TXP-Network College Update :: 02/20/16

Hey guys! What's Up on the U-Box?!?

How was your week? Your month? Your previous year? Weird questions, right? Until you realize that I've been pretty much offline for most of 2016, post-January so far. As such, I have a lot of catching up to do. Let's start with somethings that would be more important to you, the users and viewers.

- TXP-Cloud is in danger of being halted/cancelled - again. And TXP-Go! is dead for now. Pretty sad stuff, right?

TXP-Cloud was pretty difficult to accommodate for, and originally, it was planned that it would be killed off by the end of last year. But, due to a chain of circumstances, that pretty much edge on being miraculous, TXP-Cloud was made possible for the long-term.

TXP-Cloud was conceived around the same time that the TXP-Network was undergoing major changes and updates. During this particular update, the websites for TXP-Network SWD, TXP-Technologies, The ReadingRoom 101, and TXP-MC World Series were all being given new life. In the past, all of these websites were made in custom HTML 4, and were designed to be static pages that were read from top to bottom. They were also hosted on GrendelHosting, and made use of a great deal of external scripts to operate (ex. the js navigation drop-down menu, the 3D photo gallery, etc.)
During the update, however, these websites were transferred to HTML 5 templates (HTML5Up), and moved to Freezoy. The host that was originally planned for TXP-Cloud, due to the loose limitations and decent programming environment, was GrendelHosting. However, in an effort to simplify managing all websites simultaneously, TXP-Cloud was sent over to Freezoy as well - it didn't go over too well. As a result, TXP-Cloud was sent back to GrendelHosting, causing for the TXP-Network sub-domains to be slightly different (.freezoy.com versus .grn.cc).
Freezoy was (and still is) good for websites that require very little data storage, and are simply viewed, rather than those that work off of interaction and dynamic data exchange (cloud platform). As such, TXP-Cloud and TXP-Go! would obviously do better with GrendelHosting, which had fewer restrictions on what could and couldn't be hosted on their servers. This worked for a while, but won't work for much longer. GrendelHosting is dying.
As such, TXP-Cloud and TXP-Go! (two major TXP-Network websites) have to be moved to new locations by the beginning of March. As of now, all websites are down for updates and maintenance, and there;s no telling when they'll be going back up. In relation to those who may ask, "Why not InfinityFree?", here is an unsent snippet of my experience with them (not as good as GrendelHosting - never going back):

Dear InfinityFree,
As you have stated before, GrendelHosting is going away in a few weeks. As such, I have attempted to move one of my websites from GrendelHosting servers to the new InfinityFree servers. However, this is proving to be a bit problematic, to say the least. In the past, while using GrendelHosting, my websites rarely went down, and when they did go down, I was usually given a reason for why it had gone down. In addition to this, GrendelHosting also had expedient customer service, which made it easy to communicate with them and fix any issues that they had with my website(s). As such, I have hosted around 5-6 websites with them in the past. Now, due to changes in how I provide content on the internet, things have changed. TXP-Cloud is one of my main websites, and as such, I would like for it to stick around for a while. But, with the way it's been going so far, it's getting more and more difficult to keep all of my websites online - especially when I get an e-mail that goes like this:

Dear user,

Your InfinityFree account with username ************* has been suspended! Your website is currently offline and control panel functionality has been limited severely.
The following reason was reported for your suspension:

NO_COMMENTS_GIVEN

If you want to request reactivation, please send an e-mail to ###################. Be sure to include your account username ************* and to state clearly that this is regarding an account suspension.

Thank you for using our services,
InfinityFree
www.infinityfree.net


**Please note the following line:**
"NO_COMMENTS_GIVEN"

How am I supposed to know what I've done wrong? Things like this force me to initiate redundancy systems:

http://txp-cloud.grn.ccc/
http://txp-cloud.heliohost.org/

In addition to this, I had to wait 1-2 days for a customer service response, which left any website visitors I had with no service or information about my service for 2-3 days (my website is still down). I'm a fulltime college student, and have lot's of things to manage besides this website (which is one of over 10 that I currently manage). But TXP-Cloud means a lot to me - I can't just let this go. I've been working with the following webhosts over the years:

Webs
Weebly
Zymic
GrendelHosting
X10Hosting
Freezoy
HelioHost

And possibly others that I can't recall at the moment. All of these web-hosts provided two things in common - expedient response channels and plainly-delineated rules/limitations. When I mention rules/limitations, I am referring to what I am and am not allowed to do with my website at any given time. I was having noticeable issues with FTP transfers when uploading my website, and as a result, never finished moving all files. Then, mid-transfer, the website suddenly stopped working - no transfers were allowed, and the index.html file did not display when I went to the website URL. Disruptions like this make it difficult to move websites, especially when there's a time limit. I hope that we can agree on that. As such, I am forced to reconsider my hosting options, in an effort to provide a seamless service. I would like to stay on InfinityFree - but in order to do so, the type of ambitiousness observed above needs to stop. This is something I've never encountered before from the web-hosts I mentioned above. Please, work with me instead of against me.

