I have amused myself to the point of inanity in recent months trying to work out a pattern to BKV’s seemingly random staffing of controllers at my local metro station. Just when I felt I was on the brink of some major discovery, after nearly five months of mental note-taking and complex calculations, they’ve disappeared. And they left without even saying goodbye. For two days now, I’ve had to brave the escalators into the wider world without their customary cheery jó reggelts and köszönöms. I feel like my right arm has been cut off… the one that’s itching to wear one of those armbands.

I’ve heard tell of those who’ve passed through the jegyellenőr gauntlet with the same ticket twenty times or more; or those who’ve travelled for weeks on an expired pass. So I have to wonder what exactly is it that my friends with the armbands think they’re controlling. I’m not the first to wonder why the BKV doesn’t just install ticket machines at metro stations. Or have front-entry buses? And I certainly won’t be the last sap to ask why not? So why not?  

Sledges, skis or saplings?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a great fan of the BKV. I really am. It’s one of the best public transport systems I’ve encountered in my travels. Its detractors should trying living in cities where buses travel in bunches, if they travel at all, or where timetables express hope rather than intent. Perhaps we’re both on the same cycle but I’ve rarely, if ever, had to wait more than five minutes for a bus, tram or metro to come get me. There are clocks to tell me exactly how long I can expect to be kept waiting. The journey planning tool on the website has demystified Budapest for me making even the remotest parts accessible. And the English-language instructions about what I can carry with me are simple and to the point: one sledge, one pair of skis, one wrapped sapling tree or a pram.

Back in the early days when, although a seasoned traveler, I was a BKV novice, I thought that as long as I stayed underground my ticket was valid. I changed lines and didn’t validate a second ticket. I was nabbed at Nyugati, my book of tickets confiscated, and demands made on me for my passport and 5000 ft. I had neither. I asked to go to an ATM to get the money and by the time I got back, the lady with the armband (the one I’m itching to wear) had vanished. I reckoned I owed the universe about 3000 ft (the fine minus the cost of a book of tickets), a debt I duly discharged using the next homeless man I met as my broker. It wasn’t an experience I particularly wanted to repeat. So, after calculating that I’d cover the cost of my pass by Day 17 (I can be a little dim at times), I decided to cross over to the other side of the tracks and go the Havi Budapest-bérlet route. I also corrected that unwitting mistake I made when first recounting this story: my ticket wasn’t inspected…I was controlled!

Off tramway

My pass is like a front-row ticket to a series of vignettes played out in front of me at least once a day. As the controllers board and take a minute to get in costume, the actors take their cues. The martyred monthlies sigh in exasperation as they root through their bags and pockets, annoyed that their respectability is being called into question. Those on the precipice of pensiondom frown slightly, adding those all important extra wrinkles in their attempt to look just a little beyond the magic age of 65. Those who have already passed this mark smile a peculiarly self-congratulatory smile that admonishes ‘you, too, can travel for free when you’ve clocked up as many miles as I have’. The pubescent plugged-ins barely miss a beat as they languidly show their passes. And then there are the dodgers; highly skilled performers of a different kind.

The starers simply stare, be it out the window or into space or at their shoes, hoping the controller won’t be too persistent. The diversionists get on their mobiles and launch into a very important business call from which they cannot possibly be disturbed. The magicians disappear out of one carriage and reappear in another. The expressionists look amazed at the fact that their passes have expired. The innocents smile and simper…and make like tourists. It’s a Mecca for the method actor.

But because I’m concentrating on not behaving in a way which is scandalous or antisocial, and because I don’t get to wear an armband, I’m relegated to sitting quietly with my wrapped sapling tree and enjoying the performance.

This article first published in the Budapest Times 22 November 2009

Immersion is one of the greatest goals every game tries to achieve. It is more obvious in what I call character based games. When you play Gears of War, you feel you are in Marcus Fenix’s shoes. When you play MGS4 you feel the drama of the dying hero as if it were your own. In Modern Warfare 2, every drop of blood on the screen makes you worry and get cover.

But it is also true for impersonal games; that is, the ones whose focus is not on characters. It is easier to notice it when I replace the word immersion for involvement. When playing Lumines or Tower Bloxx for example, you feel involved in the game: frustrated after a mistake, excited when a new level is reached, defiant when the score of a friend is beaten. Note impersonal and casual games are not the same thing at all. Chess is impersonal as are, heroes aside, most RTSs: replace one Zealot for another, there’s no difference at all. All sports games are like that too, with the exception of modes like EA’s Be A Pro.

