Every time I work on this...

... there's a major life upheaval. So, just to be completely clear, I am not working on this again.


Nope.

(Seriously, this project is cursed.)

Building a Road

My "I Suck" 20mi loop, a logical starting point.

Sorted and sorted

Joes don't ride like a bunch of fives anymore, even if #22 cut me off in the sprint. Don't worry, #22, I've got your number. Leak also fixed. Just took a day to clear me head. Oh, and x sorting looks pretty damned awesome in action, by the byes.

Anticlimactic

X position sorting is in...mostly. Seems not all entities agree on spacial coordinates, and worse, somewhere in my coffee overdose I botched engine reinitialization for the same. Oversight somewhere. I did however clean up a number of loose ends.

The good news is the carpet went in smoothly. Closet doors stalled thanks to a sagging ceiling racking the door frames, but after some debugging my friend the mitre saw compensated with some clean, square, wholesome trimwork to hide imperfect angles. A bedroom will mean better sleep and less coffee, thus better code. See? It's relevant.

Cleanup and plan of attack

This weekend:

• More code cleanup
  
• Rider/pack positioning
• Completely unrelated renovation work including but not limited to: carpet installation, closet doors, trimwork.
• Remind myself what real roads feel like
  

Not much more to go before the core program is done, then on to field testing with willing victims and the next major phase: Making it pretty.

Interface Engine Test 1

Let me preface this entry by acknowledging that there are likely more than a few questions regarding this project. What platforms does it support? When will the first public download be available, what is it programmed in, and what IS it, exactly?

FRT is still in its infancy and needs some intensive work before it is ready for a public demonstration. Because of that, and until then, details will be vague. Otherwise some obvious questions will answer themselves. So, future posts may be just a teaser screengrab, or a clip of video, without context. That's just how I roll. Rest assured a lot of the leg work has already been done, and after so long on the back burner, I'm extremely eager to show off a little.

I'll cover some basic questions, though:

• What language? C
• What libraries? Allegro 4.4 and Portaudio v19
  
• What the heck is it? An attempt to make indoor training fun.
• It really works? Yes.
  
• What is the interface? Custom.
  

Now for the important news. The interface was moved into the engine proper and tested Monday night, and after some tweaking and adding in multiple resolution support to enable the above HD TV (no 320x240 support, go figure), the test confirmed not only does the interface work, but the whole concept itself. It's time to clean up the code, track down the little bugs that have been left unchecked, pretty up the graphics, and get ready for the first outing.

FRT Development Blog Begins

Salutations one and all.

Some time ago, when I was mired deep in bike racing culture, I started applying dusty game programming talents toward a personal software trainer. It had a Road Rash inspired 3d engine. It had a full track editor. It had a sensor connecting a stationary bicycle via USB. It throttled your speed on hills according to grade percent. All things considered, basic as it was, it looked promising. Indeed, it was dubbed Sweet. Until the first test in the field where the fundamentals of the interface flopped, and life was cocking the fsck-with-me-gun.

Fast forward a few years, a horrific family tragedy, a back injury that stopped my racing cold, depression, and all the terrible things in between. Then a year of solid Good. A completely different approach to the interface hatched in this rewired brain. With mounting anxiety I tested it this weekend.

It works flawlessly.

Life is again dubbed sweet. Development has officially resumed, and you can read all about it right here.