Author: Damon Caskey

Hello all, Damon Caskey here - the esteemed owner of this little slice of cyberspace. Welcome!

Fallen Hero: Chief Collin Trent Thomas, 1977-05-02 – 2010-08-18

by Damon Caskey

Navy Times Article
Morehead News Article
Service Announcement

2010-08-19 07:39 on my way to work, I got a phone call from my closest friend Cody Bumgardner informing me that Collin was killed in action during an Afghanistan operation. I honestly don’t know what else to say on the matter, so this may well come out as a lot of rambling nonsense. If it does I apologize.

I’m not a hero worshiping type – outside of family I can count on my fingers the number of people I genuinely look up to. But Collin was at the top of that list. The things he did spoke for themselves. He was a Navy SEAL, and a highly decorated combat veteran whose list of medals and accolades would lengthen this article to absurdity. In short, he was the quintessential badass. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Collin was to put it simply, a good man.

For the most part, he was a clean cut, low key kind of guy. It made a hilarious contrast with operational pictures where he sometimes resembled Grizzly Adams meets Deliverance. At all times Collin had a wry sense of humor and quick wits to go with it. I’ll never forget a bird hunting trip the day after Thanksgiving in 2004. I jokingly asked what the birds must think about us. Without a second’s pause he brought one down with an all too casual crack shot and answered “He’s tired of being a bird. Eeeking out a living on seeds… We’re doing him a favor”. Another one I recall (after having his watch broken) “…now I can’t tell time, I’m gonna clean your clock!” Yeah, these might not sound funny in text. But the quickness, ease, and delivery just made it perfect. Replaying them in my head with his voice still gives me a chuckle. Any time spent with Collin, and it was rare considering his profession, was loaded with moments like that.  Collin wasn’t without a temper either. I could tell you a few stories about some individuals he put in their place here and there. Never a pretty sight, but always hilarious.

All in all though, what I admired about Collin was the general panache in which he carried himself. He wasn’t gung ho or pushy, he just took calamities in stride and got things done. Plans go bad. Make new ones. Girlfriend did him wrong? That sucks, time to get another. No shore leave? Send a postcard and go back to work. Guys like that command respect, and they deserve it.

He was the only human being I’ve willingly shared a “bro hug” with. If you knew me, that’s saying something. That goes double for admitting that as I write this I find myself holding back a tear or two. The one solace I can take from this is knowing through proper channels and other means I can’t talk about that he took plenty of those sub human heaps of excrement with him. I don’t have to wish or imagine Collin didn’t go down easy.. I KNOW he didn’t, and the rest of his unit is still out there taking the fight forward.

My heart goes out to the Thomas family, who also lost Edward (Collin’s cousin and another good friend from football) at the Pentagon during 9-11. They are a proud military family, but this is a hard blow no matter who you are.

If you read this, please recall that Collin died protecting the comforts and freedoms we repeatedly take for granted. Right now there are many more out there just like him. Sadly, he isn’t the first or last to make the ultimate sacrifice. Remember to keep them in your prayers at least. Freedom has not, nor will it ever be free.

Should you be a friend of Collin’s as well, I hope to see you at his service. Be well.

DC

Select Screen Shenanigans

by Damon Caskey

Original select screen in Golden Axe Remake was functional, but insufficient for needs of Golden Axe Hackjob. Primary concerns were the following:

  • Main selectable characters each having to accommodate for the others colors within their palettes. This severely limited color choices. For example, Ax could not be given the 2p color palette from Golden Axe The Duel. Doing so required changing his weapon colors, which were shared with Tyris Flare’s clothing.
  • No true carousel effect. While characters were displayed in a ring, they simply swapped location when cycled instead of rotating as in the arcade original.
  • No name display. At no point are characters ever identified. While not a great issue for the the original characters, this is a problem when introducing others.
  • No accommodation for extra characters. It would be rather jarring and unprofessional looking for alternate choices to be inserted into selection cycle when not appearing in “ring” of visible choices.
  • Non selected characters are “burned” when a choice is confirmed. The fire effect used lacks transparency and thematically does not match the various improved effects used throughout the module.

To solve this problem, I decided to use a series of blank silhouettes to serve as the carousel. As characters are cycled, the blank silhouettes rotate in place, then the front silhouette is replaced by current selection. This would allow infinite addition of selectable characters while maintaining the theme.

The original plan was for the silhouettes to be displayed by a separate entity, with rotation direction determined by left/right key press. Unfortunately scripted spawns during the selection screen results in a shutdown. Attempts to make use of the summonentity/spawnentity command also proved unsuccessful; during selection screen these commands are ignored.

