May 2011 – DC Current

Models – Heartland

2011-05-302017-01-15 by Damon Caskey

Heartland (Bad Bros.)

Heartland (a.k.a. Bad Brothers) enemy development. Original game version is a simplistic boss enemy with high range and damage but slow speed and practically no means to defend himself against player attacks.

Updates are to include improved animation, standard upgrades to motion trails, and voice effects. Difficulty increased with slighter higher movement speed, an even longer reach, and near immunity against bludgeoning type attacks. Will also become more effective at close range, with a dangerous bear hug grapple that will severely damage targets.

2011_05_30

Removed sprites:
- False transparency (replaced with true transparent motion blurs):
  - a5
  - a7
  - a9
- Fall/Pain (replaced with standardized defense poses):
  - p1
  - p2
  - p3
  - thrown1
  - thrown2
  - thrown3
  - thrown4
  - b1
  - b2
  - b3
  - s1
  - s2
  - s3
- New Sprites
  - 0001, Jump/Land.
  - 0002 – 0005, Decapitation.
  - 0006, Kick blur.
  Motion blurs added.
- Attack1 (Hammer strike) now steps forward for slightly more range.
  - Hammer smash attack now includes transparent motion trail and steps forward or extra range.

Run attack includes landing/jumping frames and dust.
Animation offsets tweaked for Kick, hammer Sweep and Hammer Smash. Rang settings also tweaked to ensure each one is used at proper distance.
Defense settings added. Now takes .25 damage from bludgeoning attacks. Attackers attempting a bludgeon knockdown are paused briefly and laughed at.

2011_05_31

Added grappling animations.
- Bear Hug.
- Toss.

2011_06_01

In game profile:
Resolved animation issue with Heartland performing Bear Hug against another Heartland. Caused by order of damage/bind/flash calls.

2011_06_02

Riseattack complete.
Need to resolve Special and special2 for AI vs. Player control.

2011_06_03

Special sequence completed. Will now toss opponents; a modified version of riseattack will be performed instead if target is immune to grabs.

2011_06_08

Playable version can no longer perform “Special2”. It is identical in function to “Special” and intended for AI to break away from infinite combos.

Attack Types

2011-05-262017-01-15 by Damon Caskey

Attack types for Golden Axe need rearranging to accommodate addition of fatalities. As of 2011_05_26 I have cataloged the following:

Type	Pain	Fall	Death	Block	Notes
Attack1	Normal	Normal		Normal	Bludgeoning
Attack2	Head knock while kneeling	Normal	Normal	Normal	Bludgeoning
Attack3	Unused	–	–	–	–
Attack4	Collapse to kneel	Normal	Normal	Normal	Cut
Attack5	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Ax Battler’s level 1, 2 and 3 earth magic.
Attack6	Unused	–	–	–	–
Attack7	Unused	–	–	–	–
Attack8	Unused	–	–	–	–
Attack9	Unused	–	–	–	–
Attack10	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	All cutting attacks for playable characters.

Paddling Up A Storm

2011-05-262011-05-26 by Damon Caskey

2011_05_21 – As any fellow outdoors enthusiast (or whatever you call people like us) can attest, pretty much all of the more physical skills involved are perishable. Paddling is no exception. I’ve been out once this season to check out Cave Run, but I still needed to get my sea legs back for moving water.

That’s where the Elkhorn comes in. At normal level it’s mostly I-II with some class III here and there; not exactly the pinnacle of whitewater action, but that’s a good thing for refresher training. Plus the scenery is something one could never get tired of. So I made plans to head in around 14:00 or so and take a 12 mile run. That was the plan at least. But this is me I’m talking about, and in typical late for my own funeral fashion, I wound up at the put in right at 18:00. Obviously the latter half was going to going to be in dark, but I don’t mind that at all.

What I didn’t plan on was the nasty thunderstorm that blew in right on top me at dusk. Between down pouring and mist my lights were useless and visibility 0; nothing like paddling blind against the wind with lightning strikes all around. Since the camera couldn’t see any better then I could, about 1/3 of the recordings are scrap and by the time I made take out it was almost 23:00. I’m not complaining though, quite the opposite in fact; what’s the point of an Adventure category without a little adventure? Besides, I still got some nice footage beforehand of the palisades and river area in general.

See below for videos.

Elkhorn Area

From put in to the dam at Jim Bean Distillery.

Dam through palisades. Best rapids are here, plenty of surfing at the right level.

Lower Elkhorn. Scenic with occasional riffles to keep you awake.

Storm starts to move in. No use keeping footage from here on.

See you next time!

Epic Win or Fail Life Forever?

2011-05-152021-01-02 by Damon Caskey

Once or twice on the Paris Pike I have passed by what appeared to be a replica of KITT (if you don’t know what that is, stop reading). It even had the license plate “Knight”. Figured I was either seeing things, or it was just a silly knockoff.

Later I spotted the same car in a parking lot and went in for a closer look. Turns out, this guy actually has one of the original KITT prop cars from the show and uses it as an everyday driver. Unfortunately, it hasn’t received the best of care. The scanner still works, but everything else is more or less scrap, and as you can see he has replaced part of the light array with yellow fog lamps. Still, the man drives KITT for his daily commute. Coolest thing ever or the definition of lame? You decide.

