Friday, March 15, 2024

Lack of Hard Scifi Habitat Books - is this an opportunity for Game in the Brain.

 So, Nicco and I are nearly done with the 60m diameter habitat. The ball was in my court for double-checking the dimensions - I would make an object that would be as big and check the volume since it would make the scale accurate. Nicco will then proceed to make a denser map that would be friendly for people using VTT like Roll20. We downloaded the Roll20 map-making guidelines.

Delays were caused by having chills and fever March 8 and only getting antibiotics March 11. Today is my last day of antibiotics. 

There is going to be a 1-month learning curve as I teach Nicco how to use the dynamic lighting in Roll20 and test if both our PRO accounts can be moved back and forth, or if he just has access to my pro account. I’m not sure how this will work out.

If you’re new here, Nicco is the artist making the 3D and 2D materials in Mneme. He is also my co-writer and editor for background material, and he leads the writing projects like our unreleased adventure “2-Parsec.” I have the same skills as Nicco as we were “barkada” (close friends group) in college gaming and strangely had similar-looking styles. He continued to do art working in corporate communication and media (presentation decks), and I was roped into the family business being the IT head. I typically do the R&D, but Nicco did the R&D to create the geometry nodes that allow us to create the ships easily (People have access to these same geometry nodes since they have access to the Blender files), but as a friend said: the skill level to use your material is too high - it has to be more accessible. Nicco is not just an artist, he’s also a hard sci-fi guy who would do the math given the opportunity. 

In the Game in the Brain, I guess what would sell based on what I would want and the market doesn’t have. For example, our products, if you look at them, were based on the gap in the market and what I believed is needed to have a great experience playing Cepheus Engine.

In the habitat, I did the calculations and requirements, Nicco created the drafts and I would examine them. Typically that would be double-checking his calculations and compliance with the ship stats. I’m not too strict because I pay for the rework. I advance everything, if the book doesn’t sell (it’s sold only 23 copies, I need about 100 to be close to break-even or possibly 200 copies when I give sales… Like today) I absorb all the costs. I don’t buy games as much and cut back on other things to pay for improving Mneme.

Anyway, when a friend, Jay, pointed out that our games are not too accessible, I got to thinking - would people be interested in a 5000 dton habitat? 10 rings of 60m diameter, that would be a 100m long ring with a 2000DT tender able to jump and resupply. Imagine a ship with a fuel cable that unspools to skim on a gas giant, the fuel cable is 100m long for every dton allowing standard hull-type ships to stay in the thinner atmospheres - note that this is to allow more area for the ship to catch atmosphere for fuel, as you need tens of km of spool to properly mine a gas world.

The book is probably going to be 40-50 pages with tiles for rooms. It will have 1 ship, but 3 sample interior setups. There will be Roll20 maps with dynamic lighting.

The product is a 5000DT (3000DT) habitat that can be placed in any location that needs a lower tech (TL7-8 or in GURPS TL8-9) habitat. If it will be hard sci-fi Traveller like Orbital 2100 then this will be ubiquitous. The economics of the habitat and its tender will be noted as this determines the economic potential the PCs will encounter.

Images of a habitat nestled in an asteroid being formed to shield it would be the most common, as well as it naked behind the moon with a powerful magnetic field. With 3000DT it can hold 300-600 people, what kind of economic unit is 300 people or 60 families? Imagine the fuel tankers through or around the habitat. Nicco and I will have fun detailing it, but the question is, will it pay off and will people like such a product that it will be bought? 

I’ve been mostly wrong every time, none of the projects every hit break even. While I still do this even if it’s not break even and because I want such a product to exist. Where else can you get the 3d Models of the ships and all the editable tools you need to detail and customize our material? Cepheus Engine exists! it took a decade for people to catch on. You’ll notice I’m juggling my JS studies along with the other studies even if I’m sick right now, having little sleep because of my cough. 

I guess I have to come up with a free product: Running Cepheus Engine hard sci-fi, as well… answering all the questions regarding this. Being the Quality and Safety Officer, being in charge of our Maintenance and on the board of our Building - and seeing how safety, engineering, and maintenance is done in other companies - I would love to detail this - trying o predict how it would work out. I would love to make Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, and Automation fun and accessible the way learning so much about it in Games and Real life and filling in the gaps. I would love to gamify life for people so they can win-win. Having an electronics start up - I would love to translate it into low key adventures - so that students and starting adventurers can have better options - as they have a more structured framework to approach the industry. Of course I have to be lucky enough to have an engaging product - that my flaws dont obscure our strengths. 

