Loading ...The Broken Shard is back up. It seems to be working mostly once again. There are still a couple of things to fix but most people won’t know that something is broke. It also seems to be working for IE and Firefox again as well.
I have some more work to do before it is ready, once again, for new players.
Upon upgrading some of the 3rd party code I was using with the game it stopped working for IE.
I have been working for the last several days to upgrade the game to better use the system a bit better. More seamless streaming. No constant refreshes. But there is some issues I am having still so it isn’t back up.
I have made some significant progress but there is still a minor issue with updating messages and stats that isn’t quite working right yet. Then I have the navigation to fix then it should be back on track for building.
The new method should also make it easier for me to implement combat. You will really like that once it is ready.
Still have one street to actually install for the city. But once it is in then it is just a matter of fleshing it out a bit and adding a little bit of functionality. ie stores.
Once the stores are in place I’ll be working on a place to actually explore for creatures.
It is starting to actually look like a game. Just a matter of time.
Been a bit since I last worked on the game but I started back up and have added a few things to it. There are more rooms to wander around now. The city is probably about 60 percent laid out as far as the basic city is concerned. Gotta thing of some new street names for some of it still. Once I do that then it is just a matter of creating the files.
Maybe I’ll have that done by the weekend. Have to think about it now that I can work on the games instead of work.
I also implemented some rudimentary souls(emotes). Once I got it working completely it will just be a matter of time before I populate the database with emotes to be used. I may seek some help doing that for points to be used later.
I am hoping to get a few things accomplished in the next few weeks as I have more time to do things.
Current wish list is:
Currency
Bank
Post office
I think once I get the city done and those items above then I can start on some of the other things that will make the game an actual game more than a glorified chat engine.
Today was a pretty full day. Still shorter than I would have liked but we made the best of it.
Got up early today. Early enough that we didn’t have to park outside. Got a parking spot in the garage again. Meant that the cost of parking was quite a bit less. More than half. So it started out great.
Weather is just amazing today. Not quite as cool as yesterday but almost. And it didn’t get above 80 at all. Everyone wore long pants today.
Got there early so we could head to the Capital Building gift shop before heading off to the museums. Got some great pictures. Headed over to the other side to take pictures on the other side and ended up walking by the Supreme court. Got in line to go inside and found out that they would be in session.
Talk about luck. This was a very good opportunity for us. Maybe one of those lifetime ones.
Not only was the Supreme Court in session but they were going to make a ruling on 4 cases they heard earlier. It was great. Very impressive. Too bad I couldn’t get pictures there either.
After we got done with the Supreme Court we headed back to the Longfellow Building so we could get our Capital stuff. Got to eat in the cafeteria as well.
Once we were refueled, we headed over to the Native History Museum.
I wasn’t really all that impressed with it. Seems like it was really brief on different tribes. Not much on history really. More art and clothing mostly it seemed to me. I lived in Tuscon and saw cooler things there I think. There have been specials on the History Channel that I liked better than going to the Museum. But that’s alright. Just took time out from the next Museum.
Our last Museum of the day was the Air and Space Museum. We didn’t even get close to finishing this one up. We’ll go again in the morning. But we are running out of time. Tomorrow is the last day before we head back to Florida.
All in all, I’d have to say this was the best day so far. It is a hard decision since yesterday was so cool as well but I do think that today wins out.
Yay! Got to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing today. It was an adventure getting the tickets though. The day didn’t start off too good.
The only thing that started off great was the weather. It is just amazing. Nice cool weather in the morning and not too hot in the afternoon. I think the low last night was about 56 and the high was about 82.
Once again we arrived to the Metro Station just a few minutes late. This time we didn’t have enough quarters. Dad had to run back and get quarters. He just dropped us off so we could go get tickets. Nikki couldn’t find her Metro ticket so she had to use Dad’s. He wasn’t real happy about that. Fortunately she found it later and dad just got a one way ticket on the way to the BE&P.
Got to the BE&P and got our tickets. I didn’t want to get them too late but I didn’t want to get them too early either. Good thing they were free. Got the tickets for 10:30. It worked out great. Dad had to jog the block to arrive in time but he made it. This was one of the best things we did so far. I really enjoyed seeing how they made the paper money. Just the thought of making $692 Million dollars in one day is just mind boggling.
It was a great tour and I highly recommend it. The gift shop offers an opportunity to purchase uncut sheets of bills. I got a full sheet of 32 two dollar bills. Daniel got a half sheet.
Yes, they still make two dollar bills.
We had some time before our visit to the Capital Building so we went to Union Station to eat. I was impressed with it but wish I had more time to see more of it. Got some pictures but I really would have liked some from the outside as well. All of the pictures I got were from the inside.
After our lunch and shopping in Union Station we headed over for our appointment with Rep. Alan Boyd. Well, not really him but one of his aids for a staff led tour of the Capital.
This tour was also a great tour. Our Staff Guide, Stefan, was very knowledgeable for his age. Quite impressed with him and learned a few things. It was very crowded there but the trip was well worth the wait and crowd.
We got to sit in the House while they held a vote on HR 6063. They voted to approve the resolution. While we were there, there were only 2 no votes.
Between the art, history and the vote, this was a great tour as well. Really enjoyed it.
