integrate

I purchased a Lenovo X200 touchscreen tablet off of eBay. The tablet is in great condition, and it came with Windows 7 64 bit. Unfortunately, the system language was Chinese. Even though most of the programs are in English, the system dialog windows that came up were in a different language! There's no changing it either, at least from what I could tell in my research.

So, I thought I'd upgrade to the Windows 8 English version. Should be easy... during install, I should get asked what language I want to install it in. Wrong. All of the installation screens were in Chinese.

So I decided to wipe the hard drive, and use the recovery DVDs that came with the laptop. This installed Windows 7, English version. That's awesome! Unfortunately, I found out it was the 32 bit version!

Next, I re-downloaded Windows 8, and installed it over that Windows 7. Thinking that the installation was designed to look at the hardware architecture, I figured it would know my laptop is 64 bit and simply install that version. Nope. I got the 32 bit version.

After 3 tech support calls (well, 1 call, and 2 chats with 3 different techs), I finally got it resolved. The solution was to use another computer with a 64 bit English OS to download Windows 8, make a DVD, then boot my tablet from that DVD. I was then able to do a clean 64 bit install over my current 32 bit OS.

Here's what I learned:

-The Microsoft techs for Windows 8 support are either very ignorant, or are trained to not give you direct answers. Or, they're just not that bright. Sorry, but they all had different replies, and one was completely incorrect. The combination of all their answers, along with my own troubleshooting was what finally resolved the issue.

-The Upgrade Assistant Windows 8 uses will only care about the architecture of the OS you are currently running, not the fact that your computer hardware is either 32 bit or 64 bit. And, you will not get asked if you want either/or.

-The Upgrade Assistant looks at your current OS's system language and automatically installs Windows 8 in that language.  You will not get a choice of system language.

-It appears you can download Windows 8 multiple times using a valid product code. Don't know the limit, but 3 so far (and all 3 were different versions: Chinese 64 bit, English 32 bit, and English 64 bit - and the last version was from an entirely different laptop).

-You can change the region and language of Windows 7, but you cannot change the OS language of the original installation.

-After purchasing Windows 8, Microsoft tech support was super easy to get a hold of. I recommend the chat support however, as there will be less miscommunication that way. And, a record of what was said.

-64 bit Windows 8 is faster that its 32 bit little brother. Period. It utilizes more RAM (if you have it), and the difference in speed is very noticeable. One of the first things I noticed was that shutdown went from 5-10 seconds down to, uh, like 2 seconds.

So, as many in the GM community are still on the fence about Windows 8, I figured I'd share this experience. I hope it helps.

EDIT: Finally got a video of the gameplay that shows a lot of the later levels. I think most of the people playing the game quit before it gets good. Well, here's the teaser video that shows what the game really turns in to...



The classic video game Berzerk is still a blast to play. But I thought I'd give it some more staying power.
Alan McNeil's original creation is still the best, so I hope he doesn't mind my homage to this classic game.

This is a Berzerk remake (more of a remix), that plays like the original, but changes things up a bit in later rounds.

I originally designed this for myself. However, I realized there are probably other fans of Berzerk that will want to give it a go too (the replies will determine if that's true or not).

I need to update the AI a bit, add some more audio, and track down a glitch that makes the audio go into an infinite, unstoppable loop (very infrequent, but when it happens it's very annoying), and probably other things.  

Category: 2D Multi-Directional Shooter
File Size: The zip is about 47 megs.
GM Version: GM8.1
Vista Compatible: Yes.
Changes Screen Resolution: Yes.
Download Link: https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=6310DD7BFDCA750F!362&authkey=!AFBwpEzhLTS5mLs

Pics of the WIP:









As-is, it's a fully playable game.
The default Keys are Arrow Keys and Space Bar. However, you can map new keys in the Options menu (press O at the main screen).

F to change full screen. ESC to quit the game, then exit.

You can also map a joystick if you'd like. I prefer keyboard with this game myself.

I hope the download link I've provided works correctly. First time I've used Skydrive.

EDIT: When you are on the Skydrive screen, check the box Berzerk2012, then click Download

I realize this is a long-shot, but if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it. I am attempting to add a "I'm Online" or "I'm Offline" button to a webpage for a friend. She uses Messenger from Microsoft. They gave her this code:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://settings.mess...n.js"></script>
<div
  id="Microsoft_Live_Messenger_PresenceButton_660eff4de0080c9e"
  msgr:width="100"
  msgr:backColor="#77ADCF"
  msgr:altBackColor="#FFFFFF"
  msgr:foreColor="#424542"
  msgr:conversationUrl="http://settings.mess...=6E6C6C"></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://messenger.ser...ence"></script>

However, the editor does not accept script tags, so it rejects the code. I believe I need to add <code> tags, and get rid of the script tags, but I don't have experience with web programming. Does anyone know the rewrite for this?

Thanks!

I notice on some games, including the one I'm working on, private memory (memory used only by that game) will slowly rise. The more I play, the more it rises. On other, more polished games, it seems to stay level.

Obviously, continuing to play a game that eats away at memory will cause lag, and eventually a crash.

What is the best way to optimize a game that does this? I'm about to undertake this optimization process in my game, and would like some pointers. I realize that objects no longer in use need to be destroyed, but what are some other things to take into account when it comes to 'memory leaks' in our games? Can unused arrays be nullified? Do preloaded sounds need to be deleted... etc.

Looking forward to your input.

I would like to be able to do everything you can do with a mouse in GM, with a keyboard. Having the ability to use a keyboard shortcut over a mouse can actually be a huge time-saver. For example, in the sprite editor, you can press Shift+< and Shift+> to cycle between animation frames. This is a huge benefit for me, since I switch back and forth between frames a lot creating animations.

I realize some users will say I only save milliseconds by switching from mouse to keyboard, but there's more to it than that. When I have a thought process going on, I want to be able to implement that thought, and convert the energy of that thought into action. Keyboard shortcuts make that possible without interruption. Yes, I actually feel that using the mouse is an interruption, as I must utilize a different part of my brain to align the mouse pointer over the option I want. Doing that interrupts my flow. Especially if I click the wrong button and now have to return to where I started. There is a place for mouse use, for sure. But when coding, both options should be available.

Anyone who grew up with DOS, or uses any CLI, knows what I mean when I say using keyboard shortcuts save time, allows flow, and drips with accuracy (no accidental clicks). Just imagine using the room editor with your keyboard:
Hold space while using arrow keys to draw an object like a wall - Hooray! No more TRYING to draw straight, because you will actually BE drawing straight.