void GenerateShader()
{
        ostringstream shader;

        // Basic Vertex Shader
	shader << "float4 BasicVS( float4 Pos : POSITION ) : SV_POSITION" << endl;
	shader << "{" << endl;
	shader << "	return Pos;" << endl;
	shader << "}" << endl;

        // Basic Pixel Shader
	shader << "float4 BasicPS( float4 Pos : SV_POSITION ) : SV_Target" << endl;
	shader <<"{" << endl;
	shader <<"	return float4( 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f );" << endl;
	shader <<"}" << endl;

        // A standard DirectX 10 technique
	shader << "technique10 DefaultTechnique" << endl;
	shader << "{" << endl;
	shader << "	pass p0" << endl;
	shader << "	{" << endl;
	shader << "		SetGeometryShader(NULL);" << endl;
	shader << "		SetVertexShader(CompileShader(vs_4_0, BasicVS()));" << endl;
	shader << "		SetPixelShader(CompileShader(ps_4_0, BasicPS()));" << endl;
	shader << "	}" << endl;
	shader << "}" << endl;         

        // This is where the "magic" is at. Grab the char* from your stringstream
        // and feed it into D3DCompile() along with whatever other parameters you usually send it.
        ID3DBlob* errorBlob;
        unsigned int shaderSize = shader.str().size() * sizeof(char);
        HRESULT hr = D3DCompile(shader.str().c_str(), shaderSize, "none", 0, 0, "DefaultTechnique",
                                          "fx_4_0", D3D10_SHADER_ENABLE_STRICTNESS, 0, &blob_, &errorBlob);
	if( FAILED(hr) )
        {
                OutputDebugStringA( (char*)errorBlob->GetBufferPointer() );
	}
	SAFE_RELEASE( errorBlob );
}

So now all that is left is 99.9% of the work to actually switch case together a shader that supports all the things your different meshes might need.
Maybe I will post something on that later when I manage to make a dent in that daunting task :p

I implemented this during a weekend, mostly because relief mapping has always interested me. Decided to toss in parallax mapping as well when I was “in the neighborhood”, and a little normal mapping for good measure as well. This is the basic implementation of both techniques with no optimizations or artifact corrections.

Here is a small code snippet. Nothing special, just don’t like to not show code.

float ray_intersect_relief(in float2 orig, in float2 dir)
{
    const float max_num_linear_steps = 20;
    const float max_num_binary_steps = 5;
    float depth = 0.0f;
    float size = 1.0f / max_num_linear_steps;

// Attempt to find the first intersection against the relief map with a linear search.
    // This is because binary search can easily miss topography.
    for(int i = 0; i < max_num_linear_steps - 1; i++)
    {
        float4 t = gTexRelief.Sample(textureSampler, orig + dir * depth);
        if(depth < t.r)
            depth += size;
    }

     // A binary search to try and find the "edge" of the closest intersection point
    for(int j = 0; j < max_num_binary_steps; j++)
    {
        size *= 0.5f;
        float4 t = gTexRelief.Sample(textureSampler, orig + dir * depth);
        if(depth < t.r)
            depth += 2*size;
        depth -= size;
    }
    return depth;
}

Life is good, excluding the torment of a dying molar, and not a whole lot has happened in this time of silence. Work has been good, but has not really been related to what I wanted to write about in this blog so I opted to stay quiet for a while.

Lately I started looking at available positions in various game companies and it was somewhat upsetting to notice that you are not really suited for filling any position other than as a junior. So I basically decided that I really needed to do something about my portfolio. It was a while back that I decided this, but there was Christmas and stuff in the way so I haven’t really started doing stuff until now. Now it has begun though.

The general idea is that I will simply implement all the various things I have always wanted to try and then post the results in the portfolio section (hopefully with some binaries as well). The types of thing I will be implementing will mostly be 3D graphics related, since this is the area I always seem to find myself drooling over. But there will also be some other stuff like resource management and so on.