If you go to DC, make sure you contact your congressman and ask for a tour of the Capital. You will get a great tour from an intern without the crowd of a large group.
The Capital tour pretty much wrapped up our day. We got done just a bit too late to get to the gift shop. Have to go back later.
At least it didn’t rain this day. Well not while we were out and about.
We started out a bit later than we probably should have. By the time we arrived at the Metro, all of the spaces were filled and we had to come up with a bunch of quarters to park in a metered spot outside. It was a whole boat load of quarters too.
It didn’t turn out quite as productive as some of the other days. But we did have some good times.
The first place we tried to go was the Ford Theatre. It was closed for renovation until February of 2009. So that was a complete bust there.
Since we weren’t too far from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. That was also a bust. We had a time limit that we had to be back to the car and all of the tours that remained were after our time was up. So that tour was out as well.
Next on the list was the Spy Museum. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Got to see lots of stuff. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to photograph any of it. I guess that’s the way it is going to be on most of the tours though.
To see how it was used throughout history was just amazing. From the greeks to present times. We got to see how spying was used and why it was used.
Of course most of the exhibits were of objects and examples that are more recent. The technology involved was just amazing. Both then and now. It kind of makes you think of how easy it would be to do something like that now with the technology that most of us use daily.
We spent a significant amount of our time in the Spy Museum. After that we ended up at the American Art History Museum.
I’m not much of an Art Fan. But I do like Museums. This one was quite lacking. The only reason we wanted to even go there is it was in the right place at the right time. We were almost done with the day and really couldn’t get anywhere with the amount of time we had left.
I wasn’t all that impressed with the American Art History Museum. It seemed to be a waste of space. Much more art could have been in the building than it had in it. I’m sure they could have come up with even more American Art than what they had. Seemed more like a Museum dedicated towards a couple of people. Everyone else agreed with me on this on.
Well, this was a good day. I’d have posted on it sooner but there were problems with the Campgrounds wireless internet connection. We just got it back today.
Our first day was mostly visiting the memorials. Arlington Cemetery was the first place. It was completely awesome. The history in the cemetery is just amazing. The idea that I could end up there if I wanted to is just mind boggling.
The kids weren’t overly impressed and were completely bored with it at times. But they didn’t get completely bored. I think one of the things that impressed them the most was the tomb of the unknown soldier.
It was quite a site to see. I’d highly recommend seeing it and the changing of the guard. If you go, make sure you stay long enough to watch the changing of the guard. I’d never have imagined being able to do what those guys do.
I think another highlight was the tour of the Arlington House. This was where General Lee lived before he resigned from the Union Army and became the commander of the Confederate Army.
The trip to Arlington was just amazing. The best part of the day.
We also took a trip to visit the memorials of President Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea and WWII.
The girls like the Lincoln Memorial. It was pretty impressive and had a great view of the Washington Monument.
Took some time to stop by the Vietnam memorial. Took a rubbing of my girlfriends uncles name.
My mom and I also stopped by the Korean war memorial. We also took a long walk on our way to the holocaust museum. That’s when we visited the WWII memorial and it started to rain shortly after that.
By the time we got to the holocaust museum we were fairly wet. Not soaked but on the way to being soaked. We were fortunate to be able to tour the museum. But I wasn’t all that impressed. Of course I’ve actually been to Germany and seen Dacau. So just viewing pictures and film wasn’t quite as impressive. I suppose that if you have never been, it might have helped you get a better sense of what happened there.
We were pretty much done for the day after this museum. Even though it rained it was a good day.
Nothing much exciting here for the second day. The drive was considerably shorter than yesterdays.
I ended up sleeping most of the drive. Darn dogs kept me awake much of the night last night.
Had to play a game of volleyball with the kids. Girls vs. Boys. The girls multiplied during the game with a couple of kids from other campsites. They ended up winning. It was the highlights of the day for them.
Started looking at our tour plans. Looks like one of the places we wanted to visit is out. FBI isn’t giving tours at this time. Of course we also didn’t get tickets to the White House. Not sure exactly why but that’s off the list of places to tour. Maybe we can get some time to at least get some good pictures of it.
I imported the pictures I’ve taken over the last couple of days but it will be a bit more before I’m ready to start uploading them to the website. Let you know when it is up and going with new stuff to view.
Got off bright and early yesterday. Of course I wasn’t the one who was late. Even though Everyone wanted to tease me about liking sleep. I actually had to call Mr. and Mrs. Early wakers to make sure they were awake. Good thing I did. Woke their butts up.
Not much excitement on the way. We took turns driving. I think I drove about 4 hours. My stretch was through a bunch of road construction in Georgia. It was a bit tense. The concrete dividers were right on the white line. Not normally a problem for me but I didn’t want to run up on one driving the RV. It is a bit bigger than what I am used to.
Got all parked and set up for the night just north of Fayetteville North Carolina. Kids got a quick swim before the skies opened up and just poured.
If you have never stayed in an RV they are great. You can move around a bit while driving. Get more comfortable. Get up and go to the bathroom. Get a drink. Eat a sandwich. All while moving towards your vacation destination.
The only issue I have is that the darn AC tries to freeze my butt of.
I took a few pictures. But I think I am going to wait to post any until either later this evening when we get to our final campground or tomorrow after our first day out sight seeing.