Now, there’s a multitude of factors that contribute to how immersive a game is. I recently mentioned one talking about Demon’s Souls: challenge. A challenged player is an involved player. There’s also the connection between player and game at the fundamental design level: some people like puzzles, some like shooters. I will not get in the merits of each one, but if you like a type of game, you will be more into it. Style also plays a big role: when graphics and sound suit the game and your mood, they also improve immersion. In fact, I would say immersion is the reason behind most graphical updates in the games industry. From polygon count and texture size to shaders, in the search for immersion graphics chips are always evolving to provide better and more artistic or realistic visuals.

From here we get to the other facet of immersion I want to talk about: controls. No matter what game you are playing, connecting to it requires controlling it without trouble. You only get into Tetris when you learn how to move and rotate the pieces the way you want, you only appreciate Geometry Wars after getting used to moving the ship with the analog stick, you only feel like Sam Fisher when pulling all his moves gets easy, you only enjoy Fifa 10 when passing, dribbling and shooting becomes second nature.

Over the years, games became more and more complex. And with game complexity came complex controls. The Atari had 1 button. The NES had 2. The Genesis had 3. In the current generation, both PS3 and 360 have 4 face buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, 2 shoulder triggers and 2 clickable analog sticks. And I am not counting dpads, select and start buttons.

Most gamers are used to it. Hell, controllers could have more buttons and that wouldn’t be a problem, not to me. But with the last generation of consoles, we saw a big move in the opposite direction coming from Nintendo. The Wii has less buttons and makes up for it trying to detect something everybody knows how to do: move and point. When I first heard about it, I was very interested, both as a gamer and as a robotic perception researcher. To me, that meant games would become even more immersive, shooters would feel even more realistic.

It is curious that while it is true the Wii controllers increased immersion, that change did not affect most hardcore games. Nintendo correctly (from a business perspective) focused on using the more approachable controls to bring a new crowd to the video games era. And it worked very well for them.

Nintendo’s approach was so right that others have been following it ever since. After the success of the Wii, many game platforms started exploring new and more natural input methods. Touch screens and accelerometers became very popular.

But we will soon reach a new apex. Something I personally have been waiting for since I started studying computer vision. And Microsoft is the one about to pull it off: no controls. No buttons at all. If you haven’t heard of Project Natal before, go check it out. It is awesome.

The idea of a vision system in games is not new, the PS2 had the EyeToy. But there were many technical limitations: from sensor capability (one still eye won’t give proper perception of depth for example) to processing power, as robust computer vision algorithms require a whole lot of processing. Project Natal solves these problems in a very interesting way: a single camera is used for “texture” detection. And instead of stereo vision, they achieve 3D perception with a depth sensor. As for the processing power, Project Natal’s device features a custom processor, which is certainly there to reduce the load on the 360 hardware.

Like Nintendo did, Project Natal’s first efforts will probably aim the casual market and bring more gamers to the table. But that does not change the fact that immersion in video games will take a big leap. Imagine playing Lumines by grabbing the blocks and rotating them with your hands. Or simply using your empty hands to select your playlist. Wouldn’t it be cool? Heck, in Minority Report Tom Cruise needed cool glowing gloves to do what we are about to get with our bare hands. The future is here, my friends.

Anyway, as the number of buttons get close to the limit, after all we only have 10 fingers, new input methods are here to stay. I don’t have a Wii. But I will need a bigger living room when Project Natal becomes available.

See you space cowboys…

First, an update on a couple of modifications I made to the Soapbox.

1 – I put in a seat back to support the rider in those crazy curves:

2 – I had a friendly machine shop weld the freewheeling cogs so that they won’t freewheel anymore:

The reasons for the first of the above are perfectly understandable by anyone; for the second one they may not be so obvious: it’s all about control.

From my little experience with the Soapbox PoC so far, I have gathered two conclusions:

1 – the current controls are extremely non-linear; both the brakes and the accelerators lack proportionality in response and stability in behavior.

2 – even if the controls were absolutely linear, I doubt that any average human being is capable of controlling such a vehicle above very small speeds. Our neuro-motor capabilities are just not up to the challenge.

So, as fun as it is now, it is time to hack the controls of this trike to pieces and re-engineer them into something more usable.

Analyzing the real-world application brings up 3 main problems:

1 – Differential Steering: to steer the vehicle, we need to regulate the speed difference between the two wheels very precisely, and this difference decreases non-linearly with vehicle speed;

2 – Traction Control: the same old basic problem every kind of wheeled vehicle has – applying as much torque on the floor as possible while accelerating or decelerating without skidding – that’s why they invented ABS and ASR, to save us from the messy floors we put ourselves over;

3 – Stability Control: in such a vehicle where the center of gravity rests behind the only wheel axle, the probability of over-steering is quite large; therefore independent wheel torque control to counteract body rotation (also known as ESP) is essential for any real-world usage.

So yes, I’m trying to build what is probably the world’s first Trike with ABS + ASR + ESP.

