The Leap Years

Based on the novella by local Singaporean author, Catherine Lim, this is an English movie attempt by homegrown label, Mediacorps movie arm - Raintree.

The Leap Years is about a hardworking studious girl, Li-Ann (the younger version played by Wong Li Lin; the elder lady by Joan Chen) whose birthday is on February 29. Being always teased by her friends, she finally fell in love with a stranger, Jeremy (Ananda Everingham) on one of her birthdays.

She is heartbroken as the meet with Jeremy is only short as he had to fly home, and their next meet was 4 years next. This continues despite the fact that there are others interested in Li-Ann, and she even nearly got wed. However, her heart seems to have sealed with Jeremy.

At the same time the movie brings forward to the present on one day, which sees Li-Ann already married with Jeremy, and hoping for him to recover from the hospital.

Shot entirely in Singapore, and in the more hip areas, this movie showcase the modern & heritage part of the island-city (places like the Esplanade, central business district, CBD). Unlike most other Singapore films, this one clearly minus the HDB flats - giving the city the postcard views, just like what the tourism is promoting.

It does showcase a true part of the lifestyles of the middle-upper class Singporeans to one extend. The English used also sounds quite local - minus the slangs of lei & lor - the type of English you will hear when in business meetings. And Wong Li Lin has the looks to portray the typical career girl here - modern and successful. The only part that doesnt really reflect Singapore is the use of Cantonese in between, rather than the more popular Hokkien dialect. This is most likely done for 2 reasons - Cantonese is more marketable and secondly, to give the more atas/ high class image.

This English movie attempt is worth the watch. And I was surprised the cinema was fully packed.

The only minus is that as the movie didnt managed to show how different the past & modern Singapore. Each 4 years still looked pretty similar, which is something not quite true in this fast changing city. And the movie does get a lil draggy at times as well.

Saying all these, this is one good step to more Singapore English movies to come, and hopefully like they say, will later bring them an acclaimed Oscar award.

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Epson Resetter SSCLG 4 20 !

Dear All Resetter,

This is the famous SSCLG epson resetter.
May be U need it for older version of epson printers
***********************************************
Ini adalah resetter yg terkenal dr SSCLG untuk printer Epson
Mungkin ada membutuhkannya langsung sedot aja

Download :
[JOIN OUR MAILING LIST TO GET DOWNLOAD INFO]


Link Page : http://www.ssclg.com/epsone

Happy Reset

Printer Lovers

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Lenovo G550 Review

The new Lenovo G550 is an update to the Value Line G530 with the primary difference being the shift from a 16:10 to a 16:9 screen. This is becoming a common trend for most manufacturers, as they shift to the now more standardized 16:9 screens. The biggest question on our minds is how well this updated budget notebook performs; considering the previous revision earned our Editors Choice award.



See full review here

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Far Cry 2 Game

The first Far Cry game is a first person shooter game that takes the settings in the tropical archipelago. The experience of facing the terrorist forces in a tropical island with beautiful graphics, instantly making Far Cry shift the position of FPS game Counter-Strike as a new experience.

On the development of Far Crys story line, Jack Carter, the main character switches from facing a set of mercenaries hired to guard a research facility on the islands with a series of mutants forces developed by the scientists who mastered the tropical archipelago.

Far Cry 2 is much more to give battle in an area of open space. This will make the gameplay to be increasing, both for the level of difficulty and appeal of cruising. And of course in an area of open space, the eyes of gamers will be spoiled with a more powerful graphical interface with the Cry Engine is more advanced than that used preformance in the game Crysis.

This time, Far Cry 2 will take the setting location in Africa, which means gamers will explore the desert areas, grasslands, forests and small towns. This time gamers have to navigate using a compass and map.

Used more conventional weapons, not weapons like the invention of fiction-themed FPS game alien / futuristic. Likewise with the vehicle. All weapons and vehicles will be damaged. Damaged guns will decrease in accuracy and more difficult to use for aiming. You can throw it or fix it.

Transfer time is running according to the development of the story. In Far Cry 2 this time the game will run in accordance with gamers. If the time needed to explore a little longer, then the cycle time will run automatically. The time difference of day and night will also affect the behavior of the enemy.

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Dark Blogger Template Red Glow

Hello Readers, again we are introducing you to a new dark blogger template. yes another dark template. Please just go to the demo blog here if you are interested to dark theme. Wordpress demo | Blogger / Blogspot demo.

This template is originally created by Xell from Free Ultimate Download | 100% Free Forever for wordpress.org, but thanks to Claudya for ordering this unique theme, so it’s now available on blogger. i have converted it for all you blogger / blogspot maniacs.

To use this template, i suggest you to at least have 4 html/javascript widget, so it will be so much easier for you to edit the design. because like you see on the demo site, it has 4 html/javascript widget. 1 on the right sidebar, and the rest are on the bottom / footer area.

on the center section (left sidebar) you’ll see a recent post list and recent comments list. they are feed widgets actually. you can change it with what ever you want to fill it.

now, if you have been so curious, here is the download links.

For Wordpress Theme:
Wordpress Demo Here
Glow Wordpress Theme 2.0 Download Here

For Blogger / Blogspot Template:
Blogger Demo Here

Downloaded a total of 18061 times

Please Comment. Thank You

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MSI GT660R Review

If youre someone who wants a high-performance gaming notebook packed with 1TB of storage, a 1GB Nvidia GTX 285M graphics card and one of the most powerful Intel Core i7 processors currently on the market then you better be prepared to pay close to $2,500. Well, that was before the MSI GT660R arrived in stores. This 16-inch gaming notebook is packed with premium components, a fantastic speaker system and the ability to overclock the CPU and the GPU for $1,700. Keep reading to find out more.

MSI GT660R Review

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Galactic Civ II Twilight

Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor isnt just a great expansion, its also a wonderful culmination of everything good about the series. Developer Stardock has addressed just about all of the possible complaints about both the original game and its Dark Avatar add-on. Plus, theyve added impactful tech-tree innovations, a climactic campaign, and a host of other tweaks, for a superb example of what an expansion pack should be.

If you are a Gal Civ addict youll be excited about the new tech trees provided for each of the games 12 playable civilizations. Where the Terrans, Drengin, Yor, Thalans, and pals used to share a single tech tree that made all of the civs go about their galactic gallivanting in a similar style, each now has branching-off points that emphasize unique traits. This means that youre now able to play civilizations very differently, as well as make the good guys really good and the bad guys really bad. With the evil Drengin, for example, youre now free to indulge your inner De Sade by spending credits on such horrific goodies as Xeno slavery, slave canyons, and the always entertaining visions of agony philosophy. The murderous Drengin offshoot Korath clan is actually even nastier, with such techs as malicious bargaining, wretched cloning, and dark influence. Terrans, on the other hand, can be happier expansion-minded imperialists with such specialties as majesty, cultural domination, and stellar folding. Extra detail and history have been tossed into each tech as well, giving you insight into each civilizations identity and, in some cases, reinforcing their alien natures.