This only left having the silhouettes be part of main entity. Main issue was adding a color for the silhouettes to characters with palettes firmly established. I worked around the problem by using the entry 255 in each character’s palette as the silhouette color. In addition to getting around the laborious process of “inserting” a color to existing palettes, it also meant only the palette images needed modification as opposed to every single sprite.

Having the silhouettes displayed within main entity also solved any timing issues, though it did mean rotation would always be in same direction. I was worried unidirectional rotation would look jarring, but in practice it works quite well. The rotation itself is achieved by a “brute force” approach; a series of sprites drawn to give the illusion of a carousel are played as part of the “wait” animation. The memory consumption is minimum however, as the rotating silhouette sprites are reused by every selectable character.

Name display is also part of the main entity, and its color issue was solved in the same manor, except with use of  color entry 254.

The burn effect was the last problem to overcome, but was easily solved. It is achieved by launching a non moving projectile on selection confirmation. While it would have been impossible to use this method for the silhouettes due to timing issues, it works perfectly for burning and allows use of transparency.

As a last touch, the location of each character was widened for more room and player 1 was placed in the center (this module allows 3 players). Player 2 is on the far left, player 3 on the far right. Along with improving aesthetics, by making these changes I have added yet another obstacle to any short sighted attempts at Dreamcast porting.

Morehead And A Long Licking

by Damon Caskey

I am planning an excursion to run the Middle and Lower Licking river from Morehead to Cincinnati/Newport. While I am preparing and expecting to do so alone, I’d be happy to have some company!

Starting point will be the boat ramp at Cave Run Dam spillway. Endpoint is Schmidt Boat Ramp, located river right approximately 1 mile upstream on the Ohio from Licking River confluence. Travel time will be approximately 5-6 days with a planned stopover at Blue Licks and resupply at Falmouth. Other possible portages are being researched. The Licking River is a class I difficulty river, with occasional swift current and strainers but little to no white water. Of greater concern will be portage and supplies as most of the river flows through private farms.

If interested, please leave a comment on this post and the your best possible times. Plan is for September, but can be pushed as far as mid October if needed. Cincinnati ramps close on November 1. Further details will be added here as they become available.

Dam, Dix & Dan

by Damon Caskey

Busted feet aside, the night time run I took for July 4th was actually more fun then I expected. There is just something very serene about being on the water at night.

Owing to that, I thought heading back to the hometown for some night paddling on Cave Run would be even better. No city lights and no dodging barges. Typical though, the feeler I sent on Facebook to gather some people to join me got utterly ignored. Even the CRACK club didn’t take any interest.

So instead I decided to explore the Dix River via High Bridge Ramp. A simple run really, but it had a lot of interesting features. The first of course is High Bridge. You can’t appreciate the engineering accomplishment and scale without seeing it up close.

Next was the Dix River confluence. At 77 miles long, it’s the only major river left tributary of the Kentucky River. Two miles upstream from the confluence is the Dix Dam, which forms Herrington Lake. It’s a relic today and looks the part, but when built it was an engineering marvel and technically still is. At the time it was the largest earth fill dam in the world.

One of the downsides of my exploring style is that I usually know everything about a place before I get there. Since I’m nearly always alone, I have to make sure I’ve done my homework on an area first. The Dix is an exception, and that is what made it interesting. There is almost no detailed information available. All surrounding land is privately owned by local residents or Kentucky Utilities and public access by road is all but non existent. Even Google Earth doesn’t have a good image due to the power plant’s exhaust plume.

This meant I had no idea what I would see. I imagined the approach to be nothing but concrete and rock fill, with a generally “artificial” feel. I guessed the outlet was probably a sluice like spillway tunnel feeding an impassible churning suppression bay similar to Cave Run’s. Considering the barbed wire security KU employs in the surrounding area, one would think it would all be blocked by water fences and guarded anyway. I had also pictured the area to be devoid of interest by anyone other then myself. Who cares about exploring an obsolete dam on a river tributary in the middle of nowhere?

As it turned out, I was dead wrong on all counts. First, the dam itself is easily approachable; its powerhouse sits right on the water, and there is no sluice. Instead a fish ladder and spillover outlet provide drainage when the turbines aren’t in use. So rather then churning, the water is in fact perfectly flat. There is a still a strong exit current; far too dangerous for a swimmer. But it’s nothing a half decent paddler can’t overcome. The end result is that not only can you approach and touch the dam, you can actually go inside of it. I was able to paddle right under the outlet archways and look directly up the turbine exit pipes.

