch to the logger method to try and prevent certain errors
• Changed the way the log file works slightly to try and prevent exceptions and to just improve it
• Added an authorize() method and made it so that submitting the user and nick are now in that method
• Fixed an exception that kept being thrown when quitting
• Removed the "full path" stuff from the main function when generating and reading the config file. This will hopefully stop a bug that keeps appearing.
• Changed Kon's AI line grabbing method to include a seed based on the computer's time instead of letting the computer do it manually.
• Changed Kon's AI filter a little bit to not include lines that are less than 5 characters in length.
• Added the ability for Kon to address random channel users instead of just the person talking to him.
• Changed the location of the replace emoticon functions from AI.cs to filter.cs.
• Added the very first version of "LB Brain" -- a brain that's based on BishounenNightBird (from Esper.net)'s "Language Bot" (LB). Mine isn't 100% like his, but it's close enough.
• Changed "UNNAMED USER" to "UNNAMED_USER" to resolve conflicting problems in LB Brain.
• Added a /raw console command that sends things directly to the server
• Changed the way it replaces UNNAMED_USER so that if it's UNNAMED_USER: it will address the person talking to the bot. Other UNNAMED_USERs will still be replaced with a random person.

What's missing? Well I still haven't added any kind of user list to allow certain access to commands. As a result, the bot owner is still set to me and my nick is the only one that will allow it to be closed using the internal command. I'm also not done with all of the IRC commands and making them look good in the console window. When I get the urge to work on Kon again, those two things will probably take priority over everything else.

Also, as mentioned above, reconnect may be a little buggy. It seems to work most of the time, but occasionally it decides to stop working. If that happens just shut the bot down and restart it.

Enjoy!

Kon - Version 1.0.6 Alpha

With as many updates to Kon in the past few weeks I'm starting to think I should have renamed this blog to "Kon Updates." Seriously. Well, I can't help that I've been motivated to try and keep improving Kon.

Anyway, the alpha version of 1.0.6 source is now available in the /src-alpha/ folder. As a reminder, there will be no executable provided with alpha (or "in-testing" ) source and it may not be completely finished.

This version has had a lot of changes. So much, in fact, that I decided to finally start a change log. At this exact moment in time this is what I've done for version 1.0.6.

- Changed "brain.kon" to "kon.brain" in order to keep consistency later on (with new brain additions).
- AIML dll was updated by myself in order to try and improve memory management. The new dll MUST be used in order for this version of Kon to work correctly (it is included in the zip and in both src folders).
- Improved and fixed the PING/PONG so that it finally sends the correct information back
- Improved most of the IRC code. The ReceiveData() method now uses a combination of IF/ELSE and SWITCH statements to determine what the server messages are showing up (for example "PING" or "PRIVMSG", etc).
- Added multiple methods to handle various messages (QUIT method, PRIVMSG method, etc)
- Added a reconnect() method. ** It is in testing stages right now and may not work completely right.
- Added try/catch to the logger method to try and prevent certain errors
- Changed the way the log file works slightly to try and prevent exceptions and to just improve it
- submitting the user and nick are now in the authorize() method
- Fixed an exception that kept being thrown when quitting
- Removed the "full path" stuff from the main function when generating and reading the config file. This will hopefully stop a bug that keeps appearing.


Also, although unmentioned above, I believe this version of Kon uses less memory overall compared to previous versions. This is one of the reasons I had to go in and edit the AIML dll source. Mind you, toggling the AIML brain will cause a huge increase of RAM allocated for Kon (upwards to 60MB). Unloading it will not see an immediate decrease, but give it 5 minutes or so and you'll notice it will drop significantly. I have seen Kon use less than 1MB of RAM after ideling for awhile. Around 2MB is average for standard use without AIML.

Anyway, hopefully there will be more to come.

Kon - Version 1.0.5 Release

A few weeks ago I released the alpha version source for Kon version 1.0.5. Today I finished up everything that I wanted to accomplish for this version and released it.

Most of my goals for this version are done. I have separated Kon's brain from the AIML brain. I've also set up some checks so that it won't load the AIML unless the user wants to actually use the AIML. This frees up some memory (as it won't load all of the AIML files until they're needed). Unfortunately, when the user turns the AIML on for the first time it does take a little longer to load since the bot will have to then load all the files into memory. Due to how many AIML files the bot is using, it takes around 40 seconds on my machine (speed may vary).

GoogleBrain is disabled to start by default. This is because it's not quite as good as I had hoped. Sometimes it works beautifully, other times it leaves you scratching your head trying to decipher exactly what it was the bot pulled up. I'll try to improve it in the future.

