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fyhuang

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Posts posted by fyhuang

    Do any of you find KDE annoying?

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Firstly, read the title.

    For the most part KDE is an extremely well-designed desktop that's easy to use and all that, but there are some points that really do annoy me. I remember when KDE 1 (or was it 2? I don't remember, but it didn't have the cool-looking modern themes :)) had the taskbar on top of the main panel (or at least I think it was like that), and I think that's a much better use of space than the current one (which requires me to set it to 'large' in order to have room for my taskbar). I realize that the 'external taskbar' in KDE 3 can do that, but it doesn't 'lock' on top of the main one AFAICT.

    Second, it takes a long time to load KDE (even on my really fast computer it's more than 15 seconds). It may not seem like a lot, but when added to the time it takes to boot a Linux computer (believe me, it takes a while), new users can get frustrated ("I thought my computer had already loaded, now it has to load this ... KDE thing?"). The icons are just a tad too 'crystal'-ly for my taste (it's like gradients - very easily abused). Also the default crystal mouse theme has very elongated cursors and I don't like it (I remember seeing a 'bluecurve' pointer theme somewhere - I really liked that one). All the application icons (icons, toolbar icons, etc.) are large (I know it makes them 'easy to see', but it really takes away lots of screen space), and crystally.

    Also, the KDE menu. Why, after 3 releases, does the menu still require a 'Menu editor' application to edit the menu? Why haven't they been able to implement the nice click-and-drag functionality of Windows 95? I would also like an option to make them small icons, but I may have missed that or something...

    When using programs such as Blender, which relies heavily on keyboard shortcuts, KDE's shortcuts can really interfere with the shortcuts Blender uses. They should clean up the KDE shortcuts a little (we don't need shortcuts for everything). Also the task manager should be more like a Windows end-everything task manager, which should appear in front of even fullscreen applications.

    Also, maybe it's just my distro, but Kate and all those useful applications seem to crash for simple reasons. In Kate, all I have to do is to create a new file, put some text in it, and save it. Kate crashes, I get a cool dialog box that says segfault on it.

    [/rant]

    Now, of course KDE is a very good desktop system, and after the fairly long loading time applications, commands, clicks all register very quickly and so it feels very responsive. But those are just some annoyances I've found. Feel free to post your own or to disagree with me :P. Flame me if you must :).

    .finf?

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Clean, as in, bought from a store (no extra manufacturer-installed goodies)? If it is then I have no clue what that folder could possibly be for... Microsoft's site doesn't help either (not that I expected it to... :P).

    .finf?

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Huh. I'm also wondering which version of Windows you run. Also, judging from the file named TOMBRAID... :P

    Anyways, a Google search gets nothing useful, so once again, I would say that you should leave it for now. I highly doubt that they are important OS files though (looks like some kind of backup folder or something, maybe leftover from a previous OS install (upgrading from Me/98/95 to XP?).

    Hope it helps and cheers!

    .finf?

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    What's the manufacturer of your computer? Some manufacturers put random folders on the hd with lots of random files. Don't delete it yet cause it might be useful (it's probably not essential though).

    Civ2 Problems

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Assuming you're running an NT-based version of Windows (NT, 2000, XP), try this:

    Rename ir41.dll (in C:\WINNT\System) to something else and it will run just fine.

    A quick search on Google for ir41.dll revealed the answer.

    Hope it helps and good luck!

    New Game - Imperia - (working title)

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Well, if you want it a bit more detailed (which is likely what you want ;)), here's what I would be doing:

    TOPIC NAME: About Imperia

    Imperia is a _____ (RPG, strategy, etc.) game, where you ________ (i.e. go around and fight monsters). (this is important - I haven't really looked through all the posts, but so far there has been no mention about what type of game it is). The object of the game is ________________ (important too)

    Imperia will feature ______________ (advanced 3D graphics, nonlinear storyline, etc.)

    The basic storyline is ________________ (storyline here)

    Basically, the player will control a character and will explore the world looking to find new party members and defeat the evil. He will encounter monsters, pick up items, ... (replace this with your game description)

    Our concepts and ideas will be kept _______ (this is a topic or website where you should keep your concepts).

    Keep in mind that you are just introducing your game to the newcomers. Keep a separate design document (preferably not on the forums - in a seperate text file or website or something of the sort). This is where you should really, really flesh out your ideas. Get a clear view of where you want to go (right now you have a splattering of different ideas and stuff - just a vague, blurry idea of what your game will look like and play like - at least that's what it looks like to me). Like I said, you'll need some programming skills of your own. If you've never made a game before, a good bet would be to go with someone else's game engine - this is your first, so you should probably try to get the experience before digging into the technical stuff (and when you get there, I recommend C++). Once again, flesh out your idea in the design doc and write a short (read: short) intro in your forums. Once you have decided whether to use 2D or 3D graphics I can help you more ;).

    In response to your questions:

    1. About Imperia 2.Type of consol? 3. Type of monitor? 4. Type of voice command? 5. Web site 6.Contact

    1. The intro I just outlined. 2. You won't be able to support anything besides PC at the moment - if you could, this would go into the intro. 3. You won't need to program support for different monitors into your program. 4. Voice recognition is thinking waaaay too far right now. 5. This is a good thing to get started - put a link in the intro once you have a basic site. 6. Put this in the intro.

