Awesome shader debugger
Ok, this is totally awesome. So awesome that I have decided to write a short post about it.
Shaders are a pain in the ass since you can't debug them as you are used with C++. However there is a possibility for CG shaders. You can view a movie at youtube and download at nvidia.
I haven't actually used it myself, but I will soon. I think this piece of program will remove a lot of my resistance about shaders in general.
Shimmer shaders, practical jokes and farts…
"What? Farts in the title? I bet this must be interesting!"
And yes, it is interesting!
During one of the SFX lectures at school we were discussing shimmer shaders. Shimmering is an effect when something is extremely hot and you can see the air around it vibrate. In real life we have this with highway or deserts. The air above the ground is then so hot that it will hold a different density which causes the light to refract. In deserts you can get mirage where you think you see water in the desert, but in reality you are looking at the sky. This is because of light refraction.
In games we often use this for our lava monsters or on the lave itself or anything else that represents extreme heat. However as we were discussing this in the class I suddenly got this crazy idea of using to simulate a fart. Of course only suggesting this idea in class was good for a few laughs, but since I liked the idea, I actually made it and I'm ready to show it in class. Yes, I love practical jokes (the kind that don't piss anyone off).
The example is quite simple. Use WASD to move around and when you hold the left mouse button down you can use the mouse to rotate. Further you might notice that the girl is also shimmering. This is because she is hot as well.
PS: The fart sound is not mine 
Download Fart.rar
Requirements: You need to have the latest DirectX 9.0 installed (June 2008) release
If you are missing something like "D3DX9_39.dll" than you need to run the DirectX webupdate.
CV and Portfolio online
I have finally put my portfolio online, but the amok, the framework I told you about last time, is not there as I haven't checked it in a long time.
In the future when I have done something and I want to show it off I will most certainly put it up there.