What do you think? We are open to feedback!

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

March 15 to March 31 2024 Game in the Brain Sales

Here are the links to get 50% Off in 

Mneme World Generator, Mneme Variant Combat and Mneme Space Combat. 


https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=9765a77d6a (double check and look if the link sends you here)



https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=931161849e (double check and look if the link sends you here)



https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=975ccb01d2 (double check and look if the link sends you here)

there is a python script that makes QR codes based on the links. FreeQR code generators base on the 



Many QR code services offer to generate free QR codes temporarily. They accomplish this by creating a QR code that points to a link they control, which then redirects to your actual link. However, when you use this Python QR code generator, it encodes the actual characters of your link directly into the QR code. If you scan this QR code with your phone, you will see the original link in the preview, unlike "free" QR codes that use temporary redirect links. This method is more secure, reducing the risk of hijacking.
Instructions for Generating QR Codes

On Windows:
Install Python: Ensure Python is installed on your system. You can download it from the official Python website.


Install the qrcode library: Open Command Prompt (CMD) and run:
  1. css
    pip install qrcode[pil]
  2. Generate the QR Code: In CMD, use the following command, replacing YOUR_URL_HERE with the link you wish to encode:
    arduino
    python -m qrcode "YOUR_URL_HERE"

On Linux (Ubuntu):

Install Python and pip (if not already installed): Open Terminal and run:
  1. sql
    sudo apt update sudo apt install python3-pip
  2. Install the qrcode library: In the Terminal, execute:
    css
    pip3 install qrcode[pil]
  3. Generate the QR Code: In the Terminal, run the command below, substituting YOUR_URL_HERE with your desired link:
    arduino
    python3 -m qrcode "YOUR_URL_HERE"


By following these instructions, you can generate a more secure QR code directly from your computer, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of your original link.

Character Generator Studies: User Interface Libraries - Data Handling spells

 chatgpt cleaning up my ramblings. Which is an interesting dilemma - authenticity is being a rambling messy human with convoluted thought processes that is difficult to discern and filled with contradictions - but AI cleans it all up - makes it more understandable. It’s coherent, but the human isn’t.  If you can understand me - it’s either: it was a simple concept to begin with or the ai cleaned it up. 


As I venture deeper into the realms of coding through my latest project, a character generator for the Cepheus Engine, my understanding of JavaScript (JS), HTML, and CSS has expanded significantly. This project has not only served as a practical coding exercise but also as a fascinating exploration into how these technologies interweave to create dynamic and interactive web applications.


The Foundation: HTML, CSS, and JS


At its core, HTML acts as the skeleton, holding the data and the structure of the webpage. Then comes CSS, with its styling prowess, defining the aesthetics from the width and height of elements to the more nuanced details like border radii and shadows, infusing life into the HTML’s static structure.


JavaScript (JS), however, is where the magic truly happens. It introduces interactivity, holding the initial states of our characters and managing complex data structures. Through JS, characteristics such as species—be it Human or Starborn, adapted for life in habitats and ships—are meticulously detailed in objects and arrays, painting a vivid picture of the character’s attributes and potential journey.


The Challenge of JavaScript and Data Handling


JavaScript demands a nuanced understanding of how data is stored, manipulated, and transformed. It’s here that I’ve leaned heavily on ChatGPT, my invaluable guide through the labyrinth of functions and logic that underpin the character generation process. Understanding data handling in JS mirrors the complexities of logistics and quality control, where the sequence and order of information—or in a broader sense, “Material Handling”—significantly impacts outcomes and transformations. ChatGPT knows all the functions but it’s up to me to arrange the logic to make a working product. I had to start from scratch 3 other times. 


UI Libraries and Philosophical Musings

The next frontier in my coding journey is mastering User Interface (UI) libraries, particularly in navigating the intricacies of character creation stages. 

The multitude of decisions a player makes during this process raises intriguing philosophical questions about freedom versus determinism in storytelling. Is the path of a character shaped by autonomous choices, or is it predetermined by the cold logic of a random number generator?

React.js is a well known library. Searching with JS UI libraries gives a lot of libraries for more advanced users and I found React.js easier and since I have some open source coders in the philippines i can ask, I’m inclined to discuss these more with them. 