As for the area, it was anything but artificial. The geography has been virtually untouched, and if you didn’t already know the dam was there its sudden appearance around a bend would be quite a shock. Pristine palisades and waterfalls were at every turn, and wildlife was abundant. About the only evidence of anything man made was the water temperature change. As is typical for any deep lake discharge, the water is quite cold for some distance downstream. The change is very sudden, in less then 10′ of travel the temperature drops almost 30 degrees. This also causes a near perpetual cooling breeze and heavy fog at dusk. All in all a very pleasant experience compared to the “bath water” you’ll find in the Kentucky River.

That cold water also brought me the last surprise. Company. As it turns out, it is a popular area for trout and hybrid anglers. I met about a dozen individuals on the way up. Most were in Johnboats; they could only get so far upstream due to some rapids. But one was a fellow kayaker named Dan who was fishing at the dam basin. Dan is a veteran of the area and had put in at the same ramp I did. After some further exploring on my part and fishing on his, we headed back down stream together at dusk. I’m used to running solo, but it’s nice to have some company now and again. A storm popped up on us just as we got started back, but thankfully it mostly blew over.

A good day overall. It was well past dark by the time we made the halfway point back, but that was fine with me since I originally wanted to go after midnight in the first place. Dan tells me that had the moon not been out he would have probably stayed up river all night. According to him, the bass bite like crazy on moonless nights. I’m no angler, but I do like me some fish. I might have to head back one evening and give it a try.

DC

General Changes (vs. Golden Axe Remake)

by Damon Caskey

Optimizing:

Due to a large amount of new content, this module is larger and more demanding in general than the original. It also requires far more front loading. However, all practical optimizations have been applied, many that were not plausible when the original was made. This new version is thus quite a bit more compact and efficient “pound per pound” then its predecessor.

  • All new sprites are in .png format using maximum compression possible with Adobe Photoshop CS4. These are about 30% smaller on average then .gif counterparts.
  • Existing sprites for all characters have been replaced with .png, reducing size by about 150KB per character.
  • Through use of script and new palette capabilities, many superfluous sprites have been removed outright. For example, Red and Blue Dragons are no longer separate sprite sets, saving about 70KB per character.
  • Sound effects have been further trimmed to reduce their size.
  • Several loaded models have been eliminated by consolidation and script manipulation.

Presentation:

  • All in game sound effects are now played in location based stereo. If you KO someone on the right side of the screen and you have stereo speakers, you’ll hear their death scream from the right!
  • All stage music re-mastered with stereo, using OpenBOR’s recently added .ogg vorbis support.
  • Simulated transparency via blinking images has been replaced with true transparent motion trails.
  • Life bar replaced with blocks as in the arcade Golden Axe, with the added feature of individually changing color as they are depleted ala Altered Beast.
  • Nearly every single animation in the module has been tweaked for greater fluidity (fully animated idle stances, more precise timing, transitions for jumps/landings, additional frames for existing moves, etc.).
  • Dust effects added for jumping, landing, falls, slams, and so on.
  • Almost all particle effects have been retouched or replaced outright to take full advantage of OpenBOR’s transparency capabilities.
  • Entities stepping off a platform now assume their jump animation instead of “walking on air”.
  • Common enemy KO wails are randomized for variety, and all characters have far more extensive voice sets.
  • A multitude of new sounds have been added in general. As the battle rages, characters on both sides goad, shout their war slogans, call for aid, and so on. In addition, all “BOR” sounds used in the original remake have been replaced with samples taken from the real Golden Axe where a version existed.
  • Color correcting has been made on several characters whose palettes did not match their arcade counterparts (Amazon for example).
  • Player characters can now choose from several color schemes. Gillius for example, can choose between original arcade colors, either of the Gillis Rockhead color sets from Golden Axe Duel, or his colors from the Genesis port.

Gameplay:

General:

  • Bizzarians are now much more dangerous. While riding a bizzarian it is now possible to block, perform a wider array of grappling moves, and execute a more powerful version of the animal’s normal attack by holding and releasing the attack button. In addition, opponents being held by a bizzarian cannot immediately special out (it is still possible to escape, but only after a delay). Bizarians also have use of all the new movement options (lateral jumps, dashes, etc.)
  • A lot of minor adjustments for balance. Damage, move speed, and other aspects have been tweaked to try and make all characters/moves useful in their own way.
  • Overall difficulty increased to compensate for more powerful player characters.

