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SimHackeron Global Network Attacks Were Up Over 98% this morning

As long as Texas has a troglodyte in the governors mansion, it deserves the terrible reputation it has earned for itself.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

Maxis has a separate studio in Emeryville (by Berkeley), where Spore and SimCity were developed. Maxis isn't exactly small, since The Sims franchise has been responsible for a large share of their profits: A few years ago EA reorganized into three parts, and The Sims division was one of them, but I don't know how they're organized now.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

The lead designers and artists who developed the latest version of SimCity were old time Maxis people, but they've left since it launched. They weren't very happy with what Origin forced them to do with their game.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

I think the easiest way to lay road and track is to drive a road laying vehicle around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkVBg_-OviI

Definitely a terrain editor, plus more tweakable procedural terrain generation.

There are many interesting ways to support multiple players, beyond the "cooperative committee with god mode limited by unanimous voting on expensive things" approach I implemented with the X11/TCL/Tk version: http://www.donhopkins.com/home/movies/SimCityNetDemo.mov

Your friends could fly helicopters around your city, reporting on problems, or just chatting with you as you drive your brick laying machine around to make roads.

Your enemies could fly drones around and turn your citizens into terrorists by bombing their wedding parties.

Your governor could conspire to cause terrible traffic jams by closing lanes on your bridges.

Deconstruct the god mode tool pallet into something more like Magic the Gathering cards, that have particular tailored zones, purposes and budgets that multiple players can win, trade and play.

The code must be open source, and the basic game free down download and play (online or off), but I'd like to think of a revenue model that will support the development of the game, as well as educational courseware (for free educational use).

I don't think many people would pay to download other people's cities, but maybe artists/architects could sell their buildings in an online real-estate (virtual-estate?) market like eBay.

I'm seeking advice and suggestions about how to fund the development and support running it! It's futile to pitch an educational game to a big publisher like EA, but Indiegogo may be a good route. Are there other alternatives focused on open source or educational software? I would really appreciate some mentoring and guidance from people experienced with that.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

Definitely it needs user editable tile sets, for 2D mode. And nice info visualizations of the simulator state and data layers.

And I think it would be great to create buildings with digital bricks (Legos), and render them in 3D -- that would make it fun and easy to create your own buildings with existing tools. And integrating browser based building editing tools into the game would be even better! See my other post with details and links: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7052399

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

I think Origin deserves the blame for making bad decisions and forcing them on Maxis, and I feel sorry that it was Maxis's job to repeat the lies they were told to say, because they didn't agree with the bad decisions (i.e. offline play, and needing more servers for launch), but it was their job to take the credibility hit, while Origin got to have their way.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

I think that despite its well publicized problems, there are some really great things about the latest version of SimCity.

The user interface and graphics and music are just fantastic.

The concept and execution of using roads instead of tiles is a huge improvement.

But the limit on the city size is very frustrating.

I would trade a lot of the new bells and whistles (well the fancy graphics, but not the nice UI) just to be able to build a gargantuan megalopolis, even if it didn't run very fast.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

I think SimCity is essentially a game that you can approach and play many different ways. Some of those ways work just fine offline, and some of them don't.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

No the excuses were not true. It was Origin's fault, and Maxis had to take the blame. The people working at Maxis opposed it, and it didn't actually need to be online to play, but the people at Origin insisted it only run online.

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

Absolutely. I believe that's the reason behind the success of The Sims (and the lack of user generated content was the reason behind the failure of The Sims Online).

A browser based version of SimCity Classic could use WebGL to render the buildings with digital bricks (i.e. Legos). Then it would be very fun and easy for players to create their own buildings with existing tools (or new browser based tools build into the game), and even construct those buildings in the real world out of Legos.