The next version, however, I'm going to focus on setting it up so the bot owner can set up a list of users that can access the various bot commands (like !quit or toggling brains) via the config file.

More SHC News

Well everyone, there's more news related to Sears Holdings Corp, its managers, its stores, or other. These are articles that I doubt you'll hear on CNN or find being broadcasted within the stores.

► 8 Companies that May Disappear in 2008
Sears is mentioned in this article (obviously). It mentions that the whole "temp CEO" thing sounds a bit like a prelude to an auction.

► Saving Sears Doesn't Look Easy Anymore
This is a great article that talks about what Eddie Lampert had in mind when he first decided to merge K-Mart and Sears (well, his front anyway) and now how it's a sinking ship. This is also a good quote from a side that we rarely hear about, the vendors. "Shoppers and workers are not the only ones complaining. Vendors who sell to Mr. Lampert say his relentless cost-cutting has steadily eroded their business at both Kmart and Sears, giving them little incentive to offer the chains their best new products. A result: a vicious circle of poor sales and second-rate merchandise."

► 1,000 O'Hare flights canceled due to brutal snowstorm
In Chicago the Westfield Hawthorn Mall closed at 2 p.m., making it the first time the mall has closed early in five years due to weather. "The decision is unusual, but necessary to ensure the safety of customers, retailers and staff, Kneeland-Woods said. " Why am I linking this? Because "one of the anchor stores, Sears will remain open" (emphasis mine). Yes, Chicago is being beaten by a brutal snowstorm, a mall that never closes has completely shut down .... except for the Sears store. Sure shows you what Sears thinks of its employees and their safety, huh?

► Sears' turnaround plan short on details, long on odds
"The desperate challenge facing Lampert is to turn around a storied 115-year-old department store chain suffering from a steep decline in sales and profits. But true to Lampert's secretive style, it's anybody's guess--not just on Wall Street, but also from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy at Sears' Hoffman Estates headquarters--how to fill in the details." In other words, no one knows what's going on except for the puppet master and he's not saying anything. This article also points out one more thing: "Lampert seems to want each of the new divisions to operate as separate profit centers. But that strategy creates the potential for confusion, because the separate units won't always work together. Conflicts of interest might arise." (emphasis mine)

► Sears filing outlines payout to ousted CEO
"Aylwin Lewis, forced out this week from the top job at Sears Holdings Corp., will continue to receive his $1 million salary through March 2010, Sears disclosed in a regulatory filing late Wednesday." Hush money? It seems very clear to me that Aylwin did not step down willingly. He was fired but they spun the news to make it seem like he was gracefully stepping down and taking responsibility. Hmm.

► Hanover Twp. Sears warehouse lays off 90
The layoffs have begun. "The Sears warehouse and shipping center in Hanover Township cut nearly 20 percent of its workforce Monday in the face of lean retail sales." I doubt you'll ever hear about this from anywhere else but here.

► Sears Canada and The Salvation Army Blanket the Country
FINALLY something positive! But it's from Sears Canada. From what I understand Eddie only owns about 70% of Sears Canada and the rest are still in the hands of the Canadian people (despite Eddie's efforts to buy all of it and make it a private company). Still, even though it's not completely our Sears, it was a good thing that they did.


That's all for this news update. There will be more to come (oh yes, there will be).

As an added bonus, I thought I'd go ahead and link everyone to a documentary called "The Corporation" (link). It's a three hour documentary that takes the corporation as a person (since corporations are, essentially, virtual people under the law) and analyzes the psyche and mental state. What kind of person would a corporation make? You'll have to watch and find out. (Note: broadband definitely required. dial-up would take the rest of your life to buffer it).

This documentary will open your eyes and will shock you. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Last Chance to Leave a Message On this Number

On the 14th of May I signed up for a free voice mail service and received a phone number so that people could call and leave me messages. I then decided to create a very quick HTML page and post links to the messages so people could listen.

Unfortunately this service is about to come to an end. On February 19th, the phone number will no longer be active. So if you want to leave me a message, this may be your last chance to do so. As always, the number is:

(+1) 850-387-4401

Kon - Version 1.0.5 alpha

Phew. It's been an interesting past couple of days in the world of Kon. As you can see from the title, an alpha version of Version 1.0.5 is now up on the website. This version is in the process of changing the file structure around as well as introducing a brand new mode: Google Brain.

First let's talk about the file structure. In version 0.0.4 AIML and Kon's "monkey-see, monkey-do" brain are all in one file. I've decided that I needed to separate the two. I'm also trying to clean up IRC.cs and try to reduce memory necessary to run the bot. In the current version once AIML has been started it doesn't actually shut off, even if you use the command. With this version-in-works, the object should be destroyed manually when you toggle it. I've also gone and changed how the filters work and created their own source file for them. It makes it easier to keep track of and update.