Playable Characters:

  • Two new characters added: Alex the soldier and special guest Joe Musashi. These are not just random additions; their presence is explained in game and their mechanics are designed to be unique while still meshing appropriately with the three original heroes.
  • Vast array of new techniques have been added to each character’s individual move list. Most are direct takes or inspirations from moves seen throughout the Golden Axe series, but some are new or have new mechanics. Look for chain throws, long range attacks, and so on.
  • A variety of tag team moves are available, including tag team magic.
  • Characters are now more unique in relation to each other. As a few examples:
    • Tyris attacks are on the whole slower and weaker then Ax’s similar counterparts and she cannot withstand a large amount of damage. On the other hand she can control her magic level, possesses incredible agility, and has a few other surprises for unwary foes.
    • Ax has all around ability and can perform painful chain grabs for big damage.
    • Gilius has the most pedestrian move set, but is evasive as ever, soaks up tons of damage and deals it out in spades with the most powerful and longest reaching attacks.
    • Joe lacks melee range and his attacks require precise timing to land properly. Yet he has speed second to none, striking power on par with Ax, and a vast arsenal of tricks to call upon – inducing powerful magic and help from faithful dog Yamoto.
    • Alex is the weakest fighter in general, but he comes with some unique tricks and is good at supporting others.
  • All PCs except Tyris have a lateral “up” and “down” jump command. This allows you to move to a “higher” platform along the Z axis (Tyris only has the “up” version, as she can already move laterally while jumping).
  • All PCs have a back dash (A2 Button).
  • All PCs can dash laterally (UU or DD).
  • All PC’s have a specific charge attack move.

AI Controlled (NPC’s/Enemies)

All:

  • Can now get past obstacles and platforms along Z axis by jumping laterally onto or over them.
  • Can dash backward or laterally.
  • AI now has access to a Bizarian’s entire move list when riding; including all previous and newly added abilities.
  • No longer become less aggressive when riding Bizarians (in fact, they are usually more aggressive now).

Amazon:

  • More aggressive.
  • Can block, and will always do so if player attacks from the air.
  • Has counter throw move ala Geese Howard. She will use it whenever blocking an attack or as her breakaway special on any non grapple immune opponent.
  • Can toss her axe at distant opponents.
  • Lunges forward instead of “treadmilling” during melee attacks, giving them better visual appeal and even longer range.
  • Can grab opponents and perform a Neckbreaker slam or german suplex.
  • “Dark” version can teleport behind a player and grab them instantly.

Bug List

by Damon Caskey

Known Bugs/Issues:

Major

  • Characters cannot use jump attack while holding left/right. 07122010 – Direction key check, and by extension disabling of other keys was for both hold & press. Removed hold check.
  • Ax’s Powerbomb and Gutbuster always KO opponent regardless of remaining HP. 07122020 – Copy and paste errors switched drop and damage properties.
  • Enemy life meter remains on screen after being KO’d by Ax’s Piledriver. 07122010 – Damage and bind release were occurring on same frame.
  • Thieves do not giggle when idle. 07122010 – Old sound command was still in place. Replaced with soun0005() function.
  • Meat carrying thieves are not remapping to green. 07122010 – Alternate palettes were typo’d as “palette”.
  • Bad sound reference: Error, soun0009; Sample: – data/sounds/punch3.wav, Model: amachick. 07152010 – Caused by remnants of older sound scripts. Removed and replaced with current system.
  • Amazon never performs axe throw. 08082010 – Was previously disabled for debugging and never re-enabled.
  • While in throw bind, character can hit enemies as well as allies. This appears to be an engine bug with projectilehit property, but needs thorough review.
  • Wall fail-safe and wall throws triggering when on top of wall/platform. 08072010 – Fixed by adding check for current base of self for wall alt and bound for fail-safe.
  • Alex’s bow shot causing shutdown. Error reports attempting to set animation for effe0002, even though projectile is effe0001. 08072010 – Caused by combination of backward compatibility in projectile function and new select screen burn effect. If model level projectile is defined, script function projectile() ignores its own model parameter and uses model level projectile instead. Fixed by moving burn effect entity from model level to animation level.

Minor

  • Sound system, soun0005() in particular works as designed but is extremely sub optimal with several loops and no sanity clauses.
  • Characters hit by attacks when in throw bind appear very briefly out of place. Not technically a bug. It is due to large offsetting difference caused by small sprites and the need to keep actual locations well above ground while visually near, on, or in it. Resolved.

