QuoteBeing an upscale and mature forum we generally expect a nickels worth (5 cents) around here.
My 2 cents.
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#541
General Discussion / Re: Something has been itching me..lately..a lot..
Mon 01/02/2010 02:18:13 #542
General Discussion / Re: World of Today: Do you believe in what you want or in the truth?
Sat 30/01/2010 23:49:36
First of all, I like Jim, am a follower of Douglas Adams; I guess that makes us Adams-ists 
. Humanity is a collection of pathetic creatures, ill suited for survival, and capable of stupidity on a colossal scale. I offer this as proof that god does, in fact, exist and that she has a sense of humour. Surely our ancestors would have perished many thousands or millions of years ago without divine intervention.
The way I figure it, in the beginning god and a couple of angels were cruising around on a cloud or something creating creation. They got to the part where god made monkeys. The monkeys started playing around doing funny monkey kinds of things. This made God and the angels laugh and God said "Funny is good". Then one of the angels said "Wouldn't it be funny if we made a kind of monkey without a tail" and another one said "Yeah, and without fur too.". Then another chimed in laughing "...and without sharp teeth and claws...", and another laughing "..yeah, and make them walk on two legs instead of four so they can't run very fast ...". And so God created man and we have been keeping god and the angels entertained ever since.
Many of you may not share this belief but you have to admit if it were true it would explain a hell-of-a-lot of shite.
I noticed in the previous discussion with regard to selfishness, greed, and capitalism that there seems to be a couple of underlying presumptions that I would like to challenge. The first presumption is that acting in one's own economic interest is the same as greed and the second presumption is that there is something inherently immoral or unethical about a corporation's profit motive.
Let's start with greed. According to TheFreeDictionary.com/greed is "An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth or power". Let's think about this and what it actually means for a second.
First of all the term "excessive desire" is subjective and refers to a person's state of mind. Consider two people each engaged in exactly the same economic activity, employing exactly the same methods, and achieving the exactly same result of earning $1,000,000/yr. Is one man greedy because he wants to be wealthy and the other is not greedy because he doesn't give a shit? Yes, absolutely, according to the definition of the word. In this case the greedy man is doing exactly the same actions as the non-greedy man and so their effect on society does not differ in any way. So does does greed have any relevance in a discussion about capitalism, socialism, communism, or anyotherism?
Next consider what is meant by "more than what one needs". Suppose a 50yr old man has worked
his entire life for $50,000/yr. He encounters an opportunity to take another job that pays $100000/yr. Clearly he doesn't need more than $50,000/yr. If he takes the new job is he greedy or is he just acting in his own economic best interest?
Now consider what is meant by "more than what one deserves". Suppose there are two men who repair widgets and that there is no shortage of broken widgets. The going price for repairing a widget is $100. The first man loves widgets and repairs 20 every week ($2000) and the second man likes his work but has other interests an so only manages to repair 10 widgets per week ($1000). Doesn't each man deserve to be paid for each widget they repair? Is the first man greedy because he either spends more time or is better at repairing widgets than the second man?
I contend that making choices and working in one's own best interest is not the same thing as greed however you can answer the above questions for yourselves and come to your own conclusions. Milton Friedman uses a broader definition of greed in this interview which is perhaps closer to what you consider to be greed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A
He says that everyone is greedy (i.e. everyone is acting in their own self interest) and that's what the world runs on in every country, society, form of government, etc. He points out that people, governments, corporations, etc act in their own economic self interest or their political self interest. He poses the question "Is it nobler to act in one's political self interest than to act in one's economic self interest?".
Star Trek TNG is a brilliant illustration of his point. The series goes to great lengths to negatively portray the Ferengi who were primarily profit motivated. The profit motivation itself was apparently not enough to make such a negative impression; they also had to be portrayed as devious ugly little thieves, con-men, liars, and criminals. The Federation, the Enterprise, and it's crew however were always portrayed as being virtuous and never pursuing economic self interests. But if you think about how expensive it must be to build and operate Star Ships you have to wonder what the Federation got out of the whole endeavour? I know that the Federation, or at least the Earth, has done away with poverty and the concept of money but still someone has to do all the work (i.e. mine minerals to make metal, design and manufacture all the mechanical and electronic parts, program the computers, train the engineers, miners, officers, crew members, etc, etc). What they are getting out of it is political power throughout the galaxy. It's their mission isn't it.