Now for the majority of my headaches for the past 48 hours: Google Brain. I had an idea to improve Kon's AI: use a search engine to get a reply. The basic concept is that search engine results are not static and will change in time. Plus changing search terms may give you different results. Version 1.0.5 now introduces a mode that is designed to go out, search for the conversation term, then pull out some text to return. I should state right up front that THIS IS NOT PERFECT. In fact, sometimes it fails miserably. A lot of the time it ends up making Kon sound like a walking advertisement or a can of spam. However, in those rare moments that it works correctly it's beautiful.

You may be wondering why the version is 1.0.5 vs 0.0.4 of the last update. The reason being, I felt that this update (when it's 100% finished) is such a gigantic leap ahead that it deserves to be bumped up to an actual release version.

I've uploaded what I have under a /src-alpha/ folder. Download, compile and use these files at your own risk. They're still being worked on and probably aren't the most stable. I'll make another blog post in the future when I feel 1.0.5 is really done and is pretty stable.

So until then, here's some quotes from Kon running Google Brain.

<iyouboushi> kon: why is the rum gone?
<kon> to make a signal for the british
<iyouboushi> kon: a miserable little pile of secrets!
<kon> dracula to go back to ytmnd.
<iyouboushi> kon: the answer to life, the universe and everything
<kon> = 42. im not quite sure how
<iyouboushi> kon: multi-pong reply
<kon> omg liek thsi si,, liek, teh kewl8zt cmoic eva!!!111 rotfmao u haev 2 reed cuz it si teh whiet pnog palyzer onos!!!!1111 giren chuuch on

** Reminder: these results are probably atypical. Yes, Kon did display these on the first try but keep in mind it's searching Google for the result. You CAN get the same results if you repeat it enough, but it's equally likely that you'd get gibberish or an advertisement.

The chairman, Eddie Lampert, is planning to split Sears up into multiple units. Everyone should check out this article. If the article isn't loading for you, read on (I'll c/p it).


Flagging Sears Plans Shakeup
In Latest Bid at Turnaround
By GARY MCWILLIAMS and JOANN S. LUBLIN
January 19, 2008; Page A1

In a fresh effort to halt a long decline, Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman Edward S. Lampert plans to reorganize the 121-year-old retailer into several businesses with broad authority to shape their own future.

Mr. Lampert, a hedge-fund executive who acquired the retailer in 2005 through a merger with Kmart Corp., now sees a holding-company structure as the best way to breathe new life into Sears's slow-moving culture, said people familiar with the situation.

The change was outlined to senior executives Thursday after Sears, with $50 billion in annual revenue, warned that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit would fall as much as 57% below the year-earlier level. Sears shares have lost half their value over the past year despite new marketing and advertising moves at Sears and Kmart.

A Sears spokesman confirmed the moves late Friday, saying the new structure will provide operating businesses with "greater control, authority and autonomy." Mr. Lampert wasn't available to comment, he added.

The restructuring is a high-wire act for Mr. Lampert, whose ESL funds own nearly 48% of Sears shares, according to securities filings, a big reason ESL was down more than 20% last year. Since acquiring Sears, he has been active in hiring decisions, strategy and merchandising despite his dislike of the spotlight.

It also represents the latest effort to turn around a pioneering department store chain, founded in 1886, that for much of the last decade has seemed lost in the past, unable to stop customer losses to more focused rivals. Sears's once-dominant place supplying refrigerators and washing machines to American homes has been chipped away by Lowe's Cos. and Best Buy Co. Its clothing business has suffered at the hands of Kohl's Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. Its identity as the nation's broadest one-stop shop was usurped years ago by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The contemplated restructuring would create separate units to manage Sears's real-estate holdings and run brands such as Kenmore, Diehard and Craftsman. It isn't clear how the units would be divided or which unit would run the stores themselves.

The structure would allow Mr. Lampert to spin off or close business units more easily, said a person knowledgeable about his thinking. "He warmed to the idea of a spin-off strategy," this person said. The company also is willing to be flexible about how each unit will be set up, based on the skills of its operating executive. One practical effect of that could be to reduce costs.

Mr. Lampert has argued retailing shouldn't be so inefficient, making big purchase decisions as much as a year in advance and without concrete information on customer needs. "He's trying to find a different way to manage the company where he can be involved in a more effective manner. The previous structure wasn't working," said an executive with knowledge of the restructuring.

Walter Loeb, a retail consultant, said the plan flies in the face of most retailers' strategy of designing a cohesive image for their business. "He's looking to turn it around by using a different approach," said Mr. Loeb. "I think it's risky."

