Doll Maker's Diary, Part 2: Purple Passion

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 2: Purple Passion

In the previous post I described how getting the latest UE4 Automation build was like receiving a Christmas present of sorts, but also a means of achieving my New Year's resolution earlier than expected - the extra realism, combined with the addition of more hints and warnings, ought to help me design better cars, and so far it has. It's no surprise that I used this opportunity to return the favor and show a redesigned version of my first UE4 car, the Morton Kestrel. However, I also have something else to show you this holiday season- and this time, it's not a vehicle of some sort, but a fictional character made using the Heroine Fan Art Creator on Azalea's Dolls.

The first step was to give her a name. I settled on Tiffany Marie Ellis, since my original plan to use Evans as her last name was scuppered by the mere possibility that someone else had used it first. With that issue dealt with, I soon began to examine various possibilities for her appearance. In the end, I gave her short, light blonde hair, pale skin and sky-blue eyes, since I felt that it would harmonize with her favorite color, which is purple. She also had a roughly triangular face and a long nose. Finally, I depicted her smiling (almost) all the time to reflect her upbeat personality.

Then came the part where I had to give her a set of outfits. The first one consisted of a coat over a V-neck top and short skirt combination, embellished with gold earrings and an amethyst necklace. For want of a better term, I called this one her "everyday" outfit. I later created an alternate version of this outfit after I redesigned her basic appearance, this time without the optional coat and different jewelry, among other changes.

In addition, I also created a casual outfit consisting of low-rise jeans and a tank top. Here, I swapped the high heels for sneakers and ditched the coat altogether. Another change was the replacement of the diamond-shaped earrings with annular ones, which I felt were more suited to a laid-back look such as this one.

The next three designs depict Tiffany in a variety of dresses. The first of these, which swaps the more usual set of heels for a pair of flats, is meant for less formal occasions, while the other two are primarily reserved for black-tie events such as movie premieres. You may notice that Tiff's skin is even paler in the third picture. The reason is simple - I revamped her slightly so that her skin tone would not clash with her purple outfits as much as it used to. Also, I swapped the pearls for amethysts and added a sparkling gold belt to the bodice.

Here is another idea I had for a casual look. This time she has ditched the ab-baring tank top and binned the sneakers in favor of a pair of boots. I made this for anyone who thought the previous casual outfit was too revealing.

I felt it would be remiss to depict Tiff in activewear, so I gave her a black crop top and leggings with purple accents. This is also the first time I chose not to add any jewelry at all to the outfit. Also, I reinstated the white sneakers from her second outfit.

Finally, this eighth and last outfit shows Tiff holding a book while wearing a T-shirt. It could be that she is studying; alternatively, she could be relaxing after a long day of work. Unlike her other outfits, this one includes a pair of spectacles, presumably to fit the contemplative mood conveyed by the picture above.

I also created a pool party outfit and a mermaid outfit for Tiff, but have chosen not to show either of them here simply because I consider them to be too vulgar for this blog. Even so, these outfits should serve as a reminder of the nearly limitless possibilities that can arise when using the Heroine Fan Art Creator. But for me, creating Tiff was just the start. She will soon be joined by other dolls, and their stories will be told in subsequent posts. Stay tuned...

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 28: A Holiday Surprise

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 28: A Holiday Surprise

First of all, merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all the Automationeers out there! This holiday period has brought a pleasant surprise to me. Specifically, the latest update to the UE4 version of Automation is now in its open beta phase. While this renders all cars and engines made in prior versions incompatible with the latest build, it also introduces some much-needed extra realism - and a chance to redo any cars from whatever new companies I have which have any sort of lore, however rudimentary. So without further ado, here is a brief rundown on the changes.

An assortment of hints for the car designer introduced in the latest UE4 Automation open beta

The first thing I noticed was that some menus now have a set of hints, which are very useful to say the least. Many users, including myself, have been asking for this feature ever since the UE4 version was released, and to say that they make designing cars much easier is clearly an understatement. In addition, the inclusion of minor warnings (indicated by a blue exclamation mark icon) alongside moderate warnings (which have a yellow icon) and the existing major warnings (with red icons) ensure that any problems with a particular car can be easily pinned down and rectified. They are too many to list individually here, but they all add a sense of realism absent from earlier releases.

Some of the revised trim options introduced in the UE4 open beta

More importantly, though, it is once again possible to adjust fixture and body quality independently, and select the number of seats in each row for purposes of practicality, utility or weight reduction. Driving aids now have their own quality slider, while cars can be equipped with cross-ply or radial tires, the latter becoming available only in more recent model years. On top of that, increasing the top speed makes tires more expensive by increasing their speed rating accordingly. Finally, when tuning a car's suspension, it is possible to test the suspension system with several different combinations of cargo and occupants, although the corresponding functionality has not been added yet.

The competitiveness bug in action.