Expanding Horizons: Beyond Character Generation

The significance of UI extends beyond character creation. I’m exploring how to apply my newfound knowledge to other projects, such as static web apps for generating ships, vehicles, robots, and habitats, along with my silver-rated Mneme World Generator. These tools aim to make the game more accessible and streamline the setup process, enhancing the overall experience for players.

I think it’s possible to do it all myself, although the clean up work is going to a problem. It’s easier for me to understand the concepts and make working prototypes - and then hire one of the many students and teach them what I learned to the tedium of building every element. This will free me to have working tools and test them more - and then proceed to the next horizon: GODOT studies as a more visual set of tools is what I want to do. 


Getting into Godot by the time i’m in my 50s or late 40s because of real life - I wanted to be a game designer but of course real life and mediocre stats. I do a lot of projects that are for the greater good - like shifting businesses to open source so they can hire more staff instead of paying a lot of money to licenses - just moving a our business to Next Cloud (1M php or 20,000usd /year, inclusive of the full time regular staff that will help maintain it) from Google (2M php or 40,000usd/year) and showing to many MSMEs here in the philippines its doable and training a generation of OJTs to do the same thing we did for ourselves to others is an important part of my identity - these IT students entering the workforce where they will be doing just dumb-support for MS365 and GWS. instead they will help in pfsense wireguard, erpnext, next cloud, and of course arduino implementation. 

When you have mediocre stats you try more things and make more calculated bets, and you lose a lot. But when you do start winning, your low stats as compared to the Heroes means that you still make diversified bets. So i’ll be old barely scratching my dreams and in the limit scope of my circumstance. 


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

progress update : sick so I'm doing some simple JavaScript guided character gen

So I'm learning how to store values for the stats in cepheus engine gudied character gen https://github.com/justinaquinoGITB/CEguidedCHARgen240310

It begins with rolling dice but then it gets so complicated.

I have to identify all changing elements like name, terms, age and apparent age... Which I'll will change to physical age. then the species as well.

Then I discovered I have to break it up into stages - like pre-career stage . pre career is: identity, stats, home world, and starting skills. 

Then its how you drag and drop and make people allocate and choose.

Then there is the career which i don't know how to do. Yet.

So using AI to code is having someone who can do it and show you. But ultimately you need to understand how the codes/script and logic work to have a working product.

I find this easier than the networking projects I need to do but I'm too sick to do.

Monday, March 11, 2024

CE guided character generation: redid it again

I'm learning as I go. I'm also putting in as many comments as possible so that others can also learn. 
Cleaned it up. Made all the stats - from the name to species, homeworld, etc.. in the character summary. this sheet will be long as every Term will be a modular section that will be created 







Sunday, March 10, 2024

On a Whim - CE Guided Character Creation

I decided to just used chatgpt4 turbo to help me finish my side project and help me also document each portion in detail so when i eventually will have total amnesia again because so much time will have passed from the last time.  

This is the Github project of CE Guided Character Generation, and you can test it out so far here
I will be using the fixes we put in the Character Cards



I feel useless when I have a fever and chills, and its frustrating when your brain is half as effective. I might as well make something - a dumber me can make than wait for a smarter me to be back on line.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Mneme Research: What the rotation Speeds actually Look like

SPIN CALC spreadsheet - calcultes degress per frame

this uses blender 4.0 with 60fps 1920x1080 camera. Uploaded the new files and the files that contain the render settings if you want to reproduce this for your game.

One drive link to the Blender file -  240305 600m diamater Spin habitat.blend this is the 46mb file of the rings for the purpose of understanding what it really looks like. 







This is how each spin habitat appears to spin, assuming it is reaching the correct angular velocity or rotation speed to achieve 1G of gravity. 

This emphasizes the following in designing a spin habitat: 

1) that the spinning section is interior and there is a FIXED exterior (relative to the spinning interior). Crucial is that it minimizes resource and design reinforcement by only having less mass spin. 

2) The passageways are either outside the middle or one side. Otherwise, the center cannot be "Fixed." The center, unmoving, can be storage and SHIP docking, a key logistical place. It can also contain all the mass that will not be subjected to 1G—even some farms can be in the 0G interior. 

This rate of spin is such a big deal - it makes all the scifi  shows spin rates look off. 

Thanks to Anders Backman, in the Traveller RPG FB group,  to call out the mistake. 

without line-art

with lineart