Messages

151

DC Gamer Club / Re: Latest GOG Giveaway

« on: October 23, 2020, 12:47 PM »

Europa Universalis is free for the next ~19 hours.

https://www.gog.com/...uropa_universalis_ii

152

Living Room / Re: Studios can now own movie theaters

« on: October 17, 2020, 02:11 PM »

I hope you're excited to attend your nearest Disney+ Theater to watch movies.

I saw an episode of something from RedLetterMedia a few years ago in which they predicted it wouldn't be many years before every movie in the theater would be a Disney (owned) film. I agreed at the time, thinking Disney would just buy out all the other studios. Now it seems Disney can just buy out all the theaters and show only movies they own, or movies from other studios that they charge a handsome fee for the privilege of showing.

153

Living Room / Re: Software tycoon charged over biggest alleged tax evasion scheme in US history

« on: October 16, 2020, 06:02 PM »

Am I the only one wanting more details on the proprietary encrypted email system?

-brotherS (October 16, 2020, 11:19 AM)

Knowing how the the media operates, they probably already told you everything about it in the part you quoted.

154

Post New Requests Here / Re: Show IP Address from domain name

« on: October 16, 2020, 05:59 PM »

This isn't exactly what is requested, but it's a potential solution:

If you are in control of the host/server, or can influence the owner to do this, the host can sign up for a free service such as nsupdate.info/ and register a free domain such as "mycoolgameserver.nsupdate.info" and then configure the host's router or run an update client on the host which will tell NSUpdate the server's latest IP address. Then anyone else can always just type mycoolgameserver.nsupdate.info into their browser (or game) and will get redirected to the IP address of the server.

EDIT: I see now that I misunderstood. You already have a static domain name, but the IP address changes and the game only allows entering the IP address and not the domain name. Your needs are exactly opposite to my proposed solution. Sorry about that.

155

General Software Discussion / Re: How to make MakeMKV better?

« on: October 14, 2020, 02:40 AM »

In the past I used the combination of DVD Decrypter + HandBrake and it worked well for me. I know DVD Decrypter has been dead/abandoned/killed for close to a decade by now, but I haven't come across a DVD yet that it wouldn't let me rip. "If it ain't broke..."

If any DVDs you have already ripped had copy-protection then you really haven't wasted any time by ripping with MakeMKV first, just feed the MKV into HandBrake, (personally I prefer VidCoder).

-4wd (October 13, 2020, 07:24 PM)

Hmm... I tried using Avidemux to convert (or re-encode, I'm not sure what the proper terminology is) one of my MKV files into x264 format, but the visual quality was inferior to the original, so I assumed feeding the MKV into anything else would also result in a loss of quality.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try feeding the original MKV into HandBrake (or VidCoder) and see if I can find some settings which result in indistinguishably different quality between the two files.

156

General Software Discussion / How to make MakeMKV better?

« on: October 13, 2020, 05:56 PM »

In years past I've casually ripped some of my DVDs here and there using HandBrake. Recently I've started ripping the rest of my DVD collection in earnest, using MakeMKV. I noticed that the resulting files produced by MakeMKV don't show thumbnails from the videos like the files produced by HandBrake do. This led me to further investigate the differences between the files produced by these two programs, and here's what I found:

MakeMKV encodes the videos in MPEG2 format, and the audio in AC3 format.
HandBrake encodes the videos in MPEG4/ISO/AVC (x264) format, and the audio in AAC format.

Also, in an example movie that is 90 minutes long, the file made by MakeMKV is 3.24GB in filesize. In contrast, the file made by Handbrake is only 854 MB in size. Playing the two videos side-by-side I don't see any difference in video quality (remember that this is DVD-quality video, so ~480p at best).

If the audio and video quality of each file are going to be indistinguishable from each other, then this leads me to believe that the files output by HandBrake are the superior choice, being a fraction of the filesize. And it kind of makes me regret using MakeMKV to rip so many of my DVDs in recent times due to all the time and effort I'll have to spend re-ripping them with HandBrake if I can't figure out a way to configure MakeMKV to produce better output.

