End of Month 8 - January

I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is, I am skipping the update that should have been done a couple days ago. The good news is, I have been far from lazy. I have been doing very severe, major internal rewrites. I am rewriting what must be over half my code. The short version: the only programmer worse than present me is past me. The long version...

I started to work on items. Then I found the programming advisor Gendarme and used it. In using it, I found out a ton of things I haven't been doing. Like default parameters. Or proper use of methods to make sure I don't repeat code. I've also been coding things in ways that made sense at the time, but don't now that I have a little experience with the kinds of systems I want to be using. And have a much vaster repertoire of code commands at my disposal. This is probably nonsense unless you're a programmer. Let me put it this way...

The file size should be smaller. The external file loading should be much more forgiving. The game may run faster. There should be less obscure bugs, and they'll be easier to fix. I'll be able to put in new things much faster.

So, expect the new version in a matter of a couple of days. No more than two weeks since the last release. I'd rather release something stable, than break what I've been doing in order to rush a version out the door. I'd rather code well than code fast here. The good news is, once this is over with, I won't be breaking my stuff every time I add a feature. Which means less time working on things, which means faster releases and more stuff per release. Just put up with the slowness for a little longer while I refine things.

Marginally related to Adventurer, I've been learning a lot of 3D physics in my Math for Game Programming 2 class at DeVry. I also downloaded Blender, the 3D modeling program. After I get this version of Adventurer done, I'm going to start a bit of a side project, making a 2D and 3D physics engine for myself. I may make a physics based puzzle game, in order to help with the implementation, and to test my Blender models in a game. Think Portal, or the Gravity Gun in Half Life 2. Just with horrible, possibly wireframe graphics. I don't know whether that will amount to anything, but if it does, I'll let you know. It won't get in the way of Adventurer, though.

Okay, so this month's data. The ads are doing good. $9.20 last I checked, and I got a postcard from Google to establish that they've got my info right. So thank you everyone for caring enough to check in on the blog. What about pageviews, then? Fluuuush, down the drain on pageviews. -19% on the blog and -28% on the code page. But, I know why. A combination of regular graph noise being on the low end this month, combined with a slow release earlier in the month along with the current slow release. Don't worry, I'll do better next month when I get this thing done. I hereby solemnly vow that the next four updates, after the upcoming one, will be within seven days of each other. And will all be something fun. I know I'm going to regret that.