This brings us to a proposition I would like to share and discuss with you.
In discussions such as this, there always seems to be an unchallenged presumption that corporations and individuals who act in their own best economic interest are some how immoral and/or unethical. This position is typically supported by equating such behaviour with greed and the assumption it is accompanied by other nefarious, dishonest, fraudulent, or illegal acts (as in the case of the Ferengi).
I would challenge this notion and submit the following proposition(s) for discussion and commentary:
There is noting inherently immoral or unethical about people and organizations acting in their own economic self-interest. It is perfectly natural and common that buyers desire to negotiate the lowest possible price for goods and services and that sellers desire to negotiate the highest possible price. It is also perfectly natural and common for person and organisations to choose to engage in activities that are the most profitable.
Proposition: Transparent and honest activities motivated by the economic self-interest of the parties involved are a pillar of freedom and are higly ethical and moral. Activities not motivated by the economic self-interest and where the motivation is not apparent are lmore ikely to be unethical, immoral, dishonest, and/or nefarious.
. Humanity is a collection of pathetic creatures, ill suited for survival, and capable of stupidity on a colossal scale. I offer this as proof that god does, in fact, exist and that she has a sense of humour. Surely our ancestors would have perished many thousands or millions of years ago without divine intervention. The way I figure it, in the beginning god and a couple of angels were cruising around on a cloud or something creating creation. They got to the part where god made monkeys. The monkeys started playing around doing funny monkey kinds of things. This made God and the angels laugh and God said "Funny is good". Then one of the angels said "Wouldn't it be funny if we made a kind of monkey without a tail" and another one said "Yeah, and without fur too.". Then another chimed in laughing "...and without sharp teeth and claws...", and another laughing "..yeah, and make them walk on two legs instead of four so they can't run very fast ...". And so God created man and we have been keeping god and the angels entertained ever since.
Many of you may not share this belief but you have to admit if it were true it would explain a hell-of-a-lot of shite.
I noticed in the previous discussion with regard to selfishness, greed, and capitalism that there seems to be a couple of underlying presumptions that I would like to challenge. The first presumption is that acting in one's own economic interest is the same as greed and the second presumption is that there is something inherently immoral or unethical about a corporation's profit motive.
Let's start with greed. According to TheFreeDictionary.com/greed is "An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth or power". Let's think about this and what it actually means for a second.
First of all the term "excessive desire" is subjective and refers to a person's state of mind. Consider two people each engaged in exactly the same economic activity, employing exactly the same methods, and achieving the exactly same result of earning $1,000,000/yr. Is one man greedy because he wants to be wealthy and the other is not greedy because he doesn't give a shit? Yes, absolutely, according to the definition of the word. In this case the greedy man is doing exactly the same actions as the non-greedy man and so their effect on society does not differ in any way. So does does greed have any relevance in a discussion about capitalism, socialism, communism, or anyotherism?
Next consider what is meant by "more than what one needs". Suppose a 50yr old man has worked
his entire life for $50,000/yr. He encounters an opportunity to take another job that pays $100000/yr. Clearly he doesn't need more than $50,000/yr. If he takes the new job is he greedy or is he just acting in his own economic best interest?
Now consider what is meant by "more than what one deserves". Suppose there are two men who repair widgets and that there is no shortage of broken widgets. The going price for repairing a widget is $100. The first man loves widgets and repairs 20 every week ($2000) and the second man likes his work but has other interests an so only manages to repair 10 widgets per week ($1000). Doesn't each man deserve to be paid for each widget they repair? Is the first man greedy because he either spends more time or is better at repairing widgets than the second man?
