IJBMer Updates

Saturn · 2012-12-11 13:53:45

Before the test, I have 397 points out of 650. The test was 200 points.

200 points out of 650 is 30.7%

lrdgck · 2012-12-11 13:59:03

So... everything went better than expected?

Saigyouji · 2012-12-11 14:01:48

Can't marrying gay people be left to other religions, then?

What Ironweaver said. Plus, Anglicanism is the state religion of England, so... Hell, I'm technically an Anglican.

Stormtroper · 2012-12-11 14:04:43

> the US's grade isn't silly

> it mixes points with percentages and letters.

mfw

Saturn · 2012-12-11 14:06:34

Yeah, I used a site that was supposed to tell me what I needed on the final, if you put it what you have, what you want, and how much the final is worth. It was completely wrong.

I expected, at best to get a 70% in the class, if I got an A on the test. I aced the test and have a 91% in the class.

All Nines · 2012-12-11 16:45:10

Before the test, I have 397 points out of 650. The test was 200 points.

200 points out of 650 is 30.7%

So, it was the fault of the teacher miscommunicating his own grading system? Prior to the test, your grade should have been presented as 397/450 (which would be an 88, which, as far as I'm concerned, isn't too bad), to represent the points you had earned up to that point, compared with the amount of points possible up to that point in the class. It's good that you're doing so well with the class now, though.

Whereas I'm already three hours late turning in an English paper and I'm halfway done with it, and I still have three other things to revise, and I'm sick and tired, physically and mentally. And I've fucked up travel plans. I just want to sleep.

Saturn · 2012-12-11 17:53:04

You are right that it would have been nice to see the grade as 397/450, but showing the possible points for the class was still helpful, especially at the end, where the only thing left to do is the final.

glennmagusharvey · 2012-12-11 22:32:17

How do I check if there's something on my computer that's letting an external entity control stuff?

I've had occasional instances recently of suspect activity, such as one case of internet explorer opening without warning in the midst of my doing other stuff.

ClockworkUniverse · 2012-12-11 22:37:34

You could check out your process list.

MillerCross · 2012-12-11 22:44:51

http://letterstoatticus.tumblr.com/post/37072532567/cormac-mccarthy-goes-to-the-grocery-store

I have witnessed

true beauty

Saturn · 2012-12-12 00:55:34

Taking my last final tomorrow, and then winterbreak.

I can start devoting time to learning Japanese.

MadassAlex · 2012-12-12 01:07:24

> add desu to the end of every sentence desu
> now you know moonspeak desu

DYRE · 2012-12-12 01:09:04

Japanese is like 50% butchered English anyway.

The other 50% is butchered Dutch, Portuguese, and German.

glennmagusharvey · 2012-12-12 01:36:34

> not adding de geso

MadassAlex · 2012-12-12 01:37:52

The other 50% is butchered Dutch, Portuguese, and German.

> implying these are different languages desu

Saturn · 2012-12-12 03:35:41

I mostly just want to know it for the vidya

I'm fluent in Deutsch, so maybe it'll be a little easier, since I already know how to learn a different language. is that a thing or am i dumb

Stormtroper · 2012-12-12 06:05:58

That is a thing.

Nyktos · 2012-12-12 06:16:17

It's certainly a thing, although the difference between Japanese and English/German is a hell of a lot bigger than the difference between English and German.

MadassAlex · 2012-12-12 06:17:46

Officially, English is a dialect of German anyway.

Saigyouji · 2012-12-12 06:27:13

Bluh. Royal Mail charges a £8 handling fee on goods that require import duty. Costs more than the bloody duty itself.

MillerCross · 2012-12-12 07:08:50

Kill the queen.

Long live the new queen, alice.

for about two minutes before she's killed

ClockworkUniverse · 2012-12-12 15:00:50

ClockworkUniverse · 2012-12-12 15:04:31

My dad saw that post over my shoulder (with the video paused) and went "oh! You can post pictures!"

And I said "that's a video."

Then he said "You can post moving pictures!"

Crimson · 2012-12-12 15:48:45

^^Um, wow. That was dark. Even for SMBC Theater.

LouieW · 2012-12-12 19:04:26

Yo, Alex, do you have any thoughts on this? I would not be surprised if you had already read it, but I thought it seemed right up your alley.