While MakeMKV is very convenient in nearly automatically and easily ripping the different titles, there doesn't appear to be much in the way of configuring the output. Or am I missing something? Does anyone here know how to change MakeMKV to use more modern codecs? Or should I just go back to using HandBrake for my DVD ripping needs?

157

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ludum Dare 47: October 2nd-5th, 2020

« on: October 07, 2020, 12:44 PM »

The two of us took regular screenshots with Chronolapse while we worked on Chrono Crash, with the intent of compiling them into timelapses. If I did the math right (based on how many images we captured, and the interval between each capture), each of us captured around 50 hours of footage (including some AFK time) for these videos.

Here is the timelapse of Roidz working on the game:

And here is the timelapse of my work on the game:

Nice work, deo!

-mouser (October 07, 2020, 03:14 AM)

Congrats, Deo!

-wraith808 (October 07, 2020, 07:45 AM)

Thanks!

158

General Software Discussion / Re: How to delete a folder that Windows can't find?

« on: October 07, 2020, 10:05 AM »

I know the issue is already resolved, but here's another potential suggestion for anyone else who may come across this thread in the future. When problems like this crop up on my PC, I just boot into a Linux Live USB (usually Linux Mint) and delete the files from there.

-Deozaan (October 06, 2020, 09:58 PM)

That would take (me) more time though. And is Linux able to handle NTFS?

-brotherS (October 07, 2020, 05:30 AM)

I just always have a thumb drive with Linux on it hanging around just in case my Windows install dies and I need to boot into an OS that will allow me to attempt repairs or at least back up files before wiping the OS drive to reinstall. So it's not much time for me at all.

And yes, Linux can handle NTFS.

159

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ludum Dare 47: October 2nd-5th, 2020

« on: October 07, 2020, 03:58 AM »

Fun little thing, because of the way I assign version numbers to my projects (I use the date in YYMMDD format), I noticed that the jam ended on 20-10-05, each number being half of the preceding number. 🤓

160

Living Room / Re: Where would you go to hire someone to make a logo and/or video intro for you?

« on: October 07, 2020, 03:37 AM »

I^* used Fiverr with success earlier this year (late January/early February). I think I paid about $50 for a logo, maybe a bit more for an "expedited result" and the original source file(s). I was pleased with the result.

Coincidentally, I came across and watched this video last month:

"I Paid 6 Animators On Fiverr To Animate My Youtube Intro..."

* I actually had little to do with it, personally, but I was in control of the funds used to pay for it, so my feedback and authorization were required from time to time throughout the process.

161

General Software Discussion / Re: How to delete a folder that Windows can't find?

« on: October 06, 2020, 09:58 PM »

I know the issue is already resolved, but here's another potential suggestion for anyone else who may come across this thread in the future. When problems like this crop up on my PC, I just boot into a Linux Live USB (usually Linux Mint) and delete the files from there.

162

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ludum Dare 47: October 2nd-5th, 2020

« on: October 06, 2020, 05:37 PM »

Well that was a stressful weekend. There were a few times where it felt pretty bleak and I was sure we weren't going to pull it off. But somehow we managed to do it and made a game which we've called Chrono Crash.



Play it here: https://cmonkeys.itch.io/ld47

163

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« on: October 06, 2020, 12:54 AM »

Clearly the Linux ToS are superior. One single sentence, easy to understand and obey.

164

PBOL / Re: Weird precision (or lack thereof) in time remaining displayed

« on: October 03, 2020, 03:06 PM »

I noticed again some weird precision. It seems it rounds values to the nearest whole, so if there's 2 days, 23 hours, and 31+ minutes left, it will display as 2 days 24 hours remaining.

Perhaps it should always round down?

165

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« on: October 03, 2020, 03:55 AM »

I've ordered one from Banggood for just under $130 with shipping. ETA is October 14. So, just over 3 weeks.

