.June.15.2003.: Well, I haven't got around updating the 'bug' that I said I was going to fix...I was busy...school started and the summer practicum extended quite a bit...but it's ok, I like the company I got to work for my practicum!....

There was a competition that I wanted to join, and guess what, our school chose its own representative. I think this is very unfair...I mean, I pay the same amount of tuition fees also you know, and I know how to develop a software also! .

That's all. I'll try and find time to update the mini-'bug' that I was talking about. Actually, it's negligible unless you want a vertically elongated window in your OpenGL application....

.May.27.2003.: I have removed the stripe background of my whole website. I think the dark blue color (with a hint of green) background would be a good replacement ().

It was also brought to my attention that in my OpenGL tutorials, when the user resizes the window with the width smaller than the height, nothing would show up. The reason and solution has been given to me (it's a minor "bug" that occurs when you want a vertically elongated window...). I shall update the tutorial with the corrected information and give credit where credit is due....

That's all the update so far....

.May.19.2003.: I got the final approval of Mr. Avi Bar-Zeev to add his scenegraph article to my guest tutorials/articles section! . Check out the excellent article here!

Mr. Bar-Zeev was also kind enough to point out to me that on LCD monitors, the stripe background of my site flickers horribly (and might trigger seizures to epileptic people...). I am now thinking of changing the background into a rather dark blue-green solid color. I'll do some mix-and-match sometime this week and update the whole site next week with a chosen color...

I have scrapped the idea of making the front page a blog page. I guess I'm just so used to my current manner of updating this news page (that is, by Notepad...). I have also decided to group my news archive by year. Sadly, I wasn't able to save the news content of my site before December 2002....

I am also planning to join the local Philippine Webbie Awards. Registration starts next month (at least that's what I know right now). This will be my first time to join a super-major web competition...I hope I don't do too bad....

That's all the updates so far. If you have an article/tutorial and want me to host it on my site, please let me know! I'll gladly host it here for you. I am also encouraging people to write tutorials on stuffs that they know already but are hard to find on the Internet (such as Non-PhotoRealistic Rendering, fur simulation, cloth movement, among others).

.May.15.2003.: Added a new link on my links section. It's to a friend's site (AngrySoft.Com). Check out his works and projects (as well as the products he sells). .

I have also finished converting a scenegraph article. I'll upload it tomorrow and ask for the author's final approval. So watch out. .

That's all so far.

(Oh yeah, today is Nomad Programming's 1ST BIRTHDAY!)

.May.02.2003.: Courtney J. O'Connor sent in the following press release regarding their upcoming seamless texture generator:

Title : SPIRAL GRAPHICS HOLDING SEAMLESS TEXTURE BETA
Date : May 1, 2003
Contact: Courtney J. O'Connor
Email : press@spiralgraphics.biz

Spiral Graphics has begun accepting applications for the beta test of its upcoming seamless textures application, Genetica (formerly known as Organica). Genetica helps automate seamless texture creation, promising to expedite the workflow of game artists, 3D designers, and others using tiling textures or repeating backgrounds.

"Since first announcing Genetica, we have had a tremendous response from the design community," says A. R. "Atlas" Roufas, President of Spiral Graphics. "We hope our beta program is met with similar enthusiasm to help us better align Genetica with designers' needs."

An application for joining the closed beta program can be found online at http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/genbeta.htm. As a thank-you, active beta program participants will be rewarded with a free copy of Genetica once the texture maker is officially released this summer.

Genetica is the world's first seamless textures generator to be built around a node-based engine, giving users unprecedented flexibility. Users make seamless textures by visually positioning nodes and adjusting values. Results tile automatically with no additional work required to blur out unsightly seams. An updated gallery of textures created with Genetica can be found at http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/gallery.htm.

Spiral Graphics is a software development firm based in Fort Collins, CO. Spiral Graphics' primary objective is to develop innovative graphics tools for the games and 3D industries. Genetica, Spiral Graphics' premier product, is the first seamless texture maker to harness the power of node-based systems. Additional information may be obtained by visiting www.spiralgraphics.biz, or by emailing press@spiralgraphics.biz.

Be a beta-tester now....

