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j0ekerr: Gooood Morning GOOOOG!

As some of you may have noticed, (most will not, I mean, who pays attentions to the ramblings of a psychopathic bunny whose first soluton for any given problem is always chainsaw?) I've been rather insistent with the whole date of epiphany, almost obnoxiously so.

Today I will explain why with some detail.

Today is the 5th, known as Night of the Kings or Night of the Magi (or epiphany's eve). It is the day before the last day of christmas and it is also known as the night of the children. Why? Because tonight the 3 wise men, or magi, will deliver toys to all the good chidren. Throughout the day, there will be parades with fantasy floats in all the major cities, and even small towns, in which the 3 magi will travel in procession, and shower everyone who comes to see with candies thrown with machine gun intensity. There's always someone who gets hit in the eye by a particularly powerfully thrown piece candy and complains about it later. Some of the smaller parades even give out small inexpensive toys. Tomorrow morning, the children will wake up to find their shoes filled with presents, or coal if they've been bad.

We give our presents on the very last day of christmas, not the first. As a child I used to despair about having to wait until the very end to get my presents. But even then, I liked having something to look forward to. As an adult, I like having an important celebration still being left after christmas and new year. Something big and flashy to finish the festivities with. I've always thought that in other countries christmas seemed to dwindle away, and went off, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

It also means we get one more day of national holiday wohoooo!

And, that in the spirit of giving, I will be doing a (very) small giveaway.
I meant to respond to this earlier but my head almost exploded (not because of your post!). I find it really interesting how major religious festivals are celebrated around the world. I don't have a religious cell in my body (well, maybe one or two, but I couldn't tell you where they are) but it fascinates and intrigues me how the same basic stories/theologies are interpreted from country to country, and the effect that belief has on different people(s). I found the above post really interesting, so thank you for that, and I hope you are having/will have a pleasurable experience...with no coal in your shoes. Its at times like this that this forum really delivers by popping me out of the bubble I spend most of my time in and making me aware that, although we are basically all the same, we have significant differences that need to be understood and even embraced, if only for the fact that by doing so we give ourselves (I'm talking about the world here, not just the forum) a better chance of getting on. Sermon over, but thanks again ;-)
Post edited January 05, 2015 by Stilton
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adaliabooks: Lol, we should all get together and create the most well designed fantasy world since LoTR ;)

Then get someone else to right the actual stories in it XD
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gunsynd: I can do (accomplished at characterisation) that bit:-)
Excellent, sorted :)
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IAmSinistar: Believe it or not, I'm a Virginian...
What, you've never been in a relationship..?

And a very Happy New Year to you. Hope your year started well and gets even wellerer.... Is that a real word?

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HypersomniacLive: Completely OT - may I ask what happened to your GOGWiki wishlist?
It was misbehaving, refusing to update, not doing what it was told, so I locked it in a cupboard. Anything for an easier life...
Post edited January 05, 2015 by Stilton
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I know where Crow is,his doing his house keeping..haha
Adalia, I meant to ask you earlier about your programming. What is it you're working on, and how does one program, anyway? I'd like to 'have a go' myself, but if it doesn't involve clubbing things until they stop squeaking I fear I may be heading for a rather steep (vertical) learning curve.
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gunsynd: I know where Crow is,his doing his house keeping..haha
Nah that can't be true. That is done during the time normal people need sleep :D
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gunsynd: I know where Crow is,his doing his house keeping..haha
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moonshineshadow: Nah that can't be true. That is done during the time normal people need sleep :D
Yeah,I reckon his gone shopping..

Where's Crow??

Let's do a post,feel free to add.

1 I reckon his gone out..
Post edited January 05, 2015 by gunsynd
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moonshineshadow: Nah that can't be true. That is done during the time normal people need sleep :D
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gunsynd: Yeah,I reckon his gone shopping..

Where's Crow??

Let's do a post,feel free to add.

1 I reckon his gone out..
2. He's overdosed on caffeine and waiting until he drops off the ceiling.
Post edited January 05, 2015 by Stilton
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2. He's overdosed on caffeine and waiting until he drops off the ceiling.

Possible:-)
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Stilton: Adalia, I meant to ask you earlier about your programming. What is it you're working on, and how does one program, anyway? I'd like to 'have a go' myself, but if it doesn't involve clubbing things until they stop squeaking I fear I may be heading for a rather steep (vertical) learning curve.
I'm making a game (attempting to anyway). Just started but I've already just about finished the map editor to make the worlds, just need to figure out how to do undoing and redoing.

It's going to be a grand strategy game, kind of a cross between something like Civilisations and Paradox's games like Crusader Kings 2, with a dash of RPG and a bit more city management (kind of like Pharoah but less going on). So quite ambitious. You'd probably like it, it's set in a world inspired heavily by Norse mythology :)

As to how one does it, there are a lot of good tutorials around on the Internet. I'm completely self thought and I do alright. I started out with C++, but that may not have been the best choice...
Depending on what you'd be interested in doing a different language might be better (I'm working in Python at the moment), although I seem to remember I chose C++ as it was supposed to be one of the better ones for Game development, not sure if that's still the case.
If you're any good with numbers at all I think you'd do find, it's not really all that complicated. I'd recommend choosing a language and finding some tutorials and just giving it a go.
It's basically just typing things and compiling them into a program.
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/execute_python_online.php
You can even compile stuff online if you can't be bothered to download anything and just want to see what it's about.

