Diamond

....uhhh... 3ds max??.... ... what is that exactly :"> Is it a program for turing things 3d? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It is a package for 3D-modelling and animation. The latest version contains a lot of powerful tools to handle character animation and physics. However it costs a lot, so you might consider buying a book on 3DSmax with learning edition included if there is any (which I'm not sure about).

Here we go again... What is your favorite [insert topic here]? What gaming company would you like to work for? The wallpapers... Seems to me that all the topics are exhausted here with NWN2 forums going... Many threads tend to be a "list" kinda topics, which are useful for collecting statistical information only. Oh wait, I've got an idea for a new topic: Underwear scans! Is your underwear game-related?

PVP My favorite. Though, Megatokyo has slipped from one-shot-joke webcomic format to full-blown manga with leaving of one of authors (Rodney Caston).

w00t! I found all the needed extensions, so now Firefox can do all things that Opera can. By the way, does anyone know how to speedup elements of the lists like in Tools > Extensions/Themes? (it takes one second to refresh the list for some reason)

Did I mention that AdBlock is PARTICULARLY useful to cut out some giant images in sigs (no names mentioned here) :D

Hmmm, I suppose, only when we invent things like direct communication of the system with human brain (yeah, yeah, Martix and such), then 3rd person view games will almost extinct. I guess I will be 70 by that time, and my grandchildren will play it and I will bitch and moan on how-good-the-old-PC-games-used-to-be-not-like-that-crap-today. :D

And I really like this browser. Though Opera is still faster, but it does not have these cool extensions (at least Opera 7), that Firefox has. I am referring to AdBlock (obvious), ForecastFox (displays weather forecast in statusbar with icons), Autocopy (select text to copy), Dictionary Search, bbCode (select text, right click, select a style, applicable to these boards). Add to this others like DOM Inspector, adding more search engines to toolbar, displaying RSS-feed bookmarks as menus... God I really love that browser! Just curious, how many peopla use it?

Well, if you really want to force the page to look the way you want, use Opera or Firefox. Opera has author mode (normal), and user mode (you can make contrast B/W or W/B, disable tables, non-linking images, etc.). In Firefox you can switch off CSS stylesheets, so everything is plain B/W (pretty much the same as LoFi view). Or try Firefox + EditCSS extension. I am not sure about IE and Safari however.

I like the colors as they are.

Most important: none. All parts are important, none can be neglected. Most difficult: IMO, software engineering and all related areas, since it is the newest and most unstable industry, and most problems with games (delayed releases, missed milestones) are related to software part. Consequently, project managing for games is difficult as well.

nwn2news.net is pretty well-known to regulars. It is just a friendly reminder that we have still got a place to go.

The only thing that bothers me on Bio forums is the implementation itself. I would hang around there if it was as functional, light (especially in lo-fi mode), ergonomic and usable as these (Invision's) forums. You would laugh, but it is the ONLY reason for me for not going there.

* sigh * It is a very sad fact that NWN2 forums are moving from light, elegant and functional Invision PowerBoard forums to ugly, overbloated Bioware forums (they are indeed ugly and unusable).

That's the main point for studying math for a programmer - forming a logical, mathematical type of thinking. ...but logical steps. That's the beauty of maths. That's the nature of learning something. First, it is fun, because you have just started, and you get to know new different things, then it is tedious, because you have to get a lot of practice before get to phase 3, where you stop noticing the basic details and get onto a new level. It is like starting to think on character's design after you have learned drawing techniques and anatomy, or about program's architecture and general solution after you know how to code fluently and use the APIs. The catch is to not stop, when you think, "Okay, I know alot, but it is so boring, I will switch to something else".

Regarding copy protection for NWN2... I hope it won't require CD to run. Anyone can bypass that, so what is the point in that? There is a CD-key for MP, so what is the point in troubling the player with shuffling their CDs?

The funniest part is that if you try to sell pirated copies of some Russian software product in some CD store in Russia, the shop will get closed down in about a week :D. But recently many of Internet cafes and gaming clubs there got closed and some companies were charged because of using of pirate software (in big cities). That, however, didn't affect the stores with pirate software, which is still available to home users.

OK, how about that. I had a legal copy of Windows XP that needed activation. Since I didn't have access to the Internet at this time, I asked my friend to get me a crack, and it did work (the one that replaces winlogon.exe and something else), WinXP never asked me for the activation again. And it was A WEEK AFTER the release of WinXP The point is: everything that tries to enable activation again can be disabled. Everything that enables that 'enable' thing back can be also disabled. Everything that enables that 'enable - enable' thing back can ALSO be disabled and so on. That means EVERYTHING that is on client side IS NOT fool-proof, including online registration and hardware locks. One more thing. In some countries (I will refer to Russia), piracy is in the culture, and you can see CDs with Windows XP or Office XP lying around the shelves (! with cracks included on CD !) (!! with quick manual on the back on how to apply the crack !!). I can tell you that in this country only around 1% of the software is legal. PS The most amusing story on the topic that I heard is that when one person was unable to activate a legal copy of Windows Server 2003, official representative of Microsoft's technical support in Russia suggested "Well... umm... probably you need to get a crack". Doh!

It is not the way to go. Because, when you activate a program, you do it on client side, and guess what? If the binary files are on client side, they can be changed, which means you can make the program to not perform an activation.

The truth is that no protection helps, while it is on client's side. 1) Copy protection? Not a problem. Everything can be ripped. Including DVDs. 2) Online activation? Change the program, so it doesn't require it. Windows XP cracks were released a week after the release of this OS itself ( ! ). The only type of protection which is effective is when you check the validity of serial number (or whatever can verify whether the game is legit) server side, like NWN1. So people who want to play online will buy it. Exceptions are the pirate servers (cracked) + pirate clients, so you can make a direct connection.

Planescape Torment No comment.

Maybe math at your school isn't strong enough. If math is easy, you should consider studying something yourself (if you are determined enough), or take advanced equivalents of math subjects, because game programming involves a lot of math. For AI, you have to take a look at Discrete math and Graph Theory, in particular. I can't think of any math that has something to do with game rules, but if you want a game to support scripted rules (you wouldn't want to hardcode it), theoretical computer science and compilers is the way to go. Not exactly pure math, but it's a lifetime topic to study. The best information on the topic you will get a book on game programming in general to get an idea, which direction you should be heading to. I have D. Dalmau's Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming and it covers all the topics of game programming, but not very deeply. If you don't have money, just flip through it at the bookshop :D Hope that helps.

The problem with statistics is not the difficulty of the subject, but that it is unbearably boring. I can't stand it! So, I barely attended any lectures, learned all the stuff the night before the exam and got pass.

FAQ

Looks a bit like a resume. But anyway, welcome, read the FAQ, and bring donuts.

Well, it's a good thing if we did. One more person will get a normal life. Tried Statistics?