There is an active community of Lego fans and a rich ecosystem of open source digital brick editing tools, and Lego Digital Designer even imports and exports some of the file formats that were developed by the open source community, as well as Lego's own xml file format. http://ldd.lego.com/

In fact there's already an open source JavaScript/WebGL/three.js library for rendering digital bricks: https://bitbucket.org/msx80/brigl demos: http://www.lugato.net/brigl/index.html

Check out the Lego Micropolis Micro City Standard: http://twinlug.com/micropolis-micro-city-standard/ and the beautiful stuff people have made: http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/micropolis/Interesting

Bad day for Micropolis contest: http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/contest/badday/ winners: http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/contest/badday/badday.h... http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/contest/badday/basic.ht... http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/contest/badday/double.h... http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/contest/badday/doublepl...

Imagine importing that great stuff into SimCity, or rather, the open source version of SimCity, whose name also just happens to be Micropolis: https://code.google.com/p/micropolis/

I'd write a short essay, but I'm afraid it would end up being a long essay! ;)

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

The original SimCity Classic source code is open source, and instructors like Chaim Gingold and Mark Sample are actually having their students study (and deconstruct) the source code:

Chaim Gingold, Simulation for Games: http://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmps179/Spring13/

Mark Sample, Criminal Code: The Procedural Logic of Crime in Videogames: http://www.samplereality.com/2011/01/14/criminal-code-the-pr...

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

Because I rewrote it in JavaScript! ;)

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

The source code for the original SimCity Classic is open source, called "Micropolis": https://code.google.com/p/micropolis

While it's nowhere near as fancy as the latest version, there are other directions to take it than adding lots of bells and whistles and complexity.

It's simplicity makes it idea for general education, as well as specifically learning about programming, game development and modding, and it's much easier for younger children (and even adults) to grasp and understand.

Doreen Nelson wrote the original SimCity teacher's guide, and her life's work has been "Design Based Learning", like Seymour Papert and Alan Kay's "Constructionist Education" philosophy. I believe SimCity Classic could be developed into a fun and wonderful educational tool, inspired by that work.

About Design Based Learning: http://www.csupomona.edu/~dnelson/intro.html http://www.csupomona.edu/~dnelson/library.html

These are delightfully retro but timeless videos that are inspirational and still totally relevant to SimCity:

City Building Education: A Way to Learn. Written and produced by Doreen Nelson and David Olney through the Office of Charles Eames, l976. 11 mins. (This is well worth watching for the music by Morton Subotnick!) http://video.csupomona.edu/DNelson/CityBuilding-245.asx

Classroom City. Written, directed and produced by Doreen Nelson, l981. Looks at City Building's methods in various classroom settings: traditional, migrant teacher training and educationally handicapped. Students from the first City Building class of l969 are revisited. 16 mins. http://video.csupomona.edu/DNelson/ClassroomCity-245.asx

SimHackeron SimCity Offline Is Coming

Serious question:

Would anyone be interested in a version of SimCity Classic that ran in the browser? (Playable offline, of course!)

In what ways do you think it could be brought up to date with modern technology, without spoiling the fun of the original game?

What do you like about the original SimCity Classic? And what do you think should be changed or added?

What I'd really appreciate is advice on how to fund the development. Kickstarter is out because I'm not in the United States, but I'm considering Indiegogo, but open to alternatives, especially ones focused on open source and educational software.

SimHackeron Global Network Attacks Were Up Over 98% this morning

Maybe the War On Christmas, Religious Bigotry, Racism, Homophobia and Misogyny, Gun Fanatics, Big Oil Companies, Global Warming Denial and Government Deregulation got started a little late.

SimHackeron Why I am switching to promises

Having a naked emperor on the server is a diplomatic concession to the fact that there is also a naked emperor on the client. There's nothing anybody can do to put clothes on the Emperor of the Client, while you can dress your Emperor of the server any way you want.

SimHackeron Why I am switching to promises

And what's wrong with reinventing basic programming-language design a million different ways? Are you complaining that it's too much like Lisp?

SimHackeron Why I am switching to promises

The emperor may have no clothes, but what's so great about clothes? (If God meant people to be naked, they'd be born that way! Same goes for programming languages.)

The naked Emperor JavaScript runs everywhere, and runs fast, and isn't going away. He's streaking at lightning speed all over the kingdom, everybody's seen him, and he doesn't stay still.

