New project!

Five days ago I started new project, another game based on YUI framework.
My goal is to finish it next weekend, currently 30% is done. Few problems still waiting to resolve, but everything’s going well, so I hope I’ll publish it next week.

I have so many ideas and don’t know when I do all of them, the worst thing is that people think that I’m losing my time making games, and they know better than me what should I do in my life. (sounds like an old rock song )

It’s really hard to follow your way. In country where I live people let you down because you do something different.


…but no one said it would be easy…

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I’m Back!!!

Hello friends… Wow! over one year since last post. Everything because of my job, I have so much to do in a short period of time and I don’t have much time for anything else.
As you can see I moved to wordpress platform, it’s very flexible and fast application, which fully satisfy my needs right now. I have a few problems with spam, i.a. lost all of my comments, but I think everything is under control guarded by my super professional antispam system

In my personal life I seriously think about Microsoft Certificate, at first maybe MCSA, because this is related with my job, then if I’ll have enough strength (and money) I will try to follow the developer’s path. Time will show…
Also I have started juggling, currently I juggle three balls and I know four patterns, but I practice every day, so these numbers will grow.

Generally I’m not complain of boredom…

I will not promise that I will make new things (I mean yui games or any other applications), you probably won’t believe me, however I will focus more on this blog because I have put lots of work and I don’t want to lose that.

That’s it for today Thanks for your patience……

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What’s wrong with the Opera?

Hello! Looong time since last post. This is because I have so much things to do, and of
course I don’t have much time to play with other not less important things. I remember,
I promised you to write another YUI game. Hmmmmm, I will do it, if I’ll find new idea.
Actually I’m learing lot of Windows XP/Vista/Server 2003 stuff, so this is totally far
from web developing and because of that no new “game ideas” are avaliable in my mind
at the moment :).

So, if you are getting bored reading my candid explanation I have something that could be
interesting for you.

This is screenshot of the Opera 9.21 (wokring on MS Vista)

Why it’s something wrong with displaying that page?

Don’t ask me, I don’t know, this is dedicated to Opera experts.

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Simplifying JavaScript game developer’s life… PART II

In the second part of dhtml game developing tutorial I want to present simple and very effective sprite animation technique. The Background positioning. 1. You need to have an image that contains all animation frames of your sprite.

1. All frames should have the same size.
2. Put the frames in a suitable sequence.First frame: Mario stands,
   Mario first, second, third step in right
   Mario first, second, third step in left.
3. The start position of the next frame should be the end position of the last frame.For example:First frame position: (0,y)Second frame position: (0+width,y) Third frame position: ((0+width)*2,y) So the main formula will be: n- frame number (width*(n-1),y) Your frame have 32px width and you need the position of the fourth frame (32*3,y) = (96,y) Remember this work only when all frames have the same width.
4. Save your image as a GIF or PNG format. The JPEG is recommended for large images. Do not use BMP format.

2. Create a layer with the width of the one frame:
position: absolute; // we’ll use left, top, right, bottom properties,
width: 32px; // only one frame will be visible,
height: 64px; // the height of frame,
left: 0; top: 0; // place it wherever you want,
background-image: url(mario.gif); // path to our image,
background-position: 0 0; // This is important, pointing at the first frame.

3. Animation: Now, we need to change/move the frame:
background-position: -(width*(n-1)) 0; so, which frame do you want? fourth? ok (32*(4-1))*(-1)= -96 background-position: -96px 0;

Why we multiply by -1? Fourth frame starts at 96px, but we see only frame at position 0, so we need to move the image 96px left. Rule is simple: Plus - when we need to move right, Minus - when we need to move left. Here is a simple demonstration of this technique in action, also I’m using collision detection and getValue functions described in the previous part of this tutorial…

Background positioning demo - Mario

CSS background-position Property

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3D Girl

It’s been a long time since my last post, but I had so much things to do. I’ve got new job. Also, I spent two weeks playing with Blender, making (I hope) very nice model. 3D girl. My first 3D girl, from 4 vertices plane to the full shape in two weeks… I’m proud of my self.

