castorp

Hey Erkki, First thing: Great initiative, very cool sentiment (even if I'm too late)! Speaking of 'too late': Are you still willing to send games, even long after christmas? If so, I'd be interested in Tomb Raider: Underworld (it is not the very terrible one, no?) and Assassin's Creed. (Maybe I could move your list and name to the other thread, but maybe you don't want that, with sending stuff actually costing money.)

And memories in general. Actually, no, that's not true.

Sadly, nobody fell for it. All those years of hard work, I mean, look at my post count, and for what, I ask you, FOR WHAT? Oh, and hello to this cosy thread. That is completely redundant now apart from reminding me of this tragic event.

The new site looks amazingly pretty! God, the archive-star-banner-thing, I want to marry it...

Dear Thumbsters, Some years ago I wrote something in HTML, a geography kind-of-game, very very easy, for offline-use and pretty much just my own enjoyment. On the webpage it would ask 'Where is Guinea-Bissau?' or some other random country and I would have to click on the right country on a blankt map. If the answer was correct there was some positive effect and a new question, if not, some negative and I'd have to try again. So, my question is: What is the most suitable programming language in which to write this program or something similarly simple? Open source would be good, or free-for-non-commercial-use. I wanted to get away from HTML because some browser-update messed with my page/program and I wanted to fix it in a more proper program. Additionally HTML feels a little too restricting (for all the extra-stuff I probably will never program). I'd be happy about any suggestions or ideas. Thanks

I probably won't aspire to program something much more complex than the simple quiz-game mentioned in my first post. As stated, you guys are probably right that I won't need more than HTML and its involved abbreviations for such an application. Still, as a learning-project, and maybe with some added bells and whistles, I'd like to try my hands on programming a 'game' like this. Python sounds interesting. That said... Even though I didn't think the whole 'programming languages'-thing would be easy in any way, I get the feeling that I'm in way over my head - in other words: the amount of time I would have to spend to learn all what's necessary and then getting something done seems rather huge compared to, say, HTML (and CSS and JS) even though my aspirations aren't much higher. Is this true? With HTML or Photoshop or InDesign I started pretty much form zero as well but got things done with trial and error and the internet and the whole learning process was more fun and got me more satisfaction than the final results most of the time. Now I fear it's a rather brick wall I'm running into than a cardboard one like before. Mh? Again, thanks!

...Mh, there is already some JS and CSS involved. Anyway, I guess you guys are right, the program works for the bigger part, so I should rather tweak that, than start anew. Thanks. So, uhm, just in case I wanted to broaden my horizon in the direction of programming languages, where'd be a good place to start?

Dear IT-people, I noticed that there are some dead links in the archive - right now I'm unable to download 'Idle Thumbs 30: Idle Thumbs E30' and some of the following episodes. Maybe it's just me, but I guess not. I don't use any IPoddery, and I can't find it online anyplace else. Is there an online-place with all the episodes in mp3 and without Apple? Or another solution? Thanks folks

Thanks Thompson! (Wondered why there was no thread about the missing episodes in the 'episodes'-forum. Should have done a proper search.)

Dear Thumb-folk, I have a HTML-question, and as I am scared of the internet in general and only feel comfortable around these parts, I dare to pose it here. As further introduction, I am HTML-self-taught, and while I am quite comfortable with the solutions I find for the problems I have, they might be the dumbest shit on both ends. I tried the internet, found something, was pleased, but now feel like it's not a solution at all – all the other related stuff I didn't understand well. So anyway, someone wants me to get rid of frames, as in, he doesn't want to use them, because the internet says they are bad, but still wants a menu to be separate so he can alter it at will without going through every page that includes it. Said person is not willing to use Dreamweaver or the like, so this apparent solution is sadly not available. I managed to do it as frames do with the 'object'-element, but am unsure, whether this is in any way better than frames themselves. With 'object' I managed to include a html-page, the menu-page, in another one, and make it look like before. Somewhere was written that this is better (at a site for barrier-free internet), but for me it looks the same as frames, just without that specific construction. Server-Side-Includes I do not understand at all, and I am unsure whether that stuff would even be available. CSS only does design in my world, so they can't help (can they?). My questions: Is the 'object'-element-solution in any way better than frames? Do you people have another great idea (it doesn't have to be super-simple, but super-hard would be even worse)? Are SSI the way to go? Thanks, people castorp

Ah, thanks for your explanation. Now I understand. And it does sound pretty doable. ('bizarre', hehe, yeah, sounds like a fitting adjective for my way of doing html - I included something with the 'object'-element, said something being another html-file with only the menu. So on the content-carrying html is a small window that is full of the menu-html. Looks like before, but now the menu is separate. As said, for me it looks like frames without using that element.)