.April.27.2003.: Quick News: I got the final approval from Lance Ramoth regarding my hosting of his Windows OpenGL ScreenSaver Tutorial. Check it out here NOW! . Thanks again Lance!

.April.26.2003.: Added a new item to the menu: .tutorials..2.! I was worried that the guest tutorials section might not be seen by visitors if I just have a link to it inside the "my tutorials" section....

I was also given permission by Lance Ramoth to host his OpenGL screensaver tutorial in my guest tutorials page. I have finished "porting" (hehe) his tutorial into this site's layout and am awaiting his final approval....

Next month (I forgot the exact date really) will be Nomad Programming's 1st Birthday!!! To be more or less exact, I have chosen May 15 (middle of the month) as my website's birthday.

Wow, a year does pass by fast doesn't it?...I am quite happy with what's happening with my site so far. I have received some emails regarding my website, and kind words in my guestbook too! And according to Google's PageRank, this site is one of the better websites with OpenGL tutorials...(I ranked six. The top website was Nehe's Website -- but of course!...)...

.April.20.2003.: Well, well, well...I finally got that overdue multitexturing tutorial out at last! Hehe...sorry it took a long time. Aside from the occasional "I'll finish it later" syndrome, I was busy with either school or with my summer internship required from us by our college....

Well, check it out here. Enjoy! I hope to get the next tutorial up faster than this one...hehe....

.April.17.2003.: Some bad news: I removed the DirectX Skinned Mesh tutorial. I was contacted by the author and was told that he has some kind of copyright issues with another author of a book. My view is that this is unfair. Codes in books shouldn't have copyright issues on it. Developer books are for learning, and putting copyrights on codes doesn't help....

If you're wonderin' why there wasn't much update, it's because I have started my on-the-job training at a company (as required by our college).

That's all so far.... Let's hope I get time to continue the tutorials....

.March.31.2003.: Greetings! I have just applied at Blogger.Com for a, well, blogger! Check it out here. This blogger is for testing purposes only...if I like it, I'll eventually make a blog page for each of the tutorials that I host here (plus, I have added a commenting system too!).

That's all so far....

.March.28.2003.: Well, well, well...guess what? Another tutorial/article! This time, it's on "WORKING WITH SKINNED MESH USING DIRECTX" (Part 1 of 5). The article was written by a guest writer (David Ang)...check it out at the guest tutorial section!

That's all so far. As always, if you have any questions, comments, reactions, clarifications, etc....the two best ways to reach me is through my email and in my forum....

.March.15.2003.: I have a new tutorial! But it's not written by me. It's written by Codeboy! It's about using OpenGL via PyGame. Check it out at the new guest tutorials section....

If you have an urge to write articles/tutorials yourself and want me to host it here, then please let me know so my guest tutorials section will be filled with articles/tutorials...

The multitexturing tutorial source code is coming nicely. I cannot release it yet since I do not know which of the OpenGL extension loaders out there are the best to use (I currently have 2 versions of the source code, and depending on which one I choose, my tutorial will have to be updated with that too).

That's all. I have a five-part DirectX tutorial/article for you guys in the next few weeks by another guest writer. So watch out for it!

.March.1.2003.: Just a quick post: If any of you guys like my tutorials and would like to show some token of appreciation, then you are encouraged to donate to UNICEF! In case you've been living in another planet and haven't heard of what UNICEF is, then visit http://www.unicef.org for the best possible description of what this organization's purpose is.... So help out people, the world needs you!

I'd like to clarify that I am in no way connected to UNICEF. I thought one day that since I'm not asking for anything for my tutorials, I might as well ask for donations for other organizations! And voila, I chose UNICEF....

That's all. I STILL haven't installed MS Visual Studio yet....

.February.28.2003.: In case you were wonderin' what happened and it took me quite a good few days to update the news page here...well, I have recently tried re-installing Windows 2000. Everything started out fine, then a blue-screen came out (you know, that console screen that comes out with a blue background) mentioning something along the lines of: "Dumping physical memory to disk".... And then when it restarts the computer, it restarts the setup process, and then I get the blue screen again, over and over and over and over...

I have recently changed my OS to Windows XP Professional Edition....

