Software

Some interesting projects, wot I like.

Yarr

Nov 21, 2020 • 9 min read

A day late, got distracted with stuff. I also managed to get a good chunk of the map system figured out so Monday I will be able to get started sooner, in theory. I will be doing some research before I get started with the implementation. I also have to make a couple maps to test with using the new system.

Anyway here's some cool projects I found and some I use regularly.

Godot

Godot is probably the best open source engine for 2D development at the moment. At least it is in my opinion. The node-based design is really easy to work with once you get used to it and with GDScript being very pythonic it is very easy to pick up for a fledgling coder. Given how many people start coding because they want to make games it gives a good bridge I would think. It's very actively developed and as of writing 4.0 is looking pretty sweet. It also has a really good community that will help you figure things out if you ever get stuck.

Free and open source 2D and 3D game engine

Godot provides a huge set of common tools, so you can just focus on making your game without reinventing the wheel.

Godot EngineGodot Engine

Krita

Krita is a very nice full featured digital painting program. It is FOSS (Free open source software) and I use it for all of the drawing I do. It works well with my drawing tablets and has a lot of features for smoothing if you need them. I've been using it for a couple years and it's been solid the whole time.

LMMS

LMMS is a DAW(Digital Audio Workbench) that I use whenever I need to compose some music for something. I'll probably compose some of the music for the MMO project with it for instance. It has all the features I would normally use in any other DAW (used to use Reaper and FLStudio before that). Above all it's FOSS.

LibPQXX

This is quite an important library for me, I use it anywhere C++ needs to talk to one of my PostgreSQL servers. It is the official wrapper lib for C++ and is pretty straightforward to use. Anyone who remembers trying to get C++ talking to MySQL back in the mid-2000s might appreciate it.

PostgreSQL

The database management system of choice for all my projects. Ever since MySQL was bought by Oracle it seemed to be going downhill and I did experiment with MariaDB and even some NoSQL DBs like Mongo. But I didn't find one I really liked til I started messing around with PostgreSQL. I especially like how scalable it is and the fact I can just straight up have JSON fields in it. The security systems built into it are also pretty nice, it feels more secure out of the box than MySQL used to.

Django

I spent years messing around with web frameworks in different languages, Rails and Express primarily. While I like them both I found that I worked better and quickler with Django. I am a big fan of the Admin feature and the ORM being straightforward. Not to mention the patterns that are built in make it easy to come up with solutions once you get used to them. Mantilogs runs on this as well as the MMO account system.

The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines | Django

DjangoDjango

Flask

When I don't want to use the full mass of Django, I opt for Flask. If you've ever used Express it is something like a Python version of that. It stays out of your way and lets you do things your way, while being lightweight. Jake is running on this and SQLAlchemy.

Welcome to Flask — Flask Documentation (1.1.x)

SQLAlchemy

When I need a python app to talk to a DB and I am not using Django, I use SQLAlchemy. It's easy to use and you can get your connection setup and CRUD going in a few minutes.

LED-Control By Jackw01

A pretty neat little web interface for a Pi to control WS2812/SK6812 light chips. I have not gotten the chance to use it though I might this weekend or on Thanksgiving when I rebuild the Xmas tree.

The Intersect Engine

A sort of continuation of the old Mirage Source with new tech. For those unfamilliar here is a post on reddit that should give you a good idea. Back in the day I used to love playing around with all kinds of mirage based engines. I particularly used Konfuze quite a bit. It was just fun to build little ORPGs with my buds. I still have my old VB6 reference book from when I was editing the source for them.

RAthena

RAthena is one of the continuations of eAthena, another thing I used to mess around with a lot back in the day. Creating my own custom Ragnarok Online servers for my friends to play. It was fun to modify.

PixelORama

Some nuts made a pixel art editor in Godot. You can, if you were so inclined, add it as part of your godot game to allow users to add their own pixel art. Or just use it as a standalone editor.

Aseprite

My primary pixel art software. There is a version that you can buy but if you want you can also just compile it yourself for free as it is open source. It can get unstable sometimes for me so I might end up using PixelORama for a while, see how that works for me. Though this has a lot of features and is widely used, so it has a pretty good community around it.

Raylib

Raylib is a game development library in C with many bindings for other languages, but it is a fun and easy way to get started with C game dev, you can also use it to build UIs for your software with a nice, clean look. There are several tools around it for various (primarily game dev) tasks.

EOServ

As some may know; the reason I got into game development in the first place was Endless Online. EOServ is an emulator for Endless Online's server. I like to mess with it and wander around the world whenever I feel burned out on the MMO project and it gives me a pick-me-up.

EOSERV :: Home

Posted by Sausage

EndlessClient

An open source and more modern implementation of the Endless Online Client.

Mega Man Labs

You want to make a mega man? Make you a mega man.

TheFuck

If you live in the terminal and swear like a sailor (Like me and most software devs I met) This is the tool for you. When you fat-finger your terminal commands it helps you correct mistakes simply by yelling at the terminal.

Tamagotchi Hack

If you're a weirdo who grew up in the 90s and got really into tamagotchi for reasons you too can not explain but now as an adult want to understand the deepest workings of the little egg, this will help.

Python

You know it, love it or hate it.

Rust

A programming language that I am really interested in but never have had the time to learn. Once it becomes widely used for SoC/Hardware projects I will probably have a good excuse to pick it up though.

Evennia

Django + MUDs, what more do you need? I love MUDs. They are like the book version of MMOs. They can be far more complex as well, since you don't need to worry about the graphics and animation and all that nonsense and just focus on systems and adding interesting stuff. Also you get to use the old noodle for some imaginatin'. I have made a few little projects with this and I like how the development is coming along. Might even try to contribute at some point.

That's all for now. I will probably post more posts like this later on down the road, maybe something like my favorite Godot related projects or whatever other categories I come up with.

Cheers.