New visuals have been grafted onto the original games star and planetary maps to give each civilization a distinct look. Each race now has differently styled ships and planetary buildings, lending further unique character to the civs, as well as boosting replay value. Planetary surfaces look different now depending on whos in charge. Drengin worlds come off like utter hellholes, complete with slave pits in place of factories and slaveling imagination labs in place of research facilities. Terran planets look a lot like Earth with standard factories, farms, and research facilities. Thalan worlds are bizarre and time-focused thanks to the temporal entertainment, as well as the incredibly powerful hyperion matrices. Ships have also been reworked with more polygons and texture detail, resulting in a much more varied range of vessels that appear more realistic. The cosmetic differences between the ships in last years Dark Avatar and the ships in Twilight of the Arnor border on astounding, with most of the flat, featureless ship surfaces of the old game being replaced by the sort of detailed, industrial hardware that you would expect to find on a galaxy-spanning vessel. Yet even with these vast improvements, system requirements havent been ramped up; the game runs just as fast and just as smoothly as before.

Other Twilight of the Arnor additions are low-key. The new campaign is an enjoyable wrap to the Dread Lords saga that tells the story of the Terrans finding the last survivor of the ancient Arnor. This ancient super-race put the Dread Lords in their place many thousands of years ago, which means that youre now relying on their tips to do so again, as well as free up the galaxy for unimpeded wars a-plenty between the Drengin and, well, everybody else. A new victory mode called Ascension has been introduced for sandbox play. Here, you can trigger the endgame by discovering five randomly placed crystal anomalies on the map and building star bases around them to retrieve their mystical goodness. If you hold them long enough to ascend to a higher plane of existence, you win the game. There are a couple of significant issues with this victory condition, however. First of all, Ascension crystals are often ignored by rival races, even if theyre located right under their noses in key solar systems. So there rarely seems to be much competition for what is ostensibly the most important resource in the entire galaxy. Second, enemy empires dont seem to have an issue with you setting up star bases around crystals until youre about 150 weeks from victory, whereupon they suddenly notice whats going on and declare war on you, one after the other. This seems very artificial--like youre simply triggering a countdown instead of dealing with intelligent rivals. This lengthy delay also gives you lots of time to put together a massive fleet and create defenses powerful enough to fend off almost any sort of assault.

Military action has also been enhanced--at least in theory--with the addition of terror stars, which are rather familiar-looking planet busters that can blow up a world as quick as you can say "Alderaan." Theyre far too time-consuming and a little too easily destroyed to be a true galaxy-beater, though. Immense galaxies have been added to the list of map choices in sandbox games, providing the option of setting up epic matches that can last for weeks. This option is a bit treacherous for anyone accustomed to previous, saner, galaxy sizes because you have so much space to cover that you can easily overextend yourself early in the game and wind up in major financial difficulty. Editors now allow you to alter every aspect of the game. Numerous interface tweaks make it easier to track technologies, track finance, and even set up automatic ship building whenever new techs are revealed. About the only part of the original game design left untouched is multiplayer, which remains MIA and will probably continue to be absent until Galactic Civilizations III from the looks of things.

Adding this much new life to what should be a very familiar game is an amazing achievement. While no single addition here can be said to make this expansion, the scope of the subtle yet wide-ranging changes greatly improve the Galactic Civilizations II experience. Before Twilight of the Arnor, players could stick to the Terrans and encounter everything that the game had to offer. Now, you deal with something new each and every time you go galaxy conquering with a different alien race, which freshens up a game that was in need of exactly this kind of facelift.


By Brett Todd, GameSpot

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Zynga Slingo

Zynga Slingo has all the charm of the casino without the bank account depressing losses that usually follow in the wake of an addictive slot machine. Those that have stepped foot into one of the many gambling establishments around the world will feel an instant and familiar kinship with this game. Those that have managed, and probably rightly so, to avoid the money gulping (yet fun!) smoky atmosphere of the casino now have an avenue of opportunity to play at their own time and place without being carried away by temptation or having their knee caps busted my mobsters.

One great feature of Zynga Slingo is that it does possess all those qualities of the modern computer slot machine that can be found in casinos but the financially friendly temptation that does arise is completely innocent. Unless youre neglecting your family, friends or job, which is a distinct possibility with this unstoppable game.

The game begins with a quick tutorial that will develop your fundamental understanding of the games rules and objectives. This is a game of quick hand-eye coordination; after hitting the Spin button you must match up the numbers in the bottom row with the corresponding numbers in each column of the playing field. The quicker you match the more coins you will come away with. In later levels there will be more specialized goals to aim for, but "Slingos" (a full row or column of selected numbers) carry big payoffs so it is a constant and continual way to hit a few mini-jackpots. Keep an eye out for wild tiles like the Joker or Super Joker which will allow you to pick any number in a certain column or from the entire board. Some levels can be tough so it pays to keep focused on the cash and energy bars. After the balls (necessary to keep spinning) run out youll have to either cash in to get more or opt out and lose...the latter option, of course, is no option at all for any serious, or even casual, gamer.

Zynga Slingo might not be for everyone. Its gameplay seems fairly focused on a certain crowed and those that fall between the gaps and get a major turn-off from number games, matching games or casino-like games arent going to have such a blast. The levels can be frustrating as you progress, but for those who do find this genre fun the fight to win is worth the effort.

Even if the game is not your usual penchant there is a certain, lets say, primordial satisfaction in collecting the piles of gold coins and bars that rain from the top of the screen like capitalistic manna (from heaven?). A big score brings big piles of that beloved precious metal, and watching it pile up and up in the left meter bar generates that gut-wrenching joy of winning big. Even if it is all an illusion.

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Revlution Renamed Wii

The new console from Nintendo has changed its name! At first I thouht it was a poorly shortend title for the news item and that it was an improvement to the wifi or something but no. I am still trying to work out their reasons behind it. They say it was the anser to the name revolution but I am not blown over by it. Although I have nothing against the name itself, I feel they have left it too late to change it as everyone knows it as the revolution. Apparently the 2 is are meant to represent their controller and playing together. Hopefully the name will grow on me.

Sorry for not writting recently, I have a lot on with SATS and everything, hopefully after next week I will get back to frequent writting, starting with quick reviews for : Black, Oblivion, PGR3, Gost Recon Advanced warfighter and others. Also, full length revies of Civ 4 and Fable the lost chapters.