To Do:

  • Add headband to Ax Battler’s portrait (so color selection is visible during game play screen).
  • Add sound effect when picking up magic jars and food.
  • Auto platform jump working on improper animations.
  • Upgrade grappling scripts to new index based type.
  • Fix alternate attacks against thieves.
  • Fix collision boxes for rise attack.
  • Second attack in attack string not hitting at very close range.
  • Add wall alts for grappling.
  • Upgrade weapon models to new standard.
  • Fix palettes to allow remapping.
  • Replace particle effects for magic.
  • Upgrade sound effects to new random based script type.
  • Add startframe and landframe to RUNATTACK.
  • Add grab alternate to special.
  • Replace flashing based shock and burn animations with remap + particle effect.
  • Add dust effect to jumps and landings.
  • Add jump grappling options.
  • Replace old forward throw with powerbomb.

Firework Shows, Concrete Floes & Broken Toes

by Damon Caskey

July 4th found me home alone while Nichole and the kids visited her family. Having wasted most of the day, I decided kind of last minute to see the Cincinnati Fireworks display at Newport on The Levee. I remembered last year when we took the kids there it was a blast.

Of course, being alone meant this time I could check it out from the river in my Kayak. Kayaks don’t need boat ramps for obvious reasons, but my Tahoe certainly needed a parking spot, and the only launch point to be found was about five miles up stream. No big, except it meant I was pushing for time; I just made it as the show was starting.

The cool part was having the best vantage point of anyone on the river. Powered boats aren’t allowed in the staging area, but I was (or rather, there wasn’t much they could do to keep me out). It was a spectacular show. Funny enough, my Kayak attracted a lot of attention too – boaters stopped to take pictures as they passed me on the way there, and I got a ton of requests from onlookers at the shore park to do some tricks and such. I was happy to oblige, as well as could be done on flat water anyway. Afterward, I ported on the Ohio side at the park to stretch my legs and chatted a bit with them.

And then it all went south, literally. While waiting for the mass exodus of cabin cruisers, speedboats, and their likely as not heavily inebriated pilots to finish up, I decided I’d cross over to the south bank, get some ice cream, and join the remaining festival at the Newport Aquarium Plaza.

But walking up the shore directly below the aquarium, I slipped on an ottoman sized hunk of concrete and fell directly on my toes, breaking three and spraining my right ankle. Soft sole river shoes are usually sure footed, but as you might guess, they don’t offer any support or protection if you do happen to falter. Adding insult to injury was the piece promptly tipped and rolled over to pin my foot down. Naturally, this took place in full view of hundreds of people, some of whom rushed down to help, but by that time I had already gotten a little hot under the collar and chucked it downriver myself. Probably not the smartest thing to do on a busted foot, but hey, at least I was free.

Afterward, I managed to pop two toes back in place, but the third just wasn’t going. Paddling back to my vehicle wouldn’t have been that hard per say, but the hour or so of travel time would mean that much more swelling and difficulty getting the toe fixed. So after getting some nearby bikers to watch my kayak, I took a cab back to my truck, drove it to the Kayak, and then headed home. On the way I stopped at Saint Francis and had them snap everything into place.

Of course, that was only after three x-rays, two shots, and wheeling me about the place on a crash cart equipped stretcher for three hours. For a broken toe. They also tried to give me a Vicodin prescription; thanks but no thanks. It’s stuff like this why I hospitals. All I needed was a set of more experienced hands then my own to snap the bone back and make sure there wasn’t any more serious damage. Nothing more or less; in a practical word, it wouldn’t have taken two minutes, and certainly didn’t call for narcotics.

Anyway, it was still fun all in all. Next year I plan to be back, only this time I’ll plan ahead and have more time to spare. It’s too bad none of the pictures I took came out right. My little camera just sucks for low light.

Until next time!
DC

Videos: Fireworks On The Ohio, Fireworks On The Ohio 2

Leslie Joell Cummins-Blevins 1979-2010

by Damon Caskey

On June 20, Sunday morning I discovered this message post by Mike Cummins:

My oldest sister passed away today. She fought cancer as long as she could, and much longer than any of us expected. Just as the last family member showed up to say their good-bye’s, she left us. Leslie Joell Cummins-Blevins 1979-2010. She is free now. Thanks to all who have and continue to pray. Truly, thank you.

Leslie had been sick for some time, having been treated for stage four melanoma since January. I admire her courage for trying to fight the disease. The survival rate for such a diagnosis is less then 10%, yet she still tried her best. But Leslie was always tenacious like that.

