• paid work open to anyone from professionals to amateurs.
  
  
• part-time with highly flexible hours (8-24 hours a week, any time of day, paying hourly).
  
  
• long-distance, work-from-home jobs; you are responsible for your own software.
  
  
• pretty casual but don't mistake that for a hobbyist project. I expect work to get done consistently to spec, on time, with revisions, etc.
  
  
• fully credited and immediately usable on your portfolio (even pre-launch). However, as per usual for freelance, all assets produced for Sky Riders belong to Pixelante because Pixelante is basically just me and I can't afford any legal shenanigans with a long-term project like this. Seriously, if you ask, I'd let you use your assets elsewhere anyways.
  

• - brainstorm, thumbnail, iterate and finalize the designs of 4 major NPCs.
  
• - sketch designs for numerous outfits and accessories that players can find and purchase.
  
• - create a full-body portait for each NPC to be used as marketing materials and in-game displays (PSD).
  
• - create a full-body portait for several representative riders for marketing materials (PSD).
  

• - brainstorm, thumbnail, iterate and finalize the designs of several towers.
  
• - create final images of each tower to be used as marketing materials and in-game displays (PSD).
  
• - design the basecamp lobby area (a tiny makeshift town with a couple of shops).
  

• - experiment with and establish a style that works in-game at low resolution with our animation system.
  
• - create many variations of each character part.
  

• - experiment with and establish a style that works in-game with a tile-based format.
  
• - create tilesets for several tower environments.
  
• - create additional decorative artwork for each tower.
  
• - create general game objects (traps, boosters, rails, etc.) for use in all areas.
  
• - create assets for the small basecamp lobby area.
  

• - brainstorm, thumbnail and iterate on logo design
  
• - produce final logo in a vector format (flash or illustrator)
  
• - create several clan emblems for in-game clans (vector or PSD)
  

• are very simple mathematically,
  
• have very fast collision routines,
  
• allow you to smoothly ease characters around corners.

• lines are more flexible and free form,
  
• line-circle collision is also easy and fast,
  
• boxes can be made with four lines anyways.

//First, here's the most basic texture sampling shader you can get

fragmentShader = "tex oc, v1, fs0 2d,repeat,linear"; //sample texture and output RGB



//Here's what it looks like un-multiplied

fragmentShader = 

"tex ft0, v1, fs0 2d,repeat,linear \n" + //sample texture

"div ft0.rgb, ft0.rgb, ft0.a \n" +  // un-premultiply png

"mov oc, ft0" //output fixed RGB

• a) Download and install the Flash Player 11 Beta 2 32-bit Content Debugger for whichever browser you want to work with (there is no 64-bit debug version).
  
  
• b) From the same page, download the Flash Player 11 Beta 2 Global SWC and then rename it to "playerglobal.swc".
  
  
• c) Download and extract Vizzy, a free tool which will let you capture trace() calls from within the browser so you can do basic debugging.
  
  
• d) Download this XML file (right click and Save As...)

• a) Open your Flash Pro installation directory.
  example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS5.5
  
  
• b) Navigate to ...\Common\Configuration\ActionScript 3.0 and create a new folder named "FP11beta2".
  
  
• c) Place the playerglobal.swc file from step 1b into the "FP11beta2" folder you just made.
  
  
• d) Place the XML file you downloaded in step 1d into ...\Common\Configuration\Players
  
  
• e) If you used any name other than "FP11beta2" for step 2c, open the XML file and adjust this line:
  playerDefinitionPath as2="..." as3="$(AppConfig)/ActionScript 3.0/FP11beta2/playerglobal.swc" /

• a) Flash Player 11 Beta 2 should now appear as an option in the Publish Settings of your FLA.
  
  
• b) Select that option, make sure Flash is set to export an HTML file as well, and build the project.
  
  
• c) If it throws errors during the build process: double-check you've followed all instructions correctly so far.
  If it builds but crashes immediately from a "VerifyError": you're fine, move on to the next step.
  If it builds correctly and runs: you're either fine or magic, move on to the next step.
  
