New Dark Angels models!

I can't wait to get my hands on these models - especially the jetbike!

Grass - and not the kind you smoke!

I've just found a great post about rendering grass with shadows which pointed me to this - the notes from a Siggraph 2006 presentation. Should be something for every terrain engine!

Oblivion

I started playing Oblivion a couple of days ago and it's a really addictive game. The open natured experience combined with beautiful visuals makes it a good candidate for my top 10 rpg's ever list!

360 Controller Blues

I was really excited when I got to borrow a 360 for xmas - at last could I try some XNA coding with the controller - but helas. The official drivers wouldn't install and the unofficial drivers i found wouldn't recognize the device. It is a wireless controller with a USB cable connected and I expect this to be the problem with the unofficial drivers. The cable might only be to recharge the batteries/provide power - but it doesn't change the fact that the official drivers wouldn't install on neither my sister's nor my system!

Heroes of the world!

Henrik - a friend of mine - took some pictures at the superhero party. He didn't send me all but I'll post a couple of more when I get hold of them!

Simplex Noise

I just found a noise algorithm invented by Perlin to overcome the shortcomings of his Perlin Noise. It's called Simplex Noise and seems to be a great substitute!

Cleaning up before Xmas

As you might have noticed, the page has gotten a new design. This is of course just one of the presets since I don't have time to design something myself. I've also done a couple of other adjustments - upgraded to the new blogger which by the way is a great improvement, and added tags to the posts.

This is my last day at work before I'm heading home to my parens for the holidays. My sister's borrowed both a gamecube and a 360 so I'm looking forward to some mindless violence in gears of war and puzzle solving in zelda :D.

I'm also looking forward to some XNA coding... I haven't coded in quite some time so I'm starting to need a fix - BAD. Since I don't have alot to do at work today I'll try to find some relevant tutorials and articles - I should have brought my (sister's) laptop and just installed all the stuff needed for XNA coding ;)

XNA for Desk Clerks

Once more I'm working as a desk clerk.. It's an ok job and I really need the money for christmas presents ;). A fellow programmer and I have decided to try to cooperate on developing a game. I've previously made many attempts but I always end up with too many ideas and I scrap the project for something else. So this time we're planning it all in advance - milestones, coding practices etc. We've decided to test out XNA since it looks really promising and I expect it to take alot less time to develop a fully functional game in C# than in C++ (which is what I used for development a couple of years ago). I'll try to add the resources I use on this page to share with you all (not that anybody reads this blog anyway ;).

• XBOX 360 Homebrew
  
• XNA In-Depth @ Gamasutra
• A guide to cables and screen modes etc.
• XNA Express video tutorials
• XNA Resources
• The Ramblings of a Hazy Mind
  

Basic Game Engine Structure

I just read an ok article concerning how to structure your game into a set of screens over at Cornflower Blue - I've already read a similar article in one of the Game Programming Gems books but can't remember which.

Long time no write...

I'm currently working on my masters thesis and it's taking up most of my time - so this is just a minor update. My sister and I are planning a combined birthday party December 16th and I thought I'd show the invitation.