: I wonder if he plays the theme while driving?

: Scanner works, but those yellow fog lamp replacements hurt the effect.

: All original, too bad it’s in horrible condition.

: It’s fuzzy, but yes, the plate says “Knight”.

Cave Running

2011-05-112011-07-21 by Damon Caskey

A few days ago I overheard some individuals in my department talking about Cave Run Lake; being from Morehead this naturally caught my attention and I had to inquire what the fuss was about. Turns out the lake was at or near its highest level ever since being constructed. Yeah, kind of a “DUH” moment considering all the regional flooding. After all that is precisely why the lake was built in the first place.

Doesn’t it figure though; monitor river conditions all over the country and completely miss a historical hydrology event in your own home town. Obviously I need to get back more; I literally can’t remember the last time I was in town, much less visited the lake.

Given my typical interest in hydrology and general exploration, I just had to have a look for myself. It figures, most of the trip wound up brining back old memories. One of the main reasons I tend to avoid Morehead is the nostalgia it triggers. A stupid reason I know, but there it is. Seems Cave Run is no exception. But I’ll get to that some other time.

I started from Stony Cove Recreation area, which, as some of you may or may not know, is actually Cave Run’s emergency spillway. To protect the structure from over topping, water can never reach higher then then the big “Flood Pool” sign. Instead, it would flow right over Stony Cove’s parking lot, pass through a cutout around the dam, and eventually return to the Licking River downstream. As far as I can tell that never happened, but if not it sure came close. When I arrived the level had already receded quite a bit, and yet was still only about 15′ short of maximum.

After circling the dam area, I moved on to Scott Creek Marina. The parking lot, normally on a high bluff, is now partially submerged. A makeshift ferry service is now the only way to reach the marina, and I’m told that it will be well into July before their bridge is above water.

Next was the Lakeside Vista look out. Like the marina parking, it is normally a bluff overlooking the lake. Now water sits just shy of the parking blocks.

Afterward I had planned to survey the Blackwater Area, but water there is so high I would have needed to park and paddle over private property. So instead I put in at Poppin Rock. There again was an amazing sight.The parking lot and service buildings were all submerged and ramp dock is now an island. But by By far what really put things in perspective was the “Morgan County” bridge. As you can see here, at normal water levels this structure normally towers over the lake. Jumping from it is a local challenge for anyone brave or stupid enough (myself included), and many have been injured or killed in the attempt. As you can see in the picture gallery, this summer it won’t be much of a challenge at all. I had to press myself flat just to pass through the piers.

By this time the sun was going down, and I wanted to get some area wide shots before it got too dark for my Hero Cam. What better place to do that then Lockegee Rock? It’s been years since I last climbed up there, but nothing has changed. The view is still amazing, and graffiti still annoying. Good with the bad I guess.

The gallery below was taken with my Hero Cam on auto shoot (i.e. a picture taken every 5 seconds). As a result, most shots will be throwaway. For simplicity sake, I just threw them all up, and perhaps there is something in there others can enjoy. As always, on to the next adventure…

Ty Brown Says It All

2011-05-022011-05-02 by Damon Caskey

Around midnight I wrote this post about Osama Bin Laden being killed; especially how it made me think of Collin and his birthday (today). How awesome a birthday present for him to be involved in that operation, as there is a good chance he would have been.

Then this morning Ty Brown posted this great little piece into Facebook about it. I feel that it gets the point across far better then I could, so I will leave you with his words:

Collin would have been 34 today but he was killed fighting for us in a war that we did not choose, want, or start. But the news that the SEALS took Osama out last night, probably the guys he fought with, really made me think about a lot of things.

What can you say about those guys? They do their job and don’t ask for any glory, they don’t go on national tv and take credit for acts they had nothing to do with. They do their job and I for one feel safer for it. However I am not celebrating because of this, because it’s not over.

One life taken no matter how symbolic or justified, can heal the wounds of those lost, close the divide in mankind that created this war, or give us the peace we all desire. It’s a long and complicated journey and we cannot lose sight of that fact. My flag is flying, is yours?

Ty Brown proudly flies his. Do you?

To answer your question Ty, yes. Yes it is. Over my heart since 1999, and God willing will be still be there whenever it stops beating.

Just a little reminder every day.

Bittersweet Ending

2011-05-012016-06-23 by Damon Caskey

So it seems we finally got Osama Bin Laden. I’d like to say a lot on this, but even if the news wasn’t still trickling in I’m not really sure I’d know what to think.

It’s good news naturally, but in some way I wish we had caught him alive. The dead cannot experience pain, fear, humiliation, or failure. Osama certainly deserves a nice dose of all these and then some. It may not be right, but I can’t help hoping his last moments were filled with abject terror and agony.

Honestly though, my thoughts keep turning to Collin. I know how important this was to him, and were he still here it is a good chance he would be one of the personnel making history as we speak. If not, at least he would have been able to see it. That he died before Osama’s demise, and while under the command of Mr. Obama both sicken me to the core. On top of all that, as I write this, I just noticed the hour has past. Today would have been Collin’s 34’th birthday.

Better that I shut up now before lapsing too much into soap-boxing. Congratulations to our armed forces for a job well done, and for the monumental tasks still awaiting them.