The OpenGL multitexturing tutorial is done, except for the source code. I haven't reinstalled Microsoft Visual Studio yet....

Oh yeah, I'm also planning to put up an FAQ section...a good few people have emailed me since the start of this site that are common in nature....maybe an FAQ section will help, I'm not sure. What do you guys think?

That's all that's been happening so far...I'll post the multitexturing tutorial ASAP when I am done with it.

.February.11.2003.: What was supposed to take a day or two took almost a week! I am referring to my previous news post, where I said I would update you guys with that big misinformation in Part 14. Well, everything's fixed now...thanks to Andrew Lim!....

The problem was that I had unknowingly "inverted" the y-axis in my texture-coordinate. Aside from that, everything was OK (or so I hope it is...). The reason the source code worked previously was because, while I had the y-axis of my texture coordinates upside-down, I was also defining my vertices upside down! Sadly, I know how this happened...I had previously dealt with DOS/GDI graphics you see, and in DOS/GDI, your screen/window had (0,0) at the top-left of your screen/window, and while making the source code for the tutorial, I had used the coordinate system used by DOS/GDI graphics!. (I hope that was a good enough excuse.... Seriously though, that's what happened).

Moving on...

A new tutorial is in near completion, and will most probably be uploaded within this week, so watch out.... Let's just hope there aren't any stupid errors like what I did in Part 14....

That's all. It's 2 in the morning...I'm going to sleep now...

.February.05.2003.: I've made some more minor modifications to this site. The menu now has a different look (the old one just had a text link...the current one has the text links inside a table...).

I've also added a new link to my, well, links page! It's the GameDev Vault website. The site says it's the "game developer's Internet resource"...so check it out....

Someone has also emailed me about a BIG misinformation in Part 14 of my tutorials. I will tell you the details after a day or two (when the source is corrected and the tutorial updated), so be warned!. (*sigh*...whatever effort you put in, errors really creep in...)

Oh yeah, I am planning on adding a new section to my site. This section will allow writers to contribute to this site. So if you feel like writing some tutorials (DirectX, OpenGL Techniques, Language Tutorial, etc.) or articles (Engine Development, Engine Review, etc.), let me know....

That's all the update so far. Keep codin'....

.February.01.2003.: I have made a (small) update in the introduction of Part 11 of my tutorials. Part 12 had one more paragraph added to it (I elaborated on glViewport() a bit more...). Part 6 and 8 were further "cleaned" of typographical / grammatical errors. It is amazing how much typographical errors you see when you read your work again....

I have also added a poll on my site! This will be useful (in the coming future) for me to get some surveys regarding, say, what you think of my new tutorials. Support this site and vote now! .

That's all. If you have any questions, comments, reactions, or anything, you are encouraged to post in my forum section. Also, if you have time, sign my guestbook! .

Update on my terrain engine problem: I have received some replies regarding my problem (in both GameDev and OpenGL.Org's forum section). One person was kind enough to show me his frustum culling code for me to try out. I'm crossing my fingers and hope his code solves my problem! .

.January.31.2003.: I apologize for the recent lack of updates of this site. I hope this is not the start of a bad habit....

Anyway, I will try and upload a new tutorial next week on OpenGL. So watch out for it! As for my problem with my terrain engine, it seems no one was able to answer or help me with my problem.... I have seeked help in GameDev.Net's and OpenGL's forum but alas, no success...As a last resort, I might rewrite the whole terrain rendering code from scratch....

The Chinese will be celebrating their Chinese New Year today! .

.January.20.2003.: I have further updated parts 5 and 14. Part 5 had a comma where a semi-colon should have been (in the source code), while Part 14 was further cleaned of typographical errors and stuffs. Part 14 also had an error where when we generated our ID for our texture, we didn't bind them! The source code was correct though...I should really get the habit of copying from the source code when writing my tutorials....

That is all so far. I have started working again on my terrain engine...sadly, I STILL cannot find the reason why quadrant 1 isn't showing.... If this goes on, I will eventually post my code in gamedev.net's forum for help....

I am getting a generous amount of visits per day! This is great, but no one is signing my guestbook...please do, thanks!