  
• d) So now you've successfully built a SWF for Flash Player 11 but Flash Pro won't run it once you start mucking with Context3D and you don't have a standalone player either, so instead open that HTML file you just published in step 3b.
  
  
• e) If it runs: you're fine, move on to the next step. Otherwise? *shrug*
  
  
• f) We need to modify the HTML file so Flash can actually use your GPU for hardware acceleration.
  First, turn off the HTML option in Publish Settings from now on so it never gets overwritten.
  Now open the HTML file in any editor and set all 'wmode' parameters to the value 'direct'.
  
  
• g) Before you go test it, boot up Vizzy. No special configuration or installation; just start it up.
  
  
• h) When you run your SWF, Vizzy should automatically pick up any trace() calls and errors, and Context3D.driverInfo should be able to list your video card and the renderer being used (DirectX/OpenGL).
  

• If Vizzy isn't picking up any traces, make sure you installed the Content Debugger version of the flash player in step 1a and not the release versions.
  
  
• If driverInfo says you're in software mode, check the HTML and make sure wmode is ALWAYS set to 'direct'.
  
  
• If that doesn't help, make sure you aren't running any browser extensions that change the wmode when you load the page. HoverZoom on Chrome caused problems for me, it's likely not the only one.
  
  
• If that doesn't help, try a different browser.
  
  
• If that doesn't help, contact Adobe with your OS/Video Card/Browser versions so they can work on better compatibility.
  
  
• If that doesn't help, throw a hissy-fit and run down the street naked.

• prevent rendering errors when viewing surfaces at severe angles
  
• increase performance on distance objects

/*Note: All code is by McFunkyPants (http://www.mcfunkypants.com)



Keep an eye out for his upcoming book on Stage3D game programming, too!*/



public function uploadTextureWithMipmaps(dest:Texture, src:BitmapData):void

{

    var ws:int = src.width;

    var hs:int = src.height;

    var level:int = 0;

    var tmp:BitmapData;

    var transform:Matrix = new Matrix();



    tmp = new BitmapData(src.width, src.height, true, 0x00000000);



    while ( ws >= 1 && hs >= 1 )

    { 

        tmp.draw(src, transform, null, null, null, true); 

        dest.uploadFromBitmapData(tmp, level);

        transform.scale(0.5, 0.5);

        level++;

        ws >>= 1;

        hs >>= 1;

        if (hs && ws) 

        {

            tmp.dispose();

            tmp = new BitmapData(ws, hs, true, 0x00000000);

        }

    }

    tmp.dispose();

}



private function init_texture(bmp:Bitmap):Texture

{

    var tex:Texture;

    tex = context3D.createTexture(bmp.width, bmp.height, Context3DTextureFormat.BGRA, false);

    uploadTextureWithMipmaps(tex, bmp.bitmapData);

    return tex;

}

temporary placeholder logo

• Race up mysterious towers that grow ever higher as you touch the heavens with jet-powered skyblades.
  
  
• Combine the frantic speed of Sonic, the fluid parkour of Mirror's Edge, and the technical skill of Meat Boy.
  
  
• Customize your play-style by tuning skyblades and collecting gear like grappling hooks, nitros and gliders.
  
  
• Enter daily competitions or form clans to challenge other teams for influence on the global scale.
  
  
• Compete with speed, style or endurance.
  

Mood board for characters. Sources: Air Gear, Jet Set Radio

/* #1. create a Texture from some BitmapData */

import flash.display.BitmapData;

import flash.display3D.Context3D;

import flash.display3D.textures.Texture;



var bdata:BitmapData; //assume we already have image data in here

var context:Context3D; //assume we have a rendering context



var tex:Texture = context.createTexture(bdata.width, bdata.height, "bgra", false); //ask the rendering context for a Texture object

tex.uploadFromBitmapData(bdata); //upload out texture to the GPU







/* #2. Create a Texture from an image file in the library (Flash Pro) */

import flash.display3D.Context3D;

import flash.display3D.textures.Texture;

import flash.utils.getQualifiedClassName;



var context:Context3D; //assume we have a rendering context

var X:uint, Y:uint; //assume we know the dimensions of the image we'll be using



var c:Class = getDefinitionByName('myImage.png') as Class; //get the image file's class name from the library 

var tex:Texture = context.createTexture(X, Y, "bgra", false); //ask the rendering context for a Texture object

t.uploadFromBitmapData(new c()); //create the BitmapData from the library class and upload it



