Steamworks

A big announcement was made by - ah well, it is my favorite game developer after all - the great Valve yesterday. They are going to release the back-end resources which have proven to work in their recent high-profile titles to other developers, for free.

Steamworks will be a platform for developers to access the server system, copy-protection and community system from within their game. In an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun , Doug Lombardi mentions that this combination will be seamless: all steam dialogs can be integrated within the game. Another important point is that the game doesn't have to be distributed in the Steam store.

It makes sense for developers to just have access to this stuff that is essential, but no great design challenge – the copy protection, the server browser – and the motivation for us is that if a game uses our encryption and sells millions of copies, all those people who didn’t already have a Steam account have to make one. Once they’re there we can talk to them and turn them on to all the other games on Steam.

That's essentially what this is about, and it sure isn't a bad motivation. But things can get even better.

• Unified gaming: With the current load of console systems having full internet capability, there's no reason not to allow cross-platform gaming. Sure, Microsoft tried it with Shadowrun, but that never really hit it. You have published two of the most succesful games of the last decade. If anyone can pull off the cross-platform trick ...
• Mod distribution: This was vaguely promised in the very first steam releases (which ironically didnt work - pun intended). Community-made modifications have always been one of the cornerstones of the Half-Life series, and it's a bit of a shame that mod developers still have to write an external installer to install these mods. Most certainly, if you're going for the release early, release often development cycle, some way of pushing out updates without hosting and mirroring small incremental patches would be nice.
  

ModDB MOTY Results

The results are up !

Some surprises in there though. When it comes to indie games, there's a strong move towards the ID Tech 3 engine, which was GPL'ed recently. It's nice to see that because of ID's engines are OpenGL-based most of these new games run multi-platform.

In the unreleased mod section, mods based on Half-Life 2 traditionally perform well, but the next-gen technologies (Crysis engine, Unreal2k7) are gaining interest of developers.

Overall, it's been a great year for modding. Congratulations to all participating teams !

ModDB Mod Of The Year Awards

In 4 days, the results of the ModDB 2007 Mod of the Year Contest are announced. These awards showcase the best game modifications and indie games of the last year. It's the first year I'm participating in the contest too, with my work on the mod Nuclear Dawn. After a first round, we received a nomination for the top100 mods, which then was showcased on the ModDB website and on AMD Game.

Nuclear Dawn is a total conversion mod in development for the Valve Source Engine (the engine powering the popular FPS Half-Life 2), aiming at fast-paced action in a post-nuclear world. Yes, although the theme might seem a bit generic, the artwork and attention to detail in the mod is pretty incredible. Most of the people working on the assets and maps are industry professionals, have a look at some of the more recent media releases:








I'm working on the Linux server build and some things for the HUD and in-game dialogs, and I have to say I have learned more than I could imagine working with this talented bunch. I don't think we stand a chance to win anything in the Most Promising category, where Black Mesa might win again.

When it comes to released Source mods this year, it's been a fan-tas-tic-u-lar year. A short overview of the ones I've tried:

• Dystopia: After a solid U4, this mod still is the best Source mod in my book, although the player count has dropped lately. Lovely futuristic theme, top-quality polish (shiny body armor is sexy, period) and balanced maps.
• Minerva: Hats off for mister Adam Foster. A one-man, three-episode single-player adventure with lovely writing and great puzzles. Valve: hire this man !
• Sourceforts: One of the first mods making full use of the multiplayer physics which were enabled in one of the earlier SDK updates. It's fun to play, but has one major flaw: there always has to be an admin on the server to verify the built forts. I don't even want to think about the deep-space math involved to check this automagically, so no harm done.
• Empires: The closest to Battlefield you can come. When you're playing this on a server with people who know what they're doing, it's fun. Otherwise you'll be running around desert environments for ages.
  
• Pirates, Vikings and Knights II : It has all that is promised in the mod's name. Honestly, how could this fail ?
• Zombie Master: One of the new mods that faced this year. Lovely idea, great programming for the overview mode, but somehow I'm getting tired of seeing the same City17 player models.
• Fortress Forever: A very unlucky release date (very close to the release of Team Fortress 2, the "official" sequal to Team Fortress Classic) might have killed this mod. It's fun to play, has all the polish it needs, but the playercount never peaks. Also, the absence of the quintessential Fortress classic 2fort in the release only makes me think this was rushed out.
  
