Recently Aquired: Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1

My lovely partner bought me the Sonic Hits Collection on Steam, so I spent a good portion of last night indulging in the Sonic games of old (StH, StH2, StH3&Knuckles), as well as having a play of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1.

I've only done a zone and a half, but it is really quite excellent. It's very reminiscent of the older games in style and gameplay, with the boss of the first zone being a reference to StH1's Green Hill Zone boss.

My main love of this addition to the series has been the Special Zones. 

I'll admit that I'm not great at the Special Zones in the first place. The only ones I ever got decent(as in, I could complete them) were the ones in StH2, StH3 and StH3 Advance.

The ones in this game are similar to the ones in the first Sonic game. This video shows them all, but you only really need to see the first minute to get the idea. Sonic is being controlled by the player, and the maze rotates around him either clockwise or anti-clockwise, with speedups and slowdowns possible, if certain tiles are hit.

In 4, however, the player is controlling the maze, guiding Sonic around under a fairly tight time limit. I've managed to get 2 Emeralds, with very little time to spare and missed one due to time running out.

It's great! A challenging Sonic game, and not because Sonic doesn't translate brilliantly into 3D, challenging because it's actually designed to be!

Excuse me, I think I need to go play some more...

Social Media Icons (WIP)

As a test of Aesprite a few months ago, I made these social media icons. Unfortunately I never moved beyond Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, but I may return to them and have a go at ones for Coderwall and other places I have profiles on.

If anyone has any interest in these, do let me know. Feel free to use them on your own sites, as long as you credit me (either a link to this blog or my website will do). I am quite willing to do more icons in this style, if anyone has suggestions I am willing to take them and have a go.

Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter update

I finished it a while back, but I'm replaying it again to try and 100% it.

As well as trying to fully complete it, I wanted to get to this one bit of the game to hear this song again: Light of My Life, which is towards the end of the first game area and the best story arc of the whole game.

The video description has a better description of the plot arc than I could hope to write, so I recommend you look at it.

Despite being a Flash animation, it's a really well done video to go with the song.

More Music Player woes

So RhythmBox has playback issues...

As in, it keeps jumping slightly on the tracks. It's never happened with my music on any other player, so I guess the hunt is resuming for a new player.

Temptation to write my own is rising, but whether I have the skills to is another matter...

I want something like the Android default music player, I like it. But so far I've not been able to find one like it.

Post-MCM Overview

Now I'm finally awake after the post-con crash...

MCM Birmingham was a blast! Only have one picture currently, I'll post a small album when I get more of them.

I also bought stuff...

Item one: this Kingdom Key pendant. I've been after one for a while, so it was brilliant to actually find it! \o/ Wearing it now (with occasional moments of waving it around), annoyingly tempted to go play Kingdom Hearts when I have other games to complete...

Item two: A Shinra t-shirt, made by the fine folks at Gametee. They had a stall at MCM, loaded with most of their goods. I should have bought a pack of the Pokemon Region badges but I forgot...

The con itself was loaded with cosplayers and some models as well. There were a number of OoT Links, plus an Adult & Child Link pair who gave me a nod of fandom acknowledgement.

I'm gonna go back to recovering now...

My Music Player History

Or - I may have finally settled on one!

Many years ago, when KDE3 was the only desktop environment I used, I also used all the KDE applications. Keep it in the ecosystem, right? So I used Amarok.

It was brilliant and did everything I wanted (aside from a weird problem that Amarok wouldn't let anything else use the sound after it had booted, so I couldn't play YouTube videos with sound) and then 2.0 came around.

Up until I was 20, all I had were the underpowered, dying offcast towers and laptops that my dad had replaced with better things. So when Amarok 2.0 hit, it slowed my system down considerably. As in, I couldn't run much beyond Amarok and even that was dodgy. So when I got my Win7 laptop, I switched to WMP, which...worked? I tried using Songbird as well, but my anti-virus decided that the gstreamer libraries for .wma were infected and wouldn't actually let me clean the files, just quarantined them.

Then when I got a new Linux tower, I tried Amarok again. It was still slow and over-bulky for me, so I went looking around in the repositories for other players, settling on Audacious for a while. It's still my main music player on my netbook purely because it is so lightweight and perfect for my needs with a smaller music collection. I also tried Clementine, which I did like but didn't seem as good as Amarok 1.4.

However, I still wanted a music player that had a bit more in the way of features. When I changed from KUbuntu to Linux Mint with Xfce, I gave Banshee a go. I've been using it for over 6 months, but it's got a horrible habit of crashing for no discernible reason.