I contend that making choices and working in one's own best interest is not the same thing as greed however you can answer the above questions for yourselves and come to your own conclusions. Milton Friedman uses a broader definition of greed in this interview which is perhaps closer to what you consider to be greed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A
He says that everyone is greedy (i.e. everyone is acting in their own self interest) and that's what the world runs on in every country, society, form of government, etc. He points out that people, governments, corporations, etc act in their own economic self interest or their political self interest. He poses the question "Is it nobler to act in one's political self interest than to act in one's economic self interest?".
Star Trek TNG is a brilliant illustration of his point. The series goes to great lengths to negatively portray the Ferengi who were primarily profit motivated. The profit motivation itself was apparently not enough to make such a negative impression; they also had to be portrayed as devious ugly little thieves, con-men, liars, and criminals. The Federation, the Enterprise, and it's crew however were always portrayed as being virtuous and never pursuing economic self interests. But if you think about how expensive it must be to build and operate Star Ships you have to wonder what the Federation got out of the whole endeavour? I know that the Federation, or at least the Earth, has done away with poverty and the concept of money but still someone has to do all the work (i.e. mine minerals to make metal, design and manufacture all the mechanical and electronic parts, program the computers, train the engineers, miners, officers, crew members, etc, etc). What they are getting out of it is political power throughout the galaxy. It's their mission isn't it.
This brings us to a proposition I would like to share and discuss with you.
In discussions such as this, there always seems to be an unchallenged presumption that corporations and individuals who act in their own best economic interest are some how immoral and/or unethical. This position is typically supported by equating such behaviour with greed and the assumption it is accompanied by other nefarious, dishonest, fraudulent, or illegal acts (as in the case of the Ferengi).
I would challenge this notion and submit the following proposition(s) for discussion and commentary:
There is noting inherently immoral or unethical about people and organizations acting in their own economic self-interest. It is perfectly natural and common that buyers desire to negotiate the lowest possible price for goods and services and that sellers desire to negotiate the highest possible price. It is also perfectly natural and common for person and organisations to choose to engage in activities that are the most profitable.
Proposition: Transparent and honest activities motivated by the economic self-interest of the parties involved are a pillar of freedom and are higly ethical and moral. Activities not motivated by the economic self-interest and where the motivation is not apparent are lmore ikely to be unethical, immoral, dishonest, and/or nefarious.
#543
General Discussion / Re: Need some small business help...
Fri 29/01/2010 20:49:13
I like your idea and think it has potential but there are a number of things to think about.
Card Stock
The perforated business card stock, IMHO, tends to be way over priced and produces less than professional results (i.e. jagged edges, misalignments, etc).
I have gotten much better results using a 10 up layout on ordinary card stock which is less expensive and comes in a larger variety. I include registration marks / cutting guides outside the card margins and take the full sheets to Stales, Office Depot tobe sliced up on the big paper knife for about $0.75 per cut.
Printing
Nowdays full color laser copying (~$0.50) is cheaper or the same as inkjet printing at home. Also inkjet prints tend not to be waterproof. Most copy places can now print directly from a thumb drive.
Online printing costs have fallen drastically in recent years. I thinK this is due in part to the miracle of digital printing technology that eliminates much of the setup cost. For example you can get 250 full color business cards from ViataPrint for about $4 plus shipping costs.
I would consider doing the printing outside at either the local copy place or at a discount print shop. It has been my experience that the cost is less or the same and the results are far superior. Print shops also have a broader range of product offerings such as refrigerator magnets, post cards, posters, etc. Check out the VistaPrint offerings.
Graphic Designs
You seem to be giving away the main thing you have of value to offer the customer; your graphic designs. From what you describe someone could buy a small number of business cards from you for $10 and then be able to replicate your design in perpetuity at any printer of their choice.
Now having said all that, I still think you have a good idea and that you have something unique and of value to offer your customers; your graphic designs. Your marketing focus should be on the value you can offer rather than on the price of printing copies. For example, from what you describe and the examples you provide, a fair price for your efforts could be something like $300. From your description it would appear that your target market would be resistant to bear this cost. So the question is then how to package/market your value in a way that will be accepted by the market.
I suppose there are any number of ways to accomplish this.
