Blogs - Blaise170

I've now been on ModDB for nearly 12 years, by far one of my oldest online accounts that is still active. I'm now actually in the software industry and develop mobile applications as a QA Engineer. I still have a keen interest in gaming, though life gets in the way (as it does for everyone) and I don't even game much anymore. It will probably still be a long time yet before I do any further modding for things. If you need to get in touch with me, you can still contact me easily via twitter or Instagram @Blaise170.

Just some banter that is on my mind. I've watched the industry grow since the dot com bubble and gaming is now mainstream entertainment, it's no longer just for nerds. On one hand, it warms my heart to see that people are interacting with technology in exciting ways, but with the caveats that more and more companies are doing the bare minimum to push profits (a prime example is the Call of Duty series, which is now older than many gamers alive today, yet keeps getting rehashed year by year). Of course, there is something to be said about video game addiction too, and it's important to get out and do something else (I feel like such a parent saying that). Video games have helped me through both the highs and lows in life, caused highs and lows in my life, led me to meet great friends and great enemies.

Video games are a great medium as you can tell your story and let your audience interact directly with it. Some of my best memories from childhood are from spending hours playing the latest game and trying to best my friends in split screen or taking in the incredible storylines of games like The Legend of Dragoon or Final Fantasy. Here's to many more years of gaming and I hope that everyone can appreciate the beauty of gaming.

I will stay on an extended hiatus from modding because I am just way too busy. I've learned quite a bit more about programming, as I have now experienced the languages of Python, Java, C, C++, Pascal, and Assembly. This should help with actual modding in the future, as it gives me way more leverage in the modifying of game code and further being able to create my own code for games.

I do not know when I will come back to ModDB, though I certainly will at some point. I still want to mod for the Command & Conquer series, and I may try to bring back some of my old mods from the likes of Oblivion or other older games. I now have every Command & Conquer game again, except for a couple of expansion packs that I will try to get from a Steam sale sometime.

Feel free to add me on Steam at Blaise170. Just let me know you are from here and I'll be sure to add you. Here ends my update, so everyone please have a great day and I will see you again sometime.

Before I leave on hiatus again for awhile, I wanted to just say something about the game of Runescape. I used to love playing the game and only recently quit (1 January 2013). This is taken from my Amazon review of the game. Some people will be indifferent or favorable of this review, but I imagine that some will be offended by it, so read it at your own risk.

I played Runescape for over 8 years, so I know what I'm talking about here. Everyone talks about how good the game was "back in the day", and those who disagree just say that it's because we, as veterans, were young. While that may hold true, the game was also run by a different Jagex than it is today. Jagex used to actually care about player input, but in recent years came under control of the investment firm IVP (Insight Venture Partners). While this was beneficial to the game for quite awhile, it has eventually caused the game as a whole to take a turn for the worst.

In the Runescape community, players have actively voiced their frustrations over the introduction of microtransactions into the game. While this is common in most modern MMO's (and indeed in any kind of free game), Jagex took a stance at the beginnings of Runescape that they would never allow "Real World Trading", or RWT as used by players, into the game. They stood by this principle because they didn't want to give players an unfair advantage in the game based on their financial background. Recently though, Jagex removed this from their ToS and introduced the Squeel of Fortune, a way to gamble real-world money for prizes. The game itself was fun for awhile, but eventually becomes so much of a grind that most of the players in the game now use macros in order to play the game for them. This may seem detrimental to the game, but Jagex has been so lax on them that they continue to grow and multiply. Botting has become so common that the game itself is almost boring to play because there is no one to socialize with.

The combat was unique for much of the game's lifetime, but was recently changed by their "Evolution of Combat" update. While I was indifferent on the update, it caused many people to stop playing the game as they found the new combat system to be too complicated, in comparison to the old system which was relaxed and "afk-able". The game continues to lose players. I also completed every quest released in the game, but in the last year or so, I have really disfavored the new quests that Jagex has released. Maybe the game has just lost its magic, but I strongly believe that it is simply the updates, and not the game itself (since I still occasionally enjoyed some friendly player-versus-player combat or a minigame).

I hold out giving this game one star because of the entertainment I had for several years while playing the game. I eventually turned to botting because of the scourge of macros in the game. I continued on like this for the last few years, never really enjoying the game like I should have, and quitting once along the way. While it amused me to see my character progress into the near-maxed account it became, there was nothing left for me to really do in the game since I had completed all of the quests, played all of the minigames, and had no real-world friends that played with me anymore. I really wish that I could still enjoy the game like I used to, but the magic of this game has simply left.