Internet Content Provider,
TopHatProductions115

As you can see, since I didn't even send this in, I have already lost my patience for this particular web-host. In fact, this is pretty much the only web-host that has done me in like this before. And, to add insult to injury, the only reason this was ever resolved  was due to my Freezoy account - somehow (not to my knowledge), the Freezoy account I had had for years was now linked to the InfinityFree account I had just made one day ago. At this point, issues with the InfinityFree account had effects that trickled over to my previously well-to-do Freezoy account. The account that had had no issues for months on end. Come to find out, InfinityFree and Freezoy use the same service provider, which caused for both of my unsuspecting accounts to be linked - without me knowing it. This caused for a lot of website shutdowns recently, and put me on edge, to say the least. The Freezoy account, and its decent customer service, saved my tail when InfinityFree came crashing down.
I'm just glad I didn't give them a dollar or two for online services. But, I digress. Currently, I'm working to see if I can somehow get TXP-Cloud hosted on Freezoy. It will be difficult (if not impossible), but I want to have something that I provide at some point, instead of just being another voice on the interwebs. :) With the way things are going right now, TXP-Go! may have to be pushed back to 2018. In other words, during my time in college, one of my web-hosts died. Now, I have to react - before I loose my websites (TXP-Cloud and TXP-Go!). And I still haven't updated any of the websites since December 2015 - thanks in part to InfinityFree for the unsightly delay. Playing catch-up isn't fun...

Now for point two...

- I answer questions and do discussions on the internet - hit me up on a request sometime!
https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=hit%20me%20up

I answer questions on the following websites:

Stack Exchange
http://stackexchange.com/users/2245068/tophatproductions115

Quora
https://www.quora.com/profile/TopHatProductions115

ComicVine
http://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/tophatproductions115/

PhysicsForum (someone may be interested in the site that I only posted on once a year until 2014?)
https://www.physicsforums.com/members/thp115.458460/

Science Forum (another abandoned interest that never really took off)
http://www.scienceforums.net/user/112168-tophatproductions115/

CodeCall Forums (the site I went to while I was actively programming in more than 5 languages)
http://forum.codecall.net/user/51561-tophatprodxns115/

CNet (where my tech interest began - n00b years)
http://www.cnet.com/profiles/tophatproductions115/#forum-posts

Last point -

- I haven't been on YouTube in a while - sorry for he delayed content season :(

Due to the issues delineated above, in addition to the approaching midterms, I have had little time for fun. Heck, even my friends on Skype haven't heard from me. But I'm not dead, and I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. There. But the content season will have to wait - maybe late February (29th)? I'll see if I can do the following - the new Transformers mod, the latest 1.9 update (I did a blog post about this weeks ago), a new Map (with TreeHugger10 and others) and possibly, some WynnCraft. I say WynnCraft with a heavy if - things have changed on that server, and the mods were not of much help. But I, as a TXP-MC member, think we can make the best of a situation handed to us. The new system is a bit strange, so we will have to learn the following:

1) What are the 4 new reserved slots for? **
1a) How does a player use them? **
2) Do Liquid Emeralds still work/apply? **
2a) Can they be converted/used at banks? **
3) Our Skill Points were reset, and we was given 35 or so points when I entered the Update Room
- Is this the amount of points we had before, or a fixed/default amount?
4) Our Items were all reset, and we had to re-Identify whatever we could afford. We also lost all Powder Effects.
- Should item re-Identification cause loss of previous Effects? **
- How will Powders work in the next Update (heard that they were being worked on currently)?
5) Since the Update, all of our armor is also unusable.
- Is this normal?
- Should we re-Identify this as well, or start from scratch?
6) We heard that there was a supposed lag issue - this includes me.
- Are there any optimizations you could suggest for our computers during gameplay?
7) Should we start a new class instead of trying to redo everything we had before? **

As such, answering these questions will allow us to adapt to the newer WynnCraft. Please keep in mind that some of these questions have already been answered **. I may be discussiong those in an upcoming video about the new WynnCraft servers. If you have any questions, be sure to hit TXP-MC up when the site comes back again - or try my business e-mail (posted on the YouTube page). I may also do some other videogames over Easter and Spring break if all goes as planned - but don't count on it. :(

I believe that constitutes the majority of what I meant to mention. I'll cover other things in the upcoming TXP-Network update.