Oh yeah, if anyone wants a reciprocal link (i.e., I link to your site, and you link to mine), just email me or post in my forum....

.January.18.2003.: on January 23, I am to speak on a seminar for our college's alternative class. I still honestly do not know yet how to pack graphics programming inside three hours...oh well, I'll try my best....

It seems I have forgotten to write tutorials for the mouse and timer in win32 API. I definitely must remind myself this when I have time at night....

.January.12.2003.: Just a quick update...

I have updated my projects page. It now shows three projects of mine. CRICKET.ASPNETBB is the latest one, it was started just today! . The other is a screensaver project. Download for it is not supported right now, I will clean up my code and stuffs for it (yes, the screensaver project will be open-source...).

That's all. Don't forget to sign my guestbook....

.January.10.2003.: I have added static HUD (Heads-Up Display) code in my terrain engine (see projects page). It currently uses masking to render whatever it is that should be rendered. I shall eventually try and make a dynamic (read: animated) one. The current method/code is not optimized yet. It currently uses one masking bitmap and one HUD bitmap. Both of which are the size of my window. This is bad since OpenGL unnecessarily blends a lot of black texels on the middle of the window.... Anyway, I have added three new screenshots of my engine. Check them out!

One optimization that will be done (that I plan for my current HUD) is to have four different bitmaps that make up the HUD (one for the top border, one for the left border, right border, and bottom border). This will let OpenGL blend a whole lot less on the screen....

I have updated my recently released Part 14 (texturemapping) tutorial. There was a serious overlook on my part. The tutorial showed that I was freeing the Bitmap pointer variable when I was still going to use it at the very next function. This is the consequence when you write a tutorial without copying and pasting directly from the source code.... I made no changes to the downloadable source code since it was correct (otherwise, it would not have run...).

I also plan to make Part 15 be a semi-advanced texturemapping tutorial instead of the current multitexturing tutorial plan (since not everybody has a video card that supports multitexturing). If I push through choosing to do a semi-advanced texturemapping tutorial, it will be about loading an image file-format (either .tga, .bmp, or .pcx), texture wrapping, and transformation of texturemaps. The final choice will depend on my mood when I start writing....

.January.08.2003.: I have made some updates (both minor and...erm...not-so-minor ) to some of my tutorials (particularly, Parts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 14). Do not worry though (to those that have read these tutorials), the updates are negligible to you. I merely corrected some grammar and typographical errors and stuffs....

I still cannot figure out the problem with my quadtree implementation. That annoying quadrant 1 just won't show!!!! . I have decided to pause my work on the terrain rendering project for a while (a good few days at least) in the hopes that I find the error when I work on it again (some programmers will probably know why I am doing this...).

I am also happy to see that there are visitors to this site even if gamedev.net and flipcode.com has posted no news regarding this site. Most of those that come here (that aren't from gamedev.net/flipcode.com) were those that came from search engines. There are other development websites also that has posted news in their site about my tutorials without my direct knowing. To those websites, I thank you! (we could swap links! Email me or post in my forum if interested! ).

This site of mine is still in its infancy (about half a year young! ), and so far, the number of visitors have been generous. Hurrah! . (now if I could just have some of the visitors keep on coming back...hmm...).

That is all. Keep signing my guestbook! .

.January.03.2003.: This is my first news post this year. I have added a news archive section to my site. It currently has the December 2002 news archive (unfortunately, I didn't store my updates / news prior to that month, so I can't really see the progress for the past few months -- but it's OK, I guess ).

Writing tutorials during the Christmas / New Years Holidays was sluggish (sorry! ). I have started on both the Dot Product math tutorial and the OpenGL Texturemapping tutorial, but have not finished the Dot Product tutorial...yet . I have, however, finished the OpenGL texturemapping tutorial, check it out!

I have finally finished the quadtree implementation of my terrain engine (see projects page). It currently has some bugs that I am still finding (the upper-right quadrant of the whole terrain -- ie, quadrant 1 of the root node -- mysteriously disappears at a specific view whenever I move my camera). All the other quadrants works/renders fine/correctly whenever they should after culling them with the view frustum. If anyone of you who have encountered this same problem before, please email me and help me out....

That's all for now.