I am not an expert marketeer but perhaps you could bundle your designs with a Complete Stationary Package or better yet a Complete Marketing Package. I think the marketing package works better because it represents opportunity for generating future income rather than being an unnecessary expense.
Just for the sake of discussion lets suppose that we price the Marketing Package starting at a base price of $350. This price includes $200 for your labor and $150 for your costs. So what ought to be in the marketing package? Perhaps something like this for example:
$25.00 250 Full Color Business Cards
$25.00 100 Full Color Post Cards
$25.00 200 Black & White Letterhead
$25.00 100 Full Color Business card magnets
$25.00 10 Full Color 11x17 Posters
$25.00 Shipping/Misc
================
$150.00 Total
You could have variations, maybe even a menu from which people could select the five items they wish to have in the package. There are many other variations but this ought to illustrate the idea.
You could also offer some web design and hosting.
You could try advertising yourself on craigslist.org or in local newspapers and magazines.
Maybe you'll find something helpful in my comments. Good luck with your enterprise.
Rick
Card Stock
The perforated business card stock, IMHO, tends to be way over priced and produces less than professional results (i.e. jagged edges, misalignments, etc).
I have gotten much better results using a 10 up layout on ordinary card stock which is less expensive and comes in a larger variety. I include registration marks / cutting guides outside the card margins and take the full sheets to Stales, Office Depot tobe sliced up on the big paper knife for about $0.75 per cut.
Printing
Nowdays full color laser copying (~$0.50) is cheaper or the same as inkjet printing at home. Also inkjet prints tend not to be waterproof. Most copy places can now print directly from a thumb drive.
Online printing costs have fallen drastically in recent years. I thinK this is due in part to the miracle of digital printing technology that eliminates much of the setup cost. For example you can get 250 full color business cards from ViataPrint for about $4 plus shipping costs.
I would consider doing the printing outside at either the local copy place or at a discount print shop. It has been my experience that the cost is less or the same and the results are far superior. Print shops also have a broader range of product offerings such as refrigerator magnets, post cards, posters, etc. Check out the VistaPrint offerings.
Graphic Designs
You seem to be giving away the main thing you have of value to offer the customer; your graphic designs. From what you describe someone could buy a small number of business cards from you for $10 and then be able to replicate your design in perpetuity at any printer of their choice.
Now having said all that, I still think you have a good idea and that you have something unique and of value to offer your customers; your graphic designs. Your marketing focus should be on the value you can offer rather than on the price of printing copies. For example, from what you describe and the examples you provide, a fair price for your efforts could be something like $300. From your description it would appear that your target market would be resistant to bear this cost. So the question is then how to package/market your value in a way that will be accepted by the market.
I suppose there are any number of ways to accomplish this.
I am not an expert marketeer but perhaps you could bundle your designs with a Complete Stationary Package or better yet a Complete Marketing Package. I think the marketing package works better because it represents opportunity for generating future income rather than being an unnecessary expense.
Just for the sake of discussion lets suppose that we price the Marketing Package starting at a base price of $350. This price includes $200 for your labor and $150 for your costs. So what ought to be in the marketing package? Perhaps something like this for example:
$25.00 250 Full Color Business Cards
$25.00 100 Full Color Post Cards
$25.00 200 Black & White Letterhead
$25.00 100 Full Color Business card magnets
$25.00 10 Full Color 11x17 Posters
$25.00 Shipping/Misc
================
$150.00 Total
You could have variations, maybe even a menu from which people could select the five items they wish to have in the package. There are many other variations but this ought to illustrate the idea.
You could also offer some web design and hosting.
You could try advertising yourself on craigslist.org or in local newspapers and magazines.
Maybe you'll find something helpful in my comments. Good luck with your enterprise.
Rick
#544
General Discussion / Apple unveils $499 iPad tablet
Thu 28/01/2010 05:56:56
Hehe, they stole my idea. I actually thought of something like this 10 years ago as part of a game interface. The game was to be set in the year 2010 and the player character was to be able to communicate with his HQ and access the Internet via a device called iComm. I suppose I made a lucky guess at where the tech was going and the time frame involved but it's spooky how close I came to reality.