I have already implemented the first thing I will be putting on the portfolio (relief mapping) and it will be going up there shortly (probably not today though). Other things to be expected, in the very near future, are things like, just to name a few: Parallax mapping, Screen Space Ambient Occlusion, Deferred rendering.

If one refuses to work for any other industry one can only blame themselves for not doing everything in their power to be worthy of working there.

I start tomorrow already, so it is going a million miles an hour at the moment. I am headed over to Germany, Tuesday – Thursday, next week for some work related workshop as well. So lots of things happening indeed.

So now there’s lots to do. I need to fill out some papers for the educational part of school and report that I am taking a leave of absence. Then of course there is also contract signing and all matter of other stuff I need to fix with the job (have to hunt down a computer for my room, and then of course have someone tell me where my room is). Not to mention having to report to CSN my leave of absence as well so they’ll stop sending me money, but for some reason you need to know how much you will earn, which I don’t know yet, before you are allowed to report a leave of absence. Seems kind of silly to me.

Now this is the story all about how
My life got flipped, turned upside down

Kinda how it feels. This will pretty much change everything I was doing. No more school for a while of course and iPhone coding will be put on the back-burner again. It is, however, all good. I get what I value most. Experience. With the economy as it is there is no way in Helsinki that any game company would hire someone that has no prior work experience. So this job will be worth a lot for my CV. Hopefully it will be for at least a year. Generally looks better in the resumé than 6 months, I say anyway.

So who’s turn is it next now then from Quantum Studios?

I recieved what could seem to be a job offer the other day. I don’t really know what terms are involved yet (pay, hours, duration, etc) so trying to not get my hopes up. Going to meet up with the person that contacted me on tuesday and discuss it. Hopefully it will be something worthwhile. I really want an excuse to cut down on college for a while.

I really hope it will lead somewhere, but no point in obsessing about it until tuesday.

Back to C and continue with the web server a while longer.

Also got rejected from the job I applied to the other day. Kinda silly that companies won’t even consider people with no prior job experience, where will the next Carmack come from then? ( did keendra smile now? ) :p

There should be a law on companies having to offer junior positions if their corporation is larger than x people =P As long as there is senior staff there it shouldn’t matter all that much if some of the positions gets filled by post-grads.

One of the courses I am taking is assignment oriented, so there is no exam, which makes the assignments very time consuming. So I have been working alot at that.

After these few weeks of being back to school I have convinced myself that I really need to try harder to find a job. School is nice and stuff, but I feel ready to make a name for myself and gain proper work experience.

So I updated my portfolio a bit today (just added info about my Bachelor’s thesis) and found a job I am going to apply for as well. So the rest of the day will be dedicated to three tasks.

1. Write a cover letter and apply for the job.
2. Start looking at the next assignment.
3. Go to Amiralen (a local shopping center) and do some grocery shopping (Dragons need food apparently).

So yeah, thats about it.

Give me a job!

So school starts again tomorrow. Or well not really. I’m just going to talk to someone about what courses I decided on for my master’s education (since you get to pick 90% of the curriculum yourself). The courses don’t actually start until Tuesday. Will be nice to start meeting other people again, rather than sitting here cooped up in Karlskrona with nobody we know.

Who knows? It sure is strange.

However! I just wanted to show the progress I have made today. Worked most of the day on this thing, or well not just the app. The thing is that I needed a Tab Bar for the app, so of course I had to actually learn how to make Tab Bars. So that’s where half the time went.

Anywho, I have the general layout pegged down now. So now I just have to get the actual networking part working again, since I had to refactor the code quite a bit which resulted in nothing working anymore, but that is tomorrow’s project.

Before I end this I just want to show some screenshots of the app. It doesn’t look like much, because it isn’t much. At least it is something though, progress.

.

The “Settings” tab doesn’t show much you might say. I, however, claim that it says “POTENTIAL”!