/* Note: you can store 'new c()' in a BitmapData variable

and then use .width and .height if you don't know X and Y */







/* #3 Tell the GPU which Texture to render with */

context.setTextureAt(0, tex); //this Texture is now 'fs0' in the fragment shader. Simple!







/* #4 Sample the texture in your fragment shader */

"tex oc, v1, fs0 2d,repeat,linear" //sample texture (fs0) using UV coordinates (v1)



//Note: 'repeat' allows you to tile textures on a surface while 'clamp' locks the texture to the 0-1 UV range

• Texture swapping is expensive; group models that share the same texture so you only need to swap once for the whole group.
  
  
• If you have an animated character, put all their frames in the same texture sheet ('sprite sheet') and adjust the UV coordinates to point to the right section rather than using a bunch of separate image files.
  
  
• If possible, combine textures for environments as well, or just try to use the same textures on as much as you can get away with (you can even combine textures in a BitmapData at load time!).
  
  
• Always make your texture sizes are powers of two (e.g. 256x256). GPUs are designed to take advantage of these numbers for extra performance.
  
  
• Keep your texture size as low as possible! Painting textures at high resolution is a good idea, but always scale them down as far as you can stand before exporting them from Photoshop (or whatever you use). You'd be surprised how small you can get things before losing detail!
  
  
• Don't waste rendering power; use different fragment shaders for textures that are fully opaque and textures that have transparency. You can even use BitmapData.transparent (boolean) to check for alpha transparency data dynamically!
  
  
• Use 'repeat' in fragment shader texture sampling to save on performance (render one model with a tiling texture vs. multiple models with the same texture) and load time/file size (one small texture repeated vs. a large texture)
  

/* First we'll set up lighting constants for the fragment shader */

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 0, Vector.([0,0,0,0])); //fc0, for clamping negative values to zero

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 1, Vector.([0.25,0.25,0.25,0])); //fc1, ambient lighting (1/4 of full intensity)



//key light

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 2, Vector.([0.37, 0.56, 0.74, 1])); //fc2, INVERSE light direction

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 3, Vector.([0.9,0.9,0.9,1])); //fc3, light color & intensity



//fill light

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 4, Vector.([-0.82, 0.41, 0.41,1])); //fc4, INVERSE light direction

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 5, Vector.([0.6,0.5,0.4,1])); //fc5, light color & intensity



//backlight

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 6, Vector.([0, -0.1, -1,1])); //fc6, INVERSE light direction

context.setProgramConstantsFromVector("fragment", 7, Vector.([0.2,0.25,0.3,1])); //fc7, light color & intensity



/* Our vertexbuffers are set up like so */

context.setVertexBufferAt(0, vertexbuffer, 0, "float3"); //va0 (x,y,z)

context.setVertexBufferAt(1, vertexbuffer, 3, "float3"); //va1 (normalx,normaly,normalz)

context.setVertexBufferAt(2, vertexbuffer, 6, "float2"); //va2 (u,v)



/* Assume these matrices have been set up with values already. */

var proj:PerspectiveMatrix3D; //the perspective

var view:Matrix3D; //the camera

var mod:Matrix3D; //the model



/* Set up our vertex transformation constant */

view.append(proj);

var modview:Matrix3D = mod.clone();

modview.append(view);

context.setProgramConstantsFromMatrix("vertex", 0, modview, true); //vc0



/* Set up our normal transformation constant */

var invmat:Matrix3D = mod.clone();

invmat.transpose();

invmat.invert();

context.setProgramConstantsFromMatrix("vertex", 4, invmat, true); //vc4



/* make sure you set a texture. I'll write a quick tutorial about creating Texture's later */

context.setTextureAt(0, modelTexture);



