Polaris64's blog

Using Org Mode to keep track of exercise

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0100

Introduction

I have been using Org mode to keep a daily journal of useful notes for around a year now. One such type of note is the amount of exercise I’ve done on a particular day. While this is a useful record, I wanted to expand upon it and to produce a table at the end of each month so that I can track how I’m (hopefully) progressing.

This post details how I used Emacs, Org mode and a sprinkling of Elisp to do this.

Writing a custom Hugo theme

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 18:33:00 +0200

I am currently in the process of creating this Hugo blog and I decided to create my own theme in order to learn Hugo internals. While testing this theme I of course needed content, so I thought “why not document the process of creating the theme as the first post in the blog?”. This is that post!

Initial theme creation and set-up

First steps

After creating a base Hugo site with: -

Syswall: a firewall for syscalls

Sat, 16 Feb 2019 22:07:00 +0000

Motivation

A while back I started thinking about software and how it does what it does. Perhaps even more importantly, I started thinking about how we can know what software does, without relying on the software’s marketing pitch.

Software analysis

Software can be good and can also be bad; this is what we know as malware. For malware, a lot of time and effort is spent reverse-engineering the program’s machine code in order to figure out what it does and how it does it. This is a highly specialised skill, requiring a huge amount of time and effort to be able to perform this reverse-engineering successfully. We also use virtual machines (VMs) in order to execute untrustworthy executable files in a safe environment in order to limit their effectiveness when performing an analysis.

Introduction to the Cybersecurity blog

Fri, 03 Mar 2017 22:03:00 +0000

The Cybersecurity blog is a place where I can write about all topics relating to online security, web-based attacks, “hacking”, exploits, vulnerabilities, penetration testing, etc.

In my work I operate many servers which are connected to the Internet, for myself, my company and my clients. Having a server connected to the Internet exposes it to a huge threat from online evildoers, and I see a fair share of this on a daily basis.

Move'm: Student Housing Reviews

Sun, 04 Jan 2015 21:11:00 +0000

Move’m is a housing review site specifically aimed at students and student accommodation all over the UK. It empowers students by allowing them to review student properties, landlords and letting agents, the overall goal being to provide students with a useful resource when looking for places to live and for landlords and agents to provide the best service possible!

The site was designed by the owners of Move’m Ltd and was developed by myself.

My Dissertation Project

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 14:24:00 +0000

“To investigate development of an extensible 2D game engine for use by programmers and non-programmers”

I am currently working on a final-year university project and dissertation and this blog is used to track my progress. I’ll post regular updates as the project progresses so please check back to see what’s happening!

"Weeping Angel": game model and sculpt

Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:11:00 +0000

This is a “Weeping Angel” from Dr. Who that I modelled for a university assignment. The task was to create a low-polygon model suitable for a game (1,500 polygons maximum). The model had to include high-frequency detail so the base mesh (created in Blender) was exported to ZBrush for sculpting. Normal, ambient occlusion and cavity maps were then applied to the base mesh to provide the extra fidelity required while maintaining the low polygon count.

Microsoft's NoIP takedown

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 10:58:00 +0100

As I am writing this article I already know that you won’t be able to read it… Why is that? Well at the time of writing, No-IP.com’s services have been severely compromised meaning that DNS lookups for www.polaris64.net will always fail. So why don’t No-IP fix this problem? Well, it’s not their fault, it is Microsoft’s fault…

Before I talk about what Microsoft has to do with this, for those of you who are not familiar with dynamic DNS services let me explain what No-IP is and why I and so many people use it. Currently, the vast majority of the Internet uses IPv4 addressing; these addresses look something like 173.194.34.120. This IP address actually belongs to Google and is more commonly referred to as "www.google.co.uk". The TCP/IP stack on any computer needs this IP address in order to communicate with Google’s www server, but users will almost always use the domain name, which of course is so much easier to remember than the IP address.

"The Shining" in Unreal

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 23:49:00 +0000

I completed an assignment for university which asked for a representation of a film scene to be created using UDK and 3DS Max. I decided to use “The Shining” directed by Stanley Kubrick. The assignment required me to create at least two 3D models, one which should be a character with three distinct animations. I chose to model the boy, Danny, for this purpose. The assignment also asked for a cinematic to show off the project, here it is: -

4.74 Degrees of Separation?

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

We all know that Facebook is pretty popular to say the least, but new research by Facebook and the University of Milan now finds that instead of the popular conception that there are six degrees of separation between us, there are actually 4.74.

