Stupid by design

Category : internet + programming + software + stupid

Until now, installing browser plugins (not to be confused with extensions or add-ons) was pretty straight forward. In the past they would automatically install for you under IE after you’ve followed the wrong link, then later you would find a dozen new toolbars you never asked for or needed. Luckily, other browsers didn’t open themselves up for such easy exploitation and plugin vendors instructed you to download an installer so you could install the plugin manually. While this sounds so excruciatingly painful to do for some (downloading, buttons and simple instructions! oh no!) it was far less risky providing you vaguely knew what you were downloading and installing.

Now, I’m usually not one to harshly criticize how a browser plugin should be installed… but what I’m about to explain seems downright stupid by both logic and design. If you understand how plugins differ from addons or extensions or how any of them work, then this will either entertain, scare or disgust you.

If you’ve ever installed Flash player for Firefox on Windows in the past, then you should vaguely remember having to download an executable which carries out the installation process for all non-IE (Firefox, Opera, Chrome, etc.) browsers. This was great. In a “one package, several browser installed” method since the installer did a fantastic job of covering all the bases. Above all it was simple, completely noninvasive and required little interaction from start to finish. Download installer, Launch, close browsers, install, restart browser. Done.

When you go to install or update Flash player within Firefox now, you no longer get this option. You’re presented with the familiar “Agree and install now” button within familiar Adobe confines. But instead of receiving trusty executable, you’re instead asked to install an “Adobe DLM” XPI package. WTF, right? So I ran a quick search for “WTF is this crap!?” and the first result among a host of links to related problems with the DLM confirmed what I was already suspecting.

Since I’ve pretty much had it with every download manager ever conceived (which now seems to be some kind of idiot gold standard for any company offering more than a single plugin or application) I wanted nothing to do with it, and Adobe is granted no exception. But rather than sticking to a proven process of installing a browser plugin, some genius at Adobe instead decided it might be somehow more convenient to make the process more abstract and far more convoluted than it needs to be. Which is great if you consider performing a do-it-yourself lobotomy using nothing more than a Russian Matryoshka doll appealing.

<Insert Xibit “Yo Dawg, I heard you like updated plugins…” image here>

To break it down further, when asked to install the “Adobe DLM” you’re 1) downloading and installing a Firefox Add-on which 2) needs to run an installer in order to 3) install a plugin which 4) also installs a download manager with 5) other useless junk you probably don’t need in the shape of 6) an Add-on which is 7) probably not an add-on. And I’m inclined to believe that 8) whatever is installed will probably not be easy to uninstall as far as the Firefox add-ons and plugin list is concerned.

How could someone at Adobe possibly fuck up something as trivial and straight-forward which was the Flash player plugin installation? But what I don’t even remotely understand is how this is in any way better than what we had before. The answer you’re looking for is: It’s not better.

R.I.P. Flash.

Update: It now appears that an option to download the trusty installer is now an option once again, hooray! Even though I still find the DLM add-on quite stupid in itself, it’s good to know that you don’t have to use it… at least as far as installing Flash player is concerned…

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Getting back into the grind.

Category : software + updates

If the last few postings haven’t already alluded you to the fact that I’ve been diving into some new projects, this post will confirm it. There’s so much I want to put into writing but there’s also so little time for me to do that so to give you a taste, I’ll attempt to just sum things up. First, I’ve found myself posting more to my Twitter feed more than I have maintaining this site. After doing the math: cranking out 140 character messages is a lot easier than writing lengthy entries which more or less say the same thing. I have some ideas on the shelf, but at the moment they read more like incoherent outlines which only I can understand. I plan to take those on as soon as I can clean my current plate.

WordPress itself has been semi-neglected and I have been putting a new theme together bit-by-bit, sadly it’s not ready just yet and I’m picky. I won’t bore you with the details about it, but lets just say that doing markup for multiple browsers can still be a major pain and leave it at that. For those who still want the current theme, I’ve put it on SVN and want to clean it up before I can apply it to the most current version of WordPress. Flipping through items here, you’ll see where it’s broken and well, that’s just not cool. When I throw the new theme up, take that as a sign that I’m working on it.

