Brad Wardell's Blog


Why Windows 8.1 needs to bring back the full Start menu

Published on Monday, June 10, 2013 By Brad Wardell In Personal Computing

imageWindows 8.1 is scheduled to bring the Start button back to the Windows 8 desktop. However, it will not include the Start menu. Instead, it’ll simply transport the user out of the desktop and back into the Metro Start screen environment.  This is a mistake.

I realize that there lots of people out there who like the Start screen metaphor.  And we can argue whether the Start screen is a more productive environment than the traditional desktop until the end of time.  However, what isn’t debatable is that such a radical departure from 20 years of training is very expensive and disruptive.

Not everyone, in fact, I would argue not even most people are particularly familiar with using computers even today. They have some expertise with some piece of software but in terms of navigating the operating system itself, their understanding is remarkably fragile.  I run into this every day when I deal with enterprise customers (who, I might add, represent a significant percentage of the 5+ million Start8 users out there). 

I don’t think most technically savvy people realize just how reliant on documentation the average user is. Whether that be a computer book, a website, or even the training manual for the support people who are trying to help walk through people updating their cable modem or the streaming video service or access their online banking account, people rely on existing documentation. And that documentation – those 20 years of accumulated knowledge – has real value. This is value that Microsoft is discarding for purposes that make little sense.

I personally have no issue with the Start screen or Metro. I find Metro (even the Windows 8.1 iteration) to be wholly inferior to the desktop for trying to get work done but it’s not something that can’t be improved on with a few more iterations.  What I do object to is forcing users to completely switch paradigms where the new one offers no tangible benefit to the bulk of the existing user base.  The user base should be gradually migrated over to the Start screen/Metro/ModernUI environment based on the intrinsic advantages it delivers (which, right now, are not very apparent to the non-touch user).

As much of a boon Microsoft’s design choices have been to our business this past year, our first concern has to be for the health of the overall ecosystem.  Start8 and ModernMix are products we’ve created to make Windows 8 more usable for our customers. But they are features that should have been part of the OS from day 1. They should never had to be made. Microsoft should realize that the immense popularity of these programs indicates that people want these features and should have made them part of Windows 8.1. 

Time for some AI love

Published on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 By Brad Wardell In Elemental Dev Journals

With Legendary Heroes out, I can finally start reading how people are playing the “finished” game.  Kael’s gotten me tons of reports and I’ve started tackling them one by one.

I am hoping to have the first batch ready for the next update (perhaps as early as next week). But that won’t be the end of it.  I plan to take care of some low hanging fruit strategy suggestions first and then go on and deal with the more challenging aspects that will require a lot more play testing to do.

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out 8 out of 8’s video impressions of Legendary Heroes:

The connection between a strong middle class and a healthy economy

Published on Monday, June 3, 2013 By Brad Wardell In Business

The Atlantic found this highly interesting cartoon from the 1950s:

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http://m.theatlantic.com/video/index/276344/the-wonderful-world-of-capitalism/

We are gradually losing this dynamic as the United States (and Europe) move away from a manufacturing economy and into an information economy and it’s not likely to get better. 

Where in the 50s, the “captains of industry” had a symbiotic relationship with their workforce – their objectives required the labor and ingenuity and productivity of their middle class workers – that is no longer the case today and our society suffers as a result.

Today, a combination of computer automation and globalization (outsourcing of labor) has resulted in the wealth of the very top to dominate every other tier.  Being in the “1%” myself, I can see how this has happened as capital now generates accelerating returns (our machines displace human workers at an increasing rate and this is likely to continue to accelerate).

I don’t have any suggestions or policy proposals to change this.  But if you watch the video linked above, it really sends home how much our economy has changed over the last 50 years.

Computer glasses really work

Published on Monday, June 3, 2013 By Brad Wardell In Personal Computing

My office has a lot of light in it. It’s one of those catch-22, people want windowed offices but the light can be very distracting.  Rather than constantly fighting with my blinds, I decided to try some computer glasses.

This is what I picked:

Gunnar Optiks G0005-C001

 

I can’t say enough good things about these. Not only do they let me work in a well sunlit room in comfort but they make working on my Cintiq a joy since I don’t feel like I have a flash light in my face.

Make Windows 8 function like Windows 7 but with the improvements of Windows 8

Published on Thursday, May 23, 2013 By Brad Wardell In OS Customization

As a tablet OS, Windows 8 is pretty decent.  I don’t have a problem with the Start screen in theory.  But I spend 8+ hours a day in front of a PC doing real work and that means using a desktop OS.

Windows 8 includes the desktop but it relegates that to being a program you run from the Start screen.  What we really want is to get the good stuff in Windows 8 (faster performance, new Modern app support, etc.) without the negatives.  That’s where Object Desktop comes in!

 

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So with Object Desktop, the beta of WindowBlinds 8 is now available which brings back “Aero glass” to Windows 8 users on the desktop. Plus with  ModernMix, Start8, Fences and the other goodies you can have the best of both worlds.