    If you need webspace you can use a free webhost like http://www.freewebs.com or you can pester me to give you some webspace (I can give you like 50 MB with PHP and all those goodies).

    Hope it helps and good luck!

    Beginning Game Development

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Glad you liked it ;). I will probably be adding a bit more to it as I think of more things. Like I said, I will post a short (as in, to the point, not hard to understand) tutorial on C++ as well. Once I finish writing it ;).

    Also Windows Server 2003 is really not a good place to be programming games (i.e. the sound service isn't started by default and all that bad stuff). Either use a home user edition of Windows (i.e. Windows XP) or use a Linux distro (Knoppix is good if you don't want to mess with your Windows installation, otherwise I like SuSE).

    New Game - Imperia - (working title)

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    I could make a few suggestions (even though I don't have time to help you with your game :( - I could maybe help on your forums though).

    Firstly, you should try to get a website. http://www.freewebs.com/ .

    J++ does not exist AFAIK :P. Unless you're talking about that Microsoft Visual J++ thing (or whatever it's called).

    Also, about your forums - you have waaaaaaay too many forums. I would cut down on that by a whole lot. I do realize that fewer forums make for more posts per forum but for now, I highly, highly recommend you cut down to about 5 or so - enough to make you look professional but not so much as to be wasting valuable screen space. You should also set your permissions (not sure if InvisionFree lets you do this) so that only the developers can access (and see) developer forums. Try not to use password protection for this (if IF lets you) - permissions is much cleaner.

    Anyways, while you're going around looking for team members try to be learning how to program yourself. Like I said, you'll need to give the project a small start before people will become interested (even things like concept art and/or early screenshots will attract people). If you want to make a game you're going to have to do some of the dirty work as well ;). Unfortunately - I know :P.

    Character tool, chat tool, web tool, chat cam tool, web cam tool, world tool, weather tool, building tool, vehicle tool, technology tool, language tool, trade tool, email tool, mineral tool, terrain tool, voice tool, physical tool, government tool, alien tool, job tool, professions tool, working tool, npc tool, pet tool, plant tool, etc.

    This is where you can let your imagination run unlimited :D. How about just an editor? I see 'web cam tool'... how about first getting text chat to work first? You really want to start a lot smaller - get a really nice profession/job/whatever system going and you can add the frills later ;).

    Then I need some one who can be community leader for every topic and moderator for lower one.

    You won't have much of a problem here if you follow my suggestion to cut down on the forums :P.

    Programmer make main program and that program load up other type of program, one at the time.

    One program is more than enough.

    I need also programmer who can make script and macro so we can use it in the game.

    Python is good and it's simple enough that you should be able to learn it yourself without problems :P.

    Sorry if I sound like I'm bashing every word you have said, but I'm just trying to help. Really :D.

    Anyways, hope it helps, good luck, feel free to e-mail, reply, PM me with questions (about gamedev or anything else you could care to ask).

    Catalyst 5.1 Driver Issues

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    From your description it seems like there is some trouble with the UV mapping. If it 'clears' up as you get closer, I would think that some form of mipmapping is causing that. I cannot help you much, as I'm using a Linux and therefore cannot use the Catalyst 5.1s (although they did release new drivers for Linux and now I have 3D accel on my 9800 Pro ;)). My best suggestion would be to roll back the drivers (unless there's something really important you need on the new ones). What application is causing these problems? A patch for that might help as well.

    Hope it helps and good luck!

    No Audio found problem

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Knoppix is a Linux you can run off of the CD-ROM. Most useful if you ask me ;).

    Beware that it just might not work if you have a Sound Blaster Live!, Audigy, or Audigy 2. emu10k1 seems to be missing from the 3.7 distro (haven't tried 3.8 yet).

    Hope it helps and good luck!

    No Audio found problem

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    'No audio found' like no audio device? I would first reinstall your drivers to see if that helps. If it doesn't try checking for IRQ conflicts and all that stuff. If all that doesn't work a reinstall of Windows might help. If your sound works under Knoppix then the best solution would be to either reinstall your drivers/Windows or go get Linux :P.

    Anyways, a bit more info would be useful too - manufacturer, model, etc.

    Hope it helps and good luck!

    Graphics Card for 2005 gaming

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    You might have to tune the details down a bit, but a 9200 should suffice. Firstly I'm not sure about the 9200's pixel/vertex shader support, so that might cause problems with newer games. Your 256 MB looks good (I only have 128 :P) as well. If you start buying games and they complain about shaders (or they don't look right or something) then I would invest in a new card (provided you really, really want those games :P). ASUS/nVidia cards are good IMHO. ATi cards may cause you trouble in the future if they don't get up their driver support (they are still very fast though). Also nVidia is pushing for that Pixel Shader 3.0 or something, which may make its way into newer games. Beware that nVidia cards can be power-hungry and noisy :P.

    Hope it helps and have fun :P!

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