After installing Java 9 on my Mac, Netbeans 8.2 options to start new project, or open settings, don’t work.
Continue reading “NetBeans 8 new project not working with JDK 9”
fixing xampp security checkapache no such file or directory workaround
There is a bug in the XAMPP installation security tool for Mac preventing updates to the .htdocs for the dashboard.
There is a bug in the XAMPP installation security tool for Mac.
Seems like they changed the xampp tools from XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/xampp to XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/dashboard and didn’t update the XAMPP/xamppfiles/share/xampp/checkapache file.
I noticed this when I ran the XAMPP/xamppfiles/xampp security utility and noticed it wasn’t making my xampp pages require a password from the browser.
Turns out the command line dumps the error out and I didn’t notice it. Here’s the output (note the “No such file or directory” messages):
Continue reading “fixing xampp security checkapache no such file or directory workaround”
Left/Right Movement with Sprite Flipping in a Unity 2D Platform Game (with JavaScript and C#)
Left/Right Movement with Sprite Flipping in a Unity 2D Platform Game (with JavaScript and C#)
This is part 3 of a series of tutorials for Buiding a 2D Platform Game in Unity.
A character which can jump and double-jump is great, but we need a little more action. In this tutorial, our actor is going to be able to also move left and right. This tutorial shows how to use GetKey to handle the left and right arrow keys for movement. Then we add a function to flip the sprite horizontally, so it appears to face in the expected direction.
This tutorial is presented in two videos: one video each for JavaScript and C# (C-Sharp). I’ve presented both languages, since it’s sometimes not clear how to convert code from the other language when watching a tutorial. The code performs the same functions and produces the same game play, so you only need to watch one.
In this video we…
- use the JavaScript or C-Sharp (C#) language
- add left/right movement with arrow keys
- use GetKey
- use GetComponent(RigidBody2D)
- use Vector3
- add a function to handle sprite flipping, horizontally
JavaScript (Unity Script) version
C# (C-Sharp) version
This tutorial builds on the first project and the GitHub tag for this tutorial is v2
- See this link about the 2 Platformer GitHub source and tags
In the next video, I will show how to follow the actor with the camera, and detect death falls.
Be sure to subscribe to the Playlist to get the future updates: Unity 5 2D Platform Game Development (Mac) Playlist
Jumping and Double Jumping in a Unity 2D Platform Game (with JavaScript and C#)
Jumping and Double Jumping in a Unity 2D Platform Game (with JavaScript and C#)
This is part 2 of a series of tutorials for Buiding a 2D Platform Game in Unity.
An essential part of a platform game is the ability to jump. Sometimes you need to jump over barrels, onto mushroom people, or just jump up to the next platform.
Space Panic, released in November 1980, is probably the first platform game, but Donkey Kong introduced the jump mechanic in 1981.
This tutorial is presented in two videos: one video each for JavaScript and C# (C-Sharp). I’ve presented both languages, since it’s sometimes not clear how to convert code from the other language when watching a tutorial. The code performs the same functions and produces the same game play, so you only need to watch one.
In this video we…
- use the JavaScript or C-Sharp (C#) language
- add a script component to our actor
- add jumping with space bar key
- tag objects as “Ground”
- use GetKeyDown
- use GetComponent(RigidBody2D)
- use Vector2
- use OnCollisionEnter2D
- add double jumping
- refactor code into a function
JavaScript (Unity Script) version
C# (C-Sharp) version
This tutorial builds on the first project and the GitHub tag for this tutorial is v2
- See this link about the 2 Platformer GitHub source and tags
In the next video, I will be showing how to add left/right movement.
Be sure to subscribe to the Playlist to get the future updates: Unity 5 2D Platform Game Development (Mac) Playlist
Unity 5 2D Platform Game Tutorial on GitHub
I uploaded the Unity 5 source code and project for the 2D Platformer being built in the Unity 5 2D Platform Game Tutorial, to GitHub.
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| Unity 5 2D Platformer Demo on GitHub |
Here is the link to the Unity 5 2D Platformer Demo on GitHub
Using GitHub to fork and clone a repo is easy enough.
Project Tags
The project steps are checked in with tags. To work with any particular tutorial version, just checkout the tag for that tutorial.
Once you’ve cloned the project, you can create a branch of the tagged version like this:
git checkout -b branchname tagname
Simplify OBS .flv video conversion to .mp4
If you use OBS to make your desktop recordings on your Mac, you’ll notice it creates .flv files by default. But .flv files aren’t playable in QuickTime.
There are ways to change the settings to create .mp4 files, but there are really good reasons to use .flv.
A better approach is to record in .flv and convert to .mp4 afterward using ffmpeg and a little shell script to make the commands easier.
Continue reading “Simplify OBS .flv video conversion to .mp4”
Install ffmpeg on a Mac
Installation instructions for getting ffmpeg on your Mac, which donn’t assume you know how to use Terminal or how to execute commands. Every step is outlined below with screenshots and some explanations of what the commands are, for the curious.
To convert video file formats on your Mac, you’re going to want a great piece of open source software called “ffmpeg”. But, once you have it, it may not be clear how to get it working in your Mac. Here are the steps to get ffmpeg downloaded, placed into a folder so your system can find them, and how to make them executable and usable.