Here’s the UI of WindowBlinds 8:

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We include some “skins” that are timeless favorites plus a few that represent what we thought (hoped) the Windows 8 UI might have been like to choose from.  Plus there are thousands of skins available at WinCustomize.com.

If you want to get our whole package, you can get Object Desktop at www.objectdesktop.com.  When you buy it you also get a 1-year subscription to ObjectDesktop.net which gives you access to everything new we add for a subsequent year (Object Desktop is always improving and changing as the needs of PC users change).

The tangled web of Master of Magic

Published on Thursday, May 23, 2013 By Brad Wardell In PC Gaming

imageMaster of Magic is a beloved classic for old-time strategy games ever.  It had a game design that has not been equaled to (imo) since in many respects.

So why hasn’t anyone made a Master of Magic 2 or a remake of it? The answer is that the rights to this game are a tangled web.

Our story begins in 1994.  Master of Magic was designed by Steve Barcia, one of the greatest game designers in our industry’s history. That is not something I say lightly. At his level of game design, you’re not talking about skill, you’re talking about some sort of divine gift.  I’ve only met a handful of people that fall into that category on game design (needless to say, I am not in that category).

His company, Simtex, developed Master of Magic and it was published by  Microprose.  Microprose was acquired by Hasbro Interactive in 1997.  While Microprose had the publishing rights to Master of Magic, it is unclear what their rights were beyond that.  In 1999, Hasbro shut down Microprose sold its assets to the French company Infogrames which was subsequently branded as Atari (a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames).

In the early 2000s, Atari (USA) approached us about relaunching some these franchises.  This was post-Master of Orion 3. The idea was to bring back Star Control, Master of Orion and Master of Magic.  The plan ultimately bogged down due to the complex legal relationships in place at the time, particularly around Master of Magic.

Now, fast forward to 2013.  Who has the rights to Master of Magic? I don’t know. Atari doesn’t seem to think they do beyond their original publishing agreement for the DOS game from 1994.  The trademark for Master of Magic expired some years ago and Nival (makers of King Bounty) registered the trademark with an intent to use (so we might end of with a game with that name at some point in the future).

But it’s not clear who, if anyone, has the legal right to make a Master of Magic game that can lay claim to the original game except for perhaps, Steve Barcia and that’s just my speculation.

What I can say is that anyone hoping that Atari’s upcoming bankruptcy auction will result in someone “bidding” on the Master of Magic rights can stop wondering now. At this stage, it doesn’t appear that’s an option.

Legendary Heroes: Game play example

Published on Monday, May 20, 2013 By Brad Wardell In Elemental Dev Journals

Disclaimer:

This is an example of a game of Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes. For my own personal enjoyment, I create my own backstories and motivations for what occurs in a given game.  In reality, Fallen Enchantress games are played in a “sandbox”. That is, the world is randomly generated and what happens changes from game to game.  This story is about one particular game. The world you see described here will never happen again nor will the events ever be repeated because each game is different.

A brief history of time

When the world was young, Elemental had an external impact that would alter its history.  The last Mithrilar, one of the guardians of the universe, impacted the world gravely wounded. For millennia, he would sleep unconscious without realizing that trace amounts of his essence was seeping into the world.  This essence, called by many names, shall be labeled, for our purposes as “magic”.

The rise of the Magi

This magic permeated the world and in time, every living thing made use of it in ways both marvelous and terrible.  The first sentient beings to master its use were called The Magi.  Their civilizations would spread across the entire world.  The various continents of Elemental would see a myriad of different sentient beings rise and fall.

On the continent called Anthys, the Magi of the race of men reigned supreme and they undertook to construct the Forge of the Overlord, a mechanism of magic so powerful that it could alter reality itself.  Its construction caught the attention of the mightiest known beings in the universe – the Dred’nir.

 

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The Magi were powerful and wise beyond all other mortals

The Titans

The Dred’nir opened a portal to Elemental and entered the continent of Anthsys. They laid claim to the Forge of the Overlord and in time, the entire world.  The Titans ruled the world for a long while until one day, the Kingdoms of Men from the West, led by Sorcerers capable of channeling magic from the shards that the Titans had used to trap the magic of the world were able to overwhelm the Titans.  But this victory came at a great cost – the cataclysm destroyed all civilization around the world and laid the land in waste.

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Eventually the Magi strongholds fell to the Titans

The Fallen Enchantress

When civilization began to rebuild, it was Queen Procipinee who did the most to heal the land. Despite her great works, the people never fully embraced her and this led to the west being fractured amongst many kingdoms. Procipinee, being something of a seer herself, foresaw that an Empire of Sorcery would one day dominate the world if it were not stopped sent her agent Lord Relias into the East to find the great Oracle who might find a way to prevent her vision from coming true.

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A younger Queen Procipinee

Unfortunately, Relias’s quest transformed the Oracle into the Fallen Enchantress who became a queen of the undead.

War of Magic

The eastern sub-continent of Anthys is now dominated by Empires of the Fallen – beings that were created by the Titans of old who hate their original templates – men. They have begun to invade the West in the hope of eliminating the Kingdoms of men entirely.