This build is still some way off from a public release, though, and one of the reasons is that the competitiveness stats in some demographics are severely inflated. For example, the reimagined Morton Kestrel - my first UE4 car design, and now introduced as a 2011 model year vehicle - currently has a competitiveness value of 370.7 in the Fruinian Muscle Premium market at its pre-markup price of $28000, since competitiveness calculations only consider the effects of user-made cars and ignore the pre-built competitors entirely. I expect this issue to be addressed in a future update, by which time the only new chassis material option - light AHS steel - will hopefully receive a full description. Even so, there are many other bugs waiting to be found and fixed, which explains why most forum competitions still use the earlier Kee version for now.

An overview of the reimagined 2011 Kestrel. Previously it was listed as a 2013 model but I changed this in accordance with my planned lore revisions.

In short, despite all the bugs, glitches and crashes that the latest UE4 release is susceptible to, the multitude of additional features, and the extra realism that comes with them, ensures that this build is light-years ahead of its predecessor. Considering that it fixed many of the problems that plagued the first few UE4 builds, this is saying something. In the future, UE4 Automation will evolve even further, building on the developments introduced in the current release - including the presence of a Christmas tree (complete with presents!) and a pair of filled stockings in the car and engine designers, respectively, during the holiday season. Until then, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 27: The Perils of Inadequate Preparation

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 27: The Perils of Inadequate Preparation

In the previous post I described how failure to conclude a CSR round satisfactorily and on time can have negative consequences for all involved, especially the entrants for that round. This is particularly galling for the winner of said round, who ends up being denied a review of his/her submission (along with a further explanation about why it won). But what if someone started a CSR round without giving enough consideration to the rule set it would use? This would lead to a very confusing and unnecessarily complicated contest, with many would-be entrants questioning the vague and/or convoluted requirements they would have to consider when building their next submission. Amazingly, it took 39 rounds for this exact situation to occur, and when it did, the resulting uproar led to a change of hosting duties stemming from the abandonment of that round - which was not entirely unexpected. So without further ado, I shall describe the events of this aborted round in further detail.

Back in CSR39 (details of which have been covered in an earlier post on this blog), the dust had barely settled from the previous round, and us Automationeers were chock-full of anticipation about what would come next. We expected something straightforward; what we ended up with was anything but. The host had given us a tuning contest, with cars separated into five classes, each with its own specific set of requirements. In addition to this, every car had to follow a universal rule set. But the real deal-breaker was the fact that lap times and top speeds were the only stats by which eligible entries would be measured. This went against the tradition established by CSR over several dozen rounds, and would have been much more appropriate for an actual racing challenge.

Moreover, closer inspection revealed the lack of balance between cars from different classes - some were clearly better than others. In fact, whereas all previous CSR rounds depicted an imaginary buyer searching for a car that would fulfill his/her requirements, this one did not, which served as another red flag. In the end, the host abandoned the round after realizing that, despite his best efforts, he had failed to devise a theme that was not at odds with the basic premise of CSR. Fortunately, the round was immediately restarted, with a new host and theme, and this time it was started and finished without incident.

Unbelievably, CSR59 - the latest iteration of this contest - ran into a similar problem, which was unsurprising given that this round deviated too much from the regular guidelines of CSR. It revolved around restoring badly modified classics back to their original state, with the cost dependent on the base car's age, its pre-markup price and the difficulty of the modifications required to revert the car to its stock trim, but the guidelines were too vague for the round to make as much sense as originally intended. Much to my relief, the host for this round decided to replace the convoluted rule set with a simpler one. Here's hoping that, in every subsequent round, the host gets the rule set absolutely right the first time, if only to ensure that future rounds of CSR are always on schedule. So let these examples be reminders that hosting even a single round of CSR is guaranteed to require a great deal of preparation and foresight.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 26: Contingency Plans for Getting Stuck

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 26: Contingency Plans for Getting Stuck

A number of CSR rounds in Automation have not been concluded in the normal method of the host giving reviews for each entrant’s submission, making a series of cuts, and then announcing the winner, whose creator then becomes the next host – unless they decline the opportunity, in which case the next best entrant takes the reins, and if he/she also rejects the offer to host the next round, the next entrant takes over hosting duties, and so on. In these rounds, the contest simply ground to a halt. However, there is a measure in place designed to determine a winner in the event of this very unlikely occurrence: the user poll.

The user poll for CSR allows users to vote on a winner based on a car's stats along with several subjective criteria, such as aesthetics and advertisements. The voting period usually lasts for a few days, but it may take a week in some cases. Once this period ends, the users' votes are tallied up, and the entrant whose submission receives the most votes wins. This concludes the current round, allowing the next one to begin in short order

As I am writing this, us Automationeers have been in this situation exactly three times so far. The first instance was in CSR20, which was themed around high-end luxury cars built for a very discerning client. When the deadline was followed by a seemingly interminable wait, nearly every entrant was filled with an unfamiliar feeling of suspense. Eventually a poll was held, and the clear winner was the entry from the user which had won the previous round – making this the first time that the same user won two consecutive rounds – a feat that has only been repeated once since then.

