Friday, 24 May 2013

SQL

SQL

Wow my first taste of SQL and it is so much fun.

First download WampServer at http://sourceforge.net/projects/wampserver/?source=dlp

Here is my first go 

First I create the database -
create database MyFirstDatabase;

Now that it is created I can use it -
use MyFirstDatabase;

Now I create a table in the database, and define the data format for each of  the table fields -
create table MyFirstTable (TableID int auto_increment primary key, TableValue varchar (200) not null);

Now I can see my table and the format of the table -
show columns from MyFirstTable;

Now I can insert data into the first row -
insert into MyFirstTable (TableValue) values ('Hello World');

And now I can check the data in my table -
select * from MyFirstTable;

Some great online resources for SQL, (and most other languages), are

StackOverflow   http://stackoverflow.com

W3Schools   http://www.w3schools.com

Thursday, 23 May 2013

SketchUp

SketchUp is such an important game design tool for quickly, and intuitively, creating 3D items and landscapes that can then be exported into UDK, Maya, 3DS, etc.

SketchUp all has a 3D Warehouse where you can search download thousands of 3D modles built and shared by a very strong community.

http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/

There is also a vast library of SketchUp plugins that can be installed to provide even greater control and options for designers.

http://extensions.sketchup.com/
http://www.1001bit.com/

XBOX1


Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Java Color - RGB to Hex


Wow I have had fun today.

I wanted to random generate RGB colors and then convert them to Hex.

I could not use the random generated Red Green Blue colors directly to form a Hex color as the generated numbers could be 1,2,3 characters long. 

It took me a good while with lots of reading an experimentation.

First create int variables that will random each Red Green Blue value.
int red = (int) (( Math.random()*255)+1);
int green = (int) (( Math.random()*255)+1);
int blue = (int) (( Math.random()*255)+1);

Instantiate an instance of Color that will uses the random generated Red Green Blue color ints.
Color RandomC = new Color(red,green,blue);

Create an int that will get the RGB values from the color.
int RandomRGB = (RandomC.getRGB());

Create a String that will convert RandomC RGB values to a HexString.
String RandomRGB2Hex = Integer.toHexString(RandomRGB);

Create an int variable that will convert the HexString to a HashCode.
int EndRGB = RandomRGB2Hex.hashCode();

And now you have a random generated HexCode.

Quite  a few steps, and no doubt within 10 min of posting this I will find a much easier and quicker way.

But for now I am happy that this flow works.

Friday, 26 April 2013

UDK Units version 2


  • Max Height Jump = 52 udku
  • Max Double Height Jump = 89 udku
  • Max Distance Jump = 322 udku
  • Max Double Distance Jump = 499 udku

The actual udku conversions to real world measurements are not exact and do differ over different games.


  • Unreal Tournament games :  1 udku = 2 cm.
  • Gears of War : 2 udku = 1 inch.
  • Most licensees use a scale of 1 Unreal Unit to 1 cm.



The important thing is that unit conversions between development engines 
UDK 3DS and Maya are 1 for 1.

So for most cases :       1 udku  =  1 3dsu  =  1 mayau  =  2 cm.


The overriding premise though is that what ever unit calculation you choose to use you must be consistent and all objects within the space must be relative to your chosen unit calculation.

 I have some further reading links.
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ChangingUnits.html
http://forums.epicgames.com/archive/index.php/t-762204.html
http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/Legacy:Unreal_Unit
http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/Unreal_Unit
http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/unreal3/setup-grid-scale-in-maya-for-unreal3.php

And a link to a unit converter that converts real world measurements into standard UDK units. 
http://www.moddb.com/engines/unreal-development-kit/downloads/unreal-unit-converter1