The original research for the “six degrees of separation” finding comes from research published by the psychologist Stanley Milgram (also known for the infamous Milgram Experiment) in 1967 who used 296 volunteers in his research. This experiment was called the “Small World Experiment”. The latest Facebook research by comparison used 721 million Facebook users’ data and shows that the world, in this respect, is now even smaller.

Could Emacs Have a Set-up Wizard?

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 22:05:00 +0200

Introduction

There have been a number of discussions recently about modernising Emacs. Some people feel that Emacs is not aesthetically pleasing, while others feel that Emacs’s default key-bindings put off potential newcomers.

In these discussions, I normally see comments fall into two main groups: -

People who are proficient with Emacs and do not want the quest for new users to interfere with their way of using Emacs; and
People who want to welcome new users and for Emacs to be used by as many people as possible.

I agree with both groups to some extent. I consider myself a proficient Emacs user who is comfortable with the defaults and with changing them myself where necessary. However, when viewed through the eyes of a beginner, I do see Emacs as intimidating.

I strongly agree that Emacs should remain as it is and I wouldn’t want to introduce simplifications just to cater to people who might want to use it. I also don’t think that Emacs should unnecessarily try to follow the latest trends just to be “up to date”. I do however think that we can do more to provide a pathway for newcomers to follow, so this post will explore one idea for doing just that.

Hidden in Plain Sight: how attackers use obfuscation to hide code

Mon, 01 May 2017 19:10:00 +0100

Introduction

Many articles, including my own, make references to code obfuscation. This article takes a look at what this actually is, as well as why it is often used by attackers to hide malicious code.

What is obfuscation?

Obfuscation is the process of converting something to a form where its meaning and purpose is less apparent. When related to computer source code, this can be done for many reasons; sometimes as a challenge, sometimes even for art!. However it can also be used for more sinister purposes which is what we’ll investigate today.

Network Editor Progress

Fri, 03 Apr 2015 11:43:00 +0100

I have just finished an early alpha version of the tool, called “SG2D script editor”, which will be used to generate the Python script used to drive the engine.

The tool currently has the following features: -

Node-graph editor similar to Blender’s node editor, Unreal Engine 4’s Blueprint editor, etc.
Ability to add custom functions
Multiple game states which all build to custom classes
A set of basic language nodes which allow for general Python scripting
A set of engine-specific nodes providing a simple interface to the engine
Colour coding for readability
Pan and zoom controls
Loading and saving of networks
The ability to run and test the script with the SG2D engine and to view the output

Here’s a video of the tool in action: -

About my programming

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

I have been programming now since about the age of 8. I started programming in BASIC on my Amstrad CPC464 by copying programs from the user manual and from Type-Ins from Amstrad Action magazine (and what a magazine that was…). Since then, I have moved from BASIC, to machine code and assembler (Z80, MOS 6510 and x86), C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, Pascal, PHP, Rust and more.

I have a real passion for programming, I really enjoy being able to make a computer do what I want it to do! Before I started programming professionally, I wrote hundreds of programs in various languages and on various platforms so that I could learn techniques and APIs. From games to basic operating systems, graphical techniques to physical simulations, it was all about learning and having fun!

First UDK Level: Rooftop Deathmatch

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

I created this level in Unreal Development Kit (UDK) as part of an assignment for university. The task was to create a single or multiplayer level in UDK based on a theme of our choice. I decided to create a multiplayer level based on top of 4 buildings. I was also asked to create and texture 2 vehicle and 2 character models using 3DS Max – these models can be seen in my 3D modelling posts.

Genesis-uk.com

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

Genesis-uk.com is the main website for Genesis UK . Com Ltd., which provides an on-line wholesale catalogue for customers together with basket and checkout facilities. Genesis UK . Com Ltd. offer customised products including garments, mugs, pens and much more all customisable via screen printing, embroidery and transfer printing. The site itself was built from scratch and uses many different technologies both on the website itself and in the back office.

Unreal level models: Helicopter

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

This is a low-poly helicopter model that I created and textured in 3DS Max for my Rooftop Deathmatch map. I wanted one of the roof-tops to be used as a helicopter landing pad, so this helicopter model was used for this and to provide some cover for the player during matches.

Not So Innocent…

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I am writing this blog post having done no research whatsoever. Rather than laziness, the reason for this is that I cannot research the topic I was going to write about. This is because my Internet connection has not been available to me this evening, something which I had, maybe foolishly, relied upon having. But then it struck me; after finishing a very frustrating phone call with my ISP, I have decided to share my opinions of technology companies and their treatment of customers.