Anyway, I think it's an interesting gadget and that some of you may want to comment about it. I thought I'd share my little story as it seems like a perfect segway into the actual article here:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/01/live-from-apples-event-in-san-francisco/1
[edit]
Ahhhh crap! I didn't see the existing iPad thread before posting this. I apologise for making a new thread.
Anyway, I think it's an interesting gadget and that some of you may want to comment about it. I thought I'd share my little story as it seems like a perfect segway into the actual article here:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/01/live-from-apples-event-in-san-francisco/1
[edit]
Ahhhh crap! I didn't see the existing iPad thread before posting this. I apologise for making a new thread.
#545
Advanced Technical Forum / Re: Suggestions for the next version of AGS
Tue 26/01/2010 08:59:47
Hey man that was fast ... real fast!
#546
Advanced Technical Forum / Re: Suggestions for the next version of AGS
Tue 26/01/2010 07:27:11Quote[
I propose the renaming of winsetup to "Config.exe". Simple, neat and clear. Larry Values!!11
I agree but I would go a step further and suggest that it be included in the game executable and accessed like this:
mygame.exe /setup
I would also suggest that the setup program be script accessible via built-in functions such as
AgsSetup() - open the winsetup.exe dialog and allow the user to edit the settings.
AgsReboot() - use new settings saved in config file mygame.cfg (i.e. restart at current point in game)
#547
Modules, Plugins & Tools / Re: TUTORIAL: Virtual AGS Development Workstation on Linux
Sun 24/01/2010 16:41:52
Would one of the mods consider moving this to the "Module, Plugin, Tech FAQ" forum before it goes into the bit bucket.
#548
Beginners' Technical Questions / Re: Made the editor work in linux.
Sun 24/01/2010 16:38:09 #549
General Discussion / Re: Animation program - what do you recommend?
Fri 22/01/2010 20:07:18
Graphics Gale is straight forward to use. There is a free version and a $22 version that supports more file formats and has a 30 day free trial. You will probably need the later version so that you can save your animation to AVI or GIF. Gale will allow you to import multiple files at once where each file is imported into a frame.
http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/index.html
http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/index.html
#550
General Discussion / Re: Tragedy in the world..
Fri 22/01/2010 00:58:49QuoteI would agree that the word "world" is not quite appropriate but what other word than "tragic" better describes an overpaid, unfunny comedian whining about his time slot being moved by a half hour. If it wasn't so sad it be funny
Someone Conan O whatever is so irrelevant in thread titled with words "world" and "tragedy"
.
#551
Advanced Technical Forum / Re: Adding string variable to parser, is it possible?
Thu 21/01/2010 17:41:12
Here is another idea that may be of some help here. You can emulate what the parser does by appending things to a string like this for example:
Code: ags
You can then use the String.IndexOf() function to see check the string.
Code: ags
You could make your own parser by expanding upon this idea. It would take the form of a couple String arrays. One array would hold a list of categories. Eqach element of the other array would contain a word list for the corresponding category. For example if the names of fruits were stored in element 0 of the second array then "fruit" would be stored in element 0 of the first array. Then an "IfSaid()" function like this IfSaid("fruit", text) could be created and used.
There are other details to contend with such as case sensitivity, etc but I think this illustrates the idea.
String Fruit;
Fruit=",";
Fruit = Fruit.Append("Apple,");
Fruit = Fruit.Append("Orange,");
Fruit = Fruit.Append("Banana,");
You can then use the String.IndexOf() function to see check the string.
bool SaidFruit(String text) {
return (String.Format(",%s," text))>-1);
}
if (SaidFruit("Orange")) Display("He said orange");
You could make your own parser by expanding upon this idea. It would take the form of a couple String arrays. One array would hold a list of categories. Eqach element of the other array would contain a word list for the corresponding category. For example if the names of fruits were stored in element 0 of the second array then "fruit" would be stored in element 0 of the first array. Then an "IfSaid()" function like this IfSaid("fruit", text) could be created and used.