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Wonderland Online upcoming expansion

 

IGG announced Wonderland Online expansion will be available soon.

Wonderland Online 5.0 – Glory of the Empire will add several fun features to the popular MMORPG. Here is a short preview:


Marriage System
Marriages seem to be very popular among the gamers. With the new expansion players can enjoy a stylish wedding, wear cool wedding dress and so on. (What is so cool about weddings anyway?)

New Maps
The new expansion will bring several new territories including Rome and Persia. Of course you ought to see Caesar and the other new NPCs. The new maps come with new Bosses like the Cyclops, a Winged Bull and other mythic creatures.

Next version will add two new human friends – Shizune and Hayate who will accompany you in your jurneys.

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Software Resetter for Epson C58

1. Download shoftware for epson c58
2. Change your setting PC DATE to Nov 9 2006
3. Delete the folder C:Adjustments_Programs on your PC if it exists.
4. Reboot your PC.
5. Just copy it and place to C:c58 folder for example.
6. UNZIP file C58.rar
7. RUN AdjProg.exe file. Here is it!

Reset waste ink pad counter

* choose Particular adjustment mode
* Maintenance
* Waste ink pad counter
* Check
* Initialization

download http://www.mediafire.com/?nznhyctirk0

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Castanea

Its autumn. Try to knock down all conkers from the tree with least throws possible. Try to knock down all conkers from the tree with least throws possible.

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How to Access and Internet Connection FREE

How to Access and Internet Connection FREE Either way ato is still not fit but did not try yesterday there are some who still have a road and oyi. If one wants to try, mango atuh! Sorry if the language SMS language JYes it was counted for the theory-who knows you are lucky enough to step on the gas ngenet ampe Kill ampe are confused about browsing. Even yesterday there are friends who browse from 7 Malem ampe at 7 am (which is obviously yes see website bokep, bugil ria, and aunt naked round ...) Just abis 1000 silver ...Free StarOneparameters used for connection with chip StarOne,dial number = # 777username / login = wappassword = wapif you use mozilla select Tools => option => advanced => network => settings => select manual proxy configuration, then enter the following proxy:http proxy: 66.29.36.95 port: 554 or 1745live list http://pps.nntime.com/then check use this proxy for all protocols.is a good proxy because it can open halaman2 with SSL 128 bit like yahoomail, e-gold, gmail, internet banking, and all of them, of course could open a myspace page which is your favoriteDial your cdma do, then start browsing ....good luck. Free EsiaYou can use the operator of Foreign Affairs. Fill in your proxy 129.82.12.187 / 216.165.109.82 and Port 3128/3124/3127 (select one)or200.63.213.2 / 66.29.36.95 (username search in http://pps.nntime.com/)with port 554What you need to do is change the proxy settings in your browser.Esia free (alternative)Buy a package Esia card fortunately, continues to use internetan aja, so nah nah definitely reduced my pulse was normal, pulse until later klove USD. 0 hell be able to continue, but better the first abisin aja klo dah pulse created telponan USD. 0 new this internetan pake deh.so do with the setting:log dial upusername: esia / Wifone / Wimodepass: esia / Wifone / Wimodeusername ama paswordnya yes select one wrote, everything can be, well after the entry into the internet we have to use a proxy, enter proxy through firefox click tools, then options, then advanced, network, and then the contents of the manual proxy settings by 200.63.213.2 to port 554 uda deh website and can stay open, weaknesses like the dashed connection and a bit longer, if you want a bit cepet ya got to find another proxy on google a lot, or if you use mozilla select Tools => option => advanced => network => settings => select manual proxy configuration, then enter the following proxy:http proxy: 66.29.36.95 port: 554then check use this proxy for all protocols.at the start browsing you will be asked for your username and password,you can create their own username hereor if you want the full can buy your ownFree Esia (Alternative 2)Buy prime esia whistleDownload here http://rapidshare.com/files/66124802/Proxifier.zip proxifierpass: xteamweb.comUser and pass the standard user and pass aja okay Wimode can also Riang Riang Riang RiangIf it proxifier settingsOption ->> proxy settings ->> add -> enter proxy xteam port 554 ->> check the HTTPS ->> enter your username and password on each of the same love Mimixteam proxy: 72.55.165.86 port 554, user name: Internet untuksemua, pass: changing the hell, it can be seen in http://internetuntuksemua.blogspot.c...ate-proxy.html update.There is always updateable password if there is a change from the X-Team.Options ->> Name Of Resolution ->> select a Remotely are checkedFree SmartSetting MyEnTunnel:====================SSH Server: 68.178.172.19 SSH Server: 72.55.165.86SSH Port: 80 (this has been fixed) SSH Port: 8080Username: dog Username: internetuntuksemuaPass: dirty Pass: free4uCheck: - Reconnect on Failure- Use Private Key- Verbose Logging- Enable Slow Polling- Infinite Retry Attempts- Enable Dyanamic SOCKS Port 80 (this can we foxes to 20, etc.)- Hide Port Connections- Enable Compression- Retry Delay 1- Disable NotificationsAnother Port Options: 20, 443,554,3124,3127, 7999,8000,8088,8888 and 9201Browser Settings:==================filled only with localhost port 80 SOCKSDial Up Settings:==================best suited for SMART (last ESIA) ...SMART username pass cdma cdma # 777ESIA username pass esia esia # 777 Free Smart (alternative)Use proxy 10.17.27.250 port 8080username: cdmapassword: cdmaDial: # 777smart use port 8080,80,8000.Free Smart (Alternative)Although free internet esia is no road, but for cdma users still have other options to be able to use free internet access. One is the free Internet by using proxy 10.17.27.250:8080 smart. Actually, to be able to get the maximum connection, we not need to bother, just modifying a bit of free internet tricks esia who have already been discussed, could ngacir freeway.First, dial your smartSecond, open PuTTY and then set proxy 10.17.27.250:8080 Proxy tab. then on the ssh select the tunnel and enter the desired source port and tick the "dynamic" her.Third, enter the IP free ssh account which has previously shared in the hostname, and enter its ports ssh with port 80.Fourth, run ssh tunnel via PuTTY and open proxifier and set socks proxy ssh tunnel results from there.fifth, restart proxifier and done!FYI, until the time I post, this trick can walk. ga tau later, tomorrow, day after tomorrow .. ato heuheuheue .. ajah pokoe ... good luck ...Free with FlexiTotal cost Flexi (half free lho, who mbayar just uploaded it)Jump Aja our free internet settings ....!1. Make sure the signal in your area bagusss Flexi ....2. Your-Freedom install programs on your computer.3. After install, do not run before Your-Freedomnya.4. Connect your computer to the Internet (# 777, telkomnet @ flexi, telecoms).5. If it is Connect, run Your-Freedom.6. Click the Ports tab and click the checkbox Shock 4 / 5 Port 1080 and click the checkbox Web Proxy Port 8080.7. Back click the Status tab, and then click Configure.8. On the Server Connection with ems09.your-freedom.de contents and the bottom box with udp instead of http port will automatically be replaced with 53.9. Fill Proxy Settings with the IP 203.26.206.132. Fill port with port 554Proxy type HTTP / HTTPS proxy.10. In the Account Information section, fill in his username and password with which you can at the time of listing on the Your-Freedom.11. Check the Messages tab should appear writingsClient Version: 20070511-01 Server Version: 20070510-11 Auth-ok: Port Authentication Accepted Starting Current RTT: xxxx ms ...Furthermore, your browser settings ...., For which use Mozilla, nih settinganya ...1. Click Tools, Options, Advanced, Network, Settings ...2. Select Manual Proxy Configurations3. Empty all the parts except the HTTP, SSL and FTP filled localhost 8080, whileHost Sock fill in localhost port 1080.Then in the No Proxy for fill in localhost, 127.0.0.1,92.168.0.0 / 16Three freeMaybe someone already knows, so it created a blom tau aja ya ... First Tosinet setting free threeusername 3mms3mms passwordapn 3mmsits up to how many clients wanted to ip 10.21.xx.xx or how kek, guns problem. Coolonce connected into the network, please open UltraSurf content with manual proxy 10.4.0.10 port 8080, wait until there is a successful status.to change the proxy settings firefox browser to 127.0.0.1 port 9666 ok.if youve survived just browsing is still often dc, please dioprek further. Tos first.XL GprsNi da Gret dr XL, I try to share, maybe teman2 there who do not know, more or less teman2 Ntar lengkapin yes ...Setting with:IP: 217.27.32.188Port: 9201Add URL to wap.xl.co.id @ as an example:http://wap.xl.co.id @ wap.test.comTo be able to use a full-add as well to:http://wap.xl.co.id @ mobile.aolsearch.com/lnk000 /If you use a PC,winwap try using a browser and can also use Openwave browsers.This trick can only be used if you are in a period of active xl.After active gprs xl make sure your credit has been exhausted or under Rp.2000, -.Now to enter the wap page kesebuahchange http:// to Http: / /Hopefully Helpful ...