Actually, I’m learning Blender and this my first full, finished shape, the other projects are still unfinished.
I have plans and ideas for the full scene and I will want to use some of my new 3d models in the next game (of course as a graphic).

The 3D girl is most detailed blender project I ever done - she has fingernails and hair. Actually I don’t have
an idea for full scene with this object, maybe she will find her place in the future projects.
Is she beautifull? Well, no I think, maybe a little bit not much, but I love it, my first virtual girl.

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Simplifying JavaScript game developer’s life… PART I

Today I will present few JavaScript functions that might be helpful in game programming.
All these functions was tested in the latest Firefox, Opera and IE.

Let’s go:

1. getValue(val)

Converts numbers in a string value to the float/integer values. It is usefull when you have to manipulate on top,left,right,bottom or z-index attributes, but also it will work with any strings that contains numbers.

function getValue(val) {

if (val==”) return ”;

if (isNaN(val)) {

val=val.toLowerCase();

var num=[];

var ar=val.split(’ ‘);

for (i in ar) {

var b=(ar[i].substr(0,ar[i].length-2));

if (b==”) b=ar[i];

if (!isNaN(b)) num.push(parseFloat(b)); else num.push(ar[i]);

}

val=num.length>1 ? num : num[0];

} else val=parseFloat(val);

return val;

}

Example:

var el=document.getElementById(’test’);
el.style.margin=’10px 20px 30px 40px’;
var n=getValue(el.style.margin);
Result: n = Array [10,20,30,40]
n=getValue(el.style.margin)[0]+2;
Result: n=12; - not array
el.style.width=”10%”;
n=getValue(el.style.width);
Result: n=10; - not array
n=getValue(’foo bar 10px foo bar 1.3em foo bar 10%’);
Result: n= Array [10,1.3,10]

2. colorToRGB(val)

Converts a color string value to decimal rgb values.

function colorToRGB(val) {

val=val.toLowerCase();

var n=[];

if (val.indexOf(’rgb’)!=-1) {

n=((val.slice(val.indexOf(’rgb’)+4,val.indexOf(’)'))).replace(/ /g,”)).split(’,');

n[0]=parseInt(n[0]);

n[1]=parseInt(n[1]);

n[2]=parseInt(n[2]);

} else

if (val.indexOf(’#')!=-1) {

if ( val.charCodeAt(val.indexOf(’#')+4)==32 || isNaN(val.charCodeAt(val.indexOf(’#')+4))

) {

var x=val.split(”);

n[0]=parseInt(x[val.indexOf('#')+1]+x[val.indexOf('#')+1],16);

n[1]=parseInt(x[val.indexOf('#')+2]+x[val.indexOf('#')+2],16);

n[2]=parseInt(x[val.indexOf('#')+3]+x[val.indexOf('#')+3],16);

} else {

n[0]=parseInt(val.substr(val.indexOf(’#')+1,2),16);

n[1]=parseInt(val.substr(val.indexOf(’#')+3,2),16);

n[2]=parseInt(val.substr(val.indexOf(’#')+5,2),16);