MadassAlex · 2012-12-12 19:29:54

Thank you, Louie.

“German Longsword is more metal,” Martin summarises.

I like Martin. He seems like a solid chap.

But yes, IGN seem to have stumbled upon the exact thing I study.

I think this could be done in games, though, with a significant amount of accuracy. Every individual gameplay mechanic I think is required has previously been tested and proven doable in various different games. Here's a rundown of how I think it would have to work, with references to the games that actually did the specific things I'm referencing:

You must be able to attack without said attack interrupting your foot movement. (Mount & Blade, War of the Roses, Jedi Outcast)

There needs to be both a lock-on system and a selector for different attack angles, although these angles should be weighted so only "proper" angles can be chosen. (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Every weapon must be a collision object with the environment and with other weapons. (Jedi Outcast did this really nicely, and elements of this can be found in Mount & Blade, War of the Roses, Demon's Souls and Dark Souls)

There must be a system of single-time counters where certain kinds of attack overcome others. This applies to real swordsmanship, just in a different way when compared to most games. (Too many games to mention)

There's also a lot of other things more relevant to individual schools of swordsmanship and the level of realism the developers want. But the points I mentioned above would cover the core principles and ensure that the essentials of what works for real swordsmanship would also work in a video game -- and without being complex. In fact, the real sword systems (at least the good ones) are very simple, but also very versatile. Swordsmen make them complex via their skill, but it's more a collection of individually simple elements that have complex potential, rather than swordsmanship being some kind of inherently esoteric thing.

For instance, I think you could par down sword control to three buttons and an angular control, like a joystick or mouse. In the case of a mouse, three buttons and an angular control is pretty much what it is, making it a fantastic tool for representing swordsmanship in a game. Here's how I'd do it:

LMB (left mouse button) is held, which locks the camera and changes the angular control so it defines where you cut comes from. Releasing it makes the cut happen.

RMB (right mouse button) is held, which locks the camera and changes the angular control so it weights the hilt of the sword to one of four positions -- one on each side of the hip, and one on each side of the head and a bit forward. The blade of the sword is pointed towards one's adversary in all of these positions. Pressing LMB while RMB is held thrusts from the current pointing position.

MMB (middle mouse button) is clicked to select a first non-pointing sword guard. It can be clicked again from that position or held from any position to access a second non-pointing guard.

Every cut ends in a corresponding position. For instance, a falling diagonal cut from the right side ends in the position of the thrust that comes from the lower left. All cuts end in one of the pointing guards described in the second point, and any cut (but only one thrust!) can be delivered from those pointing guards.

Again, there's more to it, but those things are pretty minor. The above points are what would be necessary to turn the system into an intuitive gameplay control system. And, of course, you combine the second set of points with the first set to get a more complete picture of how this would work out. While this system wouldn't contain the sensation of swinging a sword, I think it'd come very close to the tactical realities and the theoretical considerations that go into a sword fight (or combat with any similar weapon).

And the thing is that it's not really very complex. You have a button for cuts, a button for thrusts and both intercept enemy attacks, plus access to every major guard in the system. All the nitty-gritty of attack angling would need a mouse movement, but those should be weighted as described and sensitivity balance on those is down to testing and iterating. Teaching players the system is down to general game balance, although I'd probably open the game with enemies that use only one or two attacks, allowing players to come to grips with particular attack types before they move on to mastering more complex sequences.

Saturn · 2012-12-12 19:32:33

Textfugu seems to have almost unanimously good reviews and it was also personally reccomended to me by a friend, so I will start learning Japanese through that, tomorrow.

DYRE · 2012-12-12 19:50:39

Oh, also, obligatory learning Japanese pastebin link.

Saturn · 2012-12-12 20:08:53

Why thank you, DYRE.

It's kind of funny that the amount of resources for learning japanese is almost as intimidating as the language. Not really, but almost.

Stormtroper · 2012-12-12 20:32:20

Man, that link has everything. Wish I had had it when I started.

The only things I can add are James Heisig's Remembering the Kana, Nico Nico Douga (Japanese Youtube with in-video comments and a tag system that doesn't suck,、less SFW), and that there are loads of Anki (The Spaced Repetition program) decks already made for lots of stuff, including many books and sites on that list.

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