Blog
Resource management sub-classes that I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Ultimately they’ll be contained in my resource manager which I’ll be working on next.
Another Turbaman sighting!
Via: http://powet.tv/powetblog/2010/04/21/pax-east-2010-turbaman-interview/
Technology and Intellect (A Chat With Curtis)
- MikeV: heh, cool thing I just thought of... (and a bit of why I always go to the "tougher side" of the street with development)
- MikeV: in this culture we've become so fascinated with making better tools that we no longer care for the quality of the craftsman, surrounded by hacks posing as prophets. However, the hacks now outproduce the dedicated among us... so who should we take inspiration from? This isn't to say that those who outproduce are all hacks but in general as a society we admire those who live by shortcuts just as much as those who toil for the fruits of their labor. Finally I ask, what is more important: the ends or the means?
- MikeV: or am I full of shit?
- MikeV: :-\
- CurtisS: no.. i would say alot of american deveelopers would be considered hacks.. but the sad thing is that alot of them are forced to produce.. hacked things cause no time to preplan.. and no time to test.. and well.. shit gets thrown together as ur using it.
- CurtisS: as far as what matters most.. that i cant ans for u
- CurtisS: for me i would say it depends on what ur working towards
- MikeV: yeah, in the end the paradox of the human intellect is that it comes to realize value in things beyond the realm of nature but it is only the realm of nature that truly matters. Love (as an intellectual construct) is less important than the breeze and sex (a natural construct) is the core of our existence
- MikeV: our intellect is a feedback loop with little purpose other than to keep running until we are gone
- CurtisS: sadly most wont admit it
- MikeV: nature can only stare at us like a crowd surrounding a street performer
- MikeV: I got to put this stuff down
- MikeV: masturbate someone else's waste of time
- MikeV: :-P
- MikeV: "if there's one thing that I'll miss about Mike it's that he made wasting time so interesting"
- MikeV: /facepalm
- CurtisS: lol who said that one?
- MikeV: i did... imagining what I'm leaving in my wake
- CurtisS: how would one actually think u ever waisted time
- MikeV: If the only point is to be like nature and dominate then we have little purpose for technology because it only ups the ante until we all lose everything so in the long run technology is a bad investment over time
- CurtisS: ha
- CurtisS: unless it puts us in the matrix
- MikeV: but if we are to be like the imaginary ideal of our intellects and be "good" then technology is crucial because it is the only asset that can bring us to a better tomorrow; the only requirement is that people remain good
- MikeV: man... maybe I should see if there's any money in philosophy
- MikeV: would you mind if I put this in my blog?
- CurtisS: mind what
- CurtisS: no not at all
- MikeV: technology is a scalar modifier on ones intent. if someone wanted to use a hammer for good or bad then there's a limit to the scope of whatever is in their reach. if someone could use a wish to make anything they desired possible then all existence would be at their whim for better or for worse
- CurtisS: i get ya
- CurtisS: but if u could wish
- CurtisS: that tool is only limited to ur imagineation
- CurtisS: wich is not everything
- MikeV: and yet again, there is our intellect and technology as bedfellows expanding on each other
- MikeV: our intellect expand our imaginations that lead us to aspire to uncover new technology which expands our capabilities which facilitates (repeat this sentence for the core of why we have evolved beyond all other animals in the jungle)
- MikeV: I have to work on the grammar but that's it basically
- CurtisS: therefor technology is important caue it will oneday lead us to a point where we dont just consume and destroy... well as a frame of mind..
- MikeV: yep... so technology is either the facilitator of our destruction in the hands of civilized people acting like animals or the provider of hope to animals trying to act like civilized people
- MikeV: to think that for all other animals it is really just a matter of chance
- MikeV: animals = food + sex + shelter
- MikeV: humanity = (food + sex + shelter) * (technology + intellect)
- MikeV: which is funny because
- MikeV: technology = knowledge * creativity
- MikeV: creativity = knowledge * technology
- MikeV: knowledge = creativity * technology
- MikeV: well, not too sure about that last part (after "which is funny...") but the first part is solid I think
- CurtisS: lol
- CurtisS: i get ur drift
- CurtisS: knowledge = pancake
- MikeV: cake = lie
- CurtisS: lol
- MikeV: you = gay
- MikeV: ;-)
- MikeV: X-D
- CurtisS: lol
- MikeV: well, I'm gonna stop wasting your time but I'm gonna save this... it's good stuff
3D Gaming (As in screens, not graphics)
So it seems that we’re finally getting caught up with the HD craze. Gone are the days where high resolution games were pigeon-holed to the PC market and its only getting better. The next step? Making the images actually pop out at you!
At PAX East a few weeks back I got to see some amazing displays and demonstrations from NVidia and ATI and both technologies have their pros and cons.
NVidia goes the route of providing 3D imaging via expensive glasses which work with your already existing display (as long as your TV works at 120+Hz). ATI seems to be working on the already existing cheap glasses you get when you go to the movie theater but expect you to get a television that can display these special images. NVidia seemed to have a better quality experience but overall they had a better setup at PAX to begin with. To say that the quality was better on one over the other at the moment is simply splitting hairs (especially considering that both technologies are still in their infancy).
Either way, it is definitely the way to go for us gamers. Left 4 Dead 2 was not only better to play (as the enemies turned from a glob of zombies to fire at to individual assailants) but certainly easier. The sense of speed in racing games was definitely brought to a new level to the point where I actually feel like I would want to play that genre more often. A subtle observation though, making grass and other subtle world effects (such as trees,bushes or even pedestrians, etc) have a much more severe impact when these items are brought to life by 3D.
Here’s the bad part though…
Firstly, you’ll have to wear those goofy ass glasses. Secondly, I don’t want to buy another freakin’ television and I don’t think most consumers are ready to start trading in their fresh LCD’s yet either. Then again, I don’t think this technology will hit the gaming mainstream (consoles essentially) for at least another 3 years anyway…
Oh, and just so I can say that I said it first, if we can make those cheap glasses that you get at the movies in a contact form that doesn’t mess with your regular vision then there’s a CHANCE that ATI can bring it’s technology over NVidia’s more cumbersome super-glasses setup.
tags / 3d gaming / ati / nvidia