I wish I could say something witty and profound here, or even just pour out some maudlin grief. Unfortunately I can’t really offer up any of that. Leslie and I haven’t spoken in over fifteen years, so the loss I feel over her, while devastating, is obviously nothing compared to what her family must be going through. I wouldn’t dare insult them by claiming otherwise. What I can do is spill some memories. Brief and long ago as they were, I think it shows just how quickly and deeply Leslie was capable of touching others.

You know those infatuations we all get growing up? One right after another? Observation tells me that most people have dozens, if not more during their childhood. I’ve had four total, one of whom I’m now married to. Another was Leslie, who also happens to be my only real “ex”. We met in World Civilization class, and I’ll never forget how comfortable she could make people. I’m a pretty nervous person in general, and practically deadlocked around around girls. Even with Nichole, I was always extremely wary of myself and took careful stock of what I did/said. But Leslie would have none of that. She wanted to know the “real” you, whoever that was, and she was very good at digging through the BS to find it. When you discovered she liked what she saw, it was like being on top of the world.

In other words, Leslie was for a time, much more then a girlfriend. She was a best friend. Our relationship lasted a paltry nine months, and I don’t blame her for getting sick of me. You can’t expect a girl to not get bored with a guy who hangs on them like a lost puppy.

If there is one thing Leslie doesn’t do, it’s anything halfway – even breakups. But that’s part of life no? Fifteen years later I still cherish every memory of her. Note passing, driving lessons, Eagle Lake, Maysville, Camden Park, and so many more.  Even the annoying stuff like that weird dumping fries in the bag thing she used to do. Nah, that’s a good memory too.

Leslie wasn’t some pristine little doll with no faults. She was a vibrant, beautiful, intelligent woman with hang ups like the rest of us and a spirit you couldn’t help but love. I certainly did, and it’s fair to say deep down I still do.

Now I’m just one individual, but in her short time here Leslie has had that kind of effect on many more. At her visitation, several rooms were filled to the brim with well wishers and friends. Obviously her ability to reach others served her well as a teacher, parent, and friend everywhere she went.

As I write this, I also find myself thinking about the family. Jenny, Micheal, and of course Mr. & Ms. Cummins. But mostly her husband T.J. and their children. As a father, I can’t imagine what it must be like trying to explain that Mommy can’t come home anymore. T.J. was always a stand up guy, and it’s a good thing because he has a long road ahead of him. All of them do; hopefully remembering that both children carry a portion of their mother in them will help.

Personally, I regret never going to see Leslie during her fight against the cancer. I would have loved to congratulate her on her family and let her know in person Nichole and I were pulling for her. I never did of course. I was afraid she might be upset and instead sent well wishes through Jenny. Now I realize that was nothing but silly cowardice. In my position she would have been there in a heartbeat and now it’s too late. Instead, I hope by sharing this blurb and keeping her memories I can preserve a tiny bit of her, and perhaps not be so cavalier toward time spent with my own wife and children.

Farewell Leslie, you will always be missed and loved.

DC

String & Path

by Damon Caskey

Encountered an issue with using default model name as path filler and once again attempted to find method for extracting model path at run time.

Due to limited string functions I recoded my own path return feature to exclude base name. Unfortunately this resulted in inconsistent returns. Path would be occasionally substituted with numbers or gibberish.

I think best solution is to restore path feature to previous functionality and add more robust string handling to OpenBOR. The *strrchr( const char *s,  int c) function in particular is a crippling omission that needs to be addressed.

C’s string functionally in general is really starting to get on my nerves. For such a common and powerful language, you would think simple string manipulation wouldn’t require so much hoop jumping and coding overhead.

Around The Sun Again

by Damon Caskey

Tis my birthday. Figures I would forget and have to be reminded by Nichole. No big anyway, who really looks forward to a birthday after 21? For that matter, 21 was pretty meaningless to me since I don’t drink. So yeah, 18 for voting was about the last time I really looked forward to or cared about my own birthday. That said, I’m not above leveraging it for some food. 🙂

Nichole fixed hand breaded drumsticks for supper, one of my favorites. Man that was the stuff. Also, is it any coincidence the A-TEAM premieres today? I don’t think so. Though I seriously doubt it will live up to the old show (how could anything compare to Mr. T?), we’ll definitely be there tomorrow night.

Another nice touch was a message from my mother about how proud of me she was. It’s a really nice thing to hear. I know the family loves me, but I can’t help wondering once in a while if I disappoint them.

On a last note, what had to be the coolest part of this day was Connor and Caydence coming home with a cake. They were so proud of finding one for daddy. I usually worry more about preparing them for adulthood then entertaining their levity. But to see how they took such pride with everything reminded me to relax a bit and just enjoy them for once.

