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Emzee

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Blog Entries posted by Emzee

  1. Emzee

    2003 - 2004

    By Emzee,

    Oh boy... what is it about second years never living up to the fourth? Beats me...
     
    Anyway, between July 23, 2003 and July 23, 2004, BZP's member base grew exponentially. I imagine many of them joined after getting the beta of MNOLG2 (which was programmed poorly, and thus makes it a sucky game IMO). MNOLG2 and Mask of Light were the main foci of this year, pretty much overshadowing the Rahkshi (at least it looked that way to me...) My game, The Saga Continues, sort of fell by the wayside in terms of popularity. This may have been because so much attention was being brought to my next game, The Legend of Mata Zuto: Genesis. The game was an overall success, and it took nearly half the time it took to complete TSC to finish it. I felt compelled to make yet another RPG; a sequel to "Genesis": "The Bohrok Saga". When making this game, I wanted to merge the Mata Zuto universe with the universe established in The Saga Continues (The Infestation is actually an even mix of elements from both TSC and The Bohrok Saga). This was also the year that I wanted to expand my creativity. I began writing epics and making sprite comics - all connected to the Mata Zuto story. I was about halfway through Mata Zuto 2 when I released it for download. My fanbase was booming, and many wanted to help with the RPG. I let a few members take the RPG and work on the next version that was due in a couple weeks or so. They disappeared off the face of the Earth and my topic died since there weren't any updates.
     
    Meanwhile, members from all over the web came pouring in (in part because BIONICLE.com linked to us in 2004). This is the year that, with so many new faces, the forums began to lose their community feel. This was compounded by the fact that us, still being tweens and kids, couldn't role-play to save our skins, so the RPG forum was pretty much dead. There would be the occasional "interesting" project that would garner lots of posts from members (this was before the "proof" rule was implement), but eventually, it would die off. People also didn't seem to have the same affection for RPG Maker-made games like they did when I joined. Soon after the death of Mata Zuto 2, I released "TSC-REVISED", the first RPG on BZP to be made with RPG Maker 2003. The very first Matoran Battle Sprites also spawned from that game. It did okay, considering how dead the RPG forum was. After that, I began working on the MZGRPG - a remake of "Genesis" - with a completely different story. This completely tanked and it seemed like the age RPG Maker-made games was clearly over.
     
    Fortunately, in June 2003, a BZ Moderator (with the help of Black Six and other members) started up the BZPRPG. This would mark my first role-playing experience, and it help to dull the pain of the complete lack of interest in video game RPGs. This was very fun, but the RPG was too strict in my opinion. Granted, we all sucked at RPing, and god-modded everywhere, but the method of handling it was not like it is today. Though, I must repeat, the beginning months of the BZPRPG was very fun, and a great pastime. It's too bad they were lost.
     
    In general, the BIONICLE storyline was cool during this time, but it felt like BZP was getting a tad bit cluttered.
     
    This year was also notable for being my favorite year in BIONICLE. Everything was climatic and it felt cool. Plus the urban setting of 2004 was beyond awesome. It's just too bad we didn't get a "MNOLG" for that year...
  3. Emzee

    2002 - 2003

    By Emzee,

    Don't ask why, but I spent a great deal of time in Storyline and Theories. I think this is because that forum was the first to show up on my address bar whenever I typed in bzpower.com (I didn't know how to bookmark at this time), plus every forum looked the same to me so I didn't really pay attention to what forum I was in (yes, I was one of those members). So most of my first few posts were in S&T, with this one being my very first (as far as I know - I got up rather late the next day).
     
    BZPower was cyber-attacked in November 2002. The forums were offline for quite a while after that and I was sure the era of BZ had met its end. Fortunately, I was wrong.
     