/* vertex shader is the same as before and quite simple */

vertexShader = 

"m44 vt0, va0, vc0 \n"+ 	//transform vertex x,y,z

"mov op, vt0 \n"+ 			//output vertex x,y,z

"m44 v1, va1, vc4 \n"+		//transform vertex normal, send to fragment shader

"mov v2, va2";				//move vertex u,v to fragment shader



/* Now the real work: going through each light (including ambient) and adding all of their effects together.

Note the reuse of temporary registers (especially ft1) in this shader. Why are we doing this?

Temporary registers are limited in number so if you don't reuse them you will run out! */

fragmentShader = 

"nrm ft0.xyz, v1 \n"+		//normalize the fragment normal (v1)

"mov ft0.w, fc0.w \n"+		//set the w component to 0

"tex ft2, v2, fs0 2d,clamp,linear \n"+ 	//sample texture (fs0) using uv coordinates (v2)



"dp3 ft1, fc2, ft0 \n"+		//dot the transformed normal (ft0) with key light direction (fc2)

"max ft1, ft1, fc0 \n"+		//clamp any negative values to 0

"mul ft1, ft2, ft1 \n"+		//multiply original fragment color (ft2) by key light amount (ft1)

"mul ft3, ft1, fc3 \n"+		//multiply new fragment color (ft1) by key light color (fc3)



"dp3 ft1, fc4, ft0 \n"+		//dot the transformed normal (ft0) with fill light direction (fc4)

"max ft1, ft1, fc0 \n"+		//clamp any negative values to 0

"mul ft1, ft2, ft1 \n"+		//multiply original fragment color (ft2) by fill light amount (ft1)

"mul ft4, ft1, fc5 \n"+		//multiply new fragment color (ft1) by fill light color (fc5)



"dp3 ft1, fc6, ft0 \n"+		//dot the transformed normal (ft0) with back light direction (fc6)

"max ft1, ft1, fc0 \n"+		//clamp any negative values to 0

"mul ft1, ft2, ft1 \n"+		//multiply original fragment color (ft2) by back light amount (ft1)

"mul ft5, ft1, fc7 \n"+		//multiply new fragment color (ft1) by back light color (fc7)



"add ft1, ft3, ft4 \n"+		//add together first two light results (ft3, ft4)

"add ft1, ft5, ft1 \n"+		//add on third light result (ft5)

						

"mul ft2, ft2, fc1 \n"+		//multiply original fragment color (ft2) by ambient light intensity and color (fc1)

"add oc, ft2, ft1"			//add ambient light result (ft2) to combined three-light result (ft1) and output

• “Leechers” join parties and steal EXP while not contributing to the team.
  
• Victims of leeching gradually trend towards solo play.
  
• Split EXP often results in slow progress, driving even more players to solo play.
  
• Hostility increases as players try increasingly hard to avoid one another.
  

• How do you stand out as an individual when everything you say is taken on behalf of an entire gender?
  
• How do you encourage equality in the industry when half of us can't publicly talk to the other half without everything going to hell?
  
• How do you get taken seriously when every response is about your gender instead of what you said?
  
• How do you feel comfortable interacting with your peers when everything you do incites sexist flamewars against both genders by no fault of your own?
  
• How do you like knowing that any one nutcase in the industry can decide anything on your behalf and people will believe and defend her against your will?
  

• If you're a woman, stop labelling your opinions as "a woman's opinion". You're a human being.
  
• If you're a woman, criticize other women who claim to speak for you. You're an individual.
  
• If you're a man, stop rushing to verbally murder anyone who responds in any way to a woman on the internet. You're not a knight in shining armour; you're annoying.
  
• If you're a man, stop stereotyping your own gender. Don't ask "why are we all so stupid?" just counter-act the idiots by not acting like one.