Eclipsed Code

Have been playing with voxel terrain generation lately. Following along with parts of this tutorial here - http://alexstv.com/index.php/posts/unity-voxel-block-tutorial-pt-4 - I was able to get the above results.

Here’s some voxel stuff I’ve been creating lately. You can see a comparison of both a simplistic and more detailed fire. The scene was created in Unity 3D. I’m getting a lot more comfortable with Unity and MagicaVoxel and may create some tutorials a bit later.

A very simple “sun” I’ve added to the simulation as a light source.

Basically, it’s of the LightSource class, generates LightPackets which inherit the EnergySource class (same as food does).

I have always had an interest, whether in my choice of video game or software development, in the development of artificial intelligence and simulations.

Tycoon games, city builders, Sim Earth, etc have always been some of my favorite types of games. And as I’ve become a more experienced developer since starting programming my sophomore year of high school, I’ve always had a fascination with various approaches to AI. Whether they be more simplistic such as genetic algorithms and Conway’s Game of Life, or more advanced approaches such as neural networks, I have always been intrigued by them (and have tried many of the approaches by hand to better grasp the concepts).

Now, as a break from my current project (a web app I’m currently developing), I have decided to take another stab at a fairly complex life simulator.

It’s intention is to be more robust and sophisticated as to better estimate functions of cells (and eventually more complex life), but while remaining a simplistic toolkit easy enough for hobby programmers and students to tinker with. Similar to RoboCode or Jaroo for those familiar with those pieces of software.

My newest web application project - currently without a name - has come quite a long ways since it was just an idea. I’d like to take a moment to give a quick overview of the project as well as some screenshots of it in action as well as an overview of the development stack.

Now, on the front end, it uses the normal stuff. Jquery and bootstrap. And an additional javascript library or two. Nothing all that complex or sophisticated.

On the backend, though, the project is PHP based, but more specifically, it is Laravel based. I hardly see much PHP when working with Laravel. And of that that I do see, it’s much more concise and straightforward than traditional PHP with database calls. No longer dealing with the intricacies of databasing, connections, import errors and such. It allows me to focus much more on just the idea and what I want it to do in a much more object oriented approach.

The addition of dealing with blade templates that Laravel uses natively instead of client side backbone or similar templates has also helped a ton. Two lines of code, and I have a new piece of data pulled from whatever object and displayed to the user. Really saves on time. Also makes websites redesigns much easier.

For those interested, you can learn more about Laravel here.

What is the project? What does it do?

Now that the development stack is out of the way, what does the project actually do?

It’s a web app (mobile is planned as well) that allows users to request lawn care services for their home. It also allows users to act as a contractor and complete service requests from other users (much in the same way as Uber or other similar services).

One type of user (client) creates properties, attaches service requests to these properties, and eventually schedules the service (after some interactions with a contractor).

The other type of user (contractor) adds the services that he supplies and a price to go along with it, browses available service requests submitted by clients, bids on service requests, and completes service requests already previously agreed on by him and a client. He also has a schedule that updates based on work he has agreed on so he knows which jobs to complete on any given day. Contractors also have a signup portal they may use when going door to door to facilitate easy client signup and payments.

How far along is the project?

It’s actually very far along. Most if not all of the logic works. I began reworking the mobile nav a bit a week or two ago. Aside from that, I have a punch list of various development tasks / bugs that need to be addressed, but it’s a surprisingly small list.

What’s left?

There’s the list of bugs I need to fix, but not much development wise. Probably a redesign once all functionality is vetted. But aside from that, most of what’s left to do, is legal stuff. Stuff I have very limited knowledge on. Joy...

I’ve attached a few screenshots to show the progressed that’s been made so far. Let me know what you think!

I will soon be adding some new features to the Townmap web application to include some more features and to fix a few things from the initial mockup. Here’s what changes are coming!

Additional Data Points - I’ll be adding a few more points of data to each Pokemon listing. This should hopefully allow for some better data visualizations later on .

Weather at the time of capture / spotting.

Capture type. Such as normal occurence, from lure, or from incense.

Additional notes such as “on the far side of the lake” for clarification. Or just “Good luck!” for those pesky ones.

Time Frame Filter - So you can adjust the age of the entries being displayed. Lessen the time to only see more immediate entries.

Search - Adding the ability to look for a particular Pokemon and not just anything within your area.

Map Filtering - Similar to search. Click a Pokemon to only see entries of the same Pokemon. Maybe click twice to see it and it’s evolutions.

Pokemon List - A listing for outputting all Pokemon currently displayed on the map. Useful for cluttered maps.

Simple Map Markers - For those that aren’t concerned having Pokemon faces on the map. Help with load times and seeing larger number of map entries without clutter.

As you’ve probably heard, Pokemon Go has become very popular. As as you’ve also probably heard, locating Pokemon via the nearby feature can sometimes be very difficult (and sometimes even dangerous). Zero to two steps, pretty easy to track. Anything with three footprints though is often times not worth tracking down (especially if you’re just catching duplicates to level).

I wanted to have a tracking feature similar to what I’ve come to expect from traditional Pokemon games. One where you can see the Pokemon’s location (or likelihood within a location) on a map. I decided to start a side project to fill this specific need.

And it’s actually going very well. You can check out the current progress here: https://townmap.eclipsedcode.com/

It functions as is and currently shows only Pokemon within the viewable sector of your map. Hint: To see more Pokemon, zoom out and then refresh the page.

Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see added to Townmap. I’ll create a follow up to this post with some of the features that are already in the works.