In recent news, I’ve been contributing most of my time recently to helping the Ubiquity Team get localizations covered in time for the big 0.6.0 “End-User Benefits” release. It’s also worth mentioning that everyone on the team is nothing short of awesome. While I’ve been helping out they’ve also been helping me get integrated and organized while we’ve been throwing ideas around for what to possibly do next. Once localizations are done, which at the time of this writing are looking good, I’ll begin applying some ideas for the about: pages which will prove fun and challenging. Not exactly in that order.

So, as you can tell I’ve been keeping busy. Next I’ll try to follow-up and tell you what it’s like to wrestle with a tyrannosaurus… Which could serve as a perfect analogy to explain how I’ve been tackling localizations for Ubiquity within Firefox and how I got myself into this all in the first place. It may serve as a good entry point for those wanting to apply localizations to their own Add-on or theme (yes, theme).

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Trading in UED for Hammer

Category : games + half-life + updates

In the past I’ve tried creating maps for Unreal, mainly Unreal 2004 and a couple of it’s mods. But I’ve developed this kind of love/hate relationship with UnrealEd and the Unreal engine where I decided to try something new. Now don’t get me wrong, Unreal is a very good engine and the editor is by far the best out there in almost every aspect. However I never actually managed to release any of my work largely due to the fact that I didn’t like how some things looked or turned out differently in game. And revisiting the engine and many of my projects now, I noticed how everything looks a bit washed out and aged when put next to other titles.

So over the past week I dumped everything I’ve ever worked on in UED and switched over to teaching myself how to use Hammer, and in doing so I’ve learned that there is always some kind of trade-off. The main trade-off is clearly the editor in question. Hammer isn’t exactly flush with as many options on the surface as UED is, but for some this might be a good thing. The learning curve however is very shallow in comparison, but some of the methods for creating a map are similar with some minor differences.

The largest adjustment for me is learning how to model a map largely using BSP brushes and limiting the number of models in used that are in view. Previously I was modeling mostly with terrain layers and meshes with very little BSP as Unreal gave you a performance penalty if too many BSP brushes were used, so you had to balance. While juggling your geometry still applies to Hammer and Source based games, the bonus is that there’s actually less to do. This allows me to focus more on the layout than asking myself whether I want to use a model or brush for a certain area where either could work in that type of scenario, but the only drawback to that is I’m having to retrain myself to use primarily BSP brushes without making it overly complex.

Until I find an easy and suitable method for creating overcast conditions with rolling cloud shadows over a large stretch of outdoor terrain, then I’ll still miss Unreal and UED for being able to create a good atmosphere. However, Valve seems to be constantly updating Source quite frequently with each new game to a point that eventually some of those features and options may be possible in the future. In the meantime I’m going to start by creating a Team Fortress 2 map which I actually intend to release, and possibly document how some stuff was made.

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SPORE™ a not-so perfect game

Category : annoying + games + software

Since I first learned about Spore a few years ago, I was completely intrigued by the thought of being able to build and explore a completely unique universe populated by other players. This past weekend I finally had the chance to play, and for several days I substited it in place of whatever other titles I would normally be playing. Aside from all of the DRM bashing and multiple stories about the backlash, it’s not as horrible as the ratings make it out to be.

If you can manage to look past that little negative for a moment, Spore is a very wonderfully crafted game from an artistic and technical standpoint. The biggest attraction comes from the fact that nearly all of the in-game creatures, buildings and vehicles are created by you and other Spore players which eventually are redistributed across the virtual galaxy. As far as the game itself goes, you won’t notice many of the rigid rules found in previous Maxis titles which dictate how your game will turn out.

At first the experience is quite enjoyable. But like with any new software release come some unwanted annoyances and other issues which slowly become exposed which can destroy game play, and unfortunately Spore is not immune to either of these problems. It may just be me over-analyzing things, but Spore still feels more like a technical demo than a finished product when you boil down the game play and overall experience. However, Spore is still an early version release so there is still much which make the game feel either very raw and not completely evolved in a few areas.

