Man, I haven't updated this place in a long time. I keep thinking I will, then just never do. There's just not much to say regarding the things here, as I haven't worked on any of them for a while. I'm still doing work on Hazard Labs for the most part. I've programmed OMNICORE there, which runs a lot of the site, and is gradually taking over more and more tasks. Somewhat connected to OMNICORE is the Omnidex, which I kind of described last time, but it's a database and interface of sorts to access info, images, and sounds related to video game characters. Currently, I've been working on Millennimals, which is basically a Neopets-ish type thing. It's sheduled to be released the day after tomorrow (Feb 1st), but I don't see much of it being done the way things are going. It can still go up, but just with limited functionality.

In other news, I finally downloaded a Java development kit, and have started skimming over how to program with it. I'm not really sure if it has a lot of advantages over Flash, and since Flash allows easy animation, I may not use Java for much of anything. But, it's a good thing to know, so I'm gonna give it a try.
posted at 6:50 PM

I've noticed that some folks that have linked to the site are doing so to the https://members.tripod.com/~zeltar address, as well as that being what shows up on Google first. As a result, images weren't loading on the page properly, so I added a new loading page to redirect everyone to the correct http://zeltar.tripod.com location.

I've still been doing Hazard Labs stuff lately, with the idea of a classic sprite-based game floating around. Aside from that, we've updated the main page's interface, and the Omnidex (a repository of video game creatures and characters) is being overhauled again, so there's plenty of work for me to get done.

I've also made some little Flash cartoons based on the Meanwhile comic over there recently. They might not make sense unless you go read it, but here are the links anyhow:

meanwhile1.html
meanwhile65.html
fyberfly.html
meanwhile30.html

posted at 10:54 PM

New layout!

I've been so tired of the ads lately that I went back to a non-frames design. They can stick their ad at the top if they wanna, as long as the popups are down to an absolute minimum.

I also added Gordon Episode 4, which has been up on Hazard Labs for a week or so now.

posted at 3:05 PM

Well here's a new update, finally. Not a lot to mention on the Planet Zentax front, though I've done a lot of stuff at Hazard Labs lately. Pop on over and click on the Rec Room button, and you can try the Memory and Spug Shock games I made. I've also done a lot of html work and stuff lately for the place. Not to mention, there's about 4 Hazard Labs-related Windows games that've had work started on'em. No idea on release dates on those, though. Right now I think we'll stay focused on Flash, since it's easier to put everything together using it, despite my computer being the slow beast that it is and not running it well. I'd like to get several Flash games under my belt, anyhow.

Also, for those missing new Gordon episodes, you might be happy to know the Spug Shock game was partially based around it. Go play and see!

That's about all I can think to ramble about for now, so until the next time.

posted at 2:07 AM

The Tripod ads are getting a little outrageous. I got 4 just loading the main page just now. Though I think that's cause it's a frames page, so I may try to go non-frames to reduce the number of ads for now, unless I can get at least $5 flowing to them each month to get a pay account.

I'm still working on a programming project for Hazard Labs (or well two, actually). Both have come along pretty good so far. Though this is that frustrating stage where you try to make all the core components work, and work together, so that you have something to build on. I believe I see the light at the end of the tunnel now though. And I've definately learned how to do a few things which I'll need in the future. One of which is that I finally figured out and perfected mouse-clicking on objects in a 3d environment.

Speaking of which, I've seriously considered lately having a section devoted to teaching others how to do DirectX programming and such. I've read countless tutorials and web pages over the years to learn this stuff on my own, so I thought I'd try to return the favor by helping others learn it.

Anyhoo, I have 99 of the 100 secret thingers in Vice City, so I have to go through the entire list to see which one was missed. Blah!


posted at 12:03 PM

Blah, Tripod is throwing up ads when you click on any of the buttons now. The whole point in me making the site frames was because the only ads you got back then was when you first went to it. Oh well. Maybe when I get some cash rolling in I'll pay Tripod to stick the ads somewhere else.

After discovering that collision detection is pretty difficult to implement in anything that's not pure 2d movement, I've put the graphical DOZ project on hold for a little bit again while I work on a joint project with Hazard Labs. It'll work out for the best though, as you learn stuff with every project which you take with you to the next one. It can't hurt to get in some more basic collision detection experience with this one.

I noticed in the Bio that I said "jaz" and not "jazz", which I fixed earlier. I'm not stupid, trust me!

Now that my computer has decided to behave (or at least I hope), I'll try to get some work done.


posted at 2:43 PM

Believe it or not, but I finally finished up v1.2 of Electris. After looking in the code and thinking about what exactly I needed to do to get the new version done, I realized it wasn't gonna take much time at all. So I finished up the loose ends and tada, v1.2 is done. I still didn't add multiple music tracks, but at least the Ogg Vorbis support is there, along with the full version of the original track.

In any case, go to the Electris page to download a copy.

posted at 5:17 PM