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Witch Dress Up

Ever wanted to dress up a magical girl, well now you can. Will you make her a scary Witch or a kind Witch? Or will you make her cute or mean looking? The choice is up to you. Left Click = Drag Item

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New ALL Download Location NO PASSWORD needed

Dear All Resetter

After some consideration, we will used mediafire to host our files
there is no password for these files.
We will update the new link at this thread.
Plz be patient when we upload these files.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Setelah kami pertimbangkan, kami akan menggunakan mediafire
untuk lokasi download file resetter kita,
Juga file disini TIDAK KAMI PASSWORD
Kami akan update daftar link pada topik ini.
Harap bersabar sembari kami menguploadnya

- EPSON -
- CANON -

- HP -


-OTHER-
1. Service Manual Epson R200 & R210

2. Service Manual Epson R260 R265 R270 R360 R380 R390

3. etc
[JOIN OUR MAILING LIST TO GET DOWNLOAD INFO]


Salam Reset

Printer Lovers
PS : phew ... what a hell of a job ... :(

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War Slots

Video slots dedicated to ancient wars

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Bathtub Madness

Fight the ultimate war against the evil soapbars! Use up&down arrow keys to move the brush. Any other key stops the brush.
Hit arrow keys twice for double speed.
Hit space to release the grabbed ball.

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Eternal Lands

Site: http://www.eternal-lands.com/

Eternal Lands is a free MMORPG game under development. It is not so well-known mainly because it is not developed by some large and multinational game development company but a small team.

I really enjoy this type of games – they are not so perfectly working but you can touch part of the game development process. You can visit the developers page and the forum to learn more.

In EL characters are not bond to a profession, they can learn any skill they like and change it anytime. Players can choose between six playable races: humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, orchans and draegoni. I didn’t find much visual difference between the races though.

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FPS Controls on the Wii

Ok, there have been a few FPSs on the Wii, but none have been up to much. I think the Wii is perfect for FPS, because the pointer is even more accurate and intuitive than a mouse. However, if the rest of the controls arent right, then it wont matter about the pointer. So here is a video of what I think the controls should be (and yes, that is me for those who havent seen me before). Enjoy




Controls
B - Shoot
A - Jump
D-Pad - Choose weapons
Analogue Stick - Move
Point - Aim
Numchuq forward - Bring butt of gun forward
Wiimote forward - Normal melee attack
N/W together and forward - Massive attack, kills enemy but takes a few seconds to recover
Z - Grenade
W/ grenade - Pull Numchuq "out" of Wiimote like a pin.
W/ pin out - "lob" the Wiimote, faster you through, further it goes
Let go of Z to let go of grenade.
+/- - Zoom in and out of scope
1 - Bring map up
2 - Crouch
C - Command Mode
Wave Wiimote in different patterns to select different units
Point to tell them where to go, or issue other command like defend

So, what do you think, leave a remark with what you think should be the controls.

In other news, I think GS may have finally redone the union system, as their site is "down for maintenance"

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The perception of games and why it needs to change

Hello, just a quick post. I just posted on my sister blog, Botworks, a article on the public perception of games and why I think it needs to change. It is a topic that means a lot to me and I would really appreciate you guys to have a read and let me know what you think.

(Normal posting to return soon hopefully with a review of Forza 3, which I am still digging)

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D7000 – The return …

For those who are new, I dropped my D7000 from 6 feet on its back and destroyed a lens and thought I had destroyed the body.

This morning I read a note from Nikon acknowledging my request to get the 70-300VR at a discount and suggesting that the D7000 body was almost finished. They said they would contact me when it was done to arrange payment.

So imagine my surprise when the body arrived just before 3pm by FedEx.

It looks great. Everything is straight and the AF works very well. Much better than before. Laser accurate with my AFS 18-200VR. The battery door is still gouged, but they cleaned that up so it is harder to see. And the best part …

No charge.

That’s right, they tuned up the camera and made their adjustments and the bill came back as zero. So unless they have a surprise waiting for me, and the bill is wrong, they were very good to me and to my camera. Things feel a little tighter all around, the AF is dead on, and there is new firmware in it. So all in all I cannot describe how pleased I am at how this turned out.