It was not until CSR25 that the contest again ground to a halt. In contrast to CSR20, this round had a more down-to-earth theme, which required entrants to build and submit an affordable, yet exciting, used car, but with one condition: it had to come with a manual gearbox as standard. Once again, the community had found itself in the same situation it had faced just five rounds earlier. This time, the creator of the winning submission declined to host the next round, causing the second-placed user to take his place. At least the host of CSR25 went on to host at least a few rounds thereafter, and was able to finish them with the expected set of reviews and results.

And now here we are at CSR57, where the problem of an incomplete round has reared its head for the first time in over a year. This was the round in which the task was to submit an affordable, easy-to-drive performance car, from 1990 to 2000 inclusive, with low running costs. It should have been a simple task for the host of this round, but unlike his previous turn as a CSR host, he never got around to reviewing any of the submissions that were sent to him during the submission period. So it was inevitable that a poll had to be held. And, as expected, the car with the best presentation (and, more importantly, the best balance of performance and affordability) accumulated votes more quickly – and in greater numbers – than its competitors. It was not surprising, therefore, that it won the round with ease.

Polls such as this are certainly a viable backup measure to keep CSR going if the reviews fail to materialize, but given their nature, they can at times seem at odds with the contest’s original premise, in which exactly one user decides the results according to his/her priorities for the current round. In fact, the creator of CSR has just proposed for the results of latest poll to be ignored altogether, in the mistaken belief that doing so would ensure that the spirit of CSR would be preserved without being unnecessarily diluted.  Fortunately, this plan was scrapped, much to the relief of Automationeers like us, and CSR58 commenced without any further delays.

One final note: in CSR52, the contest nearly got stuck yet again, with the delay pinned on unforeseen personal issues, but thanks to timely intervention on the host’s behalf (specifically, finishing all the reviews and results before the deadline), the round concluded satisfactorily, with no need for a poll at all. And as expected, the winner of that round decided to take over hosting duties for CSR53. But given that polls are only intended as backup measures if a round stalls, I expect most, if not all, future CSR rounds to conclude as intended - with a set of reviews and rankings based on a variety of objective and subjective criteria as the round host sees fit.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 1: Introduction to Azalea's Dolls

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 1: Introduction to Azalea's Dolls

Lately, I have been spending a considerable amount of time creating original designs for heroines, but this time it wasn't done exclusively on the X-Girl Creator, as described earlier. Instead, I turned my attention to a similar website called the Azalea's Dolls Heroine Fan Art Creator. While most people use it as a means of replicating their favorite characters from movies, comic books, and TV series, it can also be used for original designs as well, which is the reason why I got started in the first place. And much like X-Girl, this is a surprisingly easy game to pick up and play.

So how does it work? A quick look at the main screen shows that all customization options follow a certain theme depending on the row they occupy. The first row contains the sub-menus from which you can change various aspects of your character's appearance, such as skin tones, face shape, hair, lips, eyes, nose, eyebrows, and headgear. The sub-menus in the second row are for editing your character's costume. From left to right, their themes are marine, Arabian, peasant, classical, native, and Oriental. The last row of sub-menus is mainly for miscellaneous items, such as jewelry and other accessories, but it can also be used for creating modern outfits for your heroine, or changing the background and border of your character's card. Every sub-menu contains a wide variety of customization options, allowing for a nearly limitless number of possible combinations.

An overview of the Heroine Fan Art Creator. On the left is the character card, which display's your heroine's current costume and appearance. On the right are shortcuts to the sub-menus where you can design your own heroine.

That covers the basics of the Heroine Fan Art Creator. However, as a teaser for the next entry in the Doll Maker's diary, the character shown in the screenshot will receive a detailed description in that entry, along with several of her costumes, and I will also be describing her evolution over time.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 25: The Case For (and Against) More UE4 Challenges

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 25: The Case For (and Against) More UE4 Challenges

So far, nearly every competition on the Automation forums has used the Kee engine version in which the game was first launched. Recently, however, there have been a pair of challenges which use the more feature-rich UE4 release. This represents a considerable step up in realism and complexity from what was found in the earlier Kee version. However, this has left me wondering why the UE4 version is not being utilized for challenges as often as it should be, and there are three major reasons for this.

The first and foremost problem with UE4 is stability. Most users have already found out that even after several rounds of bugfixes, the game still crashes occasionally, although not as often as it once did. On top of that, a few minor bugs remain, but they are now less numerous and/or annoying than before considering how much development has been done with the UE4 release up to now. Even so, this reason alone is enough to make most challenges use the Kee engine release exclusively.