The emperor is naked. Long run the emperor.

SimHackeron The new Photosynth

Play the "walk" photosynth of the motorcycle in the alley, then press C and move around to see how the 3d model of the reflection in the puddle is a surface far underground where the reflected building appears to be! So cool! http://photosynth.net/preview/about

SimHackeron Zappos says goodbye to bosses

Jeff Bezos also needs a psychiatrist and a lobotomy.

SimHackeron So someone "stole" your idea

And usually those people call themselves "idea guys" (yes they're usually male), and they're looking for a "tech guy" to implement it for them for free, in exchange the promise of a small cut of the profits.

I was at a tech get-together and a typical one of those guys approached me and asked "Are you a tech guy or an idea guy?" And I was like, "Well, I'm a tech guy, but I like to think that I'm capable of coming up with ideas, too." It only seems like a dichotomy to people who can't program, believe that coming up with ideas is hard, programming is easy, programmers can't think, and need "idea guys" to tell them what to do.

SimHackeron Bzr is dying; Emacs needs to move

RMS has RSI, so he doesn't type, he dictates. Oh, shit -- that didn't come out the way I meant it to. ;(

SimHackeron Apartment, completely unused since 1942, discovered in Paris

That is an incredibly beautiful painting, and I don't think it needs a story to pump up its value, beyond the facts that are true.

SimHackeron What Snowden really revealed

The real reason they're collecting everything is not to fight terrorism, it's to provoke terrorism. More terrorism means more power to them.

SimHackeron Scoble says Google Glass is doomed

There should be one light that turns on and off to show when the wearer is recording, and another light that is always on to show when the NSA is recording.

SimHackeron Scoble says Google Glass is doomed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_labor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_labor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superficial_charm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression_management

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_branding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reputation_capital

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingratiation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_supply

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_manipulation

SimHackeron Scoble says Google Glass is doomed

I called Scoble a narcissistic douchebag eight months ago (Get it? Shower == Douche! ;). But I've known that ever since he live video blogged from in line to buy the first iPhone with a webcam attached to his trucker's cap. He replied "thank you", and then claimed that he found my criticism quite motivating (the psychological term for that effect is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_supply ), before he blocked me. https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/posts/1015157966444465...

The Yes Men hit upon what Google Glass is really all about -- the Managerial Leisure Suit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj-gisszHM0 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_dg6V8pQGo

SimHackeron Scoble says Google Glass is doomed

As if the NSA won't be able to turn on the camera and microphone any time they want, without turning on the warning light. Riiiiiight.

SimHackeron Scoble says Google Glass is doomed

If Southpark does an episode on Google Glass that's anywhere near as hilarious and insightful as their Segway episode "The Entity" -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entity_(South_Park) -- then it's doomed! Matt and Trey's commentary on The Entity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WweVv41qQpc -- "Well, I guess you don't HAVE to do that..." -- Full episode: http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s05e11-the-ent...

"IT" can go up to two hundred miles per hour, gets three hundred miles to the gallon, and is an all-around better mode of travel. The only problem is that "IT" is controlled by a quite painful and uncomfortable method; using four "flexi-grip handles" that somewhat resemble erect penises; two held in the hands, one in the mouth, and a fourth handle which is inserted into the anus. It also transpires that the vehicle can be operated with buttons too, making the phallus-like controls an unnecessary discomfort. Garrison invites many important investors such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Yasmine Bleeth to see how "IT" works. Despite this unorthodox control mechanism (which is uncomfortable to the citizens of South Park), "IT" is still considered better than the airlines and Garrison is a smashing success.

SimHackeron Show HN: I made 30 apps this year and I'm 15

Better yet, now is the time to create your own reusable Illustrator and Photoshop components, and write games that build them in to enable users to customize and create their own content. Oh, and 3D Studio Max, too. Not 100% of the features and complexity, just the 50% that you need 95% of the time. The same way many games and other apps use built-inn text editors to enable users to write their own text, instead of saying "oh just use Word for that".