But here is the best part … I had already allocated the cash for the repair and the lens replacement, so I sent a note to them to switch over to the discounted 80-200 2.8, a much better lens for low light shooting (to which I am rather addicted.) For distance, I can add the excellent Tamron 1.4x teleconverter to get to 280mm at f/4, which is one stop faster than the 70-300 at 300mm. Of course, I give up VR, but that is a small price to pay for the image quality that the 80-200 is capable of. And of course my birthday is 3 days from now, so this is the ultimate gift to myself :-)

Now … images. The X-S1 took a couple of decent flash images of the body after repairs:

fuji x-s1  800iso  f/5.6  1/3  -1.67ev (oops)

Nice and straight. It was bent completely out of shape, if you remember. http://letkeman.net/Photos/albums/fujixs1/DSCF7641_X_S1_19_mm_ISO_3200_1_9_sec_at_f_3_6.jpg

Note the fabulous Wimberly P5 Universal Body Plate. This thing rocks for 50 bucks. Portable to any body you buy in the future. I used to buy L-Brackets for every body, but that’s just too expensive. Here’s a review: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Wimberley-P5-Camera-Plate-Review.aspx

The battery door has deep gouges, but I frankly like it. Gives the camera character. And it serves to remind me to avoid brain farts like the one that damaged it in the first place.

---

So how well does it work? The following images are shot with an SB800 flash in my left hand as a remote to the commander on the D7000. The excellent 50mm 1.8D lens is attached and set to f/2.2. ISO is 400 and shutter speed is 1/250. Strangely, metering is set to center-weighted. Not quite sure why.

Nick and Jon as Nick is back after a week long trip to Nova Scotia. Nick is practicing various songs that he and Ben played at a pub in Dartmouth, N.S. last Tuesday. The gig went well and they plan to continue here in Ottawa.

And one shot of the garden … late evening after a wicked storm that knocked power out twice this afternoon. Things are looking pretty lush …

So ... it works. And very well. I’m pretty pleased with the result.

Read More..

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (Adelson/Sussman)

Read More..

For 16billion Whatsapp becomes Facebooks property

Facebook Inc will buy fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp for $16 billion in cash and stock, as the worlds largest social network looks for ways to boost its popularity, especially among a younger crowd.

Facebook said on Wednesday it will pay $4 billion in cash and about $12 billion in stock in its single largest acquisition, dwarfing the $1 billion it paid for photo-sharing app Instagram.

Shares in Facebook slid 5 percent to $64.70 after hours, from a close of $68.06 on the Nasdaq.

As part of the deal, WhatsApp co-founder and Chief Executive Jan Koum will join Facebooks board, and the social network will grant an additional $3 billion worth of restricted stock units to WhatsApps founders, including Koum.

What does Facebook stand to gain?

WhatsApp has grown massively since its inception – int he calendar year 2013 its users sent 18 billion messages and received 36 billion in return – a massive number that is fully three times the previous year’s metrics. But massive growth and a defensible position are two different things – WhatsApp had rivals, from Apple , Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. It also had the lofty ambition (if difficult form a revenue perspective) of not pushing advertising onto its users.

Facebook hasn’t yet commented about what this means for WhatsApp and, more importantly how they’re leverage those massive numbers to deliver value back to the company. One assumes that CEOMark Zuckerberg believes WhatsApp has the scale to have created a real degree of stickiness and hence be somewhat insulated from any potential customer revolt that might come from a move towards advertising on the platform. Then again users won’t exactly like their conversations being mined to deliver advertising to their Facebook profiles either.

This is one of those strategic acquisitions that could go awesomely, or horribly wrong. It’s a big, ballsy move by Facebook and will be watched by the industry, and the financial markets, very closely.

Read More..

Gunpla Builders World Cup 2014 GBWC Contest Info

Gunpla Builders World Cup 2014 (GBWC) - Contest Info

Info via Gundam.Info

Announcement of application criteria for the official Bandai "Gunpla Builders World Cup 2014" Gundam model competition!
GWBC is a worldwide competition. The world finals will be held in Japan!
We look forward to your entry!

GBWC 2014 General Information

【Host Countries and Regions】
13 countries and regions
Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, North America, Italy,

【Tournament Period】
GBWC2014 will be held after March 2014 in each country/region.
* Application deadline and dates of preliminary competitions vary by location.
　Details will be published on GUNDAM.INFO.

【Category】
(1) Open Category: ages 15 and up (Date of birth : before December 31st, 1999)
(2) Junior Category: ages 14 and under (Date of birth : after January 1st, 2000)

*1. Contestants must fulfill the age limit at the time of entry.
*2. The competition will be held only in those two categories listed above.


=========================================================

■National competition
Entries to the competition can be made via either Website entry or Walk-in entry.
Overlapping entries may be disqualified.

・Website entry
Please follow the instructions to submit an entry via Website entry form.
One winner in each category will be selected by a group of judges from BANDAI including Master Kawaguchi. The winners will receive a paid trip to the national competition.

・Website competition regulation
Please upload three images of your model via Website entry form. All the images must follow the criteria listed below.
Image 1 (front view): Front facing image of the model.
Image 2 (back view): Back facing image of the model.
Image 3 (supplementary picture): Selling point of the model.
*All images must be 2MB or smaller, must be in JPEG format.
Please make sure that the images are of good quality. Entries with low quality images may be disqualified.
*Contestants are fully responsible for any cost of internet access and data fees for entry.

・Walk-in entry
Please follow the instructions to register in advance before you bring your model to the event.
Your model will be displayed in the event space.
*The selected models via Website entry will also be displayed in the event space.

・Judging

The models will be judged by the group of judges from BANDAI including Master Kawaguchi, modelers and experts appointed by BANDAI. The criteria for judging will be its craftsmanship, painting and idea (concept) .

■International Competition
Winners from each of the national competitions will be entered into the international competition at Japan by the end of this year. (The GBWC2013 World Finals was held at "Gundam Front Tokyo" in Japan on December 22nd. Details will be announced later.)
*The trip to the World Championship in Japan including travel and accommodation costs will be paid by BANDAI.
 (One winner in each of the Open and Junior categories per country)

・Judging
The models will be evaluated and the world champion will be selected by the group of judges from BANDAI including Master Kawaguchi, the editors from Hobby Japan, Dengeki Hobby Magazine and Model Graphix.

=========================================================
・National competition
The following prizes will be given to each of the separate category winners from first to third place.
(1)  Special Prize
(2)  HG RX-78-2 GUNDAM Ver.G30th black smoke clear Ver.

・The first place winners in national competitions
One winner from each of the categories
 (1)Plaque (It will be given at the World Championship)
 (2)GBWC 2014 World Championship entry qualification (Paid trip to the competition including accommodation)

*1. Open category national competition winners will be awarded with a trip to the international competition in Japan, including travel and accommodation costs paid for by BANDAI.
*2. Junior category national competition winners and their guardians (one person per winner) will be awarded with a trip to the World Championship in Japan including travel and accommodation costs paid for by BANDAI.
* BANDAI is not responsible for anyones traveling costs other than the ones listed above.