There is another fundamental design problem which is also linked to the control equation: if the center of mass is located too close to the front wheel axle, the vehicle may flip over the axle during hard braking and land the rider on its head. If the center of mass is too far back, then the over-steering becomes a big problem even for low speed and long curve radius. To solve this delicate balance, I plan to locate the center of mass adequately close to the front and also rely on the ESP control above described, among other small details.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be hacking up a new electronic control system for the Soapbox. A digital one, of course. Firmware is a lot more flexible than analog circuitry.

This is why welding the freewheels stiff was an essential step: I want the electric motors to have full control of the wheel speed and torque, and so I needed a direct transmission. Exactly how this system will be made, I don’t know and is still under evaluation; but I do know what kind of control algorithm I want to run on it.

There will be a logic or virtual controller for each of the three problems stated above: Steering, Traction, and Stability. You can see them in the diagram below.

This diagram was built with Scicoslab (an open source alternative to Matlab/Simulink) and is a very simplified version of the full simulation I’m working on. The PID blocks are just placeholders, they don’t really have to be PID controllers; in fact, I intend to use Hysteretic control for the motor currents, and possibly Fuzzy control for all else. I hate PIDs.

I’ll be posting news about this later, when it has enough consistency.

Traditionally the water pumping technology of choice has been the wind pump. Wind pumps provide long lasting solutions with a basic technology which is well understood and can be maintained locally. However even wind pumps have become expensive to install and to replace.

Solar water Pumping System and dc pumps are currently being used to irrigate crops, water livestock, and provide potable drinking water. Solar water pump uses peak solar array output which frequently coincides with high water demand during long, dry summer days. In the event of cloudy weather solar water pump systems often use storage tanks to store excess water. Unlike generator powered water pumping systems, Solar water Pumping System do not require fuel or constant maintenance. Solar water Pumping System can also be designed for portability to be moved as water demand or change of seasons requires. Solar water pumps cost less to operate, offer modular capability to be quickly expanded as demand increases, unlike a generator or windmill water pumps.

Hallo Teman-teman pemula CodeIgniter !!
Saya juga seorang pemula, mari kita memulai pelajaran dasar CodeIgniter :

1. Downloadlah CI (CodeIgniter) di http://codeigniter.com/download.php (saat tutorial ini ditulis, versi yang saya download adalah CodeIgniter_1.6.0.zip)
2. Ekstraklah file CodeIgniter_1.6.0.zip di folder yang bisa diakses web
3. Akses web di mana CI berada, secara default akan tampil halaman welcome.

Ok mari kita ganti halaman welcome dengan halaman yang kita buat sendiri :

1. Bukalah file routes.php di folder CodeIgniter_1.6.0/system/application/config
2. Ganti $route['default_controller'] = “welcome”; dengan $route['default_controller'] = “pemula”;
3. Buatlah file pemula.php di folder CodeIgniter_1.6.0/system/application/controllers/
4. Isi file pemula.php seperti berikut :

<?php
class Pemula extends Controller {
	function Pemula()
	{
		parent::Controller();
	}
	function index()
	{
		$this->load->view('pemula_view');
	}
}
?>

5. Buatlah file pemula_view.php di folder CodeIgniter_1.6.0/system/application/views
6. Isi file pemula_view.php sebagai berikut :

<html>
<head>
<title>PEMULA</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Saya benar-benar seorang pemula</h1>
</body>
</html>

7. Akseslah folder CodeIgniter_1.6.0 dengan browser Anda, Mamamiaaaaaaa…… Anda benar-benar seorang PEMULA !!!

Bersambung ……

LinkedIn maakte deze maand bekend haar 50 miljoenste lid wereldwijd te mogen verwelkomen. Zij laat hiermee haar enige concurrent op wereldniveau Xing ver achter zich. Toch stelt nieuwkomer VNU Media dat de markt voor online business netwerken nog lang niet verzadigd is. De Haarlemse uitgeverij lanceert vandaag haar 3e nichenetwerk in korte tijd: www.financebase.nl.

Leden van online businessnetwerken zoals LinkedIn gebruiken een netwerk vooral om contact te leggen met bekenden. Een nichenetwerk gericht op een specifieke gebruikersgroep biedt naast deze functionaliteit juist veel relevante en actuele informatie over een vakgebied en haar raakvlakken.

Zo zijn bij Financebase.nl:

• de headlines van alle grote financiële-blogs op één overzichtspagina geplaatst
• is er nieuws van leden (accountants, controllers, administrateurs en andere financiële professionals)
• en zijn er financiële banen te vinden.

Tevens zijn er diverse tools op de site om discussie en kennisdeling te stimuleren door middel van tekst, video en foto.