How to setup a Unity 5 project and add Kenney’s “Platformer Tiles”
This is the first video in my Unity 5 2D Platform Game Development Tutorial series.
Many of the existing 2D Platformer tutorial videos are outdated with Unity 5, and the C# (c-sharp) and UnityScript (JavaScript) files need to be updated. Also, many of the tutorials are for either C# or UnityScript, but not both. You may like C#, but the tutorial you need may be in UnityScript. Or vice, versa.
I will run through building a 2D Platformer in Unity 5 and I’ll be showing how to do the steps in both scripting languages (both C# and UnityScript/JavaScript).
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In this first video, I introduce Unity 5 and show how we are going to set up the project for the future steps. We also download an import public domain art assets from Kenney, using OpenGameArt.org.
Some of the highlights:
In this video, we …
- download Unity
- create a new project with Scenes and Sprites folders
- save the first Scene
- import Kenney’s art
- create a player actor
- create a ground block
- add collision components
- add gravity
- preview the game
Here is the video:
This tutorial starts with a fresh project, but the completed GitHub tag for this tutorial is v1.2 (See this link about the 2 Platformer GitHub source and tags)
In the next video, I will be showing how to get keyboard input working to control jumping and left/right movement.
Be sure to subscribe to the Playlist to get the future updates: Unity 5 2D Platform Game Development (Mac) Playlist
Disable iPhoto opening automatically
Every time I connected my iPhone or iPad to my Mac, iPhoto popped up with an import dialog. Then I figured it how to disable it for good.
Every time I connect my iPhone to my Mac, iPhoto pops up with an import dialog. I tried turning it off, but it keeps coming up every time my iPhone or iPad is connected. Then I figured it how to disable it for good.
How I took back my Facebook News Feed, part 2 of 2
I am seeing a lot of Facebook Page updates, but not much of it is interesting to me and I’m missing out on the stuff I want to see.
After I organized my friends and family into lists to control who’s updates I see most frequently, I still had a problem with the content that I am seeing from Pages.
Even though you and I may not share the same point of view, we probably both have similar experiences with Facebook posts being shared from Facebook Pages. Someone we actually know and/or care about is constantly sharing Facebook page posts about politics, religion and science news. There is probably a fair amount of ecards and lol cats, too.
Note: if you are that person, we know where you stand, already.
Additionally, chances are you’ve “liked” a few hundred Facebook Pages because you wanted to share your penchant for unrated films, tortured artists, and bands you used to listen to before they were cool. Maybe your friends asked you to like their Facebook business page for their photography, home business and hobby page. (I’m guilty!)
Now your Facebook News Feed is cluttered with updates from Facebook page managers trying to “engage” their community.
Not everyone is good at it.
There is probably a lot of junk you’ve “liked” which is just noise. Over 144 million people like Facebook. On Facebook.
Too much noise, not enough signal
I am seeing a lot of Pages updating, but not much of it is interesting to me and I’m missing out on the stuff I want to see.
Facebook is using algorithms to determine what to feed to you in your Facebook News Feed. The algorithm is secret, but you will see a mix of content based on what you like, and content based on what other people like. A post that is popular among other users may slide into your News Feed because it seems to be trendy or hot and you just might be interested. There is a good article on this at TechCrunch: The Filtered Feed Problem (TechCrunch).
Now you’re seeing self-promotion posts mixed in with content you’d like to see about the friends you’ve sorted into your Close Friends.
Unfollow noisy Pages
The easiest way to clean up the noise stream is to just unfollow the things that are not interesting. If you see something you keep visually skipping over, just unfollow the source, right from your News Feed.
There is a little grey down arrow in the upper right corner of the post. You can click the Unfollow option to stop receiving their updates in your News Feed.
Unlike uninteresting Pages
Point your mouse at the Page title and a little preview will pop up. You can click the Like button to see an Unlike option.
Get Notifications for important Pages
I have some pages that seem to get lost in the noise. If my favorite small venue has an update, it’s just not popular enough and doesn’t have the performance metrics for Facebook to feed it to me. So, I turn on Get Notifications.
Now I see their updates in my Notifications area.
Tell Facebook what you don’t want to see
Facebook allows you to flag content as annoying so that you can keep it out of your News Feed. Some of the most spammy pages, or the most emotionally charged political/religious/newsy stuff I see falls into this category. If you’ve read my previous post about how I manage my friends, you know that I don’t mind someone having a different point of view, I just don’t want a picket banner in my face when I’m just trying to congratulate them on their engagement or like their vacation photos. I use this feature to flag content from Facebook Pages that I think are just overbearing and divisive in their message and it affects my ability to just enjoy my friends life events.
When you choose not to see the content. Facebook will replace it with this little grey box.
You can add some reasons to why you’ve asked not to see it.
Affect on my Facebook News Feed
By adding the most interesting pages to my Get Notifications list, and unliking the most noisy and uninteresting pages, I’ve managed to get a Facebook News Feed which I actually am interested in reading.
I still have a problem with my friends and family sharing things meant to annoy people they disagree with. This kind of content comes from so many places that it’s difficult to flag it all as “I don’t want to see this, it’s annoying or uninteresting.” As a result, I’ve moved those offenders (even family) into Acquaintances just to make my Facebook time less annoying.
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