Performance issues are another reason why UE4 has not been widely adopted for challenges yet. The system requirements for this version are more demanding than the Kee engine version it supersedes, but this was to be expected given that UE4 allows for more detailed audio and visual effects. Not all machines are capable of running the UE4 release smoothly even on more moderate graphical settings, though. As such, the mere possibility of reduced performance has already precluded some users from using UE4 Automation as often as they originally intended, if at all.

The third and final issue with UE4 is the relative lack of content compared with the Kee Version. So far, a considerable number of UE4-specific mods have already been made, with many more being converted from Kee, but there is still a long way to go before UE4 will finally overtake Kee in terms of additional content, let alone approach it. Naturally, this has made remaking many Kee designs difficult or even impossible, but there will be a time when this glaring weakness is rectified once and for all. Still, the sheer amount of time and effort required to convert Kee mods for UE4 has resulted in many users waiting until this work has been undertaken for most of these mods.

So overall, even though the UE4 remake of Automation is getting better over time, there is still a lot of work for developers and modders to do before it is widely used for challenges. Even so, the day will come when the UE4 version closely approaches, matches or even surpasses the older Kee version in terms of stability, content and performance. When it does, expect the UE4 release to be more popular for forum challenges - it should be well worth the wait.

Trading in Infinite Space: A Highly Profitable Venture

Trading in Infinite Space: A Highly Profitable Venture

Right now, you may be wondering why, after several months, I have chosen to revisit Infinite Space III: Sea Of Stars on this blog. Well, as it turns out, there is one key aspect of the game that I completely overlooked. The game's campaign mode is full of opportunities for trading items, and it is essential to buy low and sell high (in coins, which serve as the currency for most factions) if you want to make a profit (in credits, which the Terrans use). With that in mind, here are a few trade routes worth remembering - and using. Keep in mind, though, that these routes can only be used if the appropriate homeworld is actually present in the sector. In addition, it is impossible to trade with the Ravians, Tchorak and Tan Ru, since none of these factions have a store on their respective homeworlds.

The first major trade route involves selling a pair of Hyperwave Filter Arrays or Structural Gluon Shields at Bandur, the Muktian homeworld. Both of these items cost just 89 and 90 credits each, respectively, on Haven Station, and are worth 2 coins each on Bandur. Trading in two shipments of either item (or one of both) will yield 4 coins, enough to buy a Multi-Missile Launcher - a highly powerful long-range weapon that costs 575 credits on Haven Station. However, this high-end item only becomes available on Bandur in AD 4595, a full 10 years before the deadline, so if you want to use this trade route, make sure to wait until then before you do so, although this is mitigated by the fact that the same item is not available for purchase at Haven Station until AD 4600, five years after the Muktians have begun selling them. In short, swapping pairs of basic shields or scanners for some Muktian missile launchers is an excellent late-game tactic that can endow your flotilla with lots of firepower, especially if your capital ships have some unused weapon slots, and if you have any spare launchers, you can take them back to Glory (the Terrans' home system) and sell them there for a huge profit - it costs just 178 credits to buy a pair of hyperwave arrays, but when you consider that a multi-missile will fetch 575 credits on Glory, the resulting 397-credit net profit will definitely come in handy.

Top: a Garthan frigate with an unused weapon slot. Above: Having sold a pair of weak shields to the Muktians, we can now fit the frigate with an extra missile launcher.

An even more lucrative and profitable trade route can be discovered at or near the very start of the game. The Urluquai like to use Plasma Coil Cloakers, and their homeworld, Urlu, cranks out an endless supply of them. They cost five coins each, and fetch a whopping 750 credits per shipment on Glory. But by selling five 89-credit Neptunium Railguns at Urlu for two coins each, you will be able to afford two - yes, two - cloaking devices, and then sell them at Glory for a whopping 1500 credits in total, for a net gain of 1055 credits, which is an enormous sum by any measure. As an alternative, you can keep one of the cloaking devices for your flotilla to use, and sell the other one off.

Top: Here we are on Urlu, about to trade in five railguns for... Above: ...a cloaking device, or more specifically, two of them - on Urlu, a pair of these systems costs as much as all those railguns put together.

Although other trade routes involving the Garthans, Zorg and Calatians exist, the two routes described above are the most useful, especially when you are running low on credits. So remember, next time you venture out into Sector Prime, it's not merely a matter of exploring star systems and negotiating with (or attacking) the many factions that inhabit the sector. Sometimes, you have to get smart and make a deal that yields a worthwhile profit, and it may just make the difference between an average score and an excellent one.

Travel Round-Up, Oct 14 - Nov 20 2017

Travel Round-Up, Oct 14 - Nov 20 2017

The past five weeks have seen me leave my home for more than two days at a time, not once, twice, or even thrice, but four times. In each of these trips I had a very enjoyable experience, and rekindled my desire to travel long distances. Granted, two of these were actually not very ambitious, since they both involved a short stay at the Aston resort in Bogor, but I still had a chance to relax and rest while my parents were hard at work attending a major conference. In each of these visits I used the hotel's pool for swimming practice not once but twice. Apart from this, and the fact that I caught sight of a brilliant sunset and rainbow during a thunderstorm (complete with forked lightning!) on the second visit, both trips were otherwise relatively unremarkable, for I had nothing to do all day but sit in my hotel room for much of my stay.