There are other details to contend with such as case sensitivity, etc but I think this illustrates the idea.
#553
General Discussion / Re: Fear in Dreams
Wed 20/01/2010 13:48:47
Just wondering ... did you wake up with a hangover?
#554
Critics' Lounge / Re: Company logo.
Mon 18/01/2010 13:18:10
A plate and silverware make me think about eating, not cooking.
Just for fun here are a couple more name ideas
Some ideas about spoons...
Spoonless
Sponless Games
Spoonless Entertainment
Spoonless Media
The Spoonless Gourmet
Where's the Spoon?
The Spoonery
Spoons Ganes
about cooking ...
The Cookery
Hard Boiled games
Cocino
Cochino Cocino
and how about the fork instead of the spoon ...
WTF Games
Where's the Fork?
What the Fork?
The Forkery
Forking Games
that was fun
Just for fun here are a couple more name ideas
Some ideas about spoons...
Spoonless
Sponless Games
Spoonless Entertainment
Spoonless Media
The Spoonless Gourmet
Where's the Spoon?
The Spoonery
Spoons Ganes
about cooking ...
The Cookery
Hard Boiled games
Cocino
Cochino Cocino
and how about the fork instead of the spoon ...
WTF Games
Where's the Fork?
What the Fork?
The Forkery
Forking Games
that was fun
#555
Site & Forum Reports / Re: New AGS Website
Sat 16/01/2010 09:46:05
I like the bottom one the best. What do you think about painting over it with some highlights and lowlights to give it some more depth and pizzazz?
#556
General Discussion / Re: Ask something - We can help.
Fri 15/01/2010 02:50:16Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Fri 15/01/2010 00:58:22Sorry being confused; I am just getting to be too oldQuote from: RickJ on Thu 14/01/2010 23:53:18You mean Ryan's example, don't you
If you take a look at Crimson's exam[ple
Hehehehe! QuoteI don't think the weight is a problem at all. It could be a bit of a puzzle for the player to find something for her to climb up on. It could be a chair, trash bucket, or even standing on the desk. I think something like that would work just fine.
Well, my idea she is not just chatting, she wants to see computer display, while standing almost opposite to one's surface.
However idea of getting kneels to the desk sounds natural enough. But even then I believe person will apply some of its weight on cubicle wall when bending over.
#557
General Discussion / Re: Ask something - We can help.
Thu 14/01/2010 23:53:18QuoteIf you take a look at Crimson's exam[ple you will see that the walls are only about 5ft tall. People stick their heads over top to chat with their co-workers all the time. It would be unusual for someone to climb up and lean over at waist height however I believe it wouldn't be a problem for the wall to hold the weight. if it were me I would have the character kneeling/standing on a desk, box or something.
Is it safe for not-so weightly person to lean over cubicle wall and peek into another guy's computer?
#558
Site & Forum Reports / Re: New AGS Website
Thu 14/01/2010 21:58:51
I liked Darth's previous banner better than the last one. In particular I liked the font and it's larger size. To improve that one I would suggest that the banner text be centred. Then I would suggest moving the "celebrating 10 years" thing, which I also liked, to the right hand side and moving the cup logo to the left hand side. I would also suggest that we use a larger version of Progz's cup logo or derivative for the cup logo. The placement of game characters or sprites could be experimented with to see what works best.
I would also like to note that the proposed website looks great on my desktop but when I was viewing it on my brother's Dell laptop this summer the backgroud was way too light making everything barely readable. I don't know if anyone else experienced this but if so then perhaps there could be a button or control that enable the background darkness/lightness to be adjusted.
It's looking very good gentlemen
[edit]
I would also like to suggest that the banner may look better if it had a 3D border, one of those v groove thingies perhaps?
I would also like to note that the proposed website looks great on my desktop but when I was viewing it on my brother's Dell laptop this summer the backgroud was way too light making everything barely readable. I don't know if anyone else experienced this but if so then perhaps there could be a button or control that enable the background darkness/lightness to be adjusted.