So I did another round of "which music player do I try", and settled on RhythmBox. Which is running right now! It's pretty good so far. I was impressed that it analyzed my huge music collection quite quickly - took it less than 10 minutes to go through 90Gb of music. It seems like it has all the features I want in a music player - but more importantly it hasn't crashed yet!

Touch wood, etc.

Expanding build

I should really start posting pictures of my Minecraft builds.

But anyway, currently the glass tower is getting...taller than I intended. Much taller. It's about one and a half times higher than my first tower and getting ever taller.

I'll calm down on it soon - I have to put the rest of it in place yet...like all the chests, the top of the tower, the balcony, and all the other "home comforts".

Soon etc.

Only a quick update today because I'm currently staying in Reading, and should be off to see the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who! And I'm off to MCM on the morrow.

Building with Glass

Or - Oh man, why did I choose this method for Tower #2.

Progress has been very slow, because of having to go out and find sand then turn it into glass in the furnace. It's only just getting towards the height of my first tower, and it still needs to be higher! However, plans for a balcony going around the top-level have been made (and should be quite nice looking), with a possible idea of a bridge between the glass and stone towers.

My plan for an inter-connected tunnel system under the two towers has been halted due to being unable to calculate depth correctly. I'm not too bothered by it. At some point when I obtain some Redstone I'll try making a pressure-plate activated cover for both underground entrances to my towers.

I also need to be bothered to go exploring under the surface. I enjoy exploring with my horse or boat far too much.

Completed costume!

I finished making the Link hat yesterday (and keep wearing it), so now finally my MCM Birmingham costume is ready! I'll probably get some pictures taken at the convention to show it off.

So if you see a female Link running around on the Sunday at MCM, come say hi! I don't bite.

I'm really looking forward to MCM, it'll be my first big convention (after Cardiff Comic Con, which I went to at the end of August). So hopefully it will be a blast!

More sewing updates plus cosplay ideas

Completed the pattern for Nino/Jaffar, and selected an appropriate quote for them ("Do I look like the joking type?" from their A-support).

While I was out the other day, I had some thoughts with regard to cosplaying any of the nuns in the Order of Magdalene (Chrono Crusade). Firstly that it's easy with a base of a blue dress, secondly that I may be able to make a prop that looks like the modified Colt 1911 that is Rosette's main weapon. It would require me to render a Nerf Scout fairly unusable as a Nerf blaster, but they share the same shape. It would just need slight modifications to the shell and a repaint, and tada, I have Rosette Christopher's iconic pistol.

I'll have to look into this properly, maybe once I've actually got the base dress and blue material for the habit.

"Did my Pegasus... do something wrong?"

I finished the Hector/Florina cross stitch! Blasted my way through it, it was really fun making the pegasus wings.

Here it is, in all its glory.

Next...well, the next Fire Emblem one was a struggle to choose. Originally I was going to do Pricilla/Sain, but the lack of space on that piece of canvas has made me change my mind (two people on horseback make for a large area used...) - so instead I'm making a Nino/Jaffar one to finish the little series off.

I like this last couple. Unlikely yet completely adorable (as adorable as a man once serving as an Angel of Death can be, of course).

The pattern's about to be made - I need to select the right sprites for this. As opposed to the other couples, I want these two to look like they're in mid-battle. They join so late in the game, and their life is near enough nothing but fighting.

Hopefully I'll be able to convey this accurately - but even if I don't, it will still look good.

Musical Discoveries: Chameleon Circuit

Admittedly, I've had their two albums for about 6 months, but it's only in the last week or so I've begun seriously listening to them.

Chameleon Circuit is a band that does nothing but Doctor Who-based songs. Such as The Sound of Drums, about the Master in the most recent series, Gallifreyan History 101, a brief look at the history of Gallifrey in song form as well as others.

Wikipedia has some more information on the band that came up with "Trock" (Time Lord Rock) for those interested.

I'll end it there for now, but I hope you all enjoy Chameleon Circuit! And for those Whovians out there, I also hope you enjoy the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who this weekend!

Speedy sewing

So in one day, I managed to blast through and finish off all of Florina's pegasus. Hopefully I'll be able to finish off Hector's outline and a lot more of the colour in the next two days (or in one if I end up back on a MUST SEW mood tomorrow)

Which is great, as I realised that Christmas is fast approaching, as well as MCM (but much sooner). There is a need to get busy with the sewing machine and start churning out costumes and gifts for people.

