Digit 7

January 12

Final Build of Blackjack Simulator
I've released the final build of my blackjack simulator. It's gotten to a point where I'm happy with the final product and feel that putting any more effort into it would just be a waste of time. It handles the scenarios I wanted to test and that's all I needed. If you want a full-out blackjack simulator, there are existing programs out there which cover every counting method imaginable and every rule variation thinkable.

I'm not quite sure what I'll move on to next, but it shouldn't take me long to figure that out.


9:05 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

January 07

Blackjack Simulator Build 2
Released a new build for the application. See the download page for what's new.


9:11 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

January 02

Blackjack Simulator Up for Download
I've finally finished the first version of the blackjack simulator. I wrote up a hefty article explaining how to use it. Keep in mind that it was written with a utilitarian purpose: to analyze playing styles for 21 and see what the long-term returns are. There's no fancy graphical interface or anything like that, just a text-based game log.

Enjoy!


4:37 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

December 19

One more thing...
I recently watched 21 (great movie, you should see it if you haven't already) and thought it would be pretty fun to make a black jack simulation. You'll be able to play with several computer players. There will be two types of computer players: one's that randomly guess, and others that count cards. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.


1:14 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

December 18

Updates
Hey all,

Just wanted everyone to know I'm still alive. Build 3 of the physics simulator is coming along slowly but surely. I expect to finish up all of the additions sometime in January. Finals are in full swing right now and X-mas is coming up so I'm a little crunched for time. Here's a list of features I'm making sure get released

- Collision bugs fixed
- Recording experiment data to a text file
- Improved user interface for editing properties of objects (much simpler code too)
- Rotational dynamics
- Resting contact
- More properties for rigid bodies: Momentum and Kinetic Energy
- Visualization of forces on objects
- Shadowing
- Materials: Each object can be assigned a specific material which has a density, coefficient of restitution and coefficients of  static and kinetic friction.
- Overall optimization of the code

And if anyone is was wondering, I removed the glossary. I never updated it and I figured if you wanted to know what something was, Google or Wikipedia would have a much better answer :). Anyways, I'll keep you updated as things come along.

Cheers,
Dan



5:28 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

December 01

3D Physics Simulator Build 2
I've added the most recent build of my 3D Physics simulator in the downloads section. Check it out!


11:21 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

November 25

Fixed Download Problems
I've had quite a few people coming to me with complaints about my applications not running on their machines. I've finally narrowed this down to the fact that they don't have the required .NET Framework (3.5) installed nor the XNA 3.1 redistributable. I've now included links to these on the downloads page.

You will also need a graphics card capable of running Shader Model l 2.0 and higher.

Hope this fixes issues for most of you. If any other problems arise, please let me know via email.


4:09 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

November 14

3D Physics Simulator Available in Downloads Section
I've posted the code for my physics simulator in the downloads section. I'll be improving that and adding features as time goes on (more frequently than my tutorials, I promise) so stay tuned.

The Development Blog has also been removed. I moved the 2D physics engine there to the Downloads section as well with the code available for download.

Enjoy!


7:22 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

November 07

3D Physics Engine
Lately I've started work on a 3D physics engine. I plan on releasing my code so far in a few days once I have something fairly watertight running. Some features so far are:
- Elasticity of objects
- Collision detection
- Elastic connections (springs and ropes)
- Gravity
- Friction within elastic connections

I'll also try to write a few tutorials describing the math and physics behind what I've done. I'll try and write as much as time allows.


3:28 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

October 09

Texturing Tutorial Up!
Well I've finally motivated myself enough to write up the texturing tutorial. From here on out I'll be covering more advanced topics. Next on my list is explaining how that rim shader works. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it. It allows you to give a nice soft glow around the edges of your objects. If you get fancy enough with it, you can give an object a pulsing glow, allowing some item in the game world to attract the attention of the user.

Once agian, if you come across any errors or anything, send me an e-mail at dan@digitseven.com.

Enjoy!


1:29 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)