 (3)Invitation to GBWC 2014 Party

・The winners in GBWC 2014 World Championship (The following prizes will be given to each of the separate category winners from first to third place.)
Open Category 1st place: GBWC 2014 gold trophy and prize.
Open Category 2nd place: GBWC 2014 silver trophy and prize.
Open Category 3rd place: GBWC 2014 bronze trophy and prize.
Junior Category 1st place: GBWC 2014 gold trophy and prize.
Junior Category 2nd place: GBWC 2014 silver trophy and prize.
Junior Category 3rd place: GBWC 2014 bronze trophy and prize.
=========================================================
 ＜To Minor＞
・Please read the rules listed below with your guardian before entry.
Submissions will be accepted under the assumption that you have obtained your guardians consent.

＜Eligibility＞
・To be eligible to enter to the competition, an individual entrant must reside in the areas of the competition at the time of entry.
・Minor entrants must have guardians consent.
・Both pros and amateurs are eligible.

 ＜Rules＞
・Limit of one entry per person. (If both web and carry-in entries are available at your location, please choose one)
・The model must be made by the entrant.
・The model must be in dimensions no larger than 50cm x 50cm x 50cm. (19.68in x 19.68in x 19.68in)
*The use of non-Bandai parts will not be eligible for points.
                                               
 ＜Prohibition＞
・The model must be created with plastic model original kits by BANDAI (use of copied and counterfeit products are prohibited)

・We prohibit the entry of a works which encroach or may encroach upon any third partys portrait rights, intellectual property rights such as copyright and any other rights.
(i.e.: No company logos, trademarks, or product lettering (etc.) may be used (unless prior permission has been obtained from the rights-holder).
The entrant will be fully responsible for its settlement as well as any cost which may occur in case of any disputes resulting from the submitted models. The entrant is also responsible for compensations for any damages for BANDAI and or the third parties.

・BANDAI has the right to disqualify the entry or delete images from the website if the model is or may be considered as listed below.

1. Work which is contrary to morality or public order.
2. Work which contains personal information.
3. Work which contains slanderous expressions toward certain persons or groups.
4. Work which is mimicked or copied off of someone elses work.
5. Work which infringes on a third-partys copyright.
6. Inappropriate works which is not consistent with the purpose of this competition.


【Handling of the submitted work】

■Submitted images of your work will not be returned.
■Handling of the actual work (plastic models) will be listed below.

 (a) Winning works of Web entry and the national competitions
・You may be disqualified from the World Championship if the work has been significantly altered or modified after winning Web entry or national competition. BANDAI has all the rights to its decision.

・Power supply/connection for display of your work may not be available at the event space.
BANDAI is not responsible for batteries and maintenances.

・The work will be returned to you 12 to 18 months after the competition for contest judging, event display and photo shoots. BANDAI will not pay for any rental/withholding fee for this period.

・Please keep your work for one year after we return it to you. Winning works may be asked to be displayed at future events etc.
・BANDAI is not responsible for any traveling costs associated with the personal collection of your work.
(b) Non winning works will be returned after judging.

・BANDAI will not bear any responsible for any damage or loss which occurs during shipping.
・The organizer will be extremely careful while handling your work, but we cannot fully guarantee its safety.

【Use of submitted work by BANDAI and others】

・By entering, contestants agree to BANDAI and others who are appointed by BANDAI (us) to use submitted works (photograph, title, comments, winning models images taken by us, images which were sent to us for the final judging and actual winning pieces) for the purposes listed below.

 Contestants also agree to us deciding to release or not to release entrants name, age, area of residency (states, prefecture and or equivalent to it) as information regarding the entrants.

1. Publishing in BANDAI Hobby website, GUNDAM.INFO, other websites and publications (including domestic/international TVCM) which are operated/created by us.
　  2. Publishing in mediums such as hobby magazines.
 　 3. Displaying at various events.
　  4. Publishing in other forms for the purpose of promoting this competition and Gunpla.

・Contestants agree to us altering images by adjusting colors, cropping, correcting typographical errors in comments and title, editing comments etc. for the purposes listed above.
・The organizer will be extremely careful while handling your work, but we cannot fully guarantee its safety.

【Announcement of results in each country】
・The results are announced at each national competition. We will also make announcements on our website.
* We will not respond to any inquiries regarding the progress and/or the results of judging.

【Confidentiality agreement】
・By entering the competition, entrants agree to BANDAI using personal information in the conditions listed below.

  1. Managing entries to this competition.
   2. Contacting entrants to verify and/or to inform winning announcements as well as inquiry correspondence.

   3. Displaying the submitted work with the contestants name etc., as well as other purposes for using works.
・We do not share contestants private information with third parties without entrants agreement or under conditions that are necessary for fulfilling legal obligations, and to use for publications and other things that are listed on the official rules.

*Category Notes*

The below 4 categories are open to participants in eligible countries.
First to third place will be awarded in each category.
(It will be published on GUNDAM.INFO.)

A: ages 0-10
B: ages 11-14
C: ages 15-20
D: ages 21 and up

Two contestants from each country will advance to the finals in Japan. One junior category competitor (up to 14 years old, chosen from A or B), and one open category competitor (15 years old or older, chosen from C or D) will advance.
(These are the same criteria as the 2013 competition) Some countries may have differing criteria.

Read More..

PYTHON Additional Examples and Usages of XML

In previous post, I talked a lot about XML and probably some of you got confused on how we can really use this XML writing and reading knowledge to do export import of data.

This is fine because with the XML Read and Write, you really have a lot of concepts to digest:

• Using Element Tree XML built in module
• Concept of XML: tag, element
• Using File function of Python to write out to file
• Using and constructing data that is like Dictionary: keys, items, values
• Data type conversions
• Understanding of Path Location of XML file in your Operating Systems

This XML concept is also still fairly new to me and I only understand the basic to write out the XML style format and read it back in.

Take it easy and slowly with this XML. See the pattern.

However as we know, even the basic knowledge can be really useful. I will further expand the idea from previous post. Feel free to ask me questions if you dont have clue what I am talking about.

DIY Write & Read of XML

For this, I will start by copying and pasting the template construct from previous post on XML and modify it slightly each time for each example below. It would be better to understand the xml.etree module, but we could also simply use the construct as long you know what it does in the background.

We will definitely use some simple BPY to collect information and data we needed to export about the 3D scenes. Our focus is on how the data can flow out of Blender and bring it in back into Blender or to other 3D packages.