De interactie wordt gestimuleerd doordat leden tot dezelfde gebruikersgroep behoren. Ook tussen leden die elkaar niet kennen. En dat is het uiteindelijke doel van ieder online netwerk: een levende community-site voor financiële professionals worden.

Op zoek naar een baan? Of wil je in contact komen met collega accountants, controllers en andere financiële professionals? Maak binnen één minuut gratis jouw profiel aan!

Once upon a time, in the near future, or at least after exams I’m starting a little venture of mine.

Announcing…

Custom midi/hid controllers for music software :O

Sound exciting?

Well they are. Why am I suddenly advertising random products that no one knows about? Well I’m making myself a few these holidays so if you’re interested in a custom controller for your DJ, production etc, give me a bell.

For mine, they’ll be nice solid wood enclosures with arcade buttons (above), things like that. That make it cool. That make them different. And new.

ilovewhitecharlie@gmail.com

Watlow has brought out the Profibus DP (Decentralized Peripherals) with EZ-Zone PM and EZ-Zone RM integrated temperature controllers. Profibus is a standard for fieldbus communication in automation technology. Watlow’s Profibus DP offering with EZ-Zone PM and EZ-Zone RM integrated controllers simplifies plant design, eliminates hard wiring and requires less hardware, leading to faster commissioning and lower costs.

It supports better diagnostics, speeding up commissioning and helping achieve better productivity and higher product quality through the delivery of better and more timely data to operations and management staff. Watlow’s EZ-Zone Profibus DP features status LED and data rates up to 12Mbps. Features that differentiate Watlow’s offering from other industry products are cyclic read/writes up to 135 data points (244 bytes) as well as acyclic read/write capabilities.

Also included is a generic station description (GSD) file editor for creating customised data-exchange packets, support for both DP-Version 0 and DP-Version 1 functionalities, 16 or 32bit formatting and independent temperature units in Celsius or Fahrenheit.

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“I love this. Reflects my passion for video games.” – Ben.

Ableton makers of the Live software (for production and live shows) and Novation (creators of various MIDI devices/controllers) have teamed up for the Launchpad controller release.

The Launchpad, is a 64-button controller with multi-colors LED’s (assigned to various functions play, record, etc.) used for production in studio, and also catered to live settings; but all made to run specifically with Ableton Live. Along the side of the unit, are eight dedicated scene launch buttons to transition between different portions of your song or set.  All these functions are set to be used within Ableton’s Session Mode but there are more features besides launching Session clips.

Launchpad comes equipped with Mixer Mode, which converts the pads (upper parts) into a set of virtual faders and sliders.  It then lets the lower portion of the Launchpad serve as virtual knobs controlling pans, sends, mute, solo etc.

The Launchpad has 4 modes, the first two which I’ve highlighted (Session and Mixer) plus two user customizable modes.  The two user modes can be set for a DJ controller, or a drum pad controller or whatever the user desires to customize the settings to.

This unit obviously takes a lot of cues from the 40h by Monome

Monome 40h NOT the Launchpad from Novation/Ableton

Launchpad being specifically being streamlined for Live and not requiring construction of the actual controller (like needed now with Monome only providing kits and not selling pre-made units).  Also, it requires much programming within the software to get it to function the way you’d like with Live etc.  A headache for someone who isn’t into slight programming/circuit bending.

One last cool feature, that used to be limited only to such creative hardware as the 40h; is the ability to link up to 6 Launchpads for over 400 assignable buttons.  Each unit can run in its own mode simultaneously on the same system. That’s some good news for someone like myself who wants to dive right into production and live practice (without all the work required from a 40h).

The Launchpad is slated for release on November 1st 2009, and should cost about 199 USD and 149 EUR (VAT not included).

For more information check out the Novation website: http://www.novationmusic.com/launchpad

The Ultimate Gaming Mouse System
Grab hold of the Microsoft® SideWinder™ X8 mouse and experience gaming thrills and performance that will blow you—and your opponents—away! This addition to Microsoft’s award-winning line of SideWinder gaming products is a complete desktop gaming system that features breakthrough Microsoft BlueTrack™ Technology, 2.4 GHz wireless, USB charging while you play, an advanced design for precise handling and fast action, adjustable feet, custom tuning—and much more.

Technical Details

• Connectivity – USB
• Cable Type – USB
• Warranty – 1 year warranty
• Illuminated characters: Choose from three levels of brightness. Locate keys easily in both bright and low-light conditions.
• Six programmable G-keys: Perform single keystrokes or complex macros with six fully programmable G-keys. Create macros on the fly

From/De: Activision Europe via BHPR

NEW DRUM KIT AND GUITAR CONTROLLERS TO SHIP WITH BAND HERO™ IN EUROPE

Wednesday 30th September/… Music enthusiasts will be able to strum and bash out beats to their hearts’ content with the new guitar and drum kit controllers shipping with Band Hero™ in Europe this Autumn.

