Helping Hand

Helping Hand has been lazy!

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 07:54:12 GMT

I must apologize, I have been very lazy. Since the formation of Helping Hand, there has been one contribution, my flash tutorial. I only blame myself, I have been lazy and have not done my part as a guild leader to organize the creation of more tutorials and demos.

I want to change this.

Members of Helping Hand, I request your Google Talk name or(if this is the only way possible) another major IM screen name. I would like to start organizing us, and really start pumping out the content. I think we have the potential to help others outside of the code support forums, but we have been missing the will.

As for anyone else, if you have been wondering about something involving DM, just ask. I know there can be a good few tricky things in DM and we want to help. Some things that I see common problems with are Telnet support, detecting a host without using their key, and parsing text. All things that are simple if you know them, but can be very complicated to newbies. So ask away.

[edit] It seems I forgot to mention how to get me that info, if you want, you can post it on the member's only section of Helping Hand or email(and Google Talk) me at scoobert.scoobsoft@gmail.com[/edit]

Evi of au spilt the beans...

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:02:07 GMT

...on the URL, so here it is:
http://www.scoobsoft.com/byond/dmflash.html

I would really like some opinions on it and some strong feedback. This is the first official Helping Hand tutorial and I am really hoping it will help a lot of people. I write this assuming you know a decent bit about both DM and Flash to begin with. So if you feel lost, you probably need to brush up on your DM or Flash skills before attempting this(Nothing too complicated in flash, just a basic button and dynamic textbox.)

I have yet to look into a few things I want to try out. Most specifically, using frames or iframes as a way to create a closer to real time communication.

DM>Flash>DM Tutorial draft up.

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:10:16 GMT

For Helping Hands only:
http://members.byond.com/Scoobert/forum?id=13

Please, read over it, make some suggestions or whatever else is needed. I would like to release this within the next two days.

What has 10 members and 7 hands? Wink Wink!

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 09:55:58 GMT

Us! Save your laughter 'till after the post.

Current roster goes as follows:

# Danial.Beta: The Big Hand
# Airjoe: Small Hand
# Audeuro: Small Hand
# DarkCampainger: Small Hand
# GoodDoggyTreat: Small Hand
# Hiead: Small Hand
# Loduwijk: Small Hand

/////Not Helpers/////
# Evi of au: Hand In Need
# Texter: Hand In Need
# Cherise146: Hand In Need

So, what do we have to show for it? Well... a few planned projects. Loduwijk has some good ideas for a tutorial (See: ID:5) which will hopefully take off soon. I still have my big DM>Flash>DM tutorial planned, but I am very busy with another project sans BYOND(Money is involved!) so I have not got around to typing the bulk of it.

If you see any of us hanging out in Chat or wiz_chat, feel free to ask questions, it is what this guild was designed for.

You may now laugh.

Officially switched keys.

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 05:52:36 GMT

I have finally gone and switched keys. For almost as long as I have been on BYOND I have been known as Scoobert.

Scoobert worked as a nice name when I was younger. It gave the impression of both a child like spirit and the intelligence of someone who's name ends in bert. But I have grown out of that name.

For the past few years I have been in search of a new name to go by on the Internet. Everything I thought of was taken or was just a bad choice.

So, what resulted was a name that is truly one of a kind. Danial.Beta

Danial.Beta came about after trying to find a suitable name for my Picasa web album. I needed something that would tell family and friends that this was mine, while not giving away too much info about myself. I tried many combinations of my name, all where taken. Danial.B, D.Bull, Danial.Bull(I decided that one was not that great), and out of all of them, despite having a very unique first name, Danial.Beta was the only one not taken. If you haven't already guessed, Beta is just a stand-in for B. You can call me whatever you want: Danial, Beta, Danial B, Danial Beta, That guy, or whatever.

I am hoping that this is an overall positive change, but only time will tell. I also have not decided as to move to guild to my new key, or just start a key for the guild(like a smart person).

The Hands are getting bigger!

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 11:55:50 GMT

Seems like almost every day I have a new application! This is going as good, if not better, than I really expected. I am happy to see this idea take off.

I am cooking up a tutorial that will come with the Helping Hand stamp, so to speak. This will probably be the first thing to actually come out of Helping Hand, but it is still in its beginning stages and I still have some ideas I need to test. I know another Hand is working on a lib, but I really don't know how far along it is.

I would like to let all you Hands know that you can make posts on this blog, should you have anything to say.

Now for a laugh: http://gooddoggytreat.com/images/electronics.gif

Two hands, more to come!

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 16:12:47 GMT

Everyone please welcome Hiead and DarkCampainger.