Oh - remember this? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVpLUvZlHWw
TeamXtreme still doesn't work on Windows 10, and TXP-MC will be providing a download link for an alternative in a few days.

Until then, here is the alternate download:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B98YR-Jm_dNAcnFvZDhVaXNoZDQ/view?usp=sharing

Peace! :)

TopHatProductions115 - 2016

A New Channel to Check Out!

Hey!

What's Up On The U-Box?

It's been a while, and the new content season starts today! But, to kick off the new season, I give you a channel or two that you can watch during your favourite content creator's downtime:

DanCo

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJpVnYQic-ikcJfGMJwMMeg/featured

FantasticRileyTv (FantasticProductions)

http://fantastictvproductions.webs.com/

AwSomeTree10 (TreeHugger10)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6f3s2uCw3LKIT6iaooBOxQ

For more, just head to the TopHat homepage and look through the featured channels!

Keep it Cool!

What I'd Like to See in Minecraft 1.9

Yesterday, I wrote a post about the new combat update and what I liked, overall, about it. Today, I'll give a list of changes and additions I'd like to see inGame. Please bear inMind that these suggestions were compiled from various resources from across the internet, and personal gaming experience. Props to Reddit, props to PvP'rs, props to builders. Let's start with changes:

- CobWebs should catch certain items. Seriously.
- Boats should never have required shovels.
- Boats should never be faster onLand than a sprinting player. Logic.
- Sneaking should not cost you hunger. Ever.
- Lapiz is overrated. Kill it. It's a gimmick.
- Enchantments inGeneral need an overhaul. Start with adjustments to Strength and Power enchants.
- Please mark the spawnpoint again. I want to remember where I spawned.
- Where's my Sky Dimension?

Now, for the additions:

- New structures and dungeons (more variable adventure elements).
- New mobs (bosses mainly).
- Adventure log that tracks your coordinates (not forced to F3 constantly).
- Strafing and dodging for players and mobs. Double tap directional keys to strafe/dodge in the given direction. Sprint stays the same (tap and hold).
- Better blocking - also, please improve hit boxes. Critical hit enhancements are nice too.
- New projectile physics that account for movement of the projectile's source (for bows and throwables).
- We want crossbows (new weapons), and we want straighter projectile paths (new enchantment).
- Armor damage zones - a hit to the torso does not damage my helmet.
- Minimal weapons cooldown - limit spamming, while not disabling the player (hordes are already dangerous enough).
- New weapons - long sword, short sword, dagger, spear, bow staff, battle axe, war hammer. We wants destructive power.
- Can XP be used to repair selected items in Inventory? Would be nice...
- Backpacks? Portable Crafting Tables?
- Server lag and ping issues should not affect PvP the way it currently does. It hurts the multiplayer experience.
- Dual Wielding (and dominant hand preference). No confusion here.
- A more generally-Unified combat experience, as outlined in my previous blog post.

The 1.9 Update - Why I Won't Be Reviewing Any Further SnapShots

Hi, again! As you may or may not know, I did a review of a snapshot for the upcoming Minecraft 1.9 update last autumn (one of the earlier snapshots - August):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71gxG_CrdAA

A few months later, J626w and I were playing around with some new mechanics and items added in a somewhat later snapshot (around November 2015 - no video of this).

In the original review, I remember noting the following:

- New damage animations for when you hit and kill mobs

- New building blocks and bricks - Purpur, Prismarine, End, etc.

- New items - Banners, EnderDragon head (Redstone powered), etc.

- New mobs - EndMites, Shulkers, etc.

- New effects and enchantment options - levitation (for players), effects for arrows, etc.

- New Combat Mechanics - Sword-andShield combination, Use of both hands, etc.