The other two trips were much more memorable, simply because the destinations were much farther away. It was during the latter of these that I finally got the chance to visit Bangka for the first time - not the island of Belitung, mind you, but still a new destination for me nonetheless, even though my parents had already been there multiple times before. And as expected, it was definitely well worth the wait.

The local cuisine in Belitung was excellent, and I enjoyed all kinds of freshly caught seafood - which comprised the bulk of the region's food production - throughout my stay. I also got to see more than a few Chinese temples - the region had previously been settled by ethnic Chinese, and their heritage was clearly evident in how the temples were designed. But even this trip seemed somewhat ordinary compared to my visit to Toronto a few weeks earlier.

For starters, it was my first trip to North America in over 15 years, and was a far more ambitious affair, although by staying at the Chelsea Hotel, on Yonge Street, I could easily reach the sightseeing tours that start and finish at Yonge-Dundas Square. In the space of just one week, I visited such major tourist hotspots as the Casa Loma (the only real castle in Canada), the Royal Ontario Museum (famed for its displays of historical artifacts and mineral specimens), the CN Tower (the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere), the Ripley's Aquarium (which contains a multitude of exhibits depicting various freshwater and marine habitats) and the Ontario Sciencentre (the go-to place for anyone wishing to fulfill their scientific curiosity, with an IMAX theater and many hands-on experiments among the main attractions), among others. I enjoyed my visits to each of these, but felt like I was only scratching the surface, since I skipped several points of interest, such as the Hockey Hall Of Fame, Bata Shoe Museum, and the University of Toronto. Nevertheless, having done so much in so little time, to call this trip epic would not be an exaggeration, considering the diverse array of culinary delights on offer, including those found at the Saint Lawrence Market and Distillery District - the latter was once home to actual distilleries, but is now used for retail space.

The real highlight of the trip, however, was my visit to Niagara Falls, between Lakes Erie and Ontario and right on the US/Canadian border. Other waterfalls may be larger (in terms of height, volume and/or width), but Niagara is the most famous one by some margin, especially when it is surrounded by fall foliage. A boat ride down towards the Horseshoe Falls (the second and larger of the two waterfalls that make up the system) confirmed what I had suspected for years: that a rainbow is only present when someone sees it, and its shape and size are dependent on where the observer is standing. The fact that I got to see some of the idyllic countryside nearby a few hours later, and even sampled some wine at a nearby winery, was icing on the cake. And yet there was one final surprise, for I caught my first glimpse of an aurora on the return flight, which passed very close to the North Pole; it was bright green, and lasted for several minutes, changing its size and shape erratically the whole time.

What about the future? I will most definitely not be repeating last year's Christmas visit to Bali, because the formation of an ash cloud above the increasingly unstable Mount Agung has effectively rendered the whole island off-limits to aircraft, although ferries remain unaffected. Instead I plan to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve at Plaza Indonesia, right in the heart of the city. If it were ever to happen, it would be unprecedented, but not entirely unexpected. One thing's for sure: it's going to be fun.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 24: Guardian Reader's Motors

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 24: Guardian Reader's Motors

After CSR53 proved to be a disappointment with its lack of entries compared to previous rounds, the latest round of CSR provided a return to form. This time, entrants were asked to build and submit a bargain-basement car for the 1985 model year, costing no more than $7000 without markups. With the production unit and engineering time limits also accordingly low, it would be a grade-A challenge to create the most sensible and effective entry-level car for budget-conscious buyers. Despite my initial skepticism, I took the plunge and made plans for my entry in this round.

Uncharacteristically, I submitted my entry much closer to the deadline than previously, although considering that I had spent a whole week in Toronto accompanying my parents on an e-learning conference, the long delay was most certainly a necessity. When I finally got around to designing a car to submit for this round, I decided to eschew my usual choice of a straight-four for a smaller, cheaper but less powerful triple. My rationale for installing such a puny engine was that any money that would otherwise have gone into adding an extra cylinder could be spent on additional standard equipment.

The resulting car, the WMD Lepido, met all the eligibility requirements for this round - but only just. Even so, it offered a stereo, a five-speed gearbox, electronic fuel injection and disc brakes all around as standard. On top of that, it could run on regular unleaded gasoline, and, due to its use of a catalytic converter, actually required this new, more environmentally friendly fuel type.

Behold WMD's tiny Lepido - there's more to it than meets the eye.

Surprisingly, it made the first cut with ease, and drew praise for its surprising handling and straight-line performance, such was its low weight. Yet it did not even make the top five this time - the "buyer" in this round wasn't looking for a junior hot hatch, but an ordinary entry-level commuter capsule that he could theoretically own and drive for the rest of his life. That car, not surprisingly, was the Znopresk Zap - although quite a few cars ran it very close in the final reckoning.