After a review of both their DM abilities and their friendliness to others, I decided that they have earned the "Small Hand" rank.

These two are just the start. I want anyone who wants to help others to put in an application. If I decided that you are not up-to-par to earn the rank of "Small Hand" I will attempt to explain my reasoning and still give you the rank of "Hand in Need". At any time I could increase your rank if I feel you have learned enough or have generally earned said rank.

A little more info: At no time will an application to Helping Hand be made public. The most I will do is share an applicant's name and possible their application with other Helping Hand members (Of a rank greater than "Hand in Need") in an attempt better judge the applicant. This is necessary to ensure a round judgement and prevent an old bias of mine from getting in the way.

Helping Hand: More information

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 22:25:11 GMT

I realized after my last post the I was lacking a lot of information. Yeah, I noted my mission statement, but never really gave you any clue beyond "Helping others".

Ranks:

--Hand in Need: A hand in need is just that, someone who wants help and needs it quite often. This is not a requirement for getting help, but it does allow you to view a forum section for members only. This is a trivial rank, but it is here anyways.

--Small Hand: A small hand can only help a little. The potential is there, but the experience is not. Small Hands can make blog posts and upload files. They are around to help people with simple problems and do whatever they can to help. If I was to join a guild of this type, this is the group I would expect myself to be in, if this explains much to you.

--Helping Hand: The primary rank. This is what most people will want to be. Helping Hands have the power to make blog posts, upload files, and manage forums. They are expected to know the BYOND language like the back of their hand and have a strong will to help others. They should be helping the most by releasing tutorials and demos.

--Large Hand: The top rank. Large Hands can do everything Helping Hands can, but also recruit new Hands. Large Hands are held to the standard of Helping Hands, with the added responsibility of power. This does not rule out someone with the knowledge of a Small Hand from becoming a Large Hand. The reason for Large Hands is power, not skill. Helping is still a large part of their tasks, but they can pick their scale.

Applicants:

If you wish to apply, please state the rank you wish to have, but please do not request Large Hand, that one is only given to those I trust, and they do not have to ask, they will receive regardless.

If you only wish to be a "Hand in Need" please state that in your application, it is the only necessary information.

If you wish to be a "Small Hand" or "Helping Hand" please give a detailed summary of how you believe you can help. Along with this, please link to as many examples of your current knowledge as you can. This may include demos, libraries, blog posts, forum help replies, and game sources.

Game sources, demos, and libraries are far from required, but they help in judging your current programming prowess. The more information you can provide the better.

Extra Information:

The single most important quality we are looking for is will to help. We want friendly people who really want to help others. It is also a good idea for a applicant to have a good understanding of programming in general, not just DM specifics. This aids in the helping process greatly.

I really hope this clears some things up, I would love to see some more applications soon.

Guild: Helping Hand

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 22:17:46 GMT

I would like to welcome everyone to my new idea. For a long time I have wanted to really help BYOND. To really do something for the greater good. All my attempts have failed.

After hearing about the Guilds, an idea started brewing. I want to give a helping hand to all those who I can. The only problem is that I don't have the talent or knowledge to do this myself. This means I need help from the Community.

What I want to do is set up a guild dedicated to helping those who have yet to learn DM or those who want to learn more. This will include, but will not be limited to:

-Tutorials
-Well documented demos
-Friendly help in a chat environment

I have not yet decided any criteria for enrollment. If you are interesting in becoming a helping hand, feel free to ask, but please don't be disappointed or upset if you don't get accepted. Any denials will be based on many things that cannot be easily placed on paper.

I am really aiming at group collaboration for best results. Demos and Tutorials always come out best if multiple people contribute.

I would love to hear some opinions on this matter.

AutoIt and Drawball

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 20:52:49 GMT

One of the worst parts of using Drawball is finding or making a solid color place to draw. So, what do we do about this? Give up and go home? Well, I am already home, so we will pretend that is not an option.

I got bored, and wanted to create a canvas, but I can't draw a line to save my life(I swear that is how I will die), so I created a program to do it, thanks to the wonderful AutoIt.

http://members.byond.com/Scoobert/files/box.au3

How does it work? Well, it is a 3 point system. It will work for any program, paint works for testing. Run the script(Requires AutoIt v3)
Once it is running, press Alt+Shift+C, once for Start point, Second time for bottom point, and a 3rd for width. To pause it mid-run, use Alt+Shift+P.

If you use it in pain, try moving the mouse while it is running, you get some really need looking stuff. Surely there is a good use for this... somewhere...

Have fun playing!

[edit] Script updated, the brush size and speed are now defined as variables for easy editing.

Now repeats untill you close it, which is defaulted at Alt+Shift+X [/edit]