Heads up, my web-hosting service provider (WebFaction) is in the process of being bought-out/taken-over by GoDaddy. I don’t understand the nature of this kind of transaction myself, since it’s basically just disappearing, by summer. It’s not like GoDaddy is continuing the service, and so it’s hard to gauge what is the value of such a buyout to an entity like GoDaddy. The customers are all going to leave, or are having to leave. I don’t know if GoDaddy is “buying” the infrastructure (old, aging computer stuff, buildings) or what?! Or if it helps the WebFaction owners get out from under a crushing rock of some kind. There’s scant details and no transparency.

My host (since this website, and others, has existed) seems like it was pretty unique, in serving niche for software developers, on a tight budget. I’m not seeing a lot of alternatives to change over to. I may even have to consider giving up on having website(s) for a little while. But I want everyone reading this site to know that everything (except for the vagaries of hosting website(s)) is going very well for Sword of Moonlight. And even though, I should probably keep this a secret for a little longer, I want to share that there are plans underway to resurrect King’s Field, for which the coast seems clear. And also very good things are happening/developing on the VR integration front.

Continued: Some website turbulence is imminent…

Damn! it’s been 3 months without an update. I guess I should put something… here.

Continued: Not dead! King's Field II

I feel like there should be a lot to say about this, but I am perhaps too exhausted to say it. So, in brief, some months ago (I can’t recall how many) I began to notice some mysterious code within Sword of Moonlight, that I thought must indicate something was removed, to do with playing more than one level at a time. I thought it could be “layers” or a corridor between levels, or both of these things. I looked into it once or twice since. I even felt it may have been a load balancing system.

A month or so ago a person appeared who was working on figuring out the contents of King’s Field II’s disc for the PlayStation. Speaking with them got me to take a look myself, since it’s something I’ve been meaning to do. I wasn’t much help, but I did notice that there is two layers on each of the game’s zones. The other layer is interleaved with the first. I realized that’s the only place it could be, going by the size of the files that remained. That was a few weeks ago or more. Ever since then, I began work on making a layer system available to Sword of Moonlight, starting with its strange code from before.

Continued: Layer feature unearthed, now restored

A major release is now available. Also, the Windows 8/10 spellchecker service is enabled. PlayStation VR came a long way since the the last blog post, but is and will remain a demonstration.

This release adds an entire new dimension to Sword of Moonlight’s tools, by integrating new, full-featured profile editors into the main tools. The new editors replace the old model viewers, and while they remain a little rough around the edges owing to exhaustion, have a lot more character, since they have lighting, and pose characters, and also they use the same graphical pathway as the game player component, and so have access to all of the same visual effects, including the antialiasing extensions.

Continued: Things to come

Here’s an interesting stopgap release — it’s not what I’d planned, and it’s a demonstration first-and-foremost — but it’s also an official release, because it includes some of the best performance enhancements for Windows 7 and later Windows, and fixes some bugs that had arrived too late to be patched. I’ve been hard at work ever since I acquired a PlayStation VR in order to apply it to Sword Of Moonlight, but got taken off guard by the headset’s enchanting home-theater mode. (More on it later.)

There are so many possible releases, all up in the air, right now, never mind VR; Nevertheless, in the last several days it’s been the only thing I can think about. I expected to release a full PlayStation VR demonstration, except for the headset that I received seemed to have apparent display anomalies that forced me to send it back for a replacement, and so in the meantime I could only finish the demonstration’s visual component:

Continued: Let there be light

This is going to be a short post: I’ve been working hard (and often) on a major release that expands upon the profile editing tools and integrates them into the main experience; The crude “DLC” tools for making all new building-blocks for custom projects or to share. It’s taking a long time. There are five tools, and a sixth is needed. Though small, they’re very dense, each of them. They are to be seamlessly integrated by replacing the 3D model viewing elements with the new tools, since they include views of the 3D models. They have a lot more personality, and they are able to use the same extensions as the player, and so appear identical to the games. Upon completion, only the level designer will remain to be similarly upgraded. I feel that I will want to embark on that project, since it will otherwise appear not up-to-code until I do so.

Continued: Things to come