Hello everyone. I have another quick update for you. I'm now in upper-level computer science classes, with a full semester of Python/Jython under my belt, and quite a bit of Java experience. Java is extremely difficult for me, but I should hopefully be able to work it out.

On that note, I still don't really have much time to do any modding, but I still come by every once in awhile. I'm hoping that once I get past this Data Structures course that I will be able to do some more modding, with the experience of two (three if you count the Java-based Python variant Jython) programming languages to help.

I have very little free time, and the time that I do have is mostly spent either studying or sleeping. I've literally only played about 20 hours worth of video games since January, and I used to get that in less than a week. I'd love to get back into it, but I just haven't been able to. With that said, it may still be awhile off in the future until I get any time at all to mod or make some indie games like I did in the past. In the meantime, keep enjoying this wonderful community and I'll see you another time.

- Blaise170

(P.S. Follow me on Twitter @Blaise170 and let me know you're from here, I'll follow you back).

Hello everyone. It's been quite awhile since I've done any major modding or addons for games, especially for the Command & Conquer series. I've finally entered my first year of college and it's great, but that means I can't be nearly as active on places like ModDB.

I'm studying computer science and it should help me with modding in the future should I decide to do any soon. I've learned Python extensively and have even made some basic games with it. The graphics are bland at best, but being able to code something from scratch like that just gives one an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

In the free time that I do have, I have really been getting some true gaming in. I've been playing a lot of great games that I never got around to over the years like Fallout 3, Crysis, Dead Space, etc. I've also been playing a lot of games from the PSOne era, such as my personal favorite Legend of Dragoon. I finally finished Chrono Cross which was one heck of a game, having one of the best storylines of any game I've ever played. I'm also getting some classic PC gaming in such as the old school Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.

On that note, I hope to become active around here again, but that may be months away. Until then, see ya, and have fun gaming!

- Blaise170

(P.S. Follow me on Twitter @Blaise170 and let me know you're from here, I'll follow you back).

In the next few days I will probably be able to get Near Perfect Strife and Yuri Color Mix updated. I may change the colors of YCM and make it an alternative version, while I will release v0.2b for NPS. Look for them in a few days. Also remember to follow me on twitter @Blaise170 and at facebook.com/blaise170.

This is slightly off-topic, but today marks my 400th visit to ModDB! Anyways, on to the good stuff.

I have been working on the building garrison mod and I think I have found a way to fix some of the crashes. I believe it has something to do with the weapons themselves, as some were not meant to loop. Thus, for some units, such as the Chrono Legionnaire, a new weapon will be assigned in place of their usual primary weapon. Legionnaires, for example, will use a modified prism beam inside a garrison instead of their Chrono Rifle. I will continue working on this mod and release a beta soon.

I have now finished working on a color modification for Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge. It changes the colors of the default units in the game, with black and white being playable colors. It is currently awaiting authorization by ModDB, at which point you will be able to download it. Look for it in the next few days.

I am also still working on the building garrison mod, but I keep getting hard in-game crashes. I suspect this has something to do with non-looping weapons (such as the Chrono Legionnaire's rife). It might also be caused by other weapons such as AA Flak (as used by Flak Troopers) and AA Rockets (as used by the Guardian GI). At some point I will release a beta version, but this will be sometime in the future, as I am still trying to figure out the crashes.

I just graduated from high school yesterday, so this has definitely been a very long week. I have managed to get two mods finished nevertheless, check below to see.

Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge
I made a new mod for Yuri's Revenge which allowed any infantry to garrison a building. It worked well, but it is causing random crashes in the game. I will have to figure out why it is crashing before I release it here.

Command & Conquer: Renegade
I finished my black and white mod for Renegade, but for whatever reason they are not appearing in game. I need to do some more testing before I can release it. I am also planning a different skin pack which simply changes the colors around instead of completely removing the color.

Red Tiberium

The red tiberium skin has now been authorized. Please download and let me know if you find any bugs or if there are any parts of the pack which I can improve upon. This mod should work for all modes including MP and campaign.

Renegade: Black & White
I will soon begin work on a complete skin pack for Renegade which will change all weapons to white with black and grey detailing. As soon as I can find all of the weapon files I will begin work. Look for this addon in the next few weeks.