The revamped drum kit controller features an improved and visually compelling ‘floating’ drum pad design with quiet drum heads and easy access first party controls for additional flexibility when navigating the game. The updated kick pedal offers players a new level of responsiveness while drumming along to the music, as well as two built-in kick pedal ports, so players can bang out the double bass beats of Expert+ drum tracks that will be available via downloadable content and song importing. The new drum kit controller also features a handy slot for players to store their drumsticks under the drum pads. The entire unit rests upon a newly designed stand offering stability as well as height guides on the vertical supports to make adjustments a breeze.

In addition, the guitar controller shipping with Band Hero in Europe will also feature an improved strum bar and the neck slider to help with accuracy when nailing those tricky solos. The guitar controller is finished off with chrome effect tuning pegs and a sleek red and white faceplate to let Band Hero players strum in style.

This holiday season, the biggest music event of the year will hit living rooms around the world as family and friends come together to ascend the virtual stage and rock their way to superstardom with Band Hero. Brought to you by the makers of Guitar Hero®, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, Band Hero features the hottest chart-topping hits from everyone’s favorite bands including No Doubt, Nelly Furtado, Lily Allen, The All-American Rejects and Jackson 5. Headlined by some of the leading names in music as in-game artists and playable characters, including singer, songwriter and guitarist Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, Band Hero is the ultimate party game where friends and family can choose to join the band or “take five” at any time without interrupting the performance, in Party Play mode. Band Hero allows fans to create the band of their dreams, using any combination of vocals and guitar or drum controllers, providing budding pop stars the chance to customize how they interact with and experience their favorite music.

Band Hero is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, by Vicarious Visions for the Wii™ system from Nintendo and by Budcat for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated PEGI 12+. Become a fan of Band Hero on Facebook at facebook.com/bandhero and for more information about Band Hero, please visit bandhero.com.

I recently bought a PS3 and have been muddling my way through the unimpressive library of PS3 exclusive titles.  Having had an XB360 since early 2006 and a Wii for nearly as long, the PS3 and I have a lot of time to make up together.

Just recently I rented and beat Heavenly Sword, a “first generation” (meaning one of the first releases) title for the PS3.  As mentioned here and elsewhere on this blog, I have gotten to run through a few titles on the console that heavily use the Wiimote sensor.  When Sony announced the Sixaxis controller, critics immediately saw the feature as a gimmick that would try to rival the Wiimote, and pitifully at that.  But now that this faithful critic and all around observer has had a chance to lay hands on both, what’s the verdict?

To emphasize the point, I am only comparing one PS3 game to every Wii game I’ve ever played.  Very unfair odds on either account, but I’ve noticed some very interesting things that have led me to believe there may be a clearer winner than someone may think.

There are two main factors (that I have made up, along with most of the other terms in this article, in my benevolence and wise observance – any resemblance to terms or arguments in existence was unintended or accidental)  in the success of unusual game mechanics.  The first and foremost is the talent, skill, and imagination of the developers, or at least what appears to be the talent, skill, and imagination.  When Assassin’s Creed, a game that hyped the cloak and dagger aspect of the player’s character, allowed only three ways to execute cloak and dagger techniques, otherwise forcing the character to fight enemies rather than evade them, the gimmick actually broke the game’s promise and doomed it to $60 worth of mediocrity.  At first glance, one might see this as evidence of the lack of imagination on the game designer’s part, but Ubisoft claimed that time restraints kept them from building the game they wanted to build, which forced them to put in shoddy achievements/trophies to artificially extend gameplay.  Whether it was the skill of the designers or the interference of other factors, the designers failed to execute the game mechanic well (though I know plenty who would disagree – at least accept this as an example).

The other main factor in the success of unusual game mechanics is fit.  “Does this game mechanic actually fit into the context of the game?” This is where the Wii successfully fails a lot.  Though the most recent game I played on the Wii was Super Smash Brothers Brawl, which smartly made the Wiimote optional and Wiimote gestures even more optional, there are plenty of examples to be found of the Wiimote motion sensor being shoehorned into a game.  Wii games like Raving Rabbids, a party-style title made up of small mini-games, are perfect for Wii controls.  Yet other games, especially third party multi-console releases like Tomb Raider: Underworld, suffer due to the requirement of having the Wiimote gestures featured in games where it doesn’t belong.

Now that I’ve defined what I see as the two factors influencing unusual game mechanics, it’s time to apply them to the PS3 Sixaxis controller and the Wii Wiimote.  Let’s pretend that we’re in a gaming utopia where these two factors have been executed well.  Full of creativity and fit for combat, when put in a ring, which of the two survives?