Web Image Formats and WebP

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As most web developers will know there are three main image formats used on the web – the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), Joint Pictures Expert Group (JPEG) and Portable Network Graphics (PNG). Most will also know about their various advantages and disadvantages. Google are hoping to unify these formats in their new WebP image format and a recent announcement shows that they are getting closer to this goal.

Technically any image format can be used on the web, but support from browsers dictates how popular a format will be. All of the major browsers support the above three and Google will need to make sure that they can support WebP in order for it to become viable.

Announcing my new game: Amazing Escape (Shareware)!

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 11:19:00 +0100

I’d like to introduce my new game Amazing Escape, Shareware version!

Play online now!

Amazing Escape is a top-down survival puzzle game for Android devices and the browser. The shareware version containing the first few levels is available now for free on the Google Play Store!

The Game

In Amazing Escape, you play as yourself, having found yourself trapped within a set of underground mazes (how unfortunate). Luckily though, you have your trusty torch at hand, so navigating these mazes shouldn’t be altogether impossible.

Web Exploit Detector: NPM module

Sat, 22 Apr 2017 15:23:00 +0100

Introduction

As a follow-up to the previous article about my Web Exploit Detector, I am happy to announce that I have just made the project available as an NPM module. This allows the application to be installed, used and updated much more easily than before.

This article is intended to be a brief introduction to the Web Exploit Detector as an NPM module, as well as a brief introduction to NPM itself for those that are unfamiliar with it.

Engine Python Scripting Interface

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 14:55:00 +0000

My first development task was to add a scripting interface to the engine. This allows the game logic to be separated from the engine code and loaded in as with any other asset such as a sprite or audio clip.

I chose Python for scripting due to its power, flexibility, popularity and ease of integration. I am using IronPython for the .NET support with XNA, but I am being careful not to introduce any .NET dependencies as the engine needs to be portable, and game scripts should be able to be run with any version of the engine. The script itself is loaded during initialisation of a “script harness” executable, which is the framework under which the game runs in the engine. The engine can of course still be used directly by coding natively in XNA and using the engine assembly as a library.

Eyewood Marquetry

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

Eyewood Marquetry is a work in progress site that I built for a friend’s marquetry business. The site is designed to showcase his work, give information about the artistic process involved in creating the work and to provide a place where people can commission a piece of work.

Unreal level models: Car

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

This is a low-poly car model that I created and textured in 3DS Max for my Rooftop Deathmatch map. In the level, I created 4 different materials with different colour bodywork to provide some simple variation to the cars in the level.

SCADA's Scarce Security

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday, BBC news reported that a “hacker” had allegedly destroyed a pump in the Illinois water treatment system. Apparently, this person had managed to gain access to the system and break the pump by repeatedly turning it off and on. This attack on a SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) follows a similar attack earlier this year by the Stuxnet virus which appeared to target the Siemens SCADA system of the Uranium nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran.

Browser Scripting and Google Go

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The latest era in the so-called “Browser Wars” seems to be focused largely on JavaScript execution speed. With more and more websites using client-side scripting to enhance functionality (Google Docs, Google Maps, Facebook etc.), the faster these scripts can run the better.

Currently the most popular web browsers are Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera and Apple Safari. In JavaScript execution speed benchmarks, currently Chrome is at the top, with Safari, Firefox following closely for second and third and Opera and finally IE losing out with times over double that of the others. But what does this actually mean for the average user? Some websites are evolving past the traditional request-response model and employing a much more real-time and dynamic feel. So called web applications make heavy use of technologies such as AJAX and use client-side scripting to allow everything to run as seamlessly as possible for the user. Web applications like Google Docs and Gmail would not be possible in their current form without heavy use of client-side scripting.

Rust WebAssembly and JavaScript: Floyd-Steinberg Dithering

Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:16:00 +0100

Code examples

Introduction

Further to my recent post comparing the performance of a WebAssembly module written in Rust to plain JavaScript and WebGL shaders for rendering the Mandelbrot set, I have added an additional example comparing the performance of WebAssembly and plain JavaScript for the Floyd-Steinberg dithering algorithm. Check out the demo!

Floyd-Steinberg dithering algorithm

The Floyd-Steinberg dithering algorithm is used as a way to distribute quantization errors to neighbouring pixels in an image.

Web Exploit Detector: Node.js security scanner

Sun, 16 Apr 2017 19:16:00 +0100

Introduction

After detecting some new exploits on one of my web servers, I decided to start work on a new application called the “Web Exploit Detector”. This project is open-source and hosted on GitHub, meaning that it’s free for anyone to use and, more importantly, anyone can contribute their own rules to make the tool better.