Keep in mind, I had to cover as much as possible in this review. It may have been a bit boring, but it was done this way to ensure that I wasn’t skipping anything. In retrospect, I liked most of the new update - it was enjoyable, and added a lot to the overall game experience. New arrow effects made long-range weapons way more versatile, and now they aren’t just offensive weapons. They can be used for marking and close-range tracking, illuminating targets even through blocks! The new mobs added a degree of difficulty to the game in the End department, making the fight against the EnderDragon more difficult and more strategy-based. Oh - and the EnderDragon head is a nice trophy for anyone who slays the EnderDragon in unadulterated Survival game-mode. The new building blocks added more creative possibility to the game and also gives players a bit more reason to go into the End, rather than altogether avoiding it. In addition to this, new tweaks to effects and potions have aided in balancing gameplay and PvP - a great touch to the multiplayer aspect of the game. Oh - did I also mention that you can change the color of your shields? Nice, right? 

Oh wait, there’s more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IeA9OqUpNg

LogDotZip, in September 2015, delineates more of 1.9’s creative aspect - with more emphasis on weapons and armors. Customized weapons are now an inGame feature, not requiring mods. They can even have customized textures. But, there’s even more to this update.

Remember J626w? Yes - it was during this multiplayer session that I was introduced to the new flight mechanics! Players can now play around with gliding - we can has wings (well, Elytra, but still)! Here’s what Mumbo Jumbo had to say about them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFHTdi1brGs

On a side note, boats got wrecked, so that left a bit of sour in my mouth, but flying made up for that entirely. But, we can use both hands now - Sword and Shield combinations allow for attack and defense-based fighting, and we can even hold two swords at once. But hold your horses - you can’t dual-wield! 

#NoDualWieldersAllowed

I digress, I still liked the rest of the update, and that can be fixed later.

But, there was one thing that always irked me - since my first snapshot review for Minecraft 1.9. While most of the new Combat changes were pretty decent in nature, the addition of the new attack-charging system was underwhelming at best. It has it’s upsides and downsides (as all changes do), but this one has mainly one huge downside, overturning any positive changes it may have produced. With the new combat system, you have a new bar onScreen - a charge bar, if you will. This bar is connected to a new ability - players can now do charged attacks (with some obvious delay), putting obvious emphasis on dodging and timing attacks. While this new bar adds a strategy aspect to the game, it also depletes when you perform attacks and take damage. At first, it seems almost expected - it’s similar to a stamina bar, right? Well, no. 

Firstly, it’s only connected to combat - it’s more of just a charge bar than a full-out stamina bar. More about it here:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/08/20/minecraft-combat-update-1-9/

 Also, the more the bar depletes, the less power each subsequent attack will have. It’s a good concept, but it runs out all too quickly, and has one other obvious defect - it’s separate from hunger, and it’s not stamina. What is it? It only serves as a limit on how often you can attack in any given time - good luck trying to hold off more than one enemy at once. It’s more of a annoyance-based hindrance than a strategy aspect. It has no apparent connection to existing mechanics other than combat, and simply leaves the player vulnerable to hordes. Unfortunately, after this update, it appears as though I was (and still am)* better at sword fighting than Steve when it comes to endurance and overall power-on-impact.

*By the way, that was nearly a year ago, when I was beginning to learn swordplay for the first time - I haven’t practiced since. 

Fighting against multiple enemies simultaneously has become pretty much a fool’s move in this new context (the new snapshot), and staying out at night or in caves becomes more of an unnecessary risk - especially when players like I, know how to strip mine well enough that we never really need to encounter caves. We can get everything without specifically seeking out a cave or abandoned mineshaft. The only exception to this would be in wanting to find a dungeon - but seriously, that just helps my case. The mob spawner would overwhelm you in single-player. We can pretty much give up playing in hardcore as well - hordes become way more common in this game-mode. The only reason that I wouldn’t be affected by this would be due to how I situate my houses in Survival - they’re always at least 8-10 blocks off the ground, and have a dirt patio attached to the side, for growing trees and wheat. The only thing I have to leave the house for is stone - oh wait, cobblestone generator anyone? The only thing I need to leave my sky house for is metal, and I'll never need that if I stay airborne. I can get that through strip mining (placing torches every-so-often), allowing me to avoid the mobs almost entirely. 

But back to my main point - the new ‘charge bar’ will not make Minecraft any better. It just causes players to avoid one challenge, while loosing access to an aspect of gameplay that was previously more enjoyable. The ‘charge bar’ just becomes another thing onScreen to watch, detracting from the actual focus of performing combat. It has no value itself. It adds no value to the Minecraft experience. In fact, it subtracts value. With this, I now offer a suitable fix for the observed issue, as proposed and delineated by Captain_Quacer of Reddit:

“I think a stamina bar would add more to the strategy of Minecraft then this charge attacking thing. Stamina should be depleted from any act, but running takes the most, and jumping and fighting a little more then standard attack. Hunger kind of acts as a stamina indirectly. So hunger would no longer be lost directly by your activity, but rather for recharging the stamina bar.”