I may also have come up with a slightly easier way to do a Link costume. Forgoing the "making a tunic" bit by substituting a green sleeveless dress I own plus taking my Nerf sword and bow as props. Simplifying it all down to needing a hat, a belt and some flesh-coloured tights (because it's November and rather cold...)

Short one again, because of the amount I need to get on with. Hopefully I'll have a proper update with finished projects soon!

Cosplay and Sewing updates

I keep getting loads of ideas for characters that are easy to cosplay, but don't always keep a list of them, which is annoying.

But since re-watching Chrono Crusade (another favourite anime of mine), I'm thinking of trying to cosplay either Shader or Fiore, though obtaining the items for a Fiore cosplay may be difficult.

My ongoing quest to finalise a Link cosplay is going well - I finally have a brown undershirt, gonna start trying to make the patterns and may actually cut the fabric out soon! Progress! 

On the sewing side of things - well, embroidery, more has been done on the Hector/Florina cross-stitch. The pegasus has some colour to it, as does Florina's dress and boots. The wings are quite colour-rich (four colours!) and it's quite fiddly. But it's coming along quite quickly.

I'm also arranging patterns based on some of the sprites from Secret of Mana, another of those important games from my childhood. The magical spirits, the characters and the little weapon icons are my first starting points.

Anyway, that's all for now folks.

Slow Builds...

As much as I enjoy Survival servers on Minecraft, sometimes having to deal with the monsters at the same time is arduous.

Particularly when Creepers keep sneaking into one of my offshore towers and blowing up. I've had to repair my observation tower twice due to Creeper invasion. As well as that, I've had spiders land on my head as soon as I leave my house at night, which is terrifying.

The only other problem is that obtaining the sand and furnace fuel to make glass blocks for my glass tower is also a pain. Slowly getting there though, it's about 2/3rds the height of my observation tower.

I've also built an offshore field, which needs expanding once I obtain more dirt blocks.

That's all for now folks (gotta build more!)

Blogger vs Wordpress vs Habari

Or - why I'm using Blogger over the two other blogging platforms I've used before.

Firstly, Wordpress is very bloated. I've installed it a few times on servers and it's always seemed overly huge for a simple blogging platform. It also suffers from a lot of security problems. I can appreciate the benefit as a well-established, well-known CMS, but it's more than what I need.

For a short time I had a Habari blog on my personal server, which was a lovely lightweight blog, a really pretty system. Unfortunately I neglected it and I lost interest in maintaining in after a while, so I took it down.

So I decided to revive my Blogger account, see what's changed since 2010 and try it out. I was incredibly pleased with what I found - an improved interface, better layout system, the stats page is great, the Blogger app is nice (though I have yet to try making a post from it) and it's a nice simple blog platform. 

That's all for now folks.

Minecraft!

For the first time since I purchased Minecraft, I've actually been able to run it with mobs and not at a dire FPS!

So I've been spending some time on the server run by my old university's gaming society, getting familiar with 1.7.2. The last time I played was 1.4, so it's been quite a jump in features. Like the introduction of horses!

I got given a horse by one of the other players, and I've been quite enjoying running around the landscape. As well as horses, I keep sailing majestically around in boats...and crashing them.

A short one for now, I'm going to go back to building my glass tower.

"Why do you stay with me, by my side?"

I've already mentioned recently that I've started on another Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword couple (current progress - nearly done the outline of the "witless winged horse!", as Hector would say...)

But I never showed off the last one I finished.

So...here is it! 

Couple #2
Lyndis and Kent, and one of my favourite quotations from their A support.

I admit, Lyn/Kent is probably the couple in that game I love the most (second only to Sain/any girl), but that's mostly because I'm too susceptible to the "knight and his lady" trope.

That's all for now folks (gotta get back to sewing!)

Cliques in the Indie Gamedev community

Is...something I've not really encountered. I mean, it's kind of understandable - communities naturally segment and close off somewhat, but the ones I've stumbled into seem fairly welcoming.

Such as RogueBasin, which I got settled into very quickly over their IRC channel on QuakeNet - #rgrd and even became a judge for the 7 Day Roguelike Challenge.

#reddit-gamedev on Freenode is also a friendly channel filled with all sorts of folk that are happy to help.

The fine people over at 1 Game a Month are so incredibly helpful and lovely it's unreal. 

Either I have been extremely lucky, or other people have been extremely unlucky. I'm not sure... 

Anyway, that's all for now folks.

A little style, a little substance.