It's safe to say that the opposition got 'zapped' by this little thing!

And so another budget car challenge came to an end, with a deserved win for the best all-round car in the contest. Yet Automationeers never stop thinking of new ideas, either for their cars or the contests they enter them into, and it would not be long before CSR resumed as scheduled. This time, it would be in a much more recent era, with a totally different premise - and a unique set of priorities.

X-Girl Explained: A Tool For Creating Your Very Own Heroines

X-Girl Explained: A Tool For Creating Your Very Own Heroines

It was only recently that I saw screenshots of a popular Flash game called X-Girl Creator. As such, it seemed inevitable that I would take the plunge and try it out for myself. And now, having created a few test characters to demonstrate some of the possibilities, I will offer a brief description of this short but surprisingly addictive Web game.

So what exactly is X-Girl Creator? Well, it's a Flash game in which you create your own heroines - and, if necessary, give them superpowers. In a nutshell, the game allows you to edit your character's appearance, hair pieces, outfits, powers, accessories and other items. Once you are done designing your character, you can select from a wide variety of backgrounds to place her against, or write a description of the heroine and her abilities. You can even add some dialog boxes, presumably for adding a motto or two. And if you wish, you can fit multiple characters within the screenshot, although you cannot place more than four without them overlapping. Below is an example I made recently to show an example of how the creator can be used to dress up your characters in activewear.

A quartet of X-Girls in activewear, ready for a workout.

Would I recommend this deceptively simple yet potentially addictive Flash game to anyone? Absolutely. With virtually endless possibilities there is no way you will run out of ideas with your characters in the long term. The only thing I would wish for is the addition of a three-dimensional version of the game, but that would require a lot more work. Still, as it is, X-Girl Creator is a great way to indulge in your comic book fantasies. You can create your X-Girl designs (and save them as a JPEG image) at this site:

http://www.dolldivine.com/x-girl.php

The Way Back North: My Visit to Toronto Explained

The Way Back North: My Visit to Toronto Explained

Next week, I will accompany my parents on a trip to Toronto, Ontario, where they will be attending a conference. To make the most of my time there, I plan to visit several major sites in and around the city. For this, my first visit to Canada (or anywhere in North America for that matter) in more than 15 years, I will be staying in the Chelsea Hotel, off Yonge Street and just north of the Eaton Centre. And since it is the middle of the northern hemisphere fall, I will need to wrap up warm, but I am sure it will be well worth it.

So what does this mean? First, I will be unable to fulfill my duties as an Automationeer for the duration of the visit, and as such will not be able to submit anything for any forum challenges until I return home. Second, my first overseas trip for more than a year should allow me to spend some much-needed time away from a screen. Finally, I will have a chance to visit North America for the first time in more than 15 years, ticking another item off my travel bucket list in the process.

I will be staying at the Chelsea Hotel in downtown Toronto for the duration of this trip. While my plans include a visit to the Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side, obviously), of greater concern will be the sites covered by the Citypass. This ticket costs $72.10 per adult visitor and grants access to the CN Tower, Casa Loma, Royal Ontario Museum, Ripley's Aquarium and either the Toronto Zoo or Ontario Science Centre for the next nine days. Of these, the CN Tower and Ripley's Aquarium can be visited in one go, being located so close to each other and with the Rogers Centre right across the street.

Other places in Toronto which I plan to visit include the Distillery district, formerly the site of actual distilleries but now a sprawling marketplace complete with restaurants; the Hockey Hall of Fame in Brookfield Place, filled with tributes to the best ice hockey players there have ever been; and the St Lawrence Market, another open-air market full of assorted retailers. Also, my literary interests And then there's the Art Gallery of Ontario, a Mecca for anyone interested in creative arts. Finally, the Harbourfront Centre affords excellent views of the Toronto skyline to the north, and lake Ontario to the south.

So in accompanying my parents on this impending trip to Toronto, I not only want to see one of the world's great cities, but also gain a broader understanding of how Canadian culture works, allowing me to compare it with those of other countries I have visited. I'll see you again in a week or so when I have the chance to reflect on what promises to be a wonderful experience.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 23: The Great Automation Run, Part 1 - An Overview

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 23: The Great Automation Run, Part 1 - An Overview

While the UE4 version of Automation is still being polished, the Kee version remains in use for virtually every challenge that is currently being hosted. Among these is the Great Automation Run, the closest thing there has been so far to a Cannonball Run event on the forums. The premise of the event is as follows: In 1995, a shady organizer hosts a 5600-kilometer road race from Malaga in the south of Spain to the Greek capital, Athens. Whoever wins the race will receive a whopping $5 million - quite a lot back then, and it still is today.