It's looking very good gentlemen
[edit]
I would also like to suggest that the banner may look better if it had a 3D border, one of those v groove thingies perhaps?
#559
Advanced Technical Forum / Re: Suggestions for the next version of AGS
Thu 14/01/2010 21:00:03
Runtime Error Reporting
Currently when a runtime error occurs, such as "array out of bounds", the cursor is positioned to the script line where the error occurred, a stack dump widow is displayed at the bottom of the screen and an error message pops up describing the nature of the error. The popup window has an Ok/Dismiss button that closes the popup window and the stack dump window. The popup window must be closed before doing any editor actions. The problem with this is that in order to use the stack dump information one must record the information to paper before dismissing the popup window. I have a couple of suggestions that would make it easier to debugging of these kinds of errors.
Leave Stack Dump Open
When the popup error message box is closed leave the stack dump window open. This would eliminate the need to record the script file and line numbers of the stack dump.
Display Function Names in Stack Dump
The other thing that is routinely recorded on paper is the name of the functions that contain the script lines displayed in the stack dump. It would be convenient and time saving if function names were included in the stack dump. This would eliminate the need to inspect each and every script line in the stack dump to see it's context.
Goto Line on Click/DoubleClick of Stack Dump Line
It would be be really cool, slick, and all that stuff if one could click on a stack dump line to immediately to that line in the script editor. This would allow one to quickly inspect the calling sequence that created the error.
Data Dump
It would be quite useful if one could inspect the values of dynamic variables defined in the function where the error occurred. Presumably the data is readily available from the stack; I suppose the difficulty would be the availability of the variable names and stack location? Anyway if this is practical it would be very useful.
Thanks for the listen
Currently when a runtime error occurs, such as "array out of bounds", the cursor is positioned to the script line where the error occurred, a stack dump widow is displayed at the bottom of the screen and an error message pops up describing the nature of the error. The popup window has an Ok/Dismiss button that closes the popup window and the stack dump window. The popup window must be closed before doing any editor actions. The problem with this is that in order to use the stack dump information one must record the information to paper before dismissing the popup window. I have a couple of suggestions that would make it easier to debugging of these kinds of errors.
Leave Stack Dump Open
When the popup error message box is closed leave the stack dump window open. This would eliminate the need to record the script file and line numbers of the stack dump.
Display Function Names in Stack Dump
The other thing that is routinely recorded on paper is the name of the functions that contain the script lines displayed in the stack dump. It would be convenient and time saving if function names were included in the stack dump. This would eliminate the need to inspect each and every script line in the stack dump to see it's context.
Goto Line on Click/DoubleClick of Stack Dump Line
It would be be really cool, slick, and all that stuff if one could click on a stack dump line to immediately to that line in the script editor. This would allow one to quickly inspect the calling sequence that created the error.
Data Dump
It would be quite useful if one could inspect the values of dynamic variables defined in the function where the error occurred. Presumably the data is readily available from the stack; I suppose the difficulty would be the availability of the variable names and stack location? Anyway if this is practical it would be very useful.
Thanks for the listen
#560
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Re: More Panel Ratings Discussion
Tue 12/01/2010 11:45:30
I think Gilbert makes some good points. His suggestion addresses the concern that the uninitiated will interpret 2 cup games as below average crap.
Following up on his theme allow me to suggest that perhaps the rating process should begin with the presumption that the game under review is average (i.e. a rating of 3). Then the reviewer would then score it higher or lower according to the process laid out by Andail and the other panel members. The object of doing this is to calibrate the rating process so that 3 cups == average as Gilbert suggests.
I would also like to suggest that one possibility for depicting Giiberts "A+" rating would to be have the cups with steam coming off them.
As I recall the original problem with the user rating is that there were many games with just a few votes and undeserved high ratings. Perhaps it would be better just have user ratings that also included a weighted panel rating.
For example the panel rating could have a 30 vote weight. So if the someone make a crappy game and then he and a couple of his fiends gave the game an undeserved 5 cup rating and the panel gave a 1 cup rating the end result would be ((30*1)+(3*5))/(30+3) = 45/33 = 1.36, which would still be a 1 cup rating. There is noting magic about the panel weight of 30; we or CJ could decide what value is appropriate.
