ID:2190507
 
Merry Christmas, everyone! Once again it's two days before the holiday, which means lots of people still have last-minute shopping and wrapping to get to. And in my case, also laundry. Here we have snow on the ground, but the temperatures have been high and I fear it won't last.

The only development that got done this week was some high-level concept stuff for 512: a new item for the List. I've also had a request to see about the possibility of multiple gamepad support, so if I can get some syntax suggestions for that I'm wide open to giving that a shot before 511 is finalized. And yes, that also means I did not reach my goal of having a new web feature up where games that have access to the subscription system can use it for donations. I realized about halfway through the week that it simply wasn't going to happen.

The reason for the delay on further development is that I was awaiting delivery on a new system, which finally came through on Sunday. Before that I was getting files prepared for the move. Since then, and after an odyssey that ultimately ended in me getting a new monitor as well, I've been in a frenzy of installation and configuration, and bringing files and preferences over from backups. Good times. That and the oncoming, badly timed holiday (Christmas falling on a Sunday is the worst) has been a wrecking ball to the development schedule. The good news is, I expect the dust to have settled by the new year and I can get back to the high-priority development items. I'd like to get 511 finalized early on so that we can get rolling on 512.

And that means the Christmas break is underway. I'll be around of course, and still working on some system config stuff. Active development resumes January 3. If you're on Christmas break too, why not take the time to rediscover some old classics and let them inspire you to develop something new? You can even make a New Year's resolution out of it. If you have special plans for the break, let's hear 'em!

Don't forget to get in last-minute points with the Big Guy by helping to support BYOND as a Member or through a donation. I'm tremendously grateful to everyone who's been a part of helping BYOND this year, including by helping other users out on the forums and making awesome games. You guys are terrific.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone!
Lummox, do you finally have two monitors?
In response to Super Saiyan X
Super Saiyan X wrote:
Lummox, do you finally have two monitors?

Technically yes; realistically no. My old monitor only took VGA, and due to a miscommunication I didn't realize it wouldn't be compatible with the new system. I went out in the snow to get an adapter, and got a DVI-A to VGA that the guy at Best Buy assured me would work whether I had DVI-A or DVI-D output; I suspected it was the latter but I wasn't sure. But it turns out DVI-A has four extra pins and won't fit in a DVI-D slot. So then I tried an HDMI-to-VGA from Target, and that caused my old monitor to freak the heck out; I think there's a chance it's damaged now. Then I went to get an actual new monitor, and that's what I'm using now.

The new system is capable of handling multiple monitors, but I'd need a new one to try that. However if I end up replacing my old 19" tube TV up here, the new TV will take HDMI I'm sure and that should be capable of acting as a second monitor on demand.
protip, the a or d in dvi means analog or digital. basically dvi-a uses a few pins to be a 1:1 mapping of vga pins, dvi-d uses those pins for more resolution.
In response to MrStonedOne
I figured as much. Problem was the guy I talked to said he was sure the DVI-A would work because the system would simply put out whichever signal was appropriate. It passed the sniff test well enough that I believed him, only to find out when I got home that the adapter wouldn't fit.

Had I understood more about the connectors I wouldn't have gotten into that mess, of course. That's partly on me for not being a hardware guy, although I resent that Best Buy is gonna give me a hard time about returning that adapter. I suspect Target will be better about the other one.

What made that whole situation worse was that the snow came on very suddenly, another lake effect band similar to the one I drove through last Thursday but not quite as bad, as I left. My trip to Walmart and Target (which were closer) was also very snow, although the trip home not so much. By the time I went back out to Best Buy it had all cleared up; the roads were lousy but the visibility was fine again.
of course as you talk about flash snow, the pouring rain just turned into snow over here.
Merry Christmas Byond
Merry Christmas to all worlds BYOND!
Merry Christmas everyone.

Thank you very much Lummox for all your hard work. BYOND improved so much thanks to you.
I know you`ve been saying you want BYOND 512 to have new features including on-screen filters like blur etc... But I truly wish to see 512 being a focus on the engine's internal.
I know how incredibly hard it is for you to work on the engine because of how bad and old everything was done but Ter13 tackled down some very important issues that would definitely help us all if they were looked into:

http://www.byond.com/ forum/?post=1917533&page=5#comment18815785
Merry Festivus!
In response to Kidpaddle45
I always take Ter's insights seriously. He has a good eye for what can and should be changed, and often plans out feature requests with an eye for how they could be implemented.
In response to Manio
Manio wrote:
Merry Festivus!

Some guy puts up a Festivus pole every year in the Florida capital. The only way they could allow the Nativity scene they wanted to put up a few years ago was to allow other groups as well. At one point there were Atheists, Satanists, and a few other groups putting stuff in, but the guy with the Festivus pole is the only one left. Even the Nativity scene people quit :P
In response to Flick
That sounds like a legitimate grievance.
I don't comment much but I'm always reading these updates. To Lummox, you've been doing an awesome job at this. Watching BYOND grow and become better under your guidance and hard work is inspiring to me. I hope you know you're appreciated for all you put into this. Everything you implement gets a silent applause from me.
In response to Kitsueki
Kitsueki wrote:
I don't comment much but I'm always reading these updates. To Lummox, you've been doing an awesome job at this. Watching BYOND grow and become better under your guidance and hard work is inspiring to me. I hope you know you're appreciated for all you put into this. Everything you implement gets a silent applause from me.