-Deozaan (September 21, 2020, 06:26 AM)

It arrived on Oct 2! I'm very pleased about the quick shipping time. But I'm currently very busy focusing nearly every free moment I have on Ludum Dare 47, so it may be a few days before I get it unpackaged and properly set up.

166

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ludum Dare 47: October 2nd-5th, 2020

« on: October 03, 2020, 03:51 AM »

The theme is "Stuck in a Loop" this time. See you all in a few days!

167

Living Room / Re: Android 11 forcing people to only use the built-in camera

« on: October 02, 2020, 03:58 PM »

I admit I had a hard time understanding some of the concepts presented in that video. But I'm pretty sure I understood it well enough to see that it had nothing to do with Android 11's default camera app.

168

DC Gamer Club / Ludum Dare 47: October 2nd-5th, 2020

« on: October 01, 2020, 10:28 PM »

Ludum Dare 47 is this weekend! I forgot all about it until last week when the Theme Slaughter had already begun. Yikes!

It's been a mere six months since I last participated in LD46 this past April, but world events which have happened in the meantime make it feel like so much longer than that. Nevertheless, I'm gearing up once again to participate as part of a team. It'll just be two programmers and no artist this time, so don't expect it to look very pretty.

Right now the final round of theme voting is going on.

I'll try to remember to post what the theme to this thread when it is announced, but it's likely you won't hear much from me during the 72-hour jam.

Feel free to discuss any aspect of LD47 in this thread, including any games you might try out once the event has completed.


EDIT: My team made Chrono Crash for LD47.



See previous DonationCoder posts about Ludum Dare:

Ludum Dare 46 - (My team made Defendeer for LD46)
Ludum Dare 45 Reviews - A thread about LD45 games
Ludum Dare 41 - (My team made It's Not Lupus! for LD41)
Ludum Dare 2017 Thread - A thread about games from LD37 and LD38
Ludum Dare 33 - A thread about LD33 games
Ludum Dare 32 - (I made Time Bomb during LD32)
Ludum Dare 31 - (I made Worm Wars during LD31)
Ludum Dare 30 - (I made Planetary Devourers during LD30)
Ludum Dare 29 - (I made It Came From... Beneath!! during LD29)
Ludum Dare [29] topic for other games - A thread about LD29 games
Ludum Dare 23 - (I made Be Tiny, World! during LD23, and continued to work on it and improve it for years afterward!)
Ludum Dare - Game Programming Challenges

169

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« on: October 01, 2020, 03:19 PM »

Soon we'll have collected enough photos of various angles of mouser that we can successfully make Deep Fake videos of him!

170

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« on: October 01, 2020, 04:51 AM »

More toned down look:

-mouser (October 01, 2020, 01:26 AM)

Much improved, IMO!

171

Living Room / Re: Cyph - A potential Keybase alternative

« on: September 30, 2020, 02:19 PM »

Just out of curiosity...how do they know for sure it'll be immune from cracking by the emerging quantum computing technology? Last I heard, even the mathematicians and cryptography experts (who actually have the requisite credentials and backgrounds to express such an opinion) have been extremely reluctant to say that about any existing or theoretical encryption method that's public information.

Consensus seems to be that once we start seeing more quantum cores out there, the more the concept of encryption will become a thing of the past.

-40hz (September 29, 2020, 09:57 PM)

I just checked out their homepage and they've got a link about how they use quantum resistant cryptography. They explicitly say they don't claim to be quantum-proof. Here's their explanation:

https://www.cyph.com...g/quantum-resistance

Did you sign up Deo?  What do you think this far in?

