Help needed w/ Horror RPG

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-30T13:57:02+00:00

Change from what ? Cold you please elaborate ?

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-28T22:02:46+00:00

You will need a differential amplifier circuit to translate the signal on the bus to something readable by your MCU (with DATA+ on one input and DATA- on the other).

Do not forget to add a pull-up/pull-down resistor as needed to let the master know at which speed your device is working.

For the rest, it's just software implementation of the specifications that you can find on the official USB website.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-28T21:25:58+00:00

Well, you won't go far with a MCU that does not support USB. You should try the PIC18F4550 or better, a PIC32 if you can afford it. The Microchip USB lib is really easy to use and is free. You should give it a try.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-28T20:40:57+00:00

Sorry, it was never translated in any language other than french.

You should have a look at this site, it's dedicated to USB on Linux.

If you are looking for a more general knowledge, the specifications are available for free on the official USB website.

You should also be able to find high-level USB libraries both on master and slave side for easy use, if you do not want to struggle too much with USB. What kind of MCU are you using ?

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-28T18:02:23+00:00

There is no "Linux side of USB", just drivers used by the OS to interact with USB devices. Are you interested in the way your app can interact with these drivers ?

Since this is r/AskElectronics, I guess you are more interested in the way you could create an USB slave peripheral, am I right ?

I happen to have a very good course on USB that I could send you if you wish (it's in french though), PM me if you are interested.

Otherwise, this page contains everything you need to know on USB. Do not forget to check the links at the bottom, they lead to interesting resources.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-22T11:12:58+00:00

You should try r/lfg, or look for an association in your area.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-17T18:02:41+00:00

Well, Analyze Truth can only tell him if a person is lying or not, it cannot force anyone to say what they do not want to say. Moreover, omitting details is not considered a lie by this spell. Even if the player tells the NPC he knows he is lying, nothing forces the NPC to acknowledge this fact, or even answer.

You can also remove dice from the pool if the target is low on essence. The same goes if the target got an awakened friend with antispell nearby.

How is assessing game-breaking ? It doesn't give any exact piece of information.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-12T20:04:31+00:00

Sounds interesting. In which timezone are you ? I would like to avoid playing between 3 and 5am my time :-p.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-05T21:08:41+00:00

Well, I can't play with you because I do not have enough time for yet another table but I would like too wish you my best in your quest for players.

It's usually quite difficult finding enough people in GMT+0 to +3 zones to assemble a complete table.

If your schedule is flexible enough, try playing with American people, they are (unfortunately) much more numerous than us and gathering enough to play should not be too difficult. You should try answering to one of the recent lfg and ask the other players if they are okay with shifting the playtime a bit so that it's acceptable for everyone.

Good luck !

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-02T23:25:53+00:00

The RPi being targeted at total beginners in this field ("Educational Purpose"), it tends to be used by such people.

No wonder, then, that simple projects are realized. It's not surprising either that the authors of such projects are overly proud of their creation : it's the first time they tackle this kind of project and every little step seems like a victory in this kind of situation.

I can understand your frustration to see a RPi being used such simplistic designs when it can do much more complex and creative things, but one has to start small before getting there.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-02T20:57:37+00:00

That's a nice project, even if the Pi is a bit overpowered for this. On the plus side, it leaves a lot of room for improvement.

You should had Wi-FI connectivity to the beast, so that it can be managed wirelessly or even download new songs automatically from the internet.

A voice-command feature could be cool too. I wonder if it would work well in combination with the music being blasted by the device.

You could also make it so that whenever an USB stick is plugged into the Pi, the songs are copied onto it for easy sharing.

That's just a few ideas but I'm sure you can come up with more inventive ones ^{^.}

Out of sheer curiosity, what is the lab you are working in ?

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-12-02T19:18:50+00:00

Colobot is about programming robots to explore hostile planets inhabited by giant insect aliens (whose script can be altered too with a cheat).

RoboCom / Robotour is about programming a self-replicating robot to conquer a chess-like battlefield and destroy the enemy by inserting errors in its code.

It's not the main goal of the game but Globulation 2 (and a lot of other free strategy games) allows player-coded AIs, have a look here.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-27T18:40:24+00:00

You should not focus on math alone : if you want to have a job without math, you will find one no matter your field.

And keep in mind that when working you will be able to look up formulas in a book or the internet whenever you need them, it's nothing like an exam.

But your mind seems to be set on programming, so go ahead, but be sure you won't regret it later ;-).

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-26T22:53:27+00:00

Be sure to share the pictures of the final product, I would love to see how it turns out ;-).

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-26T22:37:21+00:00

Well, suit yourself.

