Images in Drupal
I've been trying out some new content mangement systems. Right now I have Drupal running on my new website (www.nvlddmkm.com). Interface looks nice, the work flow is ok. The downside with Drupal is that there isn't an out-of-the-box solution for inputting images. I have to manually upload images to my server and put in the html code. I've been looking at some modules. I first tried Image Assist. But whenever I tried to load the picture into my page, firebug shows an exception error and no picture was loaded. I then tried Image Picker. I enabled/configured the module and I couldn't get it to show up on my node editor. I then tried IMCE/TINYMCE modules and I still had the same problem. I properly configured the modules and I still could not get it up to show. Anyone have any suggestions?
Holiday returns without receipt!
Several years ago, I was able to return some gifts that I already owned at Best Buy for instore credit. But now Best Buy seemed to have stopped doing that sort of thing. I've looked elsewhere (Target, Circuit City) and have yet to find a store that does this kind of thing. I later found myself at Walmart and I was able to exchange my unopened gifts for store credit! Yay!
Display driver has stopped responding…part (lost count)
I'm going to keep a log of all the methods I've tried to fix this stupid problem. Here's the instructions I've just tried which still doesn't work, but may be useful to those who are having this problem:
I have found and fixed the problem today. This is what appears to happen. during the installation of the most current drivers 100.65 Vista, an OLD file nvlddmkm.sys is copied into windows/system32/drivers and not the current one in the install. As a result the new drivers are attempting to access a file dated 11/2006 instead of 2/2007 ver 7.15.11.0065 which is in the newest WHQL driver ver 100.65 vista 32. Fix: Go to windows/system32/drivers and rename nvlddmkm.sys to nvlddmkm.sys.old. Go to the nvidia directory and find the file nvlddmkm.sy_ and copy it to windows/system32. Using the cmd window (DOS box) type EXPAND.EXE nvlddmkm.sy_ nvlddmkm.sys. When the expansion is complete, copy the new nvlddmkm.sys to windows/system32/drivers and restart the computer. Your computer should now work properly. You will notice that any uninstall and reinstall of nvidia drivers will not remove the old nvlddmkm.sys file and will not overwrite it with the newer version. You have to do it manually. I do not know why this happens but who cares as long it is fixed.
Game blog post
It's late, but I just feel like writing more. I'm currently in a game design club which focuses mainly on gameplay logic. It's a great club for anyone who is interested in creating games. I've always felt like there are way too many clones out there (games that are similar to other games that offer no significant changes in terms of gameplay). I'm currently thinking about a few questions that every game developer should ask themselves:
1. Is your game unique? Or does it at least offer unique changes to the genre of the game? Why should a gamer buy your game over another game in the same genre? (your answer may not include only "I have a cool story I want to tell").
2. Did you have enough time to develop your idea from start to finish?
3. In general, is this game fun and worth buying? (renting does not count)
Producing games are becoming much more serious as time goes by. It's Sony's and Microsoft's fault for pushing hardware to the limit. I think Nintendo has got the right mindset. Simply put, the less the graphical capabilities your console has, the less you need to produce. Take a look back in the old Super Nintendo days. You had more programmers than texture artists/animators/sound engineers combined. Today you need about 10 times more artists than programmers in order to get a single environment up to standards.
I'm getting sidetracked here but, this is where Microsoft got smart. When they were developing the xbox 360, they knew that there was absolutely no way that their system was going to top the PS3. Even if they tried to get close to the performance power of it, the price paid by consumers was definately going to be high. So their plan of attack was to design a new system, call it the next generation console, and build a user base before anyone else does by releasing it early (cutting the life of xbox 1 short). Sony's failure to deliver the PS3 in time contributed to Microsoft's success as well, prolonging the exclusive shelf life of the xbox 360. Since you now have a huge consumer base for your product, it's hard for developers to ignore that consumer base. So what do developers do? Develop the game on the Xbox 360 first, then port the game to the PS3. As a result, you aren't getting the full potential of the PS3's graphical capabilities. So why should consumers buy a PS3 over the 360? This is why it scares most developers away from doing a PS3 exclusive game, because you have to ask yourselves a lot of questions: "How much money do we spend on developing this game? Should we produce a graphics engine that harnesses the full potential of the PS3's hardware? Or should we make it easily portable to the Xbox 360 platform should the game not sell well? Should we release the game now or keep polishing the game until the PS3 has a big user base." Sony tried to remedy this situation by announcing the Phyre Engine which is a cross platform tool so that developers can develop for both games with less work in porting, but not much has been talked about since it's announcement about a year ago.
Back on topic, it's going to be a harsh industry now. Back then game companies were easily forgiven for making a game that didn't sell well. But now that you have budgets that reach beyond a million dollars, there isn't any room for mistakes when developing a game.
“nvlddmkm stopped responding”
I'm still experiencing this stupid crash. In vlc player, I would see tears (mostly when the overlay controls appears, like when you move your mouse and the play button shows up) on the video. Then after a while my screen freezes and goes blank. Then my desktop appears with the balloon tool tip on the bottom right saying: "nvlddmkm stopped responding". I've had this with my previous video card as well (ATI x800) and still happens with the current card (nvidia 9600GT). I've googled everywhere, most have said to replace the RAM sticks. I've just bought a pair a couple of days ago, and am still experiencing it after replacing the sticks. I'm going to try replacing the motherboard next (never again will I buy an ASROCK).