Remember that Python scripting, like any other programming language, is something you learn and master by actually practicing it and making mistake and fixing it.

If you understand my style of blog writing, I actually improvise while writing. Often I do not actually plan the topic. This blog is more like Journal. I explore certain feature, I am testing and documenting each steps and then I will write it down. I guess you could do the same thing.

Hopefully with this examples, you can start to get curious and try your own XML export import.

It will get easier every time you try it yourself. My examples are there to assist you. Try doing the same thing without looking at my examples and you will start to understand.

Keep digging the Python language and Python in Blender, it will be worth it.

EXAMPLE 1: XML Transform Information (Position, Rotation, Scale) of objects

The idea is to get the Name, Translations, Rotations and Scales data of every selected objects and writing it out as XML. Below is such example of code. It can be optimized, but below should work and the code is pretty easy to read.

Maybe I have bunch of Boxes in random Position, Rotation, Scale in Blender that I want to export out as XML data.

WRITE OUT:

Taken from: Blender Sushi Blog
Code by:  Jimmy Gunawan
Last update: 20130420





import bpy
from xml.etree import cElementTree as ElementTree

# PRETTY PRINT
# function to pretty print the XML code
def prettyPrint(element, level=0):
    
    Printing in elementTree requires a little massaging
    Function taken from elementTree site:
    http://effbot.org/zone/element-lib.htm#prettyprint

    
    indent = 
 + level *   
    if len(element):
        if not element.text or not element.text.strip():
            element.text = indent +   

        if not element.tail or not element.tail.strip():
            element.tail = indent

        for element in element:
            prettyPrint(element, level + 1)

        if not element.tail or not element.tail.strip():
            element.tail = indent

    else:
        if level and (not element.tail or not element.tail.strip()):
            element.tail = indent

    return element

### Collecting some information data about the scene ###

# In this example we collect the selected object Transforms
# aka Position (Translation/Location), Rotation, and Scale XYZ
# and writing out the data as XML format

# Create ROOT node
rootNode = ElementTree.Element(world)

# Get Selected Objects
selected_objects = bpy.context.selected_objects

for object in selected_objects:
    myLocs = object.location
    myRots = object.rotation_euler
    myScales = object.scale
    
    # Create node = CHILD element
    elementNode = ElementTree.Element({object}.format(object=object.name))
    
    # Parent CHILD node to ROOT
    rootNode.append(elementNode)

    # Adding attribute translations
    elementNode.attrib[TX] = str(myLocs[0])
    elementNode.attrib[TY] = str(myLocs[1])
    elementNode.attrib[TZ] = str(myLocs[2])
    
    # Adding attribute rotations
    elementNode.attrib[RX] = str(myRots[0])
    elementNode.attrib[RY] = str(myRots[1])
    elementNode.attrib[RZ] = str(myRots[2])
    
    # Adding attribute scales
    elementNode.attrib[SX] = str(myScales[0])
    elementNode.attrib[SY] = str(myScales[1])
    elementNode.attrib[SZ] = str(myScales[2])

    # Adding text
    elementNode.text = {object}.format(object=object.name)


### WRITING OUT IN A CLEAN WAY IS A BIT COMPLEX... WE USE THE PRETTY PRINT

# Pretty print the rootNode
prettyPrint(element=rootNode)

# We need to convert to STRING before we can see the whole thing
xmlText = ElementTree.tostring(rootNode)

# FINAL RESULT, we need to append the HEADER
print ( <?xml version="1.0" ?>
{xmlText}.format(xmlText=xmlText) )

### NOW WE LIKE TO WRITE OUT THE XML TO FILE
outputPath = rC:pythonInBlender	ransOut.xml

fileObject = open(outputPath, w)
fileObject.write(<?xml version="1.0" ?>
 + xmlText.decode(utf8))
fileObject.close()

print(XML file has been written in here: {outputPath}.format(outputPath=outputPath))

THE XML:

READ IN:

Taken from: Blender Sushi Blog
Code by:  Jimmy Gunawan
Last update: 20130420





import bpy

from xml.etree import cElementTree as ElementTree

xmlPath = C:/pythonInBlender/transOut.xml

xmlRoot = ElementTree.parse(xmlPath).getroot()


def applyTransform():

    for element in xmlRoot:

        # Get the NAME of objects
        objectName = element.tag
        print(objectName)
        
        # Tell Blender to get the current object data by its name
        object = bpy.data.objects[{objectName}.format(objectName=objectName)]
        print(object)

        # Get all element keys
        myKeys = element.keys()
        # print(myKeys)

        # Get Position, Rotation and Scale data            
        posX, posY, posZ = float(element.get(TX)), float(element.get(TY)), float(element.get(TZ))
        rotX, rotY, rotZ = float(element.get(RX)), float(element.get(RY)), float(element.get(RZ))
        scaleX, scaleY, scaleZ = float(element.get(SX)), float(element.get(SY)), float(element.get(SZ))

        # Apply Position, Rotation and Scale data to corresponding object by its name
        object.location = posX, posY, posZ
        object.rotation_euler = rotX, rotY, rotZ
        object.scale = scaleX, scaleY, scaleZ
            
applyTransform()

The code above is very specific about Object Name and that is just one way we can do this. If for the same objects we reset their position, we can then run the script and magically put them back into positions specified from XML.

The above example is not particularly amazing example because we can achieve the same thing using DAE Collada Export Import, for example. Although with DAE, we usually have limited options and flexibility.

We could bring the XML data to other 3D package and actually do ANYTHING with it. Keep in mind that the World XYZ Orientation might be different in other package.

This kind of code is probably good for saving out "Presets"or maybe "Character Poses". I have not looked at it deeply. It has potential for Assembly script. Although Blender File System and Referencing are actually already pretty cool and we can probably do the script based on that system. But if we want to bring it outside and inside other package, then XML seems to be nice.

From the above basic example, we can take the concept to place some Monkeys in the 3D scene, if we can think of every Cubes as Bounding Box:

READ IN, BUT CAST AS MONKEYS:

Taken from: Blender Sushi Blog
Code by:  Jimmy Gunawan
Last update: 20130420





import bpy

from xml.etree import cElementTree as ElementTree

xmlPath = C:/pythonInBlender/transOut.xml

xmlRoot = ElementTree.parse(xmlPath).getroot()


def createMonkeyFromData():

    for element in xmlRoot:

        objectName = element.tag

        if TX in element.keys():

            # Get Position Data            
            posX, posY, posZ = float(element.get(TX)), float(element.get(TY)), float(element.get(TZ))

            # Create Suzanne based at position XYZ
            bpy.ops.mesh.primitive_monkey_add( location=(posX, posY, posZ) )
            
            monkey = bpy.context.selected_objects[0]
            print (monkey)
            
            # Get Rotation and Scale data
            rotX, rotY, rotZ = float(element.get(RX)), float(element.get(RY)), float(element.get(RZ))
            scaleX, scaleY, scaleZ = float(element.get(SX)), float(element.get(SY)), float(element.get(SZ))
            
            # Rotate and Scale monkey accordingly from data
            monkey.rotation_euler = rotX, rotY, rotZ
            monkey.scale = scaleX, scaleY, scaleZ
            
 
createMonkeyFromData()

NOT EXACT DIMENSION SIZE
We apply the Transform data from the Cubes into the Monkeys, although is not really the accurate Bounding Box or Dimension data. Because some parts of the monkey is poking out.