Legendary Heroes

Across the world, Legendary Heroes have begun to arrive from the wilds in the hopes of preventing the rise of the Empire of Sorcery. This is their story.

Of Magesta

 

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Young Magesta with her mother, Procipinee.

 

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The only child of Queen Procipinee. Magesta was a powerful channeler from an early age.  In time, she would become Procipinee’s most trusted agent other than perhaps Relias.

However, when Lord Relias returned from the East he seemed a changed man. Gone was the free spirited adventurer and in its place a much more sober, serious young man.  More concerning, Relias urged Procipinee to unite with the other Kingdoms of the West the thwart the Empires of the East. But those petty kingdoms had no legitimate claim on the throne.  They refused to acknowledge Procipinee as the rightful heir of West.

Relias’s willingness to do whatever it took to unite the West bordered on treason. To find out Relias’s intentions and, if necessary, destroy him, Procipinee has sent Magesta into the fray to ascertain what Relias is up to…

Beginnings

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The western part of Anthys has already seen much of the land descrated through death magic. The tel-tale signs of otherworldly violet trees and blue-green grass were all she needed to know that that the Fallen had arrived in the west.

Soon after the founding of a New Pariden, Bannon Heighsley, Procipinee’s magistrate, arrived. 

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Heighsley has knowledge of water magic which allows for the casting of the inspiration enchantment. The effect of this enchantment, at this stage of the mission, is to double the research done in New Pariden.

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Not far from the south, a recent earth quake has revealed an ancient Temple of the Magi.  The books contained in this will allow for scholars to recover knowledge much faster.

In order to do this, the scholars must be able to safely access it.  This means an outpost needs to be constructed. Luckily, being Procipinee’s daughter, Magesta has access to the spell, Arcane Monolith. For 50 mana, she can summon an outpost.

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Magesta summons an arcane monolith.  Scholars soon begin to restore the temple.  Meanwhile, Magesta heads into the dead woods of the western wastes.

Across the wastes she finds hope. The land is fertile, even if it reeks of death magic.

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The land is dominated by a banished ogre that has taken up refuge. It should be dealt with before colonization occurs.

Also near by is a Crag Spawn, a remnant of a dark time before the Magi.

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Through its defeat, Magesta realized she had come to a turning point in her career.

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She knew now that her destiny was the be a Sorceress.  She would walk the path of the Mage like her mother before her.

Adversaries

She had not located Relias yet but the Empires had found her.  Both The Trogs of Yithril – brutish, troll-like beings and the demonic elves of the Quendar of Magnar had become powerful in this area of Anthys.

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However, eventually, Magesta did find Relias.

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Magesta’s emissary reported that Relias has lost hope that Procipinee will be practical. Whatever legalities that Procipinee might claim to rule the West were not convincing to the other lords of the west. Her father, Amarian III, was respected by all the leaders. But he, like most of the host that traveled into the East, were lost with the cataclysm.

Relias was seen by many as a uniting figure for the Kingdoms.  Already, Capitar and the Ironeers had allied with him.  The question would be, what would Magesta, daughter of Procipinee do about this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[To be continued]

The Star Trek Into Darkness thread

Published on Friday, May 17, 2013 By Brad Wardell In Movies & TV & Books

imagePutting aside the debate over whether the  I in Into is capitalized or not, the movie was terrific.

No spoilers in this post.

Having managed to avoid spoilers going into the theater I was surprised again and again as the movie progressed. It’s very much a character driven story.  Sure, there are some great special effects and some surprisingly detailed depictions of Earth in the 23rd century (more than I think we’ve ever gotten in a Star Trek film).

Because of the massive interweaving references between the previous movies and the original series (even a few subtle references to Enterprise) I am definitely going to have to see it again.

I went to the 2D showing of it so I have no comments on how the 3D is.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

IF you have spoilers please warn people first along with some carriage returns before showing the spoiler. (we need a spoiler tag).

I uninstalled Starcraft, now I’m lonely and dejected

Published on Monday, May 13, 2013 By Brad Wardell In PC Gaming

imageUnderstand, I love Starcraft.  But I finally got to the point where I can’t play it anymore and have fun.  I’m a low-level “Gold” league player.  And the problem (for me) is that at a certain point, it’s really about the micro of the units.  I managed to get to the level I was at because I’m pretty good at macro – I play as a virus that is always trying to spread across the map and unless you counter me consistently, it’ll eventually all be mine.

But at a certain point – below diamond and platinum apparently – the difference in skill stops being about macro. That’s a given.  It’s about how good you are – how fast you are – at micro managing the units. And I’m old. My 6 year old constantly reminds me of this. “you smell like an old man.” And I just am not competitive at micro managing.

That’s why I so miss Total Annihilation and am hopeful that Planetary Annihilation will solve this for me. I’d like a game that really rewards the macro skill. That isn’t to say that people who are good at micro should be left out.  But at least with Starcraft, the higher level players are about the micro.  It doesn’t matter that I attacked on 3 different sides at once because the guy with good micro (and speed) and wipe out one of them totally while the other two edge my way because I outnumber them which leaves me with a net loss.