• Insurgency: Somehow the first release (beta 1) ruined it for me. I don't have any problem with full-realism mods, but the complete lack of objective waypointing or a map makes the learning curve very steep. Also, for no apparent reason, this mod has severe performance problems on my box.

I wish the best of luck to all participating mod teams, let's make 2008 even better !

Know your classics

If your father is like mine, and thus tried desperately to talk some sense into you when it comes to music, preferably by playing records. You know what I'm talking about. I vividly remember afternoons in the living room, playing around with those funny vinyl covers containing big pictures of men with moustaches, and listening to music that 'would never die'.









Well, eventually some of it did, and I might have turned out a mixed blessing. I know every song in the Beatles catalogue by hard, whilst still enjoying the other sides of the musical spectrum - pounding, pounding techno music. You tried, dad, you tried, but Kraftwerk might have been a mistake.

Then again, any of the following would drive him nuts. Please turn away from what I'm about to reveal to you now:

Hippocamp is a collection of electronic artists which are all working in a different field, ranging from classic to dubstep over techno and home again. As an experiment, they sometimes recontextualize classic albums, in this case: Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, containing the hits God Only Knows and Sloop John B. This album was recorded when Brian Wilson was still a genious. The album was recorded in 1965, using only four track recorders. And now, 40 years later, Hippocamp ruined it.

This has a variety of implementations: stripping a song to its bare minimum and make something new out of it, or seperating the seperate beats, guitar riffs and vocals and do an alternate mix of the song.

Although obviously, the samples used on this release haven't been cleared - and they never will - I warmly recommend giving this a listen. Another HippoCamp project is the ruining of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Fred Viola version of For the Benefit of Mr. Kite is brilliant.

Never leave the chair

In my never-ending quest to make life even lazier than it is, I decided to fiddle around a bit with my Bluetooth-enabled phone. I have a Nokia 6600, which only downside I've found so far is it's clunky size and weight. Then again, the weight has its upsides too. Within a 10-yard radius, I'm deadly with this phone.

Back to the Bluetooth-goodness then. Although it was hyped up by the telecom sector around the year 2000, it's most common use field today is still in the business section. You've seen them, those fancy headsets. Have a look at the advert on the left. It's hard to neglect the pure joy of wearing a headset, even when you're a businesswoman with curly hair. Most people have Bluetooth-enabled phones nowadays, but don't realize the tremendous fun and excitement it brings.

For instance, I was at a concert once, and a guy in front of me was trying to capture the whole experience using his cell phone. I fail to see how much joy he would have afterwards when watching the blurry VGA 30-second clip, bundled with the sound equivalent of farts in a box, but hey, who am I to judge. He was, however, blocking my view with the desperate cell-phone waving.

So I flipped out my mobile, scanned for Bluetooth devices, and found his gadget. When I sent him the Bluetooth connection invitation, the video recording application on his phone quit. He spent the next 10 minutes figuring out what the hell happened, and I was the concert hero. Well, not exactly, at least I could see the stage again.

Today, I managed to control my Linux music player using my cell phone. Using Remuco, an open-source server/client(java) bundle, I'm now capable of switching tracks, changing the volume and rating tracks, all without leaving the chair.

And that, my friends, is holy.

Unsubscribe now

On 11 January 2008 , the military camp at Guantanamo Bay will be 6 years old. I don't like pushing my political views, but don't mind if I do hit the proverbial it with some facts:

• 775 detainees have been held in Guantanamo since January 2002, around 330 are still held at the moment.
• 17 people in the camp are under the age of 18.
  
• Not a single Guantanamo detainee has been convicted of a criminal offence by the USA.
• 558 detainees had their status reviewed by Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) between August 2004 and March 2005; 520 of them were found to be "enemy combatants" by these panels of three military officers. Detainees had no access to lawyers or to secret evidence used by the CSRT, which could also rely on coerced evidence.

All of these facts can be verified in recent UN and AI reports.

This has gone far enough. Most petitions ask you to sign up, this petition asks you to take your name off and state that you will no longer support this.

Image Challenge Fun

Inspired by a similar Image Challenge at b3ta.com I decided to create some entries with my student friends. The rules are simple: you're allowed to change one letter of a movie title into another one, and the goal is to refurbish the official movie poster to match your new title.

This is what I've come up with so far (warning: extreme geekness ahead):



































































































































































Note: under no circumstances do I encourage right-wing activism, homophobia or cruelty towards sharks. Boo for nazis, woojays for gays and harhar for sharks !

