So Ubisoft still hasn't gotten back to me about my possible job. So here's what I did to get their attention. I first wrote an email to the webmaster claiming that I had lost the email of the hr department. This unfortunately didn't work as the links on their website didn't actually lead to anyone. So much for that little bit of social engineering.
So next up is google, I search through google for any mention of Ubisoft human resources. Thankfully, I find the name of the VP of HR, and the name of the director. Now for anyone who knows about corporate email addresses, it's usually in the form of firstname.lastname@company.qq and this case was no exception. Sure it took a few dozen bounced emails, but the point is I finally got one through to the director. Or at least it hasn't bounced yet. Now I don't know if it's going to get ignored, or if I even got it to the right person, but they'll definitely see that I at least tried to get back in contact with them. Also, when I show up on their doorstep on Monday, they'll know I told them about it.
Might be a total waste of time, but at least I tried. Besides, I'm pretty sure that I can always go back to Ross Video or something like that. I could even try EA Games, even though I hate Madden and all related activities.
The best part of the email was that I told them I was going to be there on Monday. I didn't ask them, I told them... in a nice way.
Here's to hoping that my cleverness pays off. Back to work I guess.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Coding...
Well my little game has progressed slightly. I've now got 3 kinds of enemies with proper wait timers, and some nice abstraction going on there. I realize now that my code is utter crap, and that I should have planned things out a little better. I suppose it's time for me to make a semblance of a menu system, and maybe a pause button or something. The boss will come later, as will the enemies shooting back and the wave cannon.
I've also decided that I'll go to Ubisoft on Monday next week instead of friday that the GF needs a ride to the train station. Ironically, somewhere that I would have been going. I'll probably write the HR department an email beforehand explaining that I'll be showing up, and that not throwing me out of the building would be appreciated.
In other news I've been reading Izzle pfaff lately. Which by the way, is absolutely hilarious. Sure it doesn't beat the off-colour rants and jokes of bash, but at least it's mostly work safe. Myself not having any penis jokes, or hilarious bathroom stories posted here, I don't think that he'll be linking to me any time soon. Too bad, seems like a cool guy.
I've also decided that I'll go to Ubisoft on Monday next week instead of friday that the GF needs a ride to the train station. Ironically, somewhere that I would have been going. I'll probably write the HR department an email beforehand explaining that I'll be showing up, and that not throwing me out of the building would be appreciated.
In other news I've been reading Izzle pfaff lately. Which by the way, is absolutely hilarious. Sure it doesn't beat the off-colour rants and jokes of bash, but at least it's mostly work safe. Myself not having any penis jokes, or hilarious bathroom stories posted here, I don't think that he'll be linking to me any time soon. Too bad, seems like a cool guy.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Afternoon as Promised
Well, I didn't in fact get what I wanted for lunch, instead I got Thai noodles, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes. It was really weird, didn't really enjoy it at all. Whatever though, it's food and I was hungry. Good enough.
So Ubisoft hasn't written back yet, and I'm starting to think I'm going to have to make a trip down. It's always a risk to do that though. For all I know they'll have the guards take me out for showing up unannounced. It will however make a strong impact on them, and they'll have to pay more attention to me. Failing that, I'll just get released to look at other jobs. Sucks, but I'll have no choice, except for EA. I don't want to work on Madden.
So the CS games are coming up soon, and I haven't had any word on whether or not I'm on the team. I wish they would get their act together because I need to let my boss know in advance. Would be a bit rude to just not show up for work one day.
Speaking of work, I'm quite bored. I've got no real work to do as my manager is quite busy. I've been playing sudoku all day, even though I don't really like it. I've gotten down to about 8 minutes per easy board. So not bad at all. No, I haven't attempted a harder board.
I'm thinking that I'll have to stop playing WoW for a while so that I can code up a video game to show off at Ubisoft. I'm thinking that a standard side-scrolling shooter with a few effects would be good. Haven't decided if I'm going to do it in Java or SDL yet. SDL would make the per-pixel effects easier, but Java would probably make the sprite drawing easier. Though I do have a book on making games in Java. This might actually be a good time to bust it out. Come to think of it, I've got a half-finished shooter I could do something with. Just add a menu, HUD, more enemies, and a boss, and that would be it. I've still gotta figure out how to properly load images though. Gotta stop that flashing on first display nonsense.
