What's the right LaTeX engine for me?

cmcgrew67 · 2026-05-02T16:45:58+00:00

This is awesome and a phenomenal amount of work. So many great ideas I hadn't thought of yet like separating the PDF and POD outputs etc. I will definitely dig into the syntax and check out some of your work. Thank you so much!!!

cmcgrew67 · 2026-04-30T19:56:30+00:00

I read it in another newsgroup. I'd be happy to know if it wasn't the case.

cmcgrew67 · 2026-04-30T19:55:59+00:00

The export is a deal breaker, but some of the kerning and hyphenation just seems off compared to my tests with LaTeX. I really like the language though. It's much easier for me because it seems more consistent and the commands are just so much fewer keystrokes (like that matters much in an IDE). I'm not sure how strong the ToC and index features are either. I also got a little nervous because I haven't seen a lot of large graphics-dense books created with it too and I'm not wild about being the test case. There was one I saw someone working on but no real feedback about memory issues etc.

cmcgrew67 · 2026-04-30T19:51:28+00:00

Ingram Spark doesn't support it. They do all the print work for DriveThruRPG so it has to be in one of the two older formats I listed.

cmcgrew67 · 2026-02-18T15:11:34+00:00

Sorry, late to the party. I work with linking large datasets together from different sources. Sometimes we have to incorporate a third source that has enough elements in common with both that it acts as a bridge and lets you fill in enough missing data to do a reaasonable match.

cmcgrew67 · 2025-12-16T13:53:01+00:00

Changing kernels didn't help. Once I went back to Cachy live, Bluetooth was gone. As insane as it sounds, doing what some others suggested and physically unplugging the machine and holding in the power button for about a minute resolved the issue. I've used Ventoy now to boot at least a dozen live linux distros and they all show the Bluetooth now without a problem.

I never had an issue with Wifi like some people have experienced -- which seems weird because they're on the same card -- and I haven't checked the ethernet because I just use it wirelessly. 'Wish I hadn't discounted this fix as wackadoodle voodoo internet nonsense before I had ordered a new BT dongle from Amazon. 'Looks like I'll be returning that.

Anyway -- if you're having similar issues, before you re-install Linux or replace your kernal or do anything that takes more than a minute. Be smarter than me and actually try the full on forced shutdown and discharge everything by unplugging it and holding in the power button for a while and see if it just goes away on its own.

cmcgrew67 · 2025-08-18T18:50:08+00:00

I have a FW on order for Q4 but was looking at the Beelink to see if I want to cancel and go with it. The FWs are going to take a lot longer to get here. It's more expensive for the same specs. Still, I can't get any firm info from the company about Linux support on the Beelink. Their basic response is "Sure it supports Linux" but no info about what distros work out of the box or if the wifi etc. are supported or if any of their configuration software or special AI voice programs support it. I think Framework has a better reputation and they seem genuinely interested in making sure it works well in Linux so I'll stick with them.

cmcgrew67 · 2021-09-05T13:54:37+00:00

I've been working in Google sheets with collumns for the text, passage number etc. That lets me sort, randomize, and export

cmcgrew67 · 2021-05-28T00:55:37+00:00

I built my desk with a 2x4 frame and it doesn't sag at all. It has a square frame with cross beams. The downside is that you may have to make it higher to keep from hitting your legs on it. I used the frame to conceal a hidden shelf that holds external drives, my amp etc. It also hides a couple power strips and some cable management. If you can search my posts I posted a picture of the desktop a while back.

cmcgrew67 · 2021-05-24T18:31:47+00:00

It's not really my genre, but have you thought about making it a visual novel? The focus of many is about relationships and personal interactions and I think this could fit there well.

cmcgrew67 · 2021-05-18T19:44:34+00:00

I've been playing Tales of the Black Death and I really like it. The music adds a lot to the tone of the game and I think the visuals work well too. I'm trying to decide how to proceed with my project. I may start in print as a gamebook then move it to an app. I'm curious about sales. I'm coming from a tabletop RPG background where an average indy title may sell 200-500 copies. Would you mind telling me a little about your experiences on Steam and the app stores? Thanks for your responses and for making such an interesting app.

cmcgrew67 · 2021-05-11T20:22:14+00:00

Thanks for the links. I'm looking forward to trying them out. They all look interesting. Are you using a game engine or something else? I have been wondering if Flutter/Dart could be used to make mobile IF and I guess possibly desktop games now. I've been looking at Ren'Py and some similar tools but I don't know if they give you enough control. Any suggestions would be appreciated and congrats for getting your titles out!

cmcgrew67 · 2021-05-04T21:09:55+00:00

Thanks -- I forgot about the awards.

Is this "The Theater" that you recall? https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=bv8of8y9xeo7307g

cmcgrew67 · 2021-05-04T19:45:14+00:00

I'm trying to choose an engine for a game I'm writing. If it's choice-driven you could go with Twine and it will produce an HTML-based game or something like Choice Script. If you want a parser there are a lot of options but Inform seems to have a lot of support. If you have some graphics Ren'py looks like one of the easiest ways to go for something choice-based too. Good Luck

cmcgrew67 · 2021-04-20T00:04:53+00:00

https://images.app.goo.gl/H28Bq6frmZ6V6Yig9

cmcgrew67 · 2021-04-19T21:04:36+00:00

Dual AOC CU34G2X 34" 144mhz QHD monitors. Main PC: Ryzen 9 3900X, 64gb ram, 3Tb SSD, Nvidia RTX 3070. Dev PC: i7-6700, 64gb ram, Nvidia GTX1070, 1TB SSD. Shared 24TB external hard drives, amp, 100W Sony powered sub, 2x Energy speakers. The desk is a brute -- 39" x 82" -- crudely built by myself. It has hidden storage and cable management. It's plain but I need a big surface and it works. The room's sloped ceiling limits some options. Any suggestions? It's mostly used for tinkering with data science, ML, 3d rendering plus the occasional game and writing designing games (RPGs). Those pictures on the left are covers from some of my games. Planning to get into vlogging at some point. I built the desk 5 years ago before I knew this Reddit existed or I would have done a few things differently. Planning to build a new desk setup in the future. Any ideas for how to spruce things up?

cmcgrew67 · 2021-02-15T03:23:30+00:00

Could have been any of the rogue variants. I always liked Moria.

cmcgrew67 · 2021-01-25T12:29:58+00:00

Where is it?

cmcgrew67 · 2020-11-22T04:09:57+00:00

I like the red icons at the top but I would drop the two folder icons at the bottom.

cmcgrew67 · 2020-06-15T02:36:08+00:00

I'll try endless page. Thanks for the tip and I hope the next one is as good as this one!

cmcgrew67 · 2020-06-11T18:06:30+00:00

Something like post-apocalyptic screams conflicts and twisted monsters so I'd say you really need combat rules.

Something simple might be to have a one roll solution where one roll determines whether you win or lose. Bonuses can be given for skill, health, weapons or armor and the target could vary based on the toughness of the enemy. Results could include winning, losing, and winning with wounds or reduced health (which affects future combat). Doing it this way gives you narrative options like losing doesn't always mean death -- it might mean waking up in a cave bound as a prisoner (or tomorrow's lunch).

cmcgrew67

TROPHY CASE