}

} else

{

var col=[

'alicebluef0f8ff','antiquewhitefaebd7','aqua00ffff',

'aquamarine7fffd4','azuref0ffff','beigef5f5dc',

'bisqueffe4c4','black000000','blanchedalmondffebcd',

'blue0000ff','blueviolet8a2be2','browna52a2a',

'burlywooddeb887','cadetblue5f9ea0','chartreuse7fff00',

'chocolated2691e','coralff7f50','cornflowerblue6495ed',

'cornsilkfff8dc','crimsondc143c','cyan00ffff',

'darkblue00008b','darkcyan008b8b','darkgoldenrodb8860b',

'darkgraya9a9a9','darkgreen006400','darkkhakibdb76b',

'darkmagenta8b008b','darkolivegreen556b2f','darkorangeff8c00',

'darkorchid9932cc','darkred8b0000','darksalmone9967a',

'darkseagreen8fbc8f','darkslateblue483d8b','darkslategray2f4f4f',

'darkturquoise00ced1','darkviolet9400d3','deeppinkff1493',

'deepskyblue00bfff','dimgray696969','dodgerblue1e90ff',

'firebrickb22222','floralwhitefffaf0','forestgreen228b22',

'fuchsiaff00ff','gainsborodcdcdc','ghostwhitef8f8ff',

'goldffd700','goldenroddaa520','gray808080',

'green008000','greenyellowadff2f','honeydewf0fff0',

'hotpinkff69b4','indianredcd5c5c','indigo4b0082',

'ivoryfffff0','khakif0e68c','lavendere6e6fa',

'lavenderblushfff0f5','lawngreen7cfc00','lemonchiffonfffacd',

'lightblueadd8e6','lightcoralf08080','lightcyane0ffff',

'lightgoldenrodyellowfafad2','lightgrayd3d3d3','lightgreen90ee90',

'lightpinkffb6c1','lightsalmonffa07a','lightseagreen20b2aa',

'lightskyblue87cefa','lightslategray778899','lightsteelblueb0c4de',

'lightyellowffffe0','lime00ff00','limegreen32cd32',

'linenfaf0e6','magentaff00ff','maroon800000',

'mediumaquamarine66cdaa','mediumblue0000cd','mediumorchidba55d3',

'mediumpurple9370d8','mediumseagreen3cb371','mediumslateblue7b68ee',

'mediumspringgreen00fa9a','mediumturquoise48d1cc','mediumvioletredc71585',

'midnightblue191970','mintcreamf5fffa','mistyroseffe4e1',

'moccasinffe4b5','navajowhiteffdead','navy000080',

'oldlacefdf5e6','olive808000','olivedrab6b8e23',

'orangeffa500','orangeredff4500','orchidda70d6',

'palegoldenrodeee8aa','palegreen98fb98','paleturquoiseafeeee',

'palevioletredd87093','papayawhipffefd5','peachpuffffdab9',

'perucd853f','pinkffc0cb','plumdda0dd',

'powderblueb0e0e6','purple800080','redff0000',

'rosybrownbc8f8f','royalblue4169e1','saddlebrown8b4513',

'salmonfa8072','sandybrownf4a460','seagreen2e8b57',

'seashellfff5ee','siennaa0522d','silverc0c0c0',

'skyblue87ceeb','slateblue6a5acd','slategray708090',

'snowfffafa','springgreen00ff7f','steelblue4682b4',

'tand2b48c','teal008080','thistled8bfd8',

'tomatoff6347','turquoise40e0d0','violetee82ee',

'wheatf5deb3','whiteffffff','whitesmokef5f5f5',

'yellowffff00','yellowgreen9acd32'];

for (i in col) if (val.indexOf(col[i].substr(0,col[i].length-6))!=-1) break;

n=colorToRGB(’#'+col[i].substr(col[i].length-6));

}

return n;

}

Example:

var el=document.getElementById(’test’);
el.style.color=”#FFFFFF”;
var n=colorToRGB(el.style.color);
Result: n= Array [255,255,255];
el.style.background=”#666″;
var n=colorToRGB(el.style.background);
Result: n= Array [102,102,102];
el.style.border=”1px solid turquoise”;
var n=colorToRGB(el.style.border);
Result: n= Array [64,224,208]
el.style.color=”white”;
var n=colorToRGB(el.style.color);
Result: n= Array [255,255,255]

3. getLayerCrd(id)

Gets the current positions of first (X,Y) and opposite (X+width,Y+height) vertex of an element based on container coordinates.

function getLayerCrd(id) {

if (document.getElementById(id)) {

var n=[];

var obj=document.getElementById(id);

n[0]=obj.offsetLeft;

n[1]=obj.offsetTop;

n[2]=obj.offsetLeft+obj.offsetWidth;

n[3]=obj.offsetTop+obj.offsetHeight;

return n;

} else return -1;

}

Example of use:

var n=getLayer(’test’);
el.style.margin=’10px 20px 30px 40px’;
Result: n= Array [x,y,x+width,y+height]

Note: getLayerCrd(id) should be used with block objects.