It'll probably just be an updated copy of my game I made in high school, Starbeast Surprise. I'll have 3 kinds of enemies, the sinusoidally-moving UFOs that try to collide with you, the darts that fly quickly across the screen and shoot two or three shots at you, and the hunters that mirror all your horizontal moves (slowly) and try to collide with you. I'll also have to add in my special wave cannon along with the standard glowing missiles. The part that will absolutely have to be there is the lemon boss, with the straight-shooting sewage balls, and the angled and aimed orange plasma balls. I think that I'll have to actually put an enrage stage on this boss though. I didn't have time at school, but it would be fun if it did.
Crap, that's quite a lot of work. I think I'll have to prioritize it. So enemies first, wave cannon second, HUD third, boss fourth, menus fifth, and then extra enemies and the like. Should end up at around 3000 lines of code or so. Ill probably have to do some of it tomorrow at work even without a compiler. Hmm, I'll also have to reinstall 3dsmax. Well, better get cracking now with some algorithms for the movement of the ships.
So Ubisoft hasn't written back yet, and I'm starting to think I'm going to have to make a trip down. It's always a risk to do that though. For all I know they'll have the guards take me out for showing up unannounced. It will however make a strong impact on them, and they'll have to pay more attention to me. Failing that, I'll just get released to look at other jobs. Sucks, but I'll have no choice, except for EA. I don't want to work on Madden.
So the CS games are coming up soon, and I haven't had any word on whether or not I'm on the team. I wish they would get their act together because I need to let my boss know in advance. Would be a bit rude to just not show up for work one day.
Speaking of work, I'm quite bored. I've got no real work to do as my manager is quite busy. I've been playing sudoku all day, even though I don't really like it. I've gotten down to about 8 minutes per easy board. So not bad at all. No, I haven't attempted a harder board.
I'm thinking that I'll have to stop playing WoW for a while so that I can code up a video game to show off at Ubisoft. I'm thinking that a standard side-scrolling shooter with a few effects would be good. Haven't decided if I'm going to do it in Java or SDL yet. SDL would make the per-pixel effects easier, but Java would probably make the sprite drawing easier. Though I do have a book on making games in Java. This might actually be a good time to bust it out. Come to think of it, I've got a half-finished shooter I could do something with. Just add a menu, HUD, more enemies, and a boss, and that would be it. I've still gotta figure out how to properly load images though. Gotta stop that flashing on first display nonsense.
It'll probably just be an updated copy of my game I made in high school, Starbeast Surprise. I'll have 3 kinds of enemies, the sinusoidally-moving UFOs that try to collide with you, the darts that fly quickly across the screen and shoot two or three shots at you, and the hunters that mirror all your horizontal moves (slowly) and try to collide with you. I'll also have to add in my special wave cannon along with the standard glowing missiles. The part that will absolutely have to be there is the lemon boss, with the straight-shooting sewage balls, and the angled and aimed orange plasma balls. I think that I'll have to actually put an enrage stage on this boss though. I didn't have time at school, but it would be fun if it did.
Crap, that's quite a lot of work. I think I'll have to prioritize it. So enemies first, wave cannon second, HUD third, boss fourth, menus fifth, and then extra enemies and the like. Should end up at around 3000 lines of code or so. Ill probably have to do some of it tomorrow at work even without a compiler. Hmm, I'll also have to reinstall 3dsmax. Well, better get cracking now with some algorithms for the movement of the ships.
Labels:
cs games,
programming,
work,
world of warcraft
Get In Ma Bellaeh!
So it's nearly lunch time here at work and I'm starving. If only the other coop would come get me to tell me it's time to go to lunch.
Also, I hope that I've got something good for lunch, like the leftover ribs, or something like that. I don't want the beef stew from yesterday, I dunno, I just need something with some sugar in it. I suppose I could always get something from the cafeteria if I'm desperate. I can buy a snack there until 3PM so if worse comes to worse.
Woot, other coops are here! Time for food! No more whining! Better post this afternoon!
Also, I hope that I've got something good for lunch, like the leftover ribs, or something like that. I don't want the beef stew from yesterday, I dunno, I just need something with some sugar in it. I suppose I could always get something from the cafeteria if I'm desperate. I can buy a snack there until 3PM so if worse comes to worse.
Woot, other coops are here! Time for food! No more whining! Better post this afternoon!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Future Collector Cars List
Well, I was going to write a fairly emo post in response to the latest violent acres post, but instead I decided that I'll write about cars I think will be collector cars in the future, and some explanations of why. Note that I'm going to avoid really obvious ones, like a Bugatti EB110, and the Koenigsegg CCX.