From the beginning of the creature level when playing on land and into the later parts of the game feels entirely one-sided. Upon reaching land you’re primary goal is to explore and find new parts in order to evolve, all while either eating other creatures or making them an ally. It’s a bit like encountering someone new and deciding whether to make friends, avoiding them or beating them up for no reason other than for your own amusement. In many scenarios avoidance is the best strategy when you don’t have a choice, but for whatever action you take you’re often rewarded with points toward building your creature.

As it turns out, the rewards really come in if you beat up your target or decide to make them an ally as avoidance doesn’t exactly increase your creatures intelligence. But the moment you begin to approach another creature which is not immediately hostile toward you, you’ll often notice one of two things. First if you mouse over that creature you’ll notice a little blank-faced smile with a question mark next to its name showing you that the other creature is naturally curious. Then as soon as you start to approach you’ll often notice that nearly the entire group begins to shuffle away from you if it’s not already fleeing in terror.

To some extent this AI behavior seems somewhat dumb especially when encountering much larger or threatening creatures which are not initially hostile upon approach. Secondly it’s a bit disappointing that not one creature would attempt to approach you first in an attempt to impress you and become your ally. It makes perfect sense for most creatures smaller than yours to flee in terror, but on occasion a change in tactics where contact isn’t initiated by you would be nice as you’re out exploring. This problem seems to occur throughout the entire creature stage and before long you realize you’re doing all of the work when you probably shouldn’t have to.

Transitioning from the creature to tribal and civilization stages, the AI doesn’t change too much but you are approached randomly on occasion. And if you don’t simply decide to completely pound all the nearby tribes or cities into the ground first, there are only a few other ways to make allies without going to war. However it’s still mostly a kill or be killed strategy similar to the creature stage without much advancement other than having weapons at your disposal. I didn’t spend enough time in either the tribal or civilization stages to begin with since my options were so limited and didn’t require any real strategy. It’s really unfortunate as these are both great stages but so horribly dumbed down, they just allow a player to practically breeze right through it without consequence.

When you do reach the space stage, you’re left to believe the primary goal would be exploration since there’s not much left for you to do on your home planet. And if you believed that, then I’m sorry to tell you that you were wrong. On the bright side, other species do engage you a little more by contacting you first. But it’s often to issue threats and extort you out of large sums of money to stop them from attacking your planet or colonies. And as time goes on, each successive demand gets larger before you can no longer afford it and you’re ultimately at war with another empire.

It was amusing the first few times, but eventually it begins to really spoil your game if you’re already surrounded many hostile races and fighting several other empires early into the space stage. And when you’re not at war or trying to explore, you’re finding yourself playing the role of fire fighter, the go-to guy or perpetual baby-sitter as your allies or other colonies are too powerless to help themselves. And just when you thought you’ve patched up that colony and saved an ally, another round of alarms go off and you’re back in the loop. This becomes worse as you explore further and further away, since being unable to save an ally can cost you and possibly make them an enemy if you fail to rescue them.

The big game-breaker comes in the form of Spore crashing for no reason while attempting to do some routine things, like lifting off from your home planet. It’s somewhat impossible to figure out what the rest of the space stage could be like in one of my games because of this problem. But for reasons unknown to myself, Spore just randomly crashes like crazy on its own or when conditions are right. I’ve witnessed crashes upon exiting a few times, but the one that takes the cake is when you’ve just mopped up attackers on your home planet then attempt to head back out into space to explore. Just as your ship begins to exit the atmosphere, you’re back on your desktop with a dialog telling you that SporeApp.exe has encountered an error.

I have been able to reproduce a couple of these crashes on demand and have filed bug reports, but that still leaves me with a unplayable game with no real fix or work-around to the problem in later stages. I’ve double checked and apparently I am not alone with this problem, some have it worse by not even being able to get out of earlier parts of the game due to even more random crashes. It’s a bit disappointing to know that outside of this, Spore is quite a fun game to play and I really would love to continue my epic space battle. But until Maxis and EA can release a patch to fix this, Spore won’t be getting as much play from me.

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