Thanks a lot for all the answers. I will read up on SSI and .php when I find the time. And thanks for the link, Thunder, I bookmarked it as well. (But since I started here...) Just this: So my object-solution is worthless? It seems it at least makes it future-proof, as I don't use the 'frames'-element anymore. But I guess, all the other problems remain - the readability issue for text-only browsers ('barrier-free internet'-stuff), the thing with the search-engines - ? Now the dumb/ignorant part: So this SSI - so elements are handled by the server - but aren't all websites on servers, so what's the difference? And the menu-php is basically an html-file without head and body tags and the ending .php? (Sorry if it looks like I'm just too lazy to do the research. I did try to read up on it before, but somehow I didn't understand it properly right away, and right now I am swamped with work and new stuff and just don't have that much engery left. So, just ingnore if it bothers you.) Thanks folks castorp

I had the same experience. It sounds like the perfect game for me, but I got frustrated quickly. Did you guys had to 'learn' the controls as well? Has it a lot to do with knowing how to handle and/or process UnrealED or some other editor (as sugessted in the cast, I think), am I just doing something wrong, is my brain too dumb?In other words: any tips? Due to camera control issues I had problems figuring out where my ships were and where they had to move in relation to the asteroids and the enemy ships.

Recently I read this... Haven't read it yet, but it sounds quite interesting. Sounds like this child-eating Adolf-guy might have a beating heart after all.

but her breasts aren't small, are they

Mh, something like 20 hours, maybe more. I remember it as being surprisingly long, but my memory is shit, and I tend to be a very slow gamer - so, in conclusion, I can't help you at all. Sorry.

Maybe two years ago I managed to get over the hurdle of no-mouse-look and played System Shock 1 for the first time. And I really enjoyed it. Still a great game, fantastic atmosphere, with Shodan as the perfect antagonist, the logs to read and listen to, all the little stories of how it went to shit, the voiceacting – in spite of the partly ancient UI and the dated graphics I liked it more then most recent games. And now on RPS I read this: a person named Malba Tahan made a mouse-look-mod for SS1. So, with the biggest hurdle down, go play it!

Mh, I'd say the total opposite. For me it's the breath of the atmosphere, the world, the game in general. Rarely a games score is so interwoven with the experience and feel of a game on the whole.

Outcast - its score might be my favorite gamesoundtrack so far. And the rest of the game was great as well - sadly I never could get it to work properly on a new machine, I always had some UI-problems or something.

Somehow 'NSFW' always flickers as 'Need for Speed' through my mind, before becoming 'Oh, porn'.

I got: Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon Dead Space Emerald City Confidential GTA IV King's Quest Collection Mass Effect Mirror's Edge Samorost 2 Sid Meier's Civilization IV S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Torchlight Trine The Witcher: Enhanced Edition And in about three to six month I will have the PC to play the upper class of them.

My problem's solved, thanks dpp.

Could one of you nice people buy 'Stalker' for me (and a friend)? You get the money back via paypal, it's just the buying I (we) have problems with, as stupid Steam has problems with me being in Japan, while my account (paypal or steam, I don't know) is registered elsewhere. I didn't bother writing them an email, and did my Christmas shopping with the help of a german friend, but now Stalker isn't on the german Steam, so... (details via pm) Thanks

That's what I always think. But I don't know the internet very well, or Germans (or Gobliiins), so there might be another explanation.

To whoever recommenced 'The Bugle': Thank you! Going through the archives and, even though it's 'old news' now, it's great. (Obama won, woohoo!) (Sitting in the Tokyo-subway, eight in the morning, blond(-ish), blue-eyed(-ish), and laughing out loud – I can see the fear/contempt/wonderment in their eyes - fun!)