Sears's turnaround efforts have been hurt by a revolving door of senior executives at its Sears and Kmart retail units. John C. Walden, Sears's chief customer officer, who was hired away from Best Buy less than a year ago, resigned this week, a Sears spokesman confirmed. Mr. Walden couldn't be reached for comment.

Details on how many businesses would be created and who would oversee the units were unclear. Aylwin B. Lewis, the company's 53-year-old chief executive, has been involved in developing the new organization but his position after the revamping isn't clear. Some retail experts have suggested that the company abandon its Kmart brand and convert the stores to Sears.

Mr. Lampert, a 45-year-old billionaire hedge-fund manager who is often compared to famed investor Warren Buffett, wants Sears to have a structure similar to Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. conglomerate. Mr. Buffett typically gives chief executives of his business units broad latitude. The Berkshire holding company has only a small staff.

Sears's dramatic profit decline comes amid rising customer complaints about its stores and service. Susan R. Russell, a Maine-based consultant to nonprofits and longtime Sears customer, says recent instances of poor service have sent her shopping elsewhere. Sears initially refused to honor a warranty for an oven that was delivered damaged, and another time it required hours on the phone and two service visits to replace a dishwasher rack covered by a warranty. "They value people's time at zero. That's outrageous," Ms. Russell said.

Mr. Lampert has been thinking about splitting up the company for some time, say people familiar with the change. He has been interviewing seasoned retail executives for positions atop the holding company, and for what might be as many as three dozen independent business units. The heads of the new business units are expected to include some existing Sears executives as well as outsiders.

As general partner of the Greenwich, Conn.-based ESL Investments hedge fund, Mr. Lampert has been careful not to be seen as running the company. He left Sears's Hoffman Estates, Ill., headquarters Wednesday, a day before the revamping was outlined by executive vice presidents Dev Mukherjee and Corwin Yulinsky.

Messrs. Mukherjee and Yulinsky described the plan to executives Thursday morning, saying it would allow the company to unlock the value of its real estate, proprietary brands, and online units by managing each as separate entities. The executive over Kenmore, for instance, could strike sales or licensing deals with other retailers, said a person who attended the meeting.

According to the Sears spokesman, each operating unit will have a "designated leader and an advisory group comprised of senior Sears Holdings executives to provide direction and oversee the business unit's performance."

The restructuring is an indication that Mr. Lampert won't be making big new investments in the business. The plan is for unit presidents to craft their own budgets and set spending priorities. With the U.S. economy heading downward into what some see as a recession, this year could be troublesome because Sears's cash cushion has declined. The company spent some $2.9 billion this fiscal year on share repurchases, some at as high as $150 apiece, compared with Friday's closing price of $89.43. Sears forecast cash and equivalents as of Feb. 2 of about $1 billion, down from about $4 billion a year ago.

Kon - Version 0.0.4

I've finally become unlazy enough to update Kon. In this update I've set up the code to generate and read a configuration file. From now on you can change the server, nicks, port and channel the bot will use within that config. It's in XML format, but I've made it pretty easy to read and understand.

Kingdom of Crim - Version 0.0.7

It's hard to imagine that I have finally gone back to update this program/game of mine.

For this version I changed a few things. First off, on the login screen I added a button to bring up the about. Here's a sample small image of it:



The next major change is I decided to add an update checker. I basically took the latest version of my Kaiou Update Checker and modified it to check for updates to this program. That means once you get this version you can keep checking with the program itself instead of having to come to the board to see if I've updated. It should also download the latest version with the updater or at the very least send you to the page to download it yourself if it fails.

The other changes are internal. I put in place a way to have the program check to see if you have a world file (crim.world). If you don't, in the future it will download it for you. The only other thing I did for this version was try to clean up the code and reorder some of it a bit and separate it into regions. This is just for me, when I'm trying to find things quicker and so I can hide some code so it's not overwhelming when I'm working on it.

My plans for the next update are to begin a world file and continue to improve code.

Hello World!

Hello World!

This is my first live blog entry! If you are seeing this then everything has been set up correctly. Fun stuff!

Now onto the matters of what you will find within the walls of this blog. Well, I plan to use this blog for a whole variety of reasons. I'll be using it to post updates to my various programs. If I do any more Japanese translations I will post those here as well. In addition to translation and program updates, you will also be able to read entries that concern my life (generally work). Finally, if I run across any interesting news, get involved in any neat games, or discover any new anime, I may end up posting about them here as well.

In other words, it's just going to be a hodgepodge of stuff. Be sure to use the labels to help sort this stuff out.

Hope you'll stick around to read on.