If you are questioning about it.We could export out the Dimension data as XML from the first place and apply it to the monkeys to get more accurate result.

Example on how to get dimension data of object to pass on:
bpy.data.objects[{object_name}].dimensions
bpy.data.objects[Cube].dimensions

EXAMPLE 2: Reading In Custom Attribute Data

Let say we have XML data with arbitrary Custom Attribute and values. We did not create the date from Blender. Someone else did it. Maybe we grab the data from the Internet.

The XML data can be anything:

1. Yahoo! Weather XML data

• City Location
• Temperature High
• Temperature Low
• Todays Date

2. Facebook XML data

• Persons Name
• Persons Photo
• Persons Age
• Persons Likes

3. Google Map data

• Latitude
• Longitude
• Name of State
• etc

What we can do is simply READING those data and then visualizing it in Blender. 

A simple example, XML like below:

<world>

<Object1 COLOR="red" SIZE="5.0"/>

<Object2 COLOR="green" SIZE="2.0"/>

<Object3 COLOR="blue" SIZE="0.5"/>

</world>

OR MORE PROPERLY:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>

<world>

  <Object1 COLOR="red" SIZE="5.0"></Object1>

  <Object2 COLOR="green" SIZE="2.0"></Object2>

  <Object3 COLOR="blue" SIZE="0.5"></Object3>

</world>

(Save the bottom one as customData.xml.)

Ok, let say from those data, I will apply it to the Monkey.001, Monkey.002, and Monkey.003 objects in the 3D scene that I have prepared.

The Suzanne Three Sisters

What I am trying to do is to tell Blender:

Object1 --> Monkey.001 --> apply SIZE, apply MATERIAL with Diffuse Color = COLOR

Object2 --> Monkey.002 --> apply SIZE, apply MATERIAL with Diffuse Color = COLOR

Object3 --> Monkey.003 --> apply SIZE, apply MATERIAL with Diffuse Color = COLOR

The script can be as below:

READ IN CUSTOM XML

Taken from: Blender Sushi Blog

Code by:  Jimmy Gunawan

Last update: 20130420






import bpy

from xml.etree import cElementTree as ElementTree

xmlPath = C:/pythonInBlender/customData.xml

xmlRoot = ElementTree.parse(xmlPath).getroot()


def applyColorToMonkey():

    for element in xmlRoot:
        
        # Create Materials with Color based on the NAME  
        colorname = element.get(COLOR)
        mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name={colorname}.format(colorname=colorname))
        
        # Create our own custom dictionary of color
        colorDict = {red:[1.0,0.0,0.0], green:[0.0,1.0,0.0], blue:[0.0,0.0,1.0]}
        
        # Assign specified Diffuse Color into Material
        myColor = colorDict.get(colorname)
        bpy.data.materials[colorname].diffuse_color = myColor
        
        # Get the NAME of objects
        objectName = element.tag
        objectNumber = int(objectName.strip(Object))
        monkeyName = Monkey.{objectNumber:03}.format(objectNumber=objectNumber)
        
        print (monkeyName)
        
        # Tell Blender to get the monkey data by its name
        object = bpy.data.objects[{monkeyName}.format(monkeyName=monkeyName)]
        
        # Assign our Material to corresponding Monkey
        object.data.materials.append(mat)
            
def applyScaleToMonkey():

    for element in xmlRoot:

        # Get the NAME of objects
        objectName = element.tag
        objectNumber = int(objectName.strip(Object))
        monkeyName = Monkey.{objectNumber:03}.format(objectNumber=objectNumber)
        
        print (monkeyName)
        
        # Tell Blender to get the monkey data by its name
        object = bpy.data.objects[{monkeyName}.format(monkeyName=monkeyName)]
        
        print(object)

        # Get SIZE data and assign it to Scale Variables        
        scaleX, scaleY, scaleZ = float(element.get(SIZE)), float(element.get(SIZE)), float(element.get(SIZE))

        # Apple Scale to Monkeys
        object.scale = scaleX, scaleY, scaleZ


applyColorToMonkey()
applyScaleToMonkey()

If the above code run as planned, we are getting something like below. This is the power of XML and Python and Python in Blender.

We should be able to:

• Write XML data (free the data to the ouside)
• Read XML data (from any source)
• Process the data
• Apply the data

The code above can be further cleaned up and probably expanded

• Error Checking
• Check if object exist
• Making sure Blender does not keep generating same Material Name when we run the script multiple times.

FURTHER ON WITH XML

See if you can play with the idea further more:

• Assigning "specific Texture Name" for each Material to be assigned into "specific" objects
• Procedurally generate XML data 
• Can we perhaps use other tool like Processing to generate XML and then bring it into Blender?
• Turn it into Animation, let say if we have XML data in corresponding to Frame Number.
• Find some XML data from Internet and bring it into Blender and visualize it.
• Almost "Real time" XML data with refresh?

OTHER VIDEO TUTORIAL RELATED TO XML

Luiz Kruel @Eat3D

http://eat3d.com/free/maya_python

Based from his video tutorial, below is the converted Blender Script that does the XML export using MINIDOM.

from xml.dom.minidom import Document

import bpy

doc = Document()

root_node = doc.createElement("Blender Scene Info")

doc.appendChild(root_node)

# Get selected objects

selection = bpy.context.selected_objects

# Just print out selected objects name

for num, item in enumerate(selection):

    print (num, item.name)

# Add into XML tree:

for object in selection:

    object_node = doc.createElement(str(object.name))

    root_node.appendChild(object_node)

    object_locX = object.location.x

    object_locY = object.location.y

    object_locZ = object.location.z

    object_node.setAttribute("locationX", str(object_locX))

    object_node.setAttribute("locationY", str(object_locY))

    object_node.setAttribute("locationZ", str(object_locZ))

    

print()

print()

print()

xml_file = open("C:/test.xml", "w")

xml_file.write(doc.toprettyxml())

xml_file.close()

print ( doc.toprettyxml() )

Read More..