I now use this tool on my own servers to check for infections on a daily basis and it works well so far. It is my hope that, given time and the help of others, it can become even more useful and capable of detecting even the most recent of exploits.

Pre-built Engine and Toolkit

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 14:36:00 +0000

For development of my project I decided to use an engine and set of tools that I have already built: the SG2D engine and the SGDK set of tools.

SG2D: this is the engine itself, currently running on the Microsoft XNA Game Studio platform, allowing it to run on PC, Xbox, Windows Phone and Linux currently.
SGDK: this is a set of tools used currently for asset creation (maps, animated sprites, etc). This will be expanded to provide a visual script-building interface.

My dissertation project will involve converting these two elements so that they will become an effective tool for game creation for both programmers and non-programmers. This will involve adding a scripting interface to the engine and visual scripting interface to the tool kit. The ultimate goal is to allow designers and programmers to work together using one set of tools.

Teeshirtsdirect.com

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

Teeshirtdirect.com is a site that allows customers to create their own t-shirts, hoodies, polo shirts and more. Customers can add stock designs, custom text and their own uploaded images. The site itself was built from the ground up and uses a Flash interface to allow customers to position, scale, rotate and otherwise manipulate the designs directly on the garment. There are also options for changing the garment size, colour, style etc. Customers can order directly from the site using a full e-commerce system including a basket and a secure checkout.

Unreal level models: Gargoyle

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

This is a low-poly gargoyle model that I created and textured in 3DS Max for my Rooftop Deathmatch map. I wanted one of the buildings to have some areas for cover so a gargoyle at each corner was used. The gargoyles also add some variation to the rooftop of the older-style building in the level.

Technological Lockdown

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The LinuxCon conferences are annual events organised by the Linux Foundation and currently held in North America, Japan and Brazil. This week in LinuxCon Brazil, Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, shared his views on “locked down” technologies from the likes of Microsoft and Apple.

Specifically, Torvalds talked about Apple’s use of DRM (Digital Rights Management) and Microsoft’s new Secure Boot feature that will be used in their upcoming Windows 8 OS.

Skyrim is Released

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The 11th of November 2011 saw the release of Bethesda Game Studio’s latest instalment of the Elder Scrolls series, part five, Skyrim. Continuing with the series’ single-player role playing theme, Skyrim is the result of around 5 and a half years of development since the previous instalment, Oblivion. Skyrim has been hugely anticipated, with a large number of screen-shots having been released over the last month or so.

It’s clear from these that, at least graphically, Skyrim is very special. Its predecessor Oblivion was graphically cutting-edge when it was released in 2006 and Skyrim seems to continue the boundary-pushing tradition.

WebAssembly and Rust: performance analysis

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 21:05:00 +0100

Code examples

Introduction

I have recently been learning The Rust programming language and I absolutely love it! Rust is a systems-level language (like C and C++) which provides compile-time guarantees about memory safety and safe concurrent behaviour. Readers of my Cybersecurity and technology blogs will know that I am interested in computer security, and we’re reminded on an almost monthly basis at the moment that computer security often leaves a lot to be desired, what with vulnerabilities and exploits of public data sadly being a frequent occurrence. Rust programs simply will not compile when the program contains code which often causes these problems, meaning that bad code can be caught during development rather than later when there is more at stake. This is definitely the way we need to go, so I’d recommend anyone with an interest in programming or security to give it a try!

WordPress Hacks: jQuery JS script injection

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 22:04:00 +0000

Introduction

In the second of my series of articles about different exploits seen for WordPress sites, I discuss a particular attack that causes all pages on an infected site to redirect to a page of the attacker’s choice, which in this case was an affiliate link. This attack involves adding malicious code to jQuery .js files based on the assumption that jQuery is probably going to be included in every page request.

Unreal level models: Rat

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

This is a low-poly rat model that I created and textured in 3DS Max for my Rooftop Deathmatch map. I also created a variation on the model which was a dead rat. Both models were used in the stairwells in the level.

Mario Kills Raccoons!

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Nintendo have just released the latest game in the massively successful Mario Series – “Super Mario 3D Land” for the new Nintendo 3DS. While most people, even non-fans, will see this as another piece of harmless entertainment, one organisation has already taken offence. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, commonly known as PETA.

PETA’s particular grievance with this new game is in Mario’s not-so-new “Tanooki suit”, which has the appearance of a raccoon. According to PETA, Mario is “…even wearing the skin of a raccoon dog to give him special powers”. The reason I say “not-so-new” is that in fact Mario has worn this suit as far back as the early 90’s in “Super Mario Bros. 3” for the NES.