This blog

Hi there,

After years of using a closed blog-system on my website, and not allowing visitors to comment on anything I post - mostly because they would be correcting mistakes against the English language all the time - I decided to switch to Blogger.

I'm Jeroen, a 20-year old Computer Science student at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and this my blog. Stating the bloody obvious.

Have fun !

Best albums of 2007

I don't claim to be a music man. Then again, I know what I like. Here are my votes for the best albums of 2007, in no particular order.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Who on earth ever thought that slightly religious-inspired rock could ever be hip again ? Well, Arcade Fire put the "Jesus Christ, this sounds great !" back into Christianity. The title track, Neon Bible, is only an interlude on the album, but might be the warmest song of the year. There's a version of it performed live in an elevator (!) floating around, it's an essential. Will & the Gang sure know how to weave melodies and structure a song (No Cars Go and The Well and the Lighthouse are recommended). The album feels more consistent, more mature than their debut, Funeral, and although the group seems to have the occasional sound-mixing problems when performing (performing with a dozen of musicians which like to juggle a variety of instruments around during songs really requires an octopus-like creature at the PA system), I can't wait to see them live.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
If Damon Albarn doesn't make it to the best album list, the world is spiraling away into oblivion. Everything this - oh, let's be fair, ego-tripping - artist touches turns into solid gold. (Blur, Two magnificent Gorillaz album). The critics always entitled this group as being "Damon's Super Band", and they make a fair point. Somehow he managed to recruit the legendary The Clash bassist Paul Simonon, world-class guitar player Simon Tong (The Verve, Gorillaz) and afrobeat wonder Tony Allen. Did we mention he hired Danger Mouse (of Grey Album and Gnarls Barkley fame) as the producer ?

And then Damon went all Barn again, and instead of making a straightforward rock-the-roof-off record, he released a haunting fin de sciècle piece of work, with sound scape-driven songs and slight hints of Gorillaz-esque electronic toying around. Everything really seems to revolt around Albarn's voice (he does all the vocals), and it works out wonderfully. Kingdom of Doom - which may sound like a very bad title for a Black Sabbath album - is the crown piece of the album. Damon at the piano launches the song, and it explodes in a lovely refrain. Pay attention to the closing track too, which looses itself into a haunting three minutes of guitar noise.

Radiohead - In Rainbows
The wait was long. And at the moment when fans all around the world were listening to Hail to The Thief for the billionth time, a small post appeared on the Radiohead Scrapbook (it's an artist term for blog). "Hi there, the new album will be out in 10 days". You can't give them much credit for their marketing campaign, simply because they didn't have one. Thom - pinko commie for some, green environmentalist for others - and the band decided to let the audience put a price on the album. For a limited amount of time, you could download the album from Radiohead.com at any price. Yes, cheapskates, that includes 'for free'. For me, it was the best 15 pounds spend this year. Then again, it's all euros here anyway.

The album has a very perfectionist feel to it. For example, it contains Nude, a song which has appeared in a thousand versions for ten years live, but was never recorded in a studio, until now. The opening track (and first single) 15 Step seems to have it's influences in Thom's solo work, The Eraser (2006), but that's about the only one. The other tracks vary from ballad (All I need) to in-your-face-rock (Bodysnatchers), all covered in the genious arrangements that make this band so special. Another good example is Reckoner, which contains a magnificent vocal piece which thrives completely on Thom's voice and Greenwood's guitar play.

People like to compare with previous Radiohead albums, but yet again, you can't really compare it to anything they've done before (and that's a bold statement for a group which might have touched every spectrum of modern music). It sure has less of the electronic plucking we saw on Kid A, less of the depressive feel we all know from Amnesiac, but it most certainly is not a return to the straight-on guitar approach from Pablo Honey or The Bends. Money well spent, and hands-down the best alternative record of the year.

Daft Punk - Alive 2007
If people would ask me what I would have done different in my life, it would be the following: I wish I would have passed my exams in the summer of 2006. Whilst I was working hard to get them right in the second term, all my friends were out to a show they described afterwards as "the best f***ing two hours of their life". As far as I know, my friends lead quite a dull life, but then again, statements like these must mean something. After getting my hands on a bootleg of that evening, I could cry. That year, that dreaded summer which will haunt me to the end of my days, the Robots came to town.