Reddit User: Capain_Quacer

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/3is4jz/stamina_bar_should_be_in_19_not_this_charging/

As you can see, this would link the loss in offensive and defensive effectiveness to an existing mechanic, and unify what would be scattered in the snapshot implementation. Instead of running and jumping, taxing the hunger bar, and combat depleting the ‘charge bar’, all physical activity directly affects the Stamina bar. Refilling the Stamina bar (a logical metaphor to metabolism IRL) then taxes the hunger bar. While the Stamina bar can be refilled on-the-go, the Hunger bar needs to be filled, as usual, by having the player ‘eat’. One is short-term, the other is long term. This is how some of us think this issue should be handled. Others of us would like for this to be done away with completely. And for this, I offer the following - make the new Combat update an optional change. In other words, ship it with the final product, and allow players to have it either turned on or off. This would cater to a wide variety of players, and leave the game unscathed. As it stands, however, I already know some players who won’t be updating to the latest version when 1.9 comes out. This is a problem that only Mojang can solve. Now is NOT the time to make a useless void that mod creators have to fill. Mods should be used for creativity - not for fixing fundamental game mechanics that could have been handled better by Mojang.

With this, I end my tirade.

TopHat, signing out.

Edit:: New Combat Strategy for 1.9 Environment

http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/recent-updates-and-snapshots/2508902-why-most-are-hating-1-9?comment=10

Edit:: New FollowUp Post for the next Snapshot

http://tophatproductions115.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-i-like-to-see-in-minecraft-19.html

Update :: 1/11/16 (re-Post)

Hey!

For the past season or two, most of the content has been posted to YouTube and other major mirrors across the web. Please be sure to check the official blog for updates and possible uploads for specific websites. DeviantART is due for a group of five uploads this Spring. If you have been watching YouTube or the BlogSpot, you will know that the next season starts in the Spring. We skipped the Winter sub-season this year, and have extended our Winter Intermission period to allow for time for the recent New Year's LiveStreams, V.O.S. development, and planning for the upcoming content season on YouTube and Twitch (this has to come back soon). In addition to this, new electronic equipment has also been acquired - we will be testing and reviewing these devices soon. In addition to this, they will also be used for future videos, such as mobile gaming and app testing. Website updates for all major TXP-Network websites are scheduled for late Spring 2016. V.O.S. development is scheduled to enter beta testing December of this year. Stay Tuned for more...

To all of you who aren't on break for any reason, I'm there with you. I have to do homework and study content through the break. Can't wait for a real break, like the summer or winter vacation getaway (this coming year)! 

For all of you who do have a break, enjoy it - school is coming (or has already come back in-session). Do your best - final stretch to the summer...

In addition to this, gotta plan for the next season, and all of the content (15+ websites to update). That's fun...
#Blah  

And to all, a good year - Welcome to the Galaxy - 2016!
#HaveAGoodWinterBreak

TXP Network Updates - New Year's Is Coming! - Pt 3

New Year :: New Update - 2016, Winter, January, 1 - Delayed

In response to the following updates for the upcoming year (at the time) ::

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFx-f4nyHj8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtoZIFbHWe0

In addition to the videos shown earlier (before the New Year rang in), this post is intended to act as a snapshot of the TXP-Network's current state and direction in the near future. As of now, there has been a change in direction with the development of the TXP-VOS. The Unikernel for IncludeOS is being studied, as it could possibly be used directly as (or as inspiration for) the VOS's kernel, which is a vital step in reaching the first testing phase. In addition to this, a new memory managing system is being created. This memory manager, if finalized, will define the valid data types the OS can use. However, this memory manager concept is not set in stone - if the Unikernel has a better alternative, that could be used instead (not known, and not counting on it). In terms of site updates, all TXP-Network websites are down for maintenance, and will be updated during the next content season (not a delayed season). Please note that no new videos will be aired anywhere until then as well. Please feel free to request TXP-Cloud accounts - registration for those will remain open during this downtime. The last item to note is that all copyrights and limitations relating to the TXP-Network have been updated for the new year, and years to come. Happy 2016...

If you are a returning visitor, What's Up On the U-Box?
If you are new here, Welcome to the Galaxy!

And to all, a Good Night!
:)