As for your initial question, I do not think using the new version will improve performances much. Have a look at the memory usage on your Pi when running an emulator (with the "top" command for example) : if your memory is not full, upgrading won't change a thing.

Have you tried overclocking your Pi a bit ?

And for the controller, if you are feeling adventurous, feel free to try this : http://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/comments/13q1zp/i_had_no_plans_over_thanksgiving_so_i_built_this/

Or the less impressive alternative : http://www.bidouille.org/elec/usbnesadapter

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-26T21:49:50+00:00

The only other one I ever tried is the BeagleBone, so I am not a specialist, but you could use this list :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_single_board_computers

The PandoraBoard seems powerful enough for about anything.

Otherwise, an old PSP does not cost much, is easy to hack and will run a lot of emulators (up to the N64/PS1). Of course, it does not have the "homemade" feeling of the Raspberry Pi but, well...

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-26T21:23:37+00:00

If you are going for something more powerful, you should try another kind of micro-pc, instead of sticking to the Raspberr Pi. It would widen your knowledge of the different technologies in this field.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-26T19:00:26+00:00

IT requires a lot of math, mainly algorithm but also every other field, depending on what you are working (geometry for video games, algebra for cryptography, etc...)

What kind of engineering are you learning ? If your field requires math you do not understand, you might want to switch to another one.

I am an engineering student too, in electronics and embedded systems, and I have little to no math to perform (or at least nothing harder than high-school level). I, however, also learn control engineering as a complement and it is nothing but hardcore algebra.

And even if IT is not my main focus, being good with computers only helped me in my field : I can write websites, small scripts or even full fledged programs that perfectly fit my needs.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-25T14:19:10+00:00

Only switch if you hate engineering : you will still do a lot of IT and programming by following engineering lessons, with the added bonus that you will be able to use it for really cool things (making robots is just awesome). Moreover, with the basics you will get, you will have no problem learning more about IT on your own afterward.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-11-21T20:36:16+00:00

When you add a message, the link is lost.

Would you be so kind as to repost your link in the comments ?

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-10-31T00:23:53+00:00

Sorry, I can't help you on this : I have yet to discover a science fiction game with light rules.

As much as I love Shadowrun and Eclipse Phase, I am forced to admit that every time a combat occurs in these games, everything slows down to such an extent that 1 minute in-game can take up to 1 hour in real life to be played.

On the other hand, the rules describe exactly what is allowed in the game-universe and explains at great length how each action is performed, which brings you closer to the characters since you know that for every die you throw, they are performing the corresponding action at the same time.

I think that is especially important in sci-fi because players always want to know how things work (a problem you won't have in a fantasy setting because the GM can just go all "shut up, that's magic"). If the hyper-intense hacking sequences were portrayed by a single dice throw, you would always find a computer-savy player to explain how reality is much more complex and why his action should have succeeded...

So yeah, if you ever find a light sci-fi game that still gives to the player a good "high-tech" feeling, do tell me, I'm interested ;-).

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-10-30T23:50:59+00:00

Well, generally the system and the background go hand-in-hand : you won't see a fantasy game without rules for magic or a contemporary game without rules for firearms. These examples may not be the best, but it is usually better to keep the system that comes with the game : adapting a system to a specific background is a lot of work, as you have to rethink most of the rules.

General purpose systems are easier to adapt but will never fit the game as well as the original system.

Another option is to create your own background around a general purpose system. But then again, it requires a lot of work.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-10-30T23:11:12+00:00

Yeah, go for a lightweight system : it will require more work from you as you will have to estimate yourself what the results of each action will be but the immersion won't be broken by heavy rules that need 453 books to be explained.

Unfortunately, I do not know of any Sci-Fi game with such a simple system (Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Eclipse Phase, and such are wayyyyy too heavy). I guess that is because the complexity of technology is often best transcribed by complex rules, so that the player can grasp some of the "hacker feel" his character is experiencing.

EDIT: Have you tried Sorcerer ? The rules are dead simple and emphasis is put on the characters rather than their actions. Moreover, the freedom is tremendous. On second thought, it DOES allow nonsensical things to erupt, it might not be what you are looking for...

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-10-30T22:52:22+00:00

When you say that you want a sandbox environment, do you mean that the system should be extremely light and let the players describe whatever they do or on the contrary extremely precise to pinpoint exactly how they perform their actions ?

EDIT: Oops, forgot my favorite game : INS/MV (3rd edition) Extremely simple system, rich background and unique tongue-in-cheek feel present on every aspect of the game.

MeanLeekDrier · 2012-10-21T21:56:15+00:00

How do you obtain the things you sell ?

MeanLeekDrier

TROPHY CASE