I'm sure there are others better qualified to tell you where to start, like I said I'm self thought, I've always just decided what I'd like to do and then done it...
Attachments:
hexmap_1.jpg (156 Kb)
hexmap_2.jpg (207 Kb)
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gunsynd: Yeah,I reckon his gone shopping..

Where's Crow??

Let's do a post,feel free to add.

1 I reckon his gone out..
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Stilton: 2. He's overdosed on caffeine and waiting until he drops off the ceiling.
3. Sleeping.
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Stilton: Adalia, I meant to ask you earlier about your programming. What is it you're working on, and how does one program, anyway? I'd like to 'have a go' myself, but if it doesn't involve clubbing things until they stop squeaking I fear I may be heading for a rather steep (vertical) learning curve.
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adaliabooks: I'm making a game (attempting to anyway). Just started but I've already just about finished the map editor to make the worlds, just need to figure out how to do undoing and redoing.

It's going to be a grand strategy game, kind of a cross between something like Civilisations and Paradox's games like Crusader Kings 2, with a dash of RPG and a bit more city management (kind of like Pharoah but less going on). So quite ambitious. You'd probably like it, it's set in a world inspired heavily by Norse mythology :)

As to how one does it, there are a lot of good tutorials around on the Internet. I'm completely self thought and I do alright. I started out with C++, but that may not have been the best choice...
Depending on what you'd be interested in doing a different language might be better (I'm working in Python at the moment), although I seem to remember I chose C++ as it was supposed to be one of the better ones for Game development, not sure if that's still the case.
If you're any good with numbers at all I think you'd do find, it's not really all that complicated. I'd recommend choosing a language and finding some tutorials and just giving it a go.
It's basically just typing things and compiling them into a program.
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/execute_python_online.php
You can even compile stuff online if you can't be bothered to download anything and just want to see what it's about.

I'm sure there are others better qualified to tell you where to start, like I said I'm self thought, I've always just decided what I'd like to do and then done it...
Thanks for the info ;-)

I've been wanting to explore the possibility of programming something (how vague is that?) for a while, but never got round to it. The idea has always appealed, though, and seeing your nifty hexmaps has started me salivating. I'll look into languages and see what kind of things I can try ;-)

And your 'follow my nose and see what I find' self taught approach to doing things is the way I've always done things, too. Its nice to learn in your own way and make your own mistakes. Hopefully I wont explode my PC in the process...
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Stilton: 2. He's overdosed on caffeine and waiting until he drops off the ceiling.
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EndreWhiteMane: 3. Sleeping.
4. Laughing about us since I just saw the green online symbol at one of CCs posts
Post edited January 05, 2015 by moonshineshadow
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Stilton: Thanks for the info ;-)

I've been wanting to explore the possibility of programming something (how vague is that?) for a while, but never got round to it. The idea has always appealed, though, and seeing your nifty hexmaps has started me salivating. I'll look into languages and see what kind of things I can try ;-)

And your 'follow my nose and see what I find' self taught approach to doing things is the way I've always done things, too. Its nice to learn in your own way and make your own mistakes. Hopefully I wont explode my PC in the process...
No problem. I love C++ myself, although I struggle to find engines and libraries to use with it... hence working with Python at the moment.

But to be honest most languages still work on the same basic ideas and principles, I've found it's generally quite easy to switch between them (with a bit of relearning).

Java might be a good place to start, especially if you have an Android phone. Programming some half decent games and apps for Android isn't too hard, but gives a visible reward quite quickly. Plus there are loads of tutorials and good documentation for it.
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Stilton: Thanks for the info ;-)

I've been wanting to explore the possibility of programming something (how vague is that?) for a while, but never got round to it. The idea has always appealed, though, and seeing your nifty hexmaps has started me salivating. I'll look into languages and see what kind of things I can try ;-)

And your 'follow my nose and see what I find' self taught approach to doing things is the way I've always done things, too. Its nice to learn in your own way and make your own mistakes. Hopefully I wont explode my PC in the process...
There are very strong opinions about what the best language for someone dipping their big toe into the programming pool should be. In fact, whole crusades and holy wars have been fought in the battlefieds of the usenet forums.

I, however, am far less opinionated and would recommend something different depending on what the person in question wishes to attain.

If you want to explore and dive deeply into the darkest complexities of programming. I would recommend C or C++. The learning curve is that of vertical rock wall. But once you reach the top, you find a flat expanse to navigate. If you know C you will find every other programming language much easier to learn. And the languages themselves are easier. C has extremely powerful, but very dangerous programming techniques and tools (pointers), and very strict rules, which many other languages do away with for simplicity's sake.

If all you want is to wade around in the kiddy pool, most interpreted languages are good enough. I would recommend python, since you can choose to stay in the shallow part where you will only get wet up to your knees. Or move gradually towards the deeper end, in which you can dive freely once you become confident enough with the language.

VisualBasic has no deep end.