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) V-Spec II Nur
Probably the best example of Japanese muscle. This car is so well tuned that in racing they have to disable the 4-wheel steering, and give it a 50kg weight penalty. The RB26DETT engine is well regarded as one of the best built engines ever. It's been known to output nearly 700bhp with only light modifications, and up to 1400bhp and still be streetable. These are cars made for the 0-300kph competitions.
Toyota Supra Twin Turbo
Even just the look of these cars is great. Not only are they exceedingly rare to find unmodified and still in good condition, but they are also known throughout the tuner world as stiff competition for nearly any kind of event. The 3.0L twin-turbo engine is truly a force to be reckoned with.
Toyota Sera
It's a consumer car with gullwing doors. That right there instantly makes it worth collecting. That's even before knowing that they didn't make that many of them, and that they're only available in Japan.
Mazda (Efini) RX-7 Spirit R (FD)
I've got a friend with one of these. They are amongst the most beautiful cars I have ever seen. The performance in nearly unheard of for such a small displacement engine, and it's a marvel of modern engineering.
Subaru Impreza WRX STi (Type1, Type4)
These are the two STi models that best exemplify the car. The Type1 ('98) model is basically a rally car in street form, and is hardly ever seen. The Type4 ('04) model is probably the most aggressive looking STi ever made. The EJ25 engine is pretty stout as well. But nothing screams barely legal like the massive wing and exhaust.
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI
This is not only the fastest model of EVO, but also the most renowned. I honestly can't think of much to say about this car, it pretty much just speaks for itself. Just the fact that nearly everyone knows what this car is, and what it can do shows why it should be in this list.
Dodge Viper SRT-10
Nothing screams American muscle like the Viper. It's got a V10 engine that puts out 500bhp and an unimaginable amount of torque. The look is awesome too, with the long front hood, and the wide rear tires, you know the car is not something to be messed with.
Hummer H1-Alpha
Pretty much the originator of the SUV era. Just for that fact, it's instantly collectible. But just look at it, what kid (or grown up kid) wouldn't want to drive that around? It's like owning your own personal tank.
Honda Civic Type R (EG6)
When you think cheap performance, the Honda Civic always comes up. The EG6 Type R is probably the most recognizable of all the civics. With its rounded hatchback rear, and blazing performance, it's wanted by all who know about it.
Honda NSX Type-R Zero (Gen 2)
This largely underrated car is probably what I'd consider to be the ultimate collector car in the future. The performance that this car gave was outlandishly fast, and it looked pretty much like a space ship. These cars were rare and powerful. Even to this day it holds its own on the race track beating out competition like the M5 and M6.
So there's the list and all my reasonings. I suppose this may as well be labeled "cool cars" but then I'd have to make the list significantly longer.
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) V-Spec II Nur
Probably the best example of Japanese muscle. This car is so well tuned that in racing they have to disable the 4-wheel steering, and give it a 50kg weight penalty. The RB26DETT engine is well regarded as one of the best built engines ever. It's been known to output nearly 700bhp with only light modifications, and up to 1400bhp and still be streetable. These are cars made for the 0-300kph competitions.
Toyota Supra Twin Turbo
Even just the look of these cars is great. Not only are they exceedingly rare to find unmodified and still in good condition, but they are also known throughout the tuner world as stiff competition for nearly any kind of event. The 3.0L twin-turbo engine is truly a force to be reckoned with.
Toyota Sera
It's a consumer car with gullwing doors. That right there instantly makes it worth collecting. That's even before knowing that they didn't make that many of them, and that they're only available in Japan.
Mazda (Efini) RX-7 Spirit R (FD)
I've got a friend with one of these. They are amongst the most beautiful cars I have ever seen. The performance in nearly unheard of for such a small displacement engine, and it's a marvel of modern engineering.
Subaru Impreza WRX STi (Type1, Type4)
These are the two STi models that best exemplify the car. The Type1 ('98) model is basically a rally car in street form, and is hardly ever seen. The Type4 ('04) model is probably the most aggressive looking STi ever made. The EJ25 engine is pretty stout as well. But nothing screams barely legal like the massive wing and exhaust.
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI
This is not only the fastest model of EVO, but also the most renowned. I honestly can't think of much to say about this car, it pretty much just speaks for itself. Just the fact that nearly everyone knows what this car is, and what it can do shows why it should be in this list.
Dodge Viper SRT-10
Nothing screams American muscle like the Viper. It's got a V10 engine that puts out 500bhp and an unimaginable amount of torque. The look is awesome too, with the long front hood, and the wide rear tires, you know the car is not something to be messed with.