And they sure know how to throw a party. Two hours of non-stop hits from their decade-spanning carriere of ground-breaking electronic music, not just blended together like your average DJ would do on a Sunday, hell no. When the robots play the records, they do it with style. Having access to all the ingredients which make up the killer tracks, they add some spice to the dish by swapping basslines, adding new effects or combining song elements in a way that makes you think that all the songs they ever made were just building up to this Masterplan.

Highlight of the album might be the fantastic blend between Around the World and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. It was meant to be.

The National - Boxer
One of my personal revelations these year. How could I miss this band for all these years ? A simple collection of brothers and friends from Iowa, USA (farm people, y'all), which make fantastic music. Shame on me that only their third studio album so far has captured my attention. It has the focus on melody/symphony of Arcade Fire, the firm guitar work from Interpol, and a lead vocal which brings up the Joy Division memories.

Although fairly short, the album has enough highlights to make up for its length. Opening track Fake Empire has a great build-up with different tempo switches, and sets up the stage for the rest of the album. First single Mistaken for Strangers is the most accessible song on the album, but most certainly not the best. The gold's in the tail, people. The closing track, Gospel, is a masterpiece. From the lyrics (Invite me to the war, every night of the summer) to the melody, it all just fits. Warmly recommended, give these guys a chance in Europe. We've been through enough poppy trash lately, we could use it.

Feist - The Reminder
Another recent discovery. After hearing her beautiful voice on the latest Kings of Convenience album (she sings a refrain in the closing track), I checked out her work. This Canadian singer - which now is a Paris resident - has the proverbial 'everything'. The looks, the voice and the songwriting talent. Yes, Britney and Christina, I'd rather listen to Leslie Feist for 20 hours straight than paying any attention to you two performing a lapdance in my living room.

Highlights of the album are the Nina Simone cover Sea Lion Woman (a subtle redub of Sea Line Woman) and the striking refrain of The Water. If you're looking for a different angle on discovering Feist, make sure you check out the Boyz Noize remix of My Moon, My Man. It's so hip it has difficulties seeing over its pelvis.

Interpol - Our Love to Admire
Ever since Interpol released Turn on the Bright Lights in 2002, the world fell for its solid guitar work. It's nice to see that they take it into a different direction on this album. Apart from the standard Interpol formula - thriving bassline plus a rock-out refrain (Rest my Chemistry, The Heinrich Manoeuver) - the real gems of this album are the head and tail. In the opening track Pioneer to the Falls, the group displays a genuine interest in soundtrack music (they always list Ennio Morricone as one of their influences), which works out great.

The closing track, The Lighthouse, is another classic example where less is more. Only a simple guitar riff to simulate the rolling waves at the seaside, an organ kicking in later on, and Bank's haunting voice to wrap it up.

Runners-up:

Royksöpp - Royksöpp's Night Out
A low-profile release of these Scandinavians, but it has two very strong points: first, the live version of Sparks, which turns the album version (a slow-dub, trip-hop tune) into a blazing anthem. Second, the Queens of the Stone Age cover of Go With The Flow. Josh Homme probably thinks it's pretty queer, but when you listen to it you just know it fits.

Bloc Party - A Weekend in the city
Although a solid single (The Prayer) and an overall good first part of the album (Uniform, Hunting for Witches), the second part is a big dissapointment. What's with this sweet lyrics and humpty dumpty love song at the end ?

Justice - Cross
People, forget about D.A.N.C.E. It's nice, it has a funny video with arty T-shirts and stuff, but it most certainly is not the best part of this album. Plus, the annoyance level after the fifth listen is considerable. Waters of Nazareth had me thinking about Daft Punk's Rolling and Scratching for the first minute. It's brutal, it's vigilant, it's a song to go out and make old people miserable with. Then again, there's a lack of variety in the next three minutes. These guys have the talent, but the other tracks on the album are far too mediocre to make it into the top list.

Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare
Aside from the strong end (505 and Old Yellow Bricks), this album, although more mature than their debut, just doesn't convince me as a whole.

Dissapointments:

Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
Although Hustler and It's The Beat are here to stick around, the rest of the album is far too mediocre.

Underworld - Oblivion with Bells
Sorry, Underworld just ain't the brilliant innovators they used to be.

Vitalic - V Live
Terrible audio mixing (the crowd backnoise is way too loud, this sounds like a crappy bootleg) and poor renditions of otherwise powerful songs. Download a Vitalic liveset, cut it into pieces, and you've got yourself a better album.