Now, since this is going to be an illegal unsanctioned race, held on a variety of roads, there are many differences between this and a legally sanctioned race on a closed track. First of all, there is a possibility that racers will be pulled over and fined by the local police, which obviously costs them some time and money. Second, in the event of a crash or mechanical breakdown, a contestant will be forced to undertake roadside repairs, which also cost time and money - the more severe the failure, the more costly the repair will be, and as such, cars with fewer production units and less engineering time will be easier to repair. On top of that, any entrants who run out of money will immediately be eliminated from the race. Third, drivability is a crucial factor, since drivers are less likely to make mistakes in cars which are easier to drive. Finally, a balance between fuel economy and outright speed is essential, since each fuel stop takes several minutes - a faster car can theoretically cover more distance than a slower one in the same period of time, while a more economical one will need to stop for fuel less often.

As for the cars, the trim year must be set to 1995, with the model year being any year from 1946 to 1995 (inclusive). There is no upper limit on production units or engineering time; however, as stated previously, the lower these values are, the easier the repair process will be. Moreover, the base price of the modified version of any car submitted for this challenge must not exceed $17000 before markups, and both the base and tuned trims must be included in the export file for submission. Also, no more than 15 quality points could be added to the trim and engine tabs, while exactly one wing and up to two lips could be installed. Finally, while engine and drivetrain swaps are allowed, 95 RON premium unleaded petrol is mandatory.

In keeping with my policy of adding lore to companies which did not have much of it previously, I entered a bright yellow 1995 WMD Guardsman 3.0. The modified trim was no more powerful than the base car, but was lighter thanks to the deletion of its rear seats and the fitment of lightweight front seats, plus a set of forged, rather than cast, alloy wheels. The engine was entirely stock apart from a set of straight-through mufflers. The most obvious changes were found on the exterior, with additional cooling vents up front and a larger wing at the back.

Lighter, louder and lairier - the Guardsman 3.0R is ready to conquer Europe.

At the time this post was published the deadline for submissions has not yet closed; however, the field for this challenge is not only very large, but also encompasses a wide variety of vehicles, from sleek sports cars to massive trucks. So stay tuned while the countdown to the start of the Run continues - once it commences, it will most definitely be a wild and exciting ride.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 22: Unreal Returns

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 22: Unreal Returns

A recent update has rendered all of my UE4 Automation car designs obsolete, so I deleted all of them and remade the more notable car designs for lore's sake. The first car to be remade was, of course, the Morton Kestrel - the company's halo car and unquestionably one of its most attractive offerings. So how well did it turn out this time?

An overview of the remastered Kestrel.

To call the latest UE4 version much improved over the first public release is, quite frankly, an understatement. In a nutshell, everything not only looks better, but also works better thanks to improved balance. The presence of many new bodies and fixtures only adds to its appeal. Moreover, many scenarios from the Kee version have been carried over, with a few new ones thrown in for good measure. So what's not to like about the newest UE4 release?

As it turns out, there isn't much that needs to be improved - there are still many car bodies and fixtures which have not yet been ported over, but it's certain that this will be a priority for the developers. The addition of a campaign mode (another feature exclusive to Kee for now), meanwhile, seems like an inevitability given the pace at which the UE4 version is being developed. Those are my only complaints about it, though. In the meantime, I will continue to develop Morton's company lore. The most significant change is that there will be a new separate thread for light trucks and SUVs, while passenger cars will be described in the existing thread.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 21: Driving Through Time

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 21: Driving Through Time

CSR rounds 49 through to 51 have all been period pieces, but not in the relatively modern eras of the '80s and '90s, which doesn't seem surprising considering that there have been enough rounds set in those decades, especially the more recent ones. So, the hosts of their respective rounds (CSR49-51) decided to step back even further in time than in more recent rounds. Given that there hadn't been many classic-themed CSR rounds of late, it seemed like a welcome change of pace and tone for this long-running series.

First up was CSR49, whose premise revolved around an affordable fun car to be sold in the 1974 model year - right in the middle of the first oil crisis. As such, the production unit and engineering time limits were low, but not to the point of taxing even the best Automationeers. There was, however, no upper limit on price, although fuel consumption and emissions both had to be kept to a minimum, in keeping with the economy-minded focus of the round. This inevitably resulted in the entry list becoming a disparate bunch of vehicles, from compacts to SUVs.

My response, the Kramer K23 Sprint, was very reminiscent of a Ford Capri - a two-door, four-seat, rear-drive coupe with simple underpinnings and a low price. Finished in a period-correct shade of orange, it seemed to look the part. And with a gutsy overhead-cam inline-six, it also had performance to match. Or did it?

This orange isn't quite as sweet as it seems...

Well, not exactly. It was slated for its wayward handling and thus immediately rejected, although its bland side profile and incongruously boxy lights on an otherwise well-proportioned shape didn't help. Equally unfortunate was that many other entries showed promise, only to be quickly discounted - with a dishonorable mention going to the otherwise attractive mid-engined sports coupe with an anemic inline-four under its engine cover. Certainly the client never wanted to buy anything other than an actual passenger car, and as such none of the SUVs and trucks entered in that round warranted a second look.