    So, you may remember last entry when I mentioned Flow of the River. That's how I discovered the RPG Forum, which I thought was an odd name for a forum that had computer games. The forum was populated with game project that were doomed to fail (FotR could possibly be included in this, since the game was only half-finished by this point and the creators had gone on hiatus). Still, I checked out the 3D C++ game topic, and many other topics using RPG Maker to make their stuff. I really wanted to believe I could find something to fill that void of no Legends of Mata Nui PC game. Well, since the game projects (most of them at least) weren't going anywhere, I decided to start making RPGs myself.
    Now to shamelessly parrot from my site's About page:

     
    This actually sums up my first year well. The rise and fall of an aspiring RPG Maker. I also enjoyed the luxury of learning more about the BIONICLE storyline and other facets that I would've never found on Bionicle.com. I had gotten used to simply visiting BZPower first, then, if LEGO posted an update, I'd check out Bionicle.com through the link that BZPower posted.
  4. Emzee
    I was bored during the summer of 2002. I didn't have enough sets to really MOC, and I didn't have a camera to take pictures, so much of my time was spent on my Windows 98 desktop. My site that had really piqued my interest during this time was bioniclemusic.com. It had a flash application that let you mix several tribal/techno tracks together to make music. It was beyond awesome. Another Bionicle-related thing that I found on the 'net was this BIONICLE flash game, where you would choose a Toa and then battle Rahi in several levels, increasing your score. They had a contest where the highest scorer got a free Manas set (still curious on who was the lucky person). Well, these two sites (along with a painful longing of anything remotely similar to the cancelled PC game) are what ultimately got me started on my quest for BIONICLE multimedia. This being the time before the BIONICLE Media Project or even BZPower however, my searches were not very fruitful.
     
    One day, I stumbled across a BIONICLE site that I can't name. Since I can't really discuss it in detail, I'll just say that it was the first fansite that I had ever encountered and was blown away by the set reviews and official BIONICLE images that they were able to put up from time to time. Continuing on... there was another site that Google returned in my search: "Xitan's BIONICLE Corner". I guess Google was not very fast at updating their links, because when I encountered this site, it had been moved to another domain for some time. This domain: bzcommunity.com, would be my second fansite that I encountered. Honestly, I didn't like it. You were greeted with the disembodied head of a maskless Toa with fiery red eyes gazing into your soul, and I barely was able to notice the BionicleZone under it. Not to mention, this being the very first forum I encountered, I simply couldn't make my way around the site. There were links everywhere going to all kinds of different places, with little icons and images strewn about everywhere. It had been the oddest website I had ever encountered, boasting what looked like thousands of webpages with URLs that I couldn't make out. It was through this heap of links that I discovered Brickshelf, where they supposedly hosted pictures of peoples' MOCs and BIONICLE figures. The folders were never public though, so I ignored it and continued on, searching for any more BIONICLE multimedia.
     
    Finally, Google showed my Kanohi Power, another BIONICLE fansite that (IMO) looked miles better than Bionicle Zone. Everything was clean and not too many links. I reminded me of the first BIONICLE site, but with less pictures. At the time, I need pictures and videos to keep my interest in anything, so I quickly moved on.
     
    However, every time I'd try to search for something BIONICLE-related, I'd generally always find myself at one of those three fansites, and mostly, I just wound up at either BZCommunity or Kanohi Power. I had also managed to grasp what a "forum" was, and consequently had an easier time navigating BZC. I finally just stuck to BZC - the Toa head didn't bother me anymore, and I learned that people were making all kinds of cool stuff in their Creative Outlet, including a 3D BIONICLE game in the works (written in C++ no less!)! As you can probably guess, that particular project fell through.
     
    I continued following the discussions on BZC until one day when I saw that BZ's layout had changed dramatically. It turns out it merged with Kanohi Power - that other site that I paid little attention to! Well, that was convenient! BZP then felt like a brand new site (cause it was!). Contrary to what I thought, it doesn't look like I felt the need to post in the FotR topic at all, considering it was almost a week after I joined before I did. I guess I just decided to join just-cause. Anyway, three days later (technically 2 days later, and I joined a little bit after midnight), I decided to sign up.
     
    And that's how I found BZP!
  5. Emzee

    Not Fun...

    By Emzee,

    *sigh* Work on Influx is continuing, but I've reached possibly the hardest part of the game: AI. I've just managed to get the logic down on paper, and implementing it has been successful. However, since this is a 3D game, Physics and animation have to play a part, and sometimes what I want the AI to do may be hindered by the Physics since the Physics system controls how the character moves.
     
    Then, there's sequencing: having one process go after another. This is generally how lines of code are processed, by they're processed so fast that it all looks instantaneous. The challenge presented is that I must have one command cycle through the game loop until it is done, then when that command is completely finished, another command can start. The key is to hopefully do this without the use of hundreds of booleans (or switches, or toggles, if that makes more sense), which right now looks like the only possible solution.
     