Hummer H1-Alpha
Pretty much the originator of the SUV era. Just for that fact, it's instantly collectible. But just look at it, what kid (or grown up kid) wouldn't want to drive that around? It's like owning your own personal tank.
Honda Civic Type R (EG6)
When you think cheap performance, the Honda Civic always comes up. The EG6 Type R is probably the most recognizable of all the civics. With its rounded hatchback rear, and blazing performance, it's wanted by all who know about it.
Honda NSX Type-R Zero (Gen 2)
This largely underrated car is probably what I'd consider to be the ultimate collector car in the future. The performance that this car gave was outlandishly fast, and it looked pretty much like a space ship. These cars were rare and powerful. Even to this day it holds its own on the race track beating out competition like the M5 and M6.
So there's the list and all my reasonings. I suppose this may as well be labeled "cool cars" but then I'd have to make the list significantly longer.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Meh
So I decided after all that it was too much trouble to go and get my copy of the WoW XP at midnight. In about 20 minutes I'm going to leave work to go buy it (and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves). If they don't have my copy that I preordered, I will tear the guy at the desk a new one, get my money back, and promptly go to futureshop, best buy, or wal mart and buy me a copy.
So it seems that my work hasn't really been going anywhere. The card I'm doing work for isn't going to be ready until the second week of February or so. So now I'm relegated to writing a script for the VisionICE debugger to get the flash up and booted. Basically this involves changing some register values. Unfortunately I've got no clue wtf is going on in there. I've read the manual for both the VisionICE and the chipset, and now all I know is that I'm going to need one hell of a hex calculator. Maybe I should program on in C++ in the meantime. Oh yes....
Dear WindRiver HSI,
Next time you make debugging software, make it so that I don't have to re-navigate to where I just was every time I clear a breakpoint. That's just retarded. The lack of compatability with a scroll wheel however, that's just utterly ludicrous!
Well, 15 minutes to go, I'm sure I can manage to waste some more time with some more utterly useless comments.
So I was surfing the net today (at work obviously), when I realized that I don't really visit enough good sites to keep me entertained all day. Espescially when gmail, google video, youtube, etc. are blocked. So far I've got Digg, WoW Forums, Wikipedia, Bash, and that's it. Booo...
I can only be entertained by forum trolls for so long. After a while, their QQing and the like doesn't even register.
I'm going to go indoor rock climbing at Vertical Reality again this weekend with my friends. Should be loads of fun. Unfortunately, it'll probably be freezing cold. I'll try to remember to bring some chalk this time. Maybe I should work on my grip until then. Those stress balls might be good for that, and I could probably work on my leg strength simply by wearing ankle-weights all day. Might have to take them off for driving though, otherwise I'd actually have a lead foot.
Whoops... apparently my habit of pressing Ctrl+S all the time to save got the better of me there and posted for me.
Anyways, I'm thinking that this weekend I should also go UEing with my friends to the quarry again. This time bring a camera and try and document our adventure. I'll probably end up posting the results on uer.ca just to see if I can finally get some decent recognition. Not to mention that it would help with my uber plan of claiming to be from the Canadian Urban Exploration Club, and that I was interested in documenting the tunnels under Merivale. Heh, it might even work. Now that would be some good social engineering for ya.
Well, I managed to waste an entire 13 minutes by writing this long winded and mostly useless post. I'd say that's good for now.
So it seems that my work hasn't really been going anywhere. The card I'm doing work for isn't going to be ready until the second week of February or so. So now I'm relegated to writing a script for the VisionICE debugger to get the flash up and booted. Basically this involves changing some register values. Unfortunately I've got no clue wtf is going on in there. I've read the manual for both the VisionICE and the chipset, and now all I know is that I'm going to need one hell of a hex calculator. Maybe I should program on in C++ in the meantime. Oh yes....
Dear WindRiver HSI,
Next time you make debugging software, make it so that I don't have to re-navigate to where I just was every time I clear a breakpoint. That's just retarded. The lack of compatability with a scroll wheel however, that's just utterly ludicrous!
Well, 15 minutes to go, I'm sure I can manage to waste some more time with some more utterly useless comments.
So I was surfing the net today (at work obviously), when I realized that I don't really visit enough good sites to keep me entertained all day. Espescially when gmail, google video, youtube, etc. are blocked. So far I've got Digg, WoW Forums, Wikipedia, Bash, and that's it. Booo...
I can only be entertained by forum trolls for so long. After a while, their QQing and the like doesn't even register.