As I said earlier, the only game that I have played that used the Sixaxis controls extensively was Heavenly Sword.  Because of this and the fact that I beat it yesterday afternoon, it will be the point from which all of my Wiimote comparisons are drawn.  To start, let’s go beyond fit and into the realm of integration.

Integration, or making a mechanic an essential and even desirable facet of gameplay, is something that the Wii usually does fairly well.  In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link’s bow and arrow are easily used by pointing the Wiimote at the screen and pressing a button.  Granted, it looked nothing at all like shooting a bow, but that is completely beside the point.  The controls had been integrated to a point where their implementation was usually easy and mostly effortless.

In Heavenly Sword, a button mashing beat-em-up that sometimes puts on a flight simulator’s jet pilot’s jumpsuit and runs around the room screaming “raawrrwaeerreeer rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!“, the sixaxis controls are integrated in one instance surprisingly well and in another surprisingly poorly.  In the former pressing and holding square or “x” (depending on context) while handling a long-range weapon will zoom the camera in behind the projectile (this varies among rockets, cannonballs, and arrows, along with a few other extraneous objects thrown in).  While in this zoomed-in state, the player can start tilting the controller, gently driving the projectile (thus the flight sim reference) to the desired destination…sometimes.  This mechanic increasingly becomes more of a skill rather than a cool addition as the game progresses, and this helps with the mechanic’s integration into gameplay.  If the mechanic is mostly optional, then it becomes unnecessary and becomes a forgettable option.  While Heavenly Sword’s projectile-driving, so to speak, is technically optional, the game is nearly impossible without it, as there is no reticule to aim at very small, very far away targets.  The other instance in which the Sixaxis is used but is integrated very poorly is in actual combat.  Some of the combos require shaking the controller at the right moment as part of the combo button chain.  In the heat of battle, it seems silly to try and shake the controller a certain way to pull off a small number of moves that require it.

That last bit about poor integration also hits on another area that is intrinsically tied with the idea of integration – and this is implementation, be it awkward or convenient.  The awkwardness factor of shaking a controller in mid-combat is high, but it is rather small potatoes compared to some of the ways Wii games have integrated Wiimote controls.  I’m not sure if Nintendo forces Wii developers to include Wiimote specific gestures, but if they do, they are certainly the reason for the awkward implementation of the controls within Wii games.  As I mentioned before, this awkwardness is almost a given when it comes to multi-platform releases.

There is a lot to be said for all of these factors, but at its base, it’s all about design.  Depending on the strength of designs, whatever is built on top of it could be as stable as bunker or a house of cards.  Though the Wiimote is no card table, it certainly doesn’t have the foundation for a bunker either.  Because most games require the Wiimote to be held in one hand and its companion nunchuck in the other, the probability that the player’s hand won’t be in the proper starting position is very high, and the Wiimote depends on starting in a certain position, otherwise the controls are off (thus why it’s possible to golf in WiiSports while holding the controller in a number of positions varying from a “ping-pong champion” position to a “holy water flick of the wrist” position).  The Wiimote, while brilliant in its concept and marketability, leaves a lot to be desired.  And woe betide the designer who doesn’t tighten up the controls enough when dealing with the Wiimote – with the combination of card table + cards, the whole thing comes tumbling down.

Yet here, exactly where I thought the Sixaxis would fail, is where the it shines.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the reason the Sixaxis controller is closer to a bunker than a card table is because it’s held with two hands. It’s a shame that it might be that simple, but, to put it mathematically, the Wiimote in one hand is to a line through one point as the Sixaxis in two hands is to a line through two points.  A line through one point has infinitely possibilities for its direction, and that causes a lot of unpredictability and instability.  A line through two points has a defined course and has built in stability from those two points.  Or to put it non-mathematical terms, that s*** won’t work unless you’re holding it with two hands.

The Sixaxis integration and implementation in Heavenly Sword isn’t perfect, but not once did I have to “reset” my hands to regain control of the mechanic, where as I have not had a casual gaming experience with the Wiimote that I didn’t have to. I don’t necessarily expect these mechanics to be perfect, and I still think the Wiimote was the best innovation to come out of this generation of console gaming.  But when you’re first to do something, that means that you’ve given people a goal to shoot for and surpass.  The Sixaxis is certainly no Wiimote, not by a long shot, but it offers a few crucial things that the Wiimote, if it had come out a few years later, probably would have had in the bag.

So for now, off of the basis of one PS3 game vs. ten or so Wii games , I have to say that the Sixaxis was the most fun I’ve had with a motion sensing controller so far in this console generation.  There are surely Wii games that integrate these controls far better than I have given them credit for (in fact, if you know of any, please suggest them in the comments – I’m completely willing to revisit this later on), but Heavenly Sword’s use of the Sixaxis mechanic wins this round.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

A virtual office can just about help any person, from accountants to authors, electricians to engineers, lawyers to lighting technicians – it’s a service that can benefit almost anyone who needs a business address in a professional office environment.