Adobe Dropping Mobile Flash Support

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The use of Adobe’s Flash plugin on mobile devices has been a contentious issue recently, with Apple devices notably lacking support. So news that Adobe is dropping support for the Flash plugin for mobile devices in favour of HTML5 technologies may be unsurprising. But what does this mean for this technology and for Adobe’s previous monopoly in this area?

Until earlier this year, Flash was undoubtedly the standard for rich multimedia content on websites, with many major sites including YouTube and Facebook making heavy use of the technology. However, since 2004 a new version of HTML (version 5) has been in development with popular browsers only adopting the standard in 2010/2011. This new version offers many new features including very simple ways to embed video, audio and even “canvas” elements which allow scripts to create and animate scenes on the fly. Of course, these are all features that Adobe’s proprietary Flash plugin already offer, but HTML5 is a fully open and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard.

Barmouth Viking

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Barmouth Viking II site was created for a friend’s fishing day business. The purpose of the site is to provide information for people who may want to participate in a fishing trip.

The site is very simple, just a single page of information and images, but was designed to catch the eye and reel people in (puns very much intended, my apologies…)

Link: http://www.charteredboatfishingbarmouth.co.uk/

WordPress Hacks: functions.php Backdoors

Fri, 03 Mar 2017 22:03:00 +0000

Introduction

I recently noticed that a number of our client sites had some suspicious code added to the top of the functions.php file for each of the installed themes. This is an investigation into this code and details of how to remove it.

I am making this information available in the hope that it will be a useful resource for anybody that suffers this attack on their own WordPress sites. I strongly believe that by making this information public I can help others to combat these types of attacks. So, I hope you find the following analysis useful!

Shared Canvas: the next generation

Sun, 13 Dec 2015 23:37:00 +0000

It has been quite a while since I created the original Shared Canvas, so I decided it was a good time for an upgrade…

So here is Shared Canvas, mark 2! Well almost; it’s still an early alpha and there’s a lot still left to do. But feel free to have a play with it in its current state :) Currently multi-user chat and drawing is supported, and multiple rooms (with passwords) can be created.

Google Indexing Algorithm Gets an Update

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Google has recently announced that they have updated their core software to allow fresher results in their search engine. These specific changes are intended to allow the search engine to find out whether a person wants up-to-date or historical results. Google is hoping that these changes will make results more relevant to current affairs (or “fresh”), something that rivals such as Microsoft’s Bing search engine focus on already.

This latest update is expected to influence around 35% of searches. The last major update to Google’s algorithm (known as “Panda”), influenced around 12% of searches. As an example, given by Google’s Amit Singhal in a blog post about this matter, consider searching for “olympics”. With these new changes, the primary results will now include information about the upcoming 2012 Olympics instead of historical information regarding the Olympic Games themselves. This new “freshness” algorithm will give fresh results without having to search specifically for “olympics 2012”. Another example is with sports results. A search for “formula 1 results” would now bring back the latest results, rather than the results of a week or more ago.

Not So Humble Bundles

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Well, I’ve just purchased another Humble Bundle, this time with the game Voxatron. Just looking at the statistics, it’s already made $210,943.12 for the game’s developer and charity and it still has 13 days to go. The previous bundle made over $1.2 million (techdirt.com, 2011). So what is it?

The idea for the Humble Bundles came from Wolfire Games’ Jeff Rosen, with the first being released in May 2010. Rosen’s idea was to offer a bundle of games for download in a pay-what-you-want manner. The whole package could be purchased for any price the user wanted and the total amount donated could be split between developers, charities and the Humble Bundle itself. It was a huge success, generating over $1 million in donations. The bundles always contain games that are available for Linux, Mac and Windows platforms.

"Amazing Escape": Mobile Game in UE4

Fri, 03 Apr 2015 12:19:00 +0100

For another university assignment, I was tasked to create a mobile game using Unreal Engine 4. The game concept could be anything, but it couldn’t be a first-person game or a shooter. I came up with the idea of a top-down maze game where the player must collect keys in order to escape at the exit.

The maze is extremely dark and filled with malevolent statues which creep up on the player when the player is not looking. The player has a torch which often is the only source of illumination.

Minecraft Wins 2011 GameCity Prize

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Described as, “Europe’s biggest and best-loved videogames culture festival”, the 6th GameCity festival has just taken place in Nottingham. The culmination of the four-day event was