Nor did anything that provided insufficient performance, economy, comfort, or aesthetics for the client's needs. Ultimately, of the dozens of cars that were entered, only six finalists emerged, and each one balanced all four of those attributes better than the others.

The six finalists of CSR49: proof that the Malaise Era wasn't quite as bad as most people thought it was.

Of these six finalists, the Civera was the first to go - for something so comfortable and attractive, it was also an average performer with mediocre efficiency. The Kestrel was next to be cut; it was faster than the Civera, but too thirsty for the client, and the Comet suffered a similar fate. So that left third place to be claimed by the 2700C - a looker for sure, but still more expensive to run than anticipated. That left the Vindicator and Gladius; while the former was quite efficient (largely because it was front-wheel-drive), the rear-drive, targa-topped Gladius was even more economical and affordable, as well as being more fun to drive, thus giving it the win.

And so, after a trip back in time to the Seventies, it was time to go back even further for CSR50 - specifically, the first half of the 1950s. This time the client was looking for a car made during that era with a set of unique attributes to take on a dream cruise. Again the rule set was very open to interpretation, and being the car enthusiast that I am, I chose to build another two-door, four-seat sports coupe. As part of my plan to give some lore to a brand I had never used it before, I called it the Macale Madeira.

Stylish, innovative and fast - the Macale Madeira in a nutshell.

Unfortunately, the new client found it to be a bit too complicated for his tastes. Its dual-overhead-cam, 24-valve inline-six - a very advanced engine configuration for its time, and one that would not become commonplace for a few decades - was less reliable than anticipated, and the whole car was quite expensive too, especially since it had plenty of standard equipment for a car more than 60 years old. So he reluctantly passed it up, and continued his search for something that would suit him more.

One by one he reviewed the remaining cars, just as he had promised earlier. Some of them were, like the Madeira, unnecessarily complicated just for the sake of it, and would thus also be discounted - this was also true of any entries that didn't stand out from the crowd enough for his liking, or simply weren't fast enough. Others, thanks to the "uniqueness factor", would remain in the running for the time being. And so, once again, I waited with bated breath for the final results.

When they finally came I was pleasantly surprised. None of the dozens of sports cars featured in this round were shortlisted as finalists. Instead, the top three consisted of a much more diverse collection of vehicles. The Land Roamer Touring, a boxy off-roader, came in third place, behind the Znopresk Z1753. But even this stylish front-drive sedan was pipped to the post by the Canada Motors Yukon Luxoliner. This large, practical van had a 4x4 drivetrain for better capabilities over rough terrain, and as such would have been a great daily driver for those who did have an actual sports car for weekend drives. The jaw-dropping, chrome-laden styling was just icing on the cake. Whether or not it was pure coincidence that the round after this one involved building modern off-road passenger vans is still up for debate, though.

The finalists of CSR50: Uniqueness Above All. From top to bottom: Land Roamer Touring, Znopresk Z1753 and Canada Motors Yukon Luxoliner.

After the dust settled from the judging process, the next round's rule set came up very quickly. This time the client was looking for a muscle car - preferably with a big engine, lots of power and enough torque to do big, smoky burnouts - but most importantly it had to look good as well as be fast. Once again, I wasted no time building my entry, and to tie in with a later incarnation I had made for a previous round, it was called the Arrowhead GTX.

The Arrowhead GTX: Blending Brute Force with Refinement

Over the next week the entries kept piling in, and inevitably it was time to deliver a verdict on each one. Before the results were confirmed, though, any cars which did not follow the naming scheme strictly were immediately disqualified. As for the cars that weren't, anything that was too undrivable, uncomfortable, unreliable, impractical and/or unnecessarily complex was discounted right off the bat, and sadly my Arrowhead was among them. And as time went on, more cars also fell by the wayside, leaving just eight finalists. It is worth noting that the entry list contained three 4x4 trucks, but considering that the client wanted an actual muscle car, none of the off-roaders made the cut.

And what about the eight finalists still in the running? To be honest, determining a winner from this lot was the toughest part of the round. Or so it seemed, until the client applied the same formula for making the shortlist to the process of determining a winner. Once again, cars with insufficient performance, drivability, comfort or mechanical simplicity would have to be eliminated.

The finalists of CSR51 - can you spot the winner of that round? (Hint: it's the purple one)

After a while, three of the finalists remained in contention - the stripy, big, boxy and bright blue Boyd Solaris GP, the even stripier and mostly black NCC Zephyr, and the deep purple Contender +P. The latter fit the client's needs the most, and was thus chosen as the winner. It was an unsurprising decision, given that the Contender was more comfortable than the Solaris, and harder-edged than the Zephyr. And with that, CSR's trip back through time came to an end in a cloud of tire smoke.