VH International Business Solutions, Inc. can assist you with opening your own prestigious New York office address in Manhattan – the business center of the World.

We’ve helped professionals from around New York, throughout the United States, and around the World establish their business presence in New York. By opening a virtual office with a physical office address (not just a mailbox disguised as a physical office), clients can establish a satellite office in Manhattan without ever having to step away from their home base.

Have you wondered if a virtual office can assist your type of business?

Here’s an sample list of the thousands of professionals, specialties and company types that we have served and helped succeed since 1990:

Agents, Chefs, Head Hunters, Network Technicians, Statisticians, Advertisers, Recreational Vehicle Club, Caterers, Handbag Designers, Network Security Engineers, Sport Scholarship Recruiters, Actresses, Flight Attendants, Network Analysts, Software developers, Auditors, Clothing Importers, Engineers, Illustrators, Logo Designers, Record Companies, Tax Attorneys, Builders, Consultants, Film Editors, iPhone Application Developers, Mechanics, Nutritionists, Safety Inspectors, Travel Agents, Actors, Case Workers, Graphic Artists, Network Managers, Speculators, Advocates, Celebrities, Handymen, Network Specialists, Staffing Companies, Accountants, Cartographer, Floral Designers, Network Engineers, Software Engineers, Apartment Rental Services, Choreographers, Healthcare Professionals, Notary Publics, Surveyors, Analysts, Children’s Apparel Designers, Health Inspectors, Non-Profit Foundations, Stenographers, Counselors, Landscape Architects, Models, Party Planners, Singers, Violinists, Economists, Legal Secretaries, Musicians, Property Managers, Yoga Instructors, Disc Jockeys, Legal Practitioners, Music Producers, Plumbers, Forex Traders, Wig Designers, Bakers, Company Administrators, Entrepreneurs, Inspirational Speakers, Magazine Publishers, Recording Artists, Tax Consultants, Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Home Inspector, Carpenters, Limousine Drivers, Public Speakers, Attorneys, Clothing Designers, Elevator Inspectors, Investors, Human Resources Directors, Locksmiths, Realtors, Talent Scout, Data Recovery Specialists, Lecturers, Movie Directors, Photographers, Web Designers, Business Managers, Contractors, Film Makers, Jewelers, Mechanics, Office Furniture Store, Salespeople, Travel Services, Career Counselor, Cosmetologists, Landlords, Medical Transcription Professionals, Day Traders, Opera Singers, Shoemakers, Videographers, Branding Companies, Computer Technicians, Executives, Internet Radio DJ, Marketers, Reporters, Tour Guides, Court Reporters, Lawyers, Mortgage bankers, Pastry Chefs, Social Workers, Virtual Assistants, Bankers, Computer Programmers, Event planners, Interior Designers,Management Consultants, Recording Engineers, Therapist, Artists , Clock Repairmen, Electricians, Housekeepers, Lobbyists, Real Estate Appraisers, Cake Decorators, Copyrighting Services, Filmmakers, Knitting Group, Medical Recruiters, Online Portal Services, Screenwriters Video Game Developers, Dance Companies, Leather Goods Maker, Mortgage brokers, Personal Trainers, Sociologists, Watch Repairers, Designers, Legal Executives, Movie Producers, Placement Agencies, Webmasters, Educators, Historians, Life Coaches, Network Administrators, Psychologists, Authors, Communication Specialists, Entertainers, Importers, Machinists, Record Producers, Tax Auditors, Brokers, Conservationists, Exporters, Investigators, Mechanical Engineers, Nurses, Risk Management Analysts, Tour Operators, Cabinet Makers, Controllers, Film Production Companies, Journalists, Medical Doctors, Online Marketers, Scrapbook Retailers, Video Editors, Architects, Claim Adjusters, Electrical Inspectors, Home Makers, Linguists, Real Estate Agents, Editors, Lending Officers, Negotiators, Psychics, Arbitrators, Cinematographers, Heating and Cooling System Mechanics, Novelists, Swimwear Designers, etc!

How can VH International Business Solutions help your business succeed?

We look forward to serving your New York business needs. Please contact us with any questions:
Tel: 1.212.627.8900
Fax: 1.646.861.6610
Manhattan Virtual Office

Since 1990.