-wraith808 (September 30, 2020, 07:55 AM)

I signed up and played around with it for a little while before realizing that it doesn't have (m)any of the features I use Keybase for, such as identification verification and key management. The file storage is only 512MB, which, to be fair, is more than I'm really using even on Keybase (I think I threw a few large (multi-GB) files on Keybase as backups, but haven't touched them in years and they're probably outdated to the point of uselessness now), but Keybase seems to be more user-friendly in how you can access those files, such as mounting a virtual/network drive. And the other features Cyph has are social features, and I don't know anyone else who uses Cyph so it's not like I can test them.

To be fair to Cyph, Keybase is also fairly niche and I don't really use it that often, either. But Keybase feels a lot more mature as far as development, features, and user-friendliness go, and seems more immediately useful to me than what Cyph has to offer.

Keybase is something that I really like the idea of, but have found little practical use for in the real world. Even so, I'm still using it (occasionally) years later and (re)installing it on new devices or after an OS wipe on my PC. Cyph is something I looked into and played with for an hour or two and then promptly forgot about.

Also, I'm pretty sure I signed up for the Cyph waiting list because the email invite I got to my Keybase account was to a secondary account I don't use very often, and I wanted to sign up with my primary account. But I've never heard back about that, so I guess I'm still in waiting list limbo or something.

172

Living Room / Re: Cyph - A potential Keybase alternative

« on: September 30, 2020, 02:36 AM »

I know very little about the subject, but I've seen the term "quantum resistant" used sometimes when describing various cryptography algorithms. There's got to be something that can be done to prevent quantum computing from easily cracking certain forms of cryptography. Otherwise the entire cryptocurrency world will be going bottoms-up fast!

173

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« on: September 29, 2020, 04:44 AM »

I don't mind the way they illuminate the shelf and the things on it. In fact I do like it. But the shiny game cases reflecting the light directly into the camera makes me feel like the light is shining right in my eyes. Some games are worse than others. All the Pandemic games do it. The Cthulhu and Fall of Rome games do it. Flash Point looks fine. The three on the farthest left look fine. The one farthest right looks fine.

Maybe if you could cover/wrap the LEDs with some thin fabric or something to diffuse the light so they just cast a soft color like the way it appears on the three games on the left. Then again, that might be a fire hazard if it causes the LEDs to get too warm. I dunno.

Don't worry too much about it. Most people probably won't mind it.

174

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« on: September 28, 2020, 09:09 PM »

Personally I don't like the way the blue light reflects off the games and shines into the camera. Makes me feel like I'm watching a Michael Bay film.

175

Developer's Corner / Re: Wanted: Recommendations for learning WPF (with C#)

« on: September 27, 2020, 07:44 PM »

Despite my initial request for text-based tutorials rather than video tutorials, I've actually spent quite a number of hours watching and/or following along with WPF/MVVM tutorial videos. My most recent find is a decent set of video tutorials by Tosker.

Here's one of his playlists that go over the basics, including MVVM: C# WPF Tutorials for Beginners

(Unfortunately, his early videos suffer from very low volume, which I worked around by downloading the videos, pulling out the audio, increasing its volume, then re-saving the videos with the louder audio. Many thanks to 4wd for instructions on how to accomplish this!)

But despite my many hours of exposure to seeing it in action, I can't help but keep asking myself, "Why use MVVM?" I admit that I don't fully understand how to properly use MVVM since there's so much new to me in all this, including XAML, WPF, and the MVVM pattern itself. But from what I've gleaned, using MVVM just seems like a ton of extra boilerplate and duplicate code, making even trivial things tedious and time consuming.

So I searched the internet and found that I'm far from the first person with the same question.

https://stackoverflo...653096/why-use-mvvm/

And the top answer to that question is really great. Both in explaining that, for trivial cases, using MVVM (or any design pattern) is unnecessary and only adds complication, and also in explaining what benefits MVVM might have on a project over the course of its lifetime.

And of course, along the way I also found more responses talking about "the Jason Dolinger MVVM video," which is something I came across early on in my searches for information but for one reason or another (probably the length) ended up putting off watching until now. So now I'm working on the Jason Dolinger video, trying to gain a better appreciation for how and why to use MVVM.