    Maybe I'll go back and work on the menu. That was fun.
     
    P.S. Stay tuned this week for my 8th BZP anniversary, where, starting on the 20th (3 days before my join date) I'll talk to you about what was going on during that year and what I was up to (since very few you know much about be from before 2008/9). I will be funny and entertaining. Promise!
  8. Emzee

    No Pms For Comments?

    By Emzee,

    ... so yeah. If you make a comment in my blog, don't expect it to show up for several days. I generally don't pay attention to stuff like this unless I'm notified about them. XD
     
    EDIT: Never mind, I just activated notifications. XD
  9. Emzee

    New Video

    By Emzee,

    I've been spending much of my free time working on my extremely labor-intensive project, known simply as Mata Zuto 3D: Influx. Now, I have something new to present to the few of you who are interested.
     
    Click here to see the player character unsheath his sword and battle the evil mesh. Also take a look at the interface. The enemy HUD may or may not stay that way. I would like feedback on how you like that panel that appears on the left side of the screen. You can battle up to four enemies at once, and their panels would simply line up on the left side of the screen. The font used is the official Legend of Mata Zuto font. It's kind of part of see clearly, which is why I hope to get a prototype underway, so that you can get a better look at what I'm trying to present.
     
    Well, enjoy!
  10. Emzee
    I'll just come right out and say it: it was the stuff of nightmares. Remember that XKCD strip where the guy was in class and they had a pop test, and he had no idea what to do, and it turned out it was all a dream? That would be my weekend, except it wasn't a dream. Sure, I knew the concepts, but in Calculus-based Physics, concepts isn't enough. It's the cruelest form of problem solving known to man, and combine that with my (general) inability to solve problems (whether real or conceptual) right the first time...
     
    *sigh* I just hope I can still pass.
  11. Emzee
    Yeah, I doubt most of you know about those. I know that sounds like the Golden Cheese of Awesomeness or something like that, but don't be fooled. I'm getting one tomorrow and it will be due on Tuesday. Most likely? I will be literally working on it the whole weekend. Still though, I can say that they're a little bit better than have to take an exam in only an hour's time, but I don't know if I can stay in my room for three days straight doing Physics problems.
     
    And I see Hero Factory has touched down on American soil. I hope Smeag and DV can get their hands on them soon - we're overdue for a review from one of them - especially DV.
     
    Oh, and lastly, clickety-click.
  12. Emzee

    Moving

    By Emzee,

    I forgot to mention: today's moving day for me. It's only down the street to another apartment though (less than a half-mile away), and it's still on campus. As an upper-classman, I have to move to the designated upper-classmens group of apartments. It only a two-bedroom though, which I like (I'm currently in a four-bedroom). I haven't even begun gathering my stuff up to put in my car though. At any rate, that's pretty much my day for today.
     
    In other news, you should allow Aho to brighten your day.
  13. Emzee

    I'm Now An Officer

    By Emzee,

    At the end of this past semester, I ran for an Officer position for an engineering organization that I'm a part of. I won, which is cool, and I'll now have a lot on my plate as my position involves a lot of writing (official title is Secretary), which will... hopefully be cool.
     
    That's the only update I have for right now. Please fill out the survey I posted if you haven't already.
  14. Emzee

    Graphics Card Survey

    By Emzee,

    Hi guys. I'm developing a 3D RPG and it would help me greatly if I had an idea of the types of graphics cards people use. See, I'm trying to see if the models and meshes I have now will be suitable with their polygon counts, or if I need to make adjustments. It all depends on the hardware though.
     
    For Windows users, you should be able to find your graphics card by going to your Desktop, right-clicking on the background and choosing Properties, and then clicking on the Settings tab. It should then show you graphics card model. In Windows 7, you have go to your windows experience index, and then select the "view and print detailed information." There is no "properties" options from the desktop. And for OS X, Go to the Menu Bar --> Apple logo --> About this Mac --> More Info --> Graphics/Displays.
     
    Anyway, comment here stating your graphics card, it will help me and other 3D game developers here greatly.
  15. Emzee

    So, What's Up?

