Tag Archives: editor

VS2012 Express for Desktop

Posted by on 2012/09/18 No comments

I’ve been waiting for this for a while so I was glad when they finally released this. Now for some initial feedback.

First off, the download was reasonable – size and speed wise. The installation was, lets just say ok – as I had to reboot since it had to update some libraries that were is ‘use’ at the time. Registration was also not too bad – since I have an old existing Hotmail/Live account where more of the details were already populated. Running it for the first time is where the shock comes in… it is as ugly as hell (reminds me death, all grey and boring). Unfortunately the same would apply to any of the other Express and even full versions of VS2012.

VS2012 Express For Desktop development

Functionality wise it provides just the very basics – not that you can expect anything more. Since I haven’t installed the ‘full’ express version I cannot comment on any other functionality that version might have. Anyway, The only templates worth mentioning is the Windows Forms, WPF and Console ones. Again, one cannot expect anything more of this release. Interestingly enough, when creating a new project the framework version cannot be changed on the ‘create project’ dialog screen. You can only change this ‘after’ the project has already been created.

One nice thing is that you can still create custom toolbars with ‘external’ commands – I use it to run a source backup tool I created some time ago. Another thing to remember is that this tool can be installed in Windows 7, unlike the full Express version that can ONLY be installed on Windows 8. The Web express version can also be installed on 7 (plus the TFS Express version).

If you excuse the way it looks (wearing shades to protect your eyes) then this tool is not that bad… Just wish they allowed old fashioned ‘themes’ to change the look and feel of the entire editor. Ah well, it is an ‘Express’ product… Fortunately you can import your VS 2010 color and font settings to get all your customizations back (even though it does moan about a whole bunch of settings that are not applicable to this edition which you can ignore)

In order to try it out you can follow this link.

Update:
If you like to change the overall theme and don’t like the built-in Light or Dark there are some more options if you look at this blog entry.

Portal editor

Posted by on 2012/05/11 No comments

No, this has nothing to do with real programming (those SharePoint guys…) 😉 Rather, it’s about the Valve game Portal 2 that now has a editor to create your own levels. See this.

This started me thinking… What if… other publishers can catch a hint and provide an editor to say… Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer. Just think…. You will of course have to share your maps to all the players that want to join in and so on but that would be obvious (unless you want to surprise everyone with hidden dangers and stuff hehe).

What would be needed? First a terrain editor (think of the old Sim City games), then buildings (think of the The Sims like games) and finally something like the Portal editor (though Sims editor also contain loose items inside buildings…). They can of course provide a series of ‘default’ terrain maps as well. If someone ever created something like this it could start a new game creation craze and perhaps some fun for a few million people (gamers). Perhaps better yet – what if you can ‘string up’ some maps in a sequence and you have the building blocks to create your own game/world. Of course, creating a fully functional game on its own would be a lot more complex than this. I’ve been thinking/dreaming of something like this for year actually. If only I had the time/skills/tools to do it…

Is someone out there taking notes? (throwing hints in BioWare’s/Valve’s direction hehe)