Tuesday Backlog

A Mountain Of Catch-Up

Now I have rested and recovered from the long flight back from the GDC event in San Francisco, I have started the process of going through emails and letters to get back on track.

The Great News

The great news is that I have finished the secret AGK project before I left, and on my return have learned the apps are not only on sale in the app store but one of them is already at number 44 in the Educational chart - hurray!

Here is the magnificent octopus I was distracted by:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/theory-test-uk-driving-test/id609636705?mt=8

I also knocked out free versions and an accompanying Hazard Perception Test as well (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/hazard-perception-uk-driving/id609649044?mt=8).  It was a lot of work, mainly in the latter refinement work to the app, but it was well worth it and now millions of future drivers in the UK and pass their test with ease.  Apart from some minor tweak work from time to time, this project is complete for me.

Things At GDC

As some of you know and have guessed, the gap in my blog was the result of spending a week in the USA attending the Games Developer Conference and having a really good time.

I met lots of very nice people and drank lots of very nice drinks. The event itself was informative and revealing, and my own participation was enjoyable and hopefully useful.

I spent a few days showing off my Ultimate Coder Perceptucam app and chatting with developers, and also doing a quick 20 minute presentation on working with Intel, AGK and Perceptual Computing.  I also handed out a few AGK discounts too for lucky GDC goers.

Ultimate Challenge

I have six more days left before the end of the UCCII competition, and will be spending a few hours mid-week to bring that app to conclusion. This will be the last non-Reloaded project on my plate, and you can check the progress from the week just gone here: http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2013/03/31/ultimate-coder-challenge-ii-lee-going-perceptual-week-six#comment-1730296

Clunk Click

It has been a long time coming, but as of next Monday I will be a 100% Reloaded developer with only one project to focus on. At the start of the year I figured I could discharge my duties in 4 weeks, and it took 12. Let's hope my future estimates are a little better!

When last we saw some Reloaded, the room was exploding. I have since gathered 4-5 new emails in my inbox on this very subject and Wednesday I will be reporting on the progress of this and provide some lovely eye candy for you.  While this work continues, I will also be bringing the real time light mapping to the editing process of the current FPSC editor which is not far at all from being realised.

Once we are there and have something to demonstrate, there will be some work involved in making sure the light maps are managed correctly and that editing over time does not produce a huge amount of redundant light map files or memory leakage. This is important to do early as later on I may forget the intricacies of the system, and it will take longer to correct. It also means the system will be complete, sealed and working which allows me to fire and forget, and move onto the next exciting feature which is either physics or terrain. I suspect physics first as this has been a bane of the current experience for some time.

It will feel odd at first to wake up and start working on Reloaded right off the bat, and I am looking forward to calling it my primary (and only) project.  Expect screen shots, videos and small prototypes to follow in the months to come.

Signing Off

I still have a log of backlog to work through, but I am getting there. I should be able to report the latest progress on the explosion stuff Wednesday and some progress on the editor by the end of the week for sure. Next week is when it will all start to happen as I clear my desk of literally anything non-Reloaded and immerse myself in that world.  Thanks for your extraordinary patience - it will be worth the wait I'm sure :)