4. colDetect(id1,id2)

Returns true if two objects overlapping each other. Simple collision detection based on object coordinates (getLayerCrd(id) function is required)

function colDetect(id1,id2) {

var n1=getLayerCrd(id1);

var n2=getLayerCrd(id2);

if ((n1!=-1) && (n2!=-1)) {

if ((((n1[2]>=n2[0]) && (n1[2]<=n2[2])) ||

((n1[0]<=n2[2]) && (n1[0]>=n2[0]))) &&

(((n1[3]>=n2[1]) && (n1[3]<=n2[3])) ||

((n1[1]<=n2[3]) && (n1[1]>=n2[1]))))

{ return true;} else return false;

} else return false;

}

Example of use:

var n=colDetect(’test1′,’test2′);
el.style.margin=’10px 20px 30px 40px’;
returns true or false

Note: Same as with getLayerCrd(id) - use with block objects. Both objects should be placed in the same container or you will have to modify the getLayerCrd(id) function for geting position based on page coordinates.

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c# to JavaScript and Space Invaders

Thanks to Zproxy I found something what is called JSC - C# to JavaScript.
JSC is a compiler (or a decompiler) and as the name points out JSC will helps you prepare the JavaScript applications in the C# language. See the project website for more details.

Also, Zproxy has made nice implementation of the Space Invaders, written in C# and precompiled to JavaScript by using mentioned compiler.

Space Invaders (JSC version)

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Solitaire - JavaScript version

Long time since last post. I’ve played with SuSe 10.2, very nice distro, I had no problems with any application which I’ve tried to install on it. Also, I’ve made another JavaScript game based on YUI. I think, everyone knows what the word “Solitaire” means.Copule of years ago I wrote similar project in Delphi. The main feature of that application
was that the cards were automatically generated by functions implemented in the code. Instead of using 52 images which would represent each of the card I used only small pictures of figures,symbols and small images of king, queen and jack, the rest were done by specified functions.

The JavaScript version works the same.This is very controversial technique, It’s hard to say what exactly is faster and what is slower: loading one big image (16/8 colors GIF - with size 71×96px) or a few small images (2 colors GIF with size - ~15×15px). The answer is not that simple. However I choose the second way and this version of the Solitaire demostrate how that technique works.

Firefox and Opera are loading images only once; if, for example, two objects refers to the one image in the same document, then on the second time the image will be loaded from cache. On IE each image will be loaded separately, so if you’re using IE you will need to wait a little bit longer.

This also is a demonstration of YUI drag and drop techniques…

Enjoy…

Solitaire

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Extended Google Ajax News Bar

As I promised, I wrote new application based on Google Ajax News Bar. This is not exactly new application, it might be say that this is an extension to the original News bar.

Google provides two kinds of ways in displaying the results:

1. Horizontal - animated bar with ability to show the description in the other wrapper (options.horizontal=true, and options.currentResult=document.getElementsById(wrapper)).
2. Vertical - all the news results and its parts (title, description, etc.) are displayed in the specified container plus you have ability to switch between search items.

My version is between these two methods but near the first one. It is the normal horizontal bar but the difference is that the title and description are displayed in the popup box near mouse pointer when you move it over the news title.
You can use all options that are available in the original New Bar (and for horizontal method) except of currentResutls and horizontal (always true) - these are used internally and values will be bypassed.

The bad or good information is that this version using prototype.js.

Extended NewsBar - demo

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Google Ajax News Bar

Google provides new feature called AJAX News Bar. This application lets you add news search results to your website or blog. You can specify the orientations, the number of results (of course 4 or 8, nothing has changed), etc. The interesting thing is controlling through the links in your page which news results are displayed (works same as my green-links). If you are not good in JavaScript you can use Wizard, it will generates the code for you.

Here are the links to reference, example, and
Wizard.

So, I’m starting to write new application right now, lets see what we can do with it…

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