Yes, I use this virtual appelation of 'cryptomancer'. It however could be construed as a misnomer. It does not mean to imply that I have much of anything to do with encryption. Semi-literally, it means 'code' & 'wizard'. Which is my fancy-shmancy term for my kind of programmer.
But as for this cryptograph's challenge, working it out manually would be as exciting as a year of calculus homework. Writing some script to convert the text into various Rubbish Lists isn't my forte; I'm no script kiddie, I write code. Besides, that would only barely help one find a solution. So, as for this challenge, as intruiguing as it seems, I'll decline.
But I will submit to write an agent suited for the endeavor. Someday soon.
"To make the computer produce the solution you want, you have to find the solution yourself and program it in." --me
OKay, so you and your friend aren't expert programmers. But you say you've got a lot of the design work done? Hey, lemme tell ya: there's a bunch of programmers out there, maybe game developer hopefuls themselves, who would give up their ability to track down memory leaks to be able to flesh out a design thoroughly.
So you and they can benefit by trying to hook up- You can get, uhh, well, less-than-expert programmers to show you their insights on source hackery, and they can get a better grasp of how to tackle the design aspect. And I'm not suggesting to completely remove yourself from the nutz&boltz, just to get the help you need, and in turn be helping someone out on what they feel could be their weakness.
I'll find out if my design spec is lacking once I see where my code is missing some functionality.:/
I have to agree with sharing the dream of making computer games, and that a good design will make the coding a lot easier. Now, to deviate in opinion...
Though the task of making a game could be classified as 'damn hard', if the task is all hard work, tedium, and discourages the hopeful developer from bringing their idea to fruition, then, well... They're not cut out for game development. (I havn't given up yet on my project[s], nor have I finished the first one I chose to tackle, so I don't know if I'm cut out or not.) And this makes no statement about those who havn't started just because they don't know where to start- just the ones who slammed the power button and gave up on the dream.
Let me refer to one of the other replies by _Gnubie_, whom has been at a 3D project since 96- (!!!) Now that's dedication! Of course, it might also be a good example of where a good design could have cut down on the coding time- without knowing any specifics, I can't say that anything _Gnubie_ is doing is wrong. But, having changed from Pascal to C/OpenGL is a good example of a change in the design, even at risk of throwing away a lot of the old code (but not the algorithms). And that's something else that will decide whether or not it's tedious work or fun game development- realizing that it's progress, because being attached to all that work you've done until then could be a Bad Thing(tm).
So now we picture ourselves as dauntless, aspiring game developers, finding joy even in wasting a few weekends writing volumes of code, and then writing them over again because we realize that last weekend's coding bout was pure crap (btdt). So, should we be discouraged because we can't compete with Big Industry? I say heck no! Well, unless your goal is to be a lone, independant game developer and do the sales and marketing yourself. Time to be dauntless and re-evaluate your business design. Personally, my completed project will serve as a nice portfolio/resume piece so I can get hired on by a company. If I'm able to make a quick buck off marketing it on the 'Net, that'll be a plus, but I'm not counting on that to cover the cost of my caffeine addiction. But even independantly produced bare-minimal games can be as fun (or better) than big-budget eye-candy packed titles put out by some big publisher- and THAT should be the encouragement for every aspiring developer to complete their project. Or at least keep their dream alive until they know where to start.:)
Slashdot Mirror
But as for this cryptograph's challenge, working it out manually would be as exciting as a year of calculus homework. Writing some script to convert the text into various Rubbish Lists isn't my forte; I'm no script kiddie, I write code. Besides, that would only barely help one find a solution. So, as for this challenge, as intruiguing as it seems, I'll decline.
But I will submit to write an agent suited for the endeavor. Someday soon.
"To make the computer produce the solution you want, you have to find the solution yourself and program it in." --me
So you and they can benefit by trying to hook up- You can get, uhh, well, less-than-expert programmers to show you their insights on source hackery, and they can get a better grasp of how to tackle the design aspect. And I'm not suggesting to completely remove yourself from the nutz&boltz, just to get the help you need, and in turn be helping someone out on what they feel could be their weakness.
I'll find out if my design spec is lacking once I see where my code is missing some functionality. :/
Though the task of making a game could be classified as 'damn hard', if the task is all hard work, tedium, and discourages the hopeful developer from bringing their idea to fruition, then, well... They're not cut out for game development. (I havn't given up yet on my project[s], nor have I finished the first one I chose to tackle, so I don't know if I'm cut out or not.) And this makes no statement about those who havn't started just because they don't know where to start- just the ones who slammed the power button and gave up on the dream.
Let me refer to one of the other replies by _Gnubie_, whom has been at a 3D project since 96- (!!!) Now that's dedication! Of course, it might also be a good example of where a good design could have cut down on the coding time- without knowing any specifics, I can't say that anything _Gnubie_ is doing is wrong. But, having changed from Pascal to C/OpenGL is a good example of a change in the design, even at risk of throwing away a lot of the old code (but not the algorithms). And that's something else that will decide whether or not it's tedious work or fun game development- realizing that it's progress, because being attached to all that work you've done until then could be a Bad Thing(tm).
So now we picture ourselves as dauntless, aspiring game developers, finding joy even in wasting a few weekends writing volumes of code, and then writing them over again because we realize that last weekend's coding bout was pure crap (btdt). So, should we be discouraged because we can't compete with Big Industry? I say heck no! Well, unless your goal is to be a lone, independant game developer and do the sales and marketing yourself. Time to be dauntless and re-evaluate your business design. Personally, my completed project will serve as a nice portfolio/resume piece so I can get hired on by a company. If I'm able to make a quick buck off marketing it on the 'Net, that'll be a plus, but I'm not counting on that to cover the cost of my caffeine addiction. But even independantly produced bare-minimal games can be as fun (or better) than big-budget eye-candy packed titles put out by some big publisher- and THAT should be the encouragement for every aspiring developer to complete their project. Or at least keep their dream alive until they know where to start. :)