I'm going to go indoor rock climbing at Vertical Reality again this weekend with my friends. Should be loads of fun. Unfortunately, it'll probably be freezing cold. I'll try to remember to bring some chalk this time. Maybe I should work on my grip until then. Those stress balls might be good for that, and I could probably work on my leg strength simply by wearing ankle-weights all day. Might have to take them off for driving though, otherwise I'd actually have a lead foot.
Whoops... apparently my habit of pressing Ctrl+S all the time to save got the better of me there and posted for me.
Anyways, I'm thinking that this weekend I should also go UEing with my friends to the quarry again. This time bring a camera and try and document our adventure. I'll probably end up posting the results on uer.ca just to see if I can finally get some decent recognition. Not to mention that it would help with my uber plan of claiming to be from the Canadian Urban Exploration Club, and that I was interested in documenting the tunnels under Merivale. Heh, it might even work. Now that would be some good social engineering for ya.
Well, I managed to waste an entire 13 minutes by writing this long winded and mostly useless post. I'd say that's good for now.
Labels:
rock climbing,
urban exploration,
work,
world of warcraft
Monday, January 15, 2007
The Night Of
I'm trying to decide if I want to go to EB Games tonight at midnight to pick up my copy of the world of warcraft expansion pack. On one hand, it'd be totally awewsome, and there would be no way that I wouldn't get my copy. On the other hand, it's cold, snowing, late, and I have to work early the next morning. I think you can tell that I'm leaning towards the no side. I'm still going to give EB Games a quick call in a couple of minutes to ensure that they'll be getting my preorder in. They'd better be, I preordered that back around march last year when it was first announced. Seriously, if they screw up like they did with Guitar Hero, I'm going to beat them.
In other news I decided that I'd only work at my current coop placement for 4 months instead of 8. It's not that I dislike the place, it's just that I'd like to get other experiences before I go out on the job market. I applied to Ubisoft today, and I'm giving them 2 (very generous) weeks to get back to me before I phone them up or show up and ask for an explanation, or at least give them a gentle reminder that I'm still here. If they're really not interested, then I suppose I'll start looking at other places that the coop office can provide *shudder*. Or maybe I'll try going back to Ross Video. They seemed to like me, and I mostly enjoyed that.
In marginally more emo news, I'm tired of all my ideas getting shut down by my parents and girlfriend. I wanted to buy a 240sx, no, I wanted to buy a skyline, no, I went back to more available cars, yes but only when I graduate. And the latest is that I wanted a car for my last year of studies, so that I wouldn't have to take the bus every day. It is in fact several hundred dollars cheaper to buy a parking pass instead of express passes, but then there's gas and other stuff. Either way I was shut down hardcore again. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a simple no, but instead it's a 20 minute conversation as to why it's wrong and why I should stop bothering to ask questions and announce my intentions.
That's not a bad idea though, I'll just stop announcing my intentions and just do it. Next time I see a decent Kouki S14 for sale for a decent price, I'll just go for it. Seriously, enough of having every single move I do questioned. If it worked for buying computer parts and software (much to my parent's displeasure), it should work for other things.
In other news I decided that I'd only work at my current coop placement for 4 months instead of 8. It's not that I dislike the place, it's just that I'd like to get other experiences before I go out on the job market. I applied to Ubisoft today, and I'm giving them 2 (very generous) weeks to get back to me before I phone them up or show up and ask for an explanation, or at least give them a gentle reminder that I'm still here. If they're really not interested, then I suppose I'll start looking at other places that the coop office can provide *shudder*. Or maybe I'll try going back to Ross Video. They seemed to like me, and I mostly enjoyed that.
In marginally more emo news, I'm tired of all my ideas getting shut down by my parents and girlfriend. I wanted to buy a 240sx, no, I wanted to buy a skyline, no, I went back to more available cars, yes but only when I graduate. And the latest is that I wanted a car for my last year of studies, so that I wouldn't have to take the bus every day. It is in fact several hundred dollars cheaper to buy a parking pass instead of express passes, but then there's gas and other stuff. Either way I was shut down hardcore again. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a simple no, but instead it's a 20 minute conversation as to why it's wrong and why I should stop bothering to ask questions and announce my intentions.
That's not a bad idea though, I'll just stop announcing my intentions and just do it. Next time I see a decent Kouki S14 for sale for a decent price, I'll just go for it. Seriously, enough of having every single move I do questioned. If it worked for buying computer parts and software (much to my parent's displeasure), it should work for other things.
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