In the next few weeks, I'll be changing this blog's style to match that of my website. As much as I like some the default Blogger themes, I'd rather have my own on both my site and my blog (and possibly on my Twitter feed as well).

As you may or may not be aware of, the design of my site was inspired from both Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, and Final Fantasy 7 - two of my favourite JRPGs from my childhood. I may look into making other sites that are inspired from other game menus, just as an experiment.

In other news, I'm starting to make more patterns for my own works, and may even start sharing them out on this blog when I make them readable to people other than myself...

I'm also planning on attending MCM Birmingham! I'll be there on the Sunday with a few other people - possibly in cosplay, undecided.

That's all for now folks.

Recently Aquired - Drawn to Life and The Next Chapter

I have played Drawn to Life before (lent the cartridge off a friend for a bit, tried the terrible Wii version), but finally, I own both on the DS.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Drawn to Life: You take on the role of the Creator, who has drawn the world and everything in it. The Book of Life where your drawings are has been torn up, and the pages scattered. In order to save the Raposa (bunny-like creatures), the Creator must make a Hero!

And the story goes from there. It's a pretty standard platformer with a cute story and the added fun of personalizing items in the game, like cloud platforms, various vehicles, and the area-unique weapons as well as the Hero (a mannequin brought to life by the Creator)

Despite being designed for the DS original's screen, it actually looks pretty good on the 3DS XL. So if you find it, I do fully recommend it. It's got some challenging parts but overall it's a nice, fun little platformer.

That's all for now folks.

Recently Aquired - Kid Icarus: Uprising

I know, I know, late to actually get it...I didn't get a 3DS until Fire Emblem Awakening came out because I wanted the limited edition console, that's my excuse.

Anyway! I've only played two chapters so far, and I'm already pretty hooked. It's part on-rails shooter and part on ground combat, an interesting mix. The  mid-air sequences most remind me of the Gummi ship levels in Kingdom Hearts.

My only gripe is with the controls. As in, the fact it's kind of impractical and difficult to play the game without the stand for the console. Particularly with the XL, because it is a weighty console! The basic layout of the controls mean that you're holding the 3DS with your left hand and using the touchscreen with your right. It's quite difficult to hold the 3DS in one hand at the right angle for the 3D to not blur or ghost, which means the stand is essential.

On the game characters - Palutena is funny, Pit can be a little irritating, and the other characters seem pretty interesting already. In the beginning level, there was some reference back to the original Kid Icarus game - where they actually put a screenshot of the old NES classic to show the end boss. It was a nice touch, I though anyway.

Once I get further, I may have more to say - till then, I'll be weight-training my left arm.

That's all for now folks.

So I just discovered Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com

And to be perfectly honest...how did it take me this long to find out it existed?

I first found out about this author from my mother, who was reading through his short stories collection - Cory Doctorow’s Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now. She directed me to the website and got me to read When Sysadmins Rule The World (which made her understand why I would suit a sysadmin job)

It's a pretty good story - I won't ruin it, but as it's just over 20 pages I'll just direct you to reading it instead: Free copy, under copyleft licence.

The other thing that really endears me to this author is that he's very pro-copyleft, and all his work is available for free download in both PDF and EPUB. Which is great, as I can still enjoy it without paying for it, but when I have money I will most likely buy a few of his books in paperback form.

I'll leave you with a link to his site, http://craphound.com/ and hope that you enjoy checking out his work.

That's all for now folks.

A hello and a quick overview

Hello all, Goggles here.

If you're a newcomer to me and what I do, I recommend you check out my website (handily available on my blogger profile) and look at the Projects and the Gallery pages.

I'll be waiting here. I'm very patient, take your time.

Done? Great! So now you know about my sewing, sprites, and the bits of programming I do.

So, you may be interested in what I'm doing now, since I finished that Link/Nayru cross-stitch.

Currently, I have a couple of cross-stitch projects in the ongoing category - my little collection of Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword couples (of which I'm starting on Florina/Hector) and a smaller one based on Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.

I'm going to be making collections of the 8 special items to collect from each game - so the Instruments of the Sirens from Awakening, the Essences of Time from Oracle of Ages and the Essences of Nature from Oracle of Seasons.

They're nice and simple to sew, compared to the slightly fiddly work of Game Boy Advance sprites. So it'll be a nice break from the Fire Emblem couples.

As well as embroidery, I finally have my own sewing machine. I need to sit down with it and try making some simple things with it, in the hopes I'll gain enough confidence with it to finally finish off a skirt I started making two months ago.

That's all for now folks. If you want to get in touch, my contact details are on my website.