Bits of Blender #60 - Normals and Nodes

Due to some bugs with the 2.55 beta, Richard and I go back to Blender 2.49b to show you a tip on normals and material nodes (the info in this Bit will work in 2.5x eventually).

Speaking of bugs, we normally distribute our videos via blip.tv. But two weeks ago blip.tv had some big changes and I've had trouble with both display and distribution of Bit #59 and #60 (this one). I've been using Vimeo for some time, but now I've upgraded to Vimeo Pro and will be using it as my main method of distribution.

Strategy Games in AS3 - Preview 2 - Connected Component Labeling

Strategy Games in AS3 - Preview 1 - Terrain

Make your own battlefield!

Check out my ActionScript 3 based terrain generator. You learn how to randomly generate terrains as part of my forthcoming CartoonSmart.com course: Strategy Games.

After 7 Blender courses, I'm developing my first ActionScript 3 course for CartoonSmart.com. It's not just a cookbook lesson, I am teaching concepts that can be carried forward to other languages/frameworks. In it you'll learn about:

• Terrain generation: Learn how to create your own randomly generated maps with the BitmapData class and without.
• Pathfinding: Ever wonder how A* pathfinding works and how to integrate it into a game? I'll take you step-by-step through the process.
• Statemachines: With state machines you'll be able to give your objects some easily extendable behavior.

Along the way, you'll also go from learning how to deal with bits, all the way up to how to use some common design patterns.

Next CBUG: Oct 21st

When:

Thursday, October 21st

7:00-8:30pm

What:

General meeting (no presentation). Come hang out with other Blenderheads, chat about Sintel, your current (or past) Blender experiences, show and tell (bring your work).

Where:

Parker Library

10851 South Crossroads Drive

Parker, CO 80134

Who:

John R. Nyquist

blender@nyquist.net

It will be in the Parker Conference Room just inside the entrance.

SWCs and FlashDevelop, Part 2

Quite a while back, I wrote about the method I was using for developing using SWCs and FlashDevelop. At that time, I was discussing using inheritance (an "is a" relationship) and the issue of which direction the inheritance went: write in FlashDevelop and have the Flash MovieClip extend from it, or create the MovieClip and have the code in FlashDevelop extend from that. I found my preferred approach is: neither.

I have migrated to a style I used when I was developing in Director and Lingo. In Director, I'd have my Parent Script's using artwork. In other words, a "has a" relationship (also known as "aggregation"). So now I'll create a class in FlashDevelop, have it extend Sprite (or MovieClip), and then that class will create and use an instance of a MovieClip from the SWC as a child.

I've used all of the above approaches over the years, and I'm sure I'll still find times I'm choosing one of the "is a" methods. But for the moment, "has a" is working best.

3D Artist Magazine

My Blender Basics tutorial from CartoonSmart.com made it onto the 3D Artist magazine disk for issues 16 and 18! (Thanks Will!)

It's been a while since I've posted an update (or a Bit). So an update is overdue! I'm still here and using Blender. I've been using Blender 2.49b on a long contract job. I've been sticking with 2.49b because the scripting APIs are stable. Now that 2.5 has gone into beta, I'll look into migrating the project to 2.5 if the APIs (which have changed significantly for scripting) are more stable. I've held off on Blender lessons in 2.5 until the beta to avoid frustrating new users, so now I'm plotting my first full-length 2.5 Blender course.

In the meantime, I'm developing my first ActionScript 3 course for CartoonSmart.com. It is on creating a strategy game. It's not just a cookbook lesson, I am teaching concepts that can be carried forward to other languages/frameworks. I've been using AS3 since it was released with Flash CS3 in Spring 2007. I've used its predecessors AS2 and AS1 as well. AS3 is more similar to Java and C# than AS2/AS1 ( both of which I've also used professionally). I've been wanting to teach a class on it for sometime, so I'm looking forward to this course's release!