I would also like to repeat one of my earlier suggestions I made in the other thread as it seems that thread was already dead and some may not have seen it .
In this thread I suggested that the review should be written for the benefit of the game author rather than the game players. How so? I was a member of Toastmasters, for a number of years, where members learn speaking and leadership skills. The key ingredient to the success of their program is the way members' practice speeches are critiqued, which I will share with you.
Someone is assigned to give an evaluation speech immediately after the main speech. The evaluation is usually structured into three parts consisting of no more than three points each. The evaluation speech begins by pointing out the best parts of the speech. Next the evaluator points out what could be improved. There is no point in mentioning more than three things because
1) The speaker may become disillusioned/discouraged
2) It's difficult for people to remember more than three things at a time
The evaluation ends on a positive note by mentioning what things the evaluator would like to see more of in the future. This essentially presents negatives in a positive light (i.e. "half full" rather than "half empty"). This is also an opportunity to encourage the speaker to continue making speeches and improving.
I think all of this or something similar could be applied to the panel's reviews. Game authors wouldn't be in the dark about why they got the rating they got. They would have clear guidance and specific suggestions to improve on their next effort. Game players would get the same or more benefit from this sort of review as before.
I also suggested that authors be given advance notice of the rating and review so that they may give the reviewer some feedback before publication. This is a professional courtesy rather than an invitation to whine. Given the panel's work load as described in these discussion it wouldn't be surprising if a reviewer occasionaly missed something an author felt strongly about.
Following up on his theme allow me to suggest that perhaps the rating process should begin with the presumption that the game under review is average (i.e. a rating of 3). Then the reviewer would then score it higher or lower according to the process laid out by Andail and the other panel members. The object of doing this is to calibrate the rating process so that 3 cups == average as Gilbert suggests.
I would also like to suggest that one possibility for depicting Giiberts "A+" rating would to be have the cups with steam coming off them.
As I recall the original problem with the user rating is that there were many games with just a few votes and undeserved high ratings. Perhaps it would be better just have user ratings that also included a weighted panel rating.
For example the panel rating could have a 30 vote weight. So if the someone make a crappy game and then he and a couple of his fiends gave the game an undeserved 5 cup rating and the panel gave a 1 cup rating the end result would be ((30*1)+(3*5))/(30+3) = 45/33 = 1.36, which would still be a 1 cup rating. There is noting magic about the panel weight of 30; we or CJ could decide what value is appropriate.
I would also like to repeat one of my earlier suggestions I made in the other thread as it seems that thread was already dead and some may not have seen it .
In this thread I suggested that the review should be written for the benefit of the game author rather than the game players. How so? I was a member of Toastmasters, for a number of years, where members learn speaking and leadership skills. The key ingredient to the success of their program is the way members' practice speeches are critiqued, which I will share with you.
Someone is assigned to give an evaluation speech immediately after the main speech. The evaluation is usually structured into three parts consisting of no more than three points each. The evaluation speech begins by pointing out the best parts of the speech. Next the evaluator points out what could be improved. There is no point in mentioning more than three things because
1) The speaker may become disillusioned/discouraged
2) It's difficult for people to remember more than three things at a time
The evaluation ends on a positive note by mentioning what things the evaluator would like to see more of in the future. This essentially presents negatives in a positive light (i.e. "half full" rather than "half empty"). This is also an opportunity to encourage the speaker to continue making speeches and improving.
I think all of this or something similar could be applied to the panel's reviews. Game authors wouldn't be in the dark about why they got the rating they got. They would have clear guidance and specific suggestions to improve on their next effort. Game players would get the same or more benefit from this sort of review as before.
I also suggested that authors be given advance notice of the rating and review so that they may give the reviewer some feedback before publication. This is a professional courtesy rather than an invitation to whine. Given the panel's work load as described in these discussion it wouldn't be surprising if a reviewer occasionaly missed something an author felt strongly about.
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