So I have built a new computer to work on the current projects we have going at the moment. It was a little more work than I had planned, after waiting for the parts to arrive I found out that my processor would only work with my motherboard after updating the motherboards bios. To do that I needed a processor that already worked with the current bios, after searching locally I had to order that also. After waiting a second time I received the new processor and found out the bios on my board were the bios for another model board with the same chipset. Long story shorter, I was able to get the pc up and running about two weeks after I had planned. Which stopped all development on Konquest since the old system was already gone. In the end this system is far more powerful than the old system, which makes the time it took almost worth it. 

       I personally will be working on Konquest non stop over the next couple of weeks, as we are so close to a fully playable demo. The demo will have all the mechanics and functionality of the full game just less content and no multiplayer. Once the demo is out we can focus solely on the Missions, World, Card Lore, Card Text, Card Art, Campaign Story, and Multiplayer Servers. I know that all sounds like a lot, but the way we are developing the game everything is loaded in by the game engine at run time. We have already been working on most of the items listed. So we just put what we have in the proper spot and format then it will be used by the game.  This was done to make the creation of expansions as easy as possible without changing to much source code. It also attributed to how long it has taken to get to this point in the game.

   During testing of the new deck create feature in Konquest, a bug erased the master CardList. Granted the list was not huge approximately 137 cards, each card has about 14 variables, and then text. The file is in XML format, fortunately we did have a copy saved elsewhere. This copy lacks some of the newer variables we added to the cards, but it has the complete list. 
     Trying to make games and software has led me to a lot of unfinished projects. Even those projects have moved me forward. Most of my earlier projects amounted to me learning one thing then losing interest. 

       I learned how to use transparency and animation.

    Then how to sync walking animations to movement, that was when this project lost interest for me.

                    Next I learned how to make really nice collision detection.

   I can keep going and going, but to the point each of these unfinished projects were huge endeavors I wanted to take. Instead of starting small I wanted to go big, in the end each one ended small. I may have failed to finish the projects but they are not failures. Everything I learned from each of them is what I am trying to build on today. 
    I think projects to focus on one or two particular areas until you feel good with them is not a bad way to learn. Set manageable goals and projects that amount to something larger in the end.

     My last post on the website was August of 2018, during the time away I have been hard at work. Remnants was put on hold to focus on a much larger project that was planned for a long time. The work on Remnants and the Kaidex was key to my being confident enough to attempt the current main project. We have also gone through a name change, crystaleyes software was just a working title. 

     The new project, is a card game currently called Konquest. The name is subject to change, I started the concept for the game in 2011 as a physical game to pitch. But it was lost in a spiral for years until 2017, when I found the old book. At that time I as not comfortable enough as a programmer to attempt to create the game.(I think it may have been Impostors Syndrome) After hitting roadblocks in Remnants and losing interest in Kaiju when King of the Monsters was released, I decided I needed a new project so I jumped in.

The image above is a test of the field layout. More info about Konquest will be up in the near future. This includes a lot of world building lore and history for the game. All the card art and backgrounds are place holder at the moment.

       Hello Lover, so I will be happy to finish Remnants as far as the core of the game. After that it will be beta testing and fixing bugs, which is the home stretch to release. The code for the game is coming along well, at a rate of about a level or two a week. Most of the time spent on the level is story specific for that level.
      In other news I am updating the Kaidex with new visuals and missions to coincide with Godzilla king if the monsters. I will also be adding short descriptions of the kaiju to the home screen.
       Last and maybe more exciting I have begun to new projects. The first will be a recurring content written in LUA. The second is a calculator written in PYTHON, I am gearing the calculator program for engineers of all disciplines. It will include formulas for several things such as a voltage divider or calculating the area of a triangle.

           Hello stranger, it has been about 17 days since I have made an update to the website, for that I apologize. Personal life as well as monetary issues got in the way. Recently I had to seek employment, software developing for me at the moment was not paying the bills. But worry not all that remains on Remnants is the addition of levels. We will finish the game about a month behind schedule.
              I have been working on ideas for other projects and weekly content to add to the
website. I am trying to get a couple of weeks worth of content ready so once it is being posted even if I am unable to create new content that week I will still be able to post something. Some of the projects are really just ways for me to practice new programming languages, I always want to learn something new.

          Hello it's me, well Remnants has finally started to gain momentum again as far as making progress. Last night we started to implement more player ships to choose from as well as the hangar. The hanger will be where most of the ship and player changes are made. As far as the new ships, I decided it would be easier to implement multiple ship options and selection if I completely rewrote the ship class. It wasn't hard to rewrite just time consuming.
          Now for the ships, the first ship is of course the most plane Jane, all sub-par but fairly even stats. But as you gain experience you will gain access to new ships with different play styles. There will be a slightly larger slower ship, that will be able to have multiple shields and higher hp. As well as ships that can hold more bombs or fly faster shoot faster etc. Each ship will be able to be upgraded, we are hoping this give players the ability to "create" a ship that matches their play style.
            The next blog will focus more on the hangar and economy model of the game.

Hello neighbor, last night July the 8 I was up until 3 A.M. The reason was simply to think of and plan how to implement new weapons into Remnants. We plan to include a huge number of weapons, and upgrades in the game. Last night just before I collapsed from exhaustion I implemented an E.M.P bomb. The bomb effectively reduces the movement speed of any enemy hit by it temporarily.
With a new effect, such as the slowing of the enemies comes new bugs. Bug one was the bomb would completely stop all enemy ships including the ships not yet spawned. Bug two the bombs effect would loop resulting in the enemy ships moving backwards.(maybe a different weapons effect?) Last bug the ships that move in a circular fashion would come out and form the circle then sit still.
On the bright side I received the outline of all the initial levels from my writer. That is good news because now I can code and design the levels, my writer was given complete freedom on the story after we discussed the setting and history. This should be a busy week with alot of content, and hopefully a picture or two.

           Hello World, So when I decided I wanted to develop software ranging from command prompt organization assistance to games, it was clear that pursuing a large project at the beginning would be a mistake. With this in mind and plenty of incomplete projects, I decided the first game I would release to the world would be simple. Making a simple game would enable me to finish it quickly and still be able to ensure good mechanics.
                 Remnants was suppose to be a simple two week to develop shoot-em-up, but I wanted more and it has grown and so has the team. We now have a writer and an audio fix guy. The only person we need is an artist, but at the moment we have enough art from opengameart.org to finish the game.
                  The greatest single reason the game has grown so large is because I wanted an engaging story to drive the character and player. I wanted consequences on weather the player succeeds or fails. Of course that isn't the only thing pushing the finish date of the game. For every time we further the story, we add an elements to the game in all respects such as new levels, sounds, weapons, enemies, and last but not least the code.
                  Remnants will be the first game from CrystalEyes Software. Hopefully everyone that plays it will enjoy it. Just please remember it was our little game.

    So introductions are in order, my name is Cody I am a self taught programmer. I started this site to house the projects I make. The reason I started this is because I want to pursue programmer as a career in one form or another, and lacking a degree I need to have something to show potential employers. It would also be completely amazing to make a living developing and selling software on my own.
     This blog will pretty much be me talking about the challenges and lesson I learn on my journey to becoming a better programmer and doing what I love.
      At the time that I am starting this blog the website holds two programs, one is a C# forms program(I made it to learn c#). That program ranks Kaiju and lets you simulate battles. The second is a game that is in development in c++,this program will be the focus of a lot of the blogs on this website.