VH International Business Solutions, Inc.
Follow us on Twitter: @ManhattanOffice

(Notes from Chapter 23 of “Agile Web Development with Rails, Third Edition”, section 23.9)

Layouts: allow for rendering pages nested within other pages, i.e. for the standard page layout across all actions

<%= yield :layout %> in the layout file will yield to the action’s template(s)

• default layout name is the name of the controller, i.e. the class MainController would correspond to the layout “main”
• since all controllers extend from ApplicationController, the default standard layout is “application”
• these files are found in the app/views/layouts directory
• you can override this by writing layout “standard” inside the controller
  • with this, you can use :except and nly, which can be arrays of strings or just a single string
  • a parameter of nil would turn off layouts for that controller
  • a symbol parameter, like :determine_layout, would call that instance method to determine which layout to use – this method must return a string name of a layout
• controller subclasses will use the parent’s layout unless they override it by having their own layout file or re-calling layout themselves
• actions can override the layout as well, using the :layout option in render
• layouts have access to everything that normal templates have access to
• regular (action’s) template is rendered before the layout is called, so the template could set a @title variable which would be then accessible to the layout to use
  • yield can also be used to render other types of content than just the main page content, such as a sidebar or additional JavaScript functions:
    <% content_for(:sidebar) do %>
    …
    <% end %>
  • this content will then be stored internally until yield :sidebar is encountered and will not be rendered in the normal action template

Partials: a subroutine displaying a specific, re-usable template; also known as “partial-page templates

• the template filename must start with an underscore
• use <%= render :partial => “row” %>
  • by default, the object passed to this has the name of the view’s corresponding model, i.e. @user, but you can override which the instance variable is with the bject option on render
  • partials have local variables named after the model, such as user
  • can also pass in :locals, a hash of additional local variables
• This is really cool! We can use partials to render something for each element in a collection!
  • pass the variable as the :collection parameter on render
  • you can still use the local variable user like before
  • the parameter :spacer_template is optional and allows for a template that will be rendered between each of the collection’s elements
• if the partial template in render contains at least one slash character, then Rails assumes that it is a path from the  app/views directory instead of within the current controller’s views
• convention for “shared” templates is to store them in a directory called shared off of app/views
• controllers and templates can both render partials (useful for updating part of the page with Ajax)

(Notes from Chapter 23 of “Agile Web Development with Rails, Third Edition”, sections 23.1 to 23.3)

Template Environment: you have access to the following:

• all of the controller’s instance variables – useful for communicating data from the action to the template
  • this includes flash
  • can access the current controller with the attribute controller – any public methods in the controller are thus accessible
• base_path contains the path to the base directory to templates

Template types:

1. builder – use the Builder library to construct XML responses
2. ERb (embedded ruby) – HTML, mixed in with some Ruby
3. rjs – special Ruby JavaScript

ERb templates

• use <% … %> to execute Ruby code
• use <%= … %> to output the result of Ruby code
• the method html_escape, or h for short, escapes text for rendering in the template
• the sanitize method cleans up dangerous HTML such as <form> and <script> tags, on= attributes and links starting with javascript:

Helpers: a module containing methods that assist all the views for a specific controller

• a controller named ResultsController would have a corresponding helper module called ResultsHelper in the file results_helper.rb in the app/helpers directory
• all views for this controller then have access to all of the public methods in this module
• list of useful formatting helpers pp. 512-4

Page Linking

• modules ActionView::Helpers::AssetTagHelper and ActionView::Helpers::UrlHelper contain useful methods for this purpose
• link_to creates a link to another action, with the following parameters:
  1. text to display for the link
  2. hash specifying the link’s target (same as the url_for method) – :action, :id, etc.
  3. hash of three options:
     1. :class is the HTML class of the anchor tag
     2. :confirm, if present, will use JavaScript to display the message and require the user’s confirmation for the link to be followed
     3. :method – hack, don’t use this
  4. :popup can be the value true or an array of window creation options [first the window name passed to JavaScript's window.open and the second is the option string]
• button_to generates a button in a self-contained form instead of a link, but other than that, its parameters are the same as link_to’s parameters
• link_to_if and link_to_unless generate links if the condition is met and otherwise just return the link text. Their first parameter is the condition
• link_to_unless_current is useful for creating menus in sidebars with the current page name in plain text and the others as hyperlinks
• absolute URLs such as http://taraclark.wordpress.com can also be included in instead of the hash specifying the link’s target

Resource Linking

• image_tag creates <img> tags with parameters and it can be used as the “text” portion of a link_to call:
  1. image filename – if it doesn’t start with a slash, then it is assumed to be in the images directory
  2. :class
  3. :size in the form “widthxheight” or :width and :height
  4. :alt or generated based on the image filename
• mail_to creates a mailto: hyperlink
  1. e-mail address
  2. name of the link
  3. :subject, :cc, :bcc, :body
  4. :encode => “javascript” uses JavaScript to obscure the generated link
• stylesheet_link_tag links to a stylesheet file
  1. filename without the .css
  2. :media => “all”
  3. :all => true would include all styles in the stylesheets directory
• javascript_include_tag – list of JavaScript filenames living in public/javascripts