    By Emzee,

    Not much has changed in Emzeeland. I'm still in school, for one. In fact, I'm taking two summer courses because I'm behind. There's the Electromagnetism (Physics) class (with its lab as well), and Linear Algebra. I really don't know how to describe Linear Algebra other than "an alternative way of playing with numbers". You take this after Calculus I, but the subject itself isn't really based on Calculus. Like I said, it's a different way of working with numbers completely.
     
    Money is still tight, but as long as I keep getting approved on loans, I should be able to get my Software Engineering degree, and hopefully, a good job that will help me pay back my impending dues quickly.
     
    So, how goes it with you guys?
  16. Emzee

    Guess Who's Back?

    By Emzee,

    Eh, with the new sig guidelines finally being rolled out, I think BZPower deserves a little something from me.
     
    Now to clean this place up a bit... *gets broom and dustpan*
  17. Emzee
    Some of you may remember a blog entry where I presented the first video footage of a prototype game that will soon evolve into The Legend of Mata Zuto - Episode 3: Influx (or Influx for short ). It was only 6 seconds, but it was the culmination of a lot of work. Now, I'm back with a 45-second movie clip, showing my progress after spending a couple weeks with Unity and Blender. I've finished rigging and animating the Tarakava model that Mihunai made for me, and the only other thing I need to do to the model is remove those treads and replace with with a "normal map" tread. On the Unity end, I certainly still have my work cut out for me, but I was able to get a lot more done then I thought. Check out this video to see the Tarakava move around and punch, the beginning of great things to come!
  19. Emzee

    Intriguing

    By Emzee,

    I'm not sure who bundled up their snow and shipped it to Texas (I'm thinking it was Andrew, but I'm not sure), but thanks! No classes today.
  20. Emzee

    Super Bowl

    By Emzee,

    Really not sure if I'm going to watch it or not. If my friends have something planned, then I'll probably end up joining them. As my Staff Bio says, I don't really watch sports (or TV in general), so I'm not as hyped about it as some other people here are.
     
    Yeah, this was just a ramble entry. You guys got any plans tonight?
  22. Emzee

    The Son Of The Toa

    By Emzee,

    Soon after the victory over Makuta, the six Toa Mata were killed by a creature named Shadows. A single Toa called Tahkan was sent to defeat him, but he was only one Toa. Tahkan was advised to instruct his apprentice on the ways of the Toa, in both mental and physical form, and he chose a young Matoran named Matev. Together, they travelled the island in a desperate quest to hunt down Shadows, and after much traveling, Tahkan and Matev became very close. Tahkan eventually began calling Matev his 'Son', which was a great compliment to the skills and reliability of Matev.
     
    After chasing Shadows through almost all of the island, they finally caught him in one of the many tunnels of Onu-Wahi. After a vicious confrontation, Tahkan was defeated. With the Toa's last breath, Tahkan stripped off his mask and gave it to his son, reminding him of his duty to protect the island. With his father's mask, Matev fled the island and sailed far away to a place where he hid for fifteen years. One day a voice spoke to him, informing Matev that Shadows had recovered his full strength, and was once again unleasing chaos on the island of Mata-Nui. This was Matev's only chance to honor the death of Tahkan and redeem his own name.
     
    Play as Matev as he travels the island of Mata Nui on his quest to destroy Shadows once and for all!
     
    Screenshots:
     
    Operating System: Windows (98 and higher)
     
    Download: Here
  23. Emzee
    Well, Cyan generally likes to work on many projects at once, but this particular project, spearheaded by longtime FCG resident, =Blur=, is the completed and revised version of The Son of the Toa. As my signature says, it will be released tomorrow morning.
     
    Clicking on the banner will take you to the Cyan webpage for The Son of the Toa, but here's the original, uncut description of this RPG:
     

     
    It would be awesome if you could let us know what you think of this upcoming RPG, either in the Cyan topic or just in this blog.
  24. Emzee

    Wow Deevs

    By Emzee,

    ... I guess awesomeness really does get you far. That means I need to build up mine, and fast!
     
    Congrats to you and all those other promotees!
  25. Emzee

    In Other News...

    By Emzee,

    I finally shrunk down my gi-normous approval seal. It's now only 200 pixels wide. If you still have the oversized one, scroll down and switch it out with the new one.
     
    Yeah, I think that's all I have to say for today.
    EDIT: I need to change my av for this blog... eh, I'll do it later.
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