All in all it is just a nice evening home with the family. Lame? Perhaps. Trite? Probably. And I say so be it. The best things in life are free, simple, and right in front of us.

DC

P.S.: After posting this, I checked my personal mail, and found a gaggle of birthday wishes over on facebook. So let me address each of you who took just a few seconds out of your day for me:

@Michelle Martin: One more year removed from the ketchup packs. Remember how long ago it seemed when we were thinking about how long ago that was? Ahh well, that’s part of life. You’ve always been a dear friend and I’ll never forget all the silly stuff we pulled together.

@Hunter Pratt: Yes little cousin, I am in fact 33. You seem surprised. I’ll take that as a complement, and don’t forget that 33 or not, I can still waste you and the other HHH crew on the track. 🙂

@Matt Dillon: Kind of ironic that you and I are cousins yet you and Nichole know each other better, especially with us both working on campus. That’s the price of a busy life though. We need to start hanging out more; feel free to shoot me a mail or stop in my office sometime.

@Tori Earlywine: Good times in elementary no? It was always cool having you as a neighbor, even if two miles away. I’m glad to see you are doing great these days. Thank you and stay well!

@Sarah Bumgardner: What are you doing posting about my birthday. You have a new arrival of your own any day now. I’m excited for you and the difficult but rewarding world you are about to enter!

@Teli Perkins: In some way I always thought of you as kind of a big sister I never had. You know, having the wisdom of two whole years to pass down. Funny how back then that was a lifetime. Have to say it was pretty cool of you to cart Brandin and I around too. Some of my favorite memories were just chillin with you guys in the world’s coziest living room. It was great to see you and meet your children. Here’s hoping to again soon with you back in state!

@Jessica Fugate: Anyone related to anyone else that can put up with my mother for five days a week has to be one of the good people. You have a beautiful family Jessica, and I hope good things keep heading your way!

@Tiffany Sprague: Tiffany, I always thought you were amazingly put together. A straight man amongst the eccentric extemp crew if you will. Except in the guise of a lovely young woman. Likewise I was happy to see you too, and hopefully the next time won’t be 15 more years down the road.

@”Mister” Huff: You, me, and Rough Tuff Jimmy Cluff at a Pondo show. That’s all I’m saying. Well, except that my girl, makes you wanna have it. Yo’ girl, got paid like Danny Havak!

@Melinda Fox: You have ever been a leader, and proved it again in organizing Ms. E’s send off. I always admired and look up to that quality in you. Also, don’t forget what I said about caring. It is what makes you you, and distinguished from those who don’t. If you ever need anything, just give me a shout.

@Nichole Caskey: It goes without saying I cannot imagine life without you. You have given my the gift of your love and the most wonderful children a man could ask for. But really now. Slaving over a hot stove to make a cake? You must have really gone all out to mold up that plastic covering it came in too. I’m impressed. 😉

@Rebecca Craft: Looking back, it always seemed as if you made an effort to draw me out of the so called shell. I find that especially admirable considering the obvious crush I had on you all through Sophomore year; that had to be embarrassing. But then, getting peeps involved was just kind of your way yes? A great quality. I also have to thank you for teaching me the appellation of “moreheadian”. I still snicker saying that out loud.

@Ryan Perkins: You too are one of the good people. Not once can I think of a time when you didn’t have a smile or grin. I hope that hasn’t changed. You, me, Brandin, and the rest of the gang need to get together!

@Rachel Kingsland: It would be pretty pointless to sing praises here, because you already have the best endorsement I can possibly give to a person; entrusting you and your family with our children. What else can I say?

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. Small gesture though it may be, just taking the time to do it made an already great day fantastic! Now that’s enough sappy talk from me. It’s actually Saturday morning as I write this extension and time for breakfast. I can already smell the leftover drumsticks, oh yeah…

Cheers!
DC

Wall Fail-Safe

by Damon Caskey

All working entities now ensure that throw victims are safely deposited outside of walls.

All working entities now ensure that throw victims are safely deposited outside of walls.

Wall fail-safe retrofit complete for following:

  • Amazon w/Chickenleg
  • Amazon w/Blue Dragon
  • Amazon w/Red Dragon
  • Amazon
  • Alex w/Chickenleg
  • Alex w/Blue Dragon
  • Alex w/Red Dragon
  • Alex

Considering addition of wall alternates for Amazon, Chickenleg and Dragon throws. For now will leave as is.

Off Road Action, Close to Home

by Damon Caskey

Yesterday (2010-06-07) I returned to my hometown of Morehead to run some errands, and decided to take a little detour on my way back.

A couple of years ago one of the valleys on Divide Hill was blasted and bulldozed in a failed development. Those who live in the Morehead area see the front portion of this nearly every day. It’s right on the I-64 connector and adorned with a lot sign in what has to be the most pitiful attempt at expense recuperation I have ever seen. But ugly as it is from the main road, I venture that few know just how silly the whole project was.

What you see from the highway is in reality just a tip of the proverbial iceberg. Over the first rise an area nearly the size of downtown Morehead has been blasted into the hills, going so deep it connects with the next hollow. Just think mountain top removal, except without the coal.

It’s a sad case of destruction for nothing, but does make for a quick access off road run and provides another perspective of the area once you reach the top. I’ve been up it many times, but always at night or in low visibility conditions, most recently during the last big snow. This was the first time I could get some decent pictures.

Valley View Run

by Damon Caskey
Kayak

2010-06-06 – I’m having some difficulty coming up with new places to explore lately. I’ve already seen just about every trail, mark, road and river within any practical distance for a day trip. Heh, guess I’m somewhat a victim of my own success. 😛

Sunday however I had a mild epiphany about a fairly obvious place I have overlooked: The Kentucky River Palisades near Valley View Ferry. The ferry alone is pretty interesting in that it is the oldest all season ferry still operational in the U.S. (chartered in 1785).

I had hoped to put in at the ferry, paddle to Raven’s Run Park about eight river miles upstream, and then return. Unfortunately I was delayed by some other issues and didn’t make it until late in the afternoon. A strong headwind and my kayak taking on water through its drain plug didn’t help matters either. Still, I was able to explore a few miles around and will defiantly be back.

While I’m usually more into white water or riding a flood wave, it was nice to relax and ply some flat water for a change. Headwind aside, the weather couldn’t have been nicer, and I met some interesting people at the ferry.  Among them were the ferry crew themselves, who offered to delay for a moment so I could port from their ramp instead of the steep bank.

Alex

by Damon Caskey

Alex fires his bow.

Alex now has all wall throw alternates complete.

Also gains ability to use a bow; ammunition is unlimited and up to three shots can be fired in series. Arrows inflict mild damage individually but cause normal attack stun, making it easy to pin down a single target. For balance, each successive shot results in cumulatively additional recovery time, so it is risky to use during solo play. Should add to Alex’s overall multiplayer oriented character design.

Bow is displayed using Alex’s bound effect model (motion blurs, etc.); fired arrow is part of the general effects entity.

Need to add wall shunting to Alex’s creature models; character should then be complete.

Wall Alternates

by Damon Caskey

Wall throwing system complete. As I had hoped it was a simple adaption process from wall shunting. Actual function (ani0019_06012010) is almost embarrassingly simple, but does include code to accommodate expansion.

Can also be utilized by AI to take advantage of terrain in a manor similar to human players by intentionally throwing opponents toward stage hazards.

In the attached example animations, this body slam on open ground becomes a more elaborate and damaging maneuver in close quarters with walls or obstacle. Will need to retro fit existing grapple moves and include this feature in future works.

Memorial Day

by Damon Caskey

Normally I have no trouble putting my thoughts to words, but Memorial Day seems to be an exception. No doubt if I tried it would quickly degenerate into a political rant against the left, loosing the point before ever getting started. So instead I think I’ll fall back on someone with a much better perspective. Mr. Sloan Gibson, President and CEO of the USO has this to say:

Memorial Day is an opportunity to reflect on the service and sacrifice of millions of Americans who risked their lives to ensure our freedoms.

It’s a time for us to pause from our usual routines and honor all that their commitment has meant to us, our families, and our country.

We ask our men and women in uniform to put themselves in harm’s way, and we’re confident they will never shy away from even the most difficult of challenges.

Sadly, we also know that some of them may never make it home.

But each day, I am reminded about the other casualties of combat. When I visit a military hospital, I see young men and women who are facing a life they could never have anticipated. I see their wounds, witness their limitless spirit, and am inspired by their determination as they work to recover.

So on this Memorial Day, let us honor those no longer with us. But let’s also take a moment and thank those who do return, and offer them our gratitude and the opportunity to have full and productive lives.

I couldn’t agree more. To Matt Smith, Colin Thomas, Herman Walker, and all the other brave men and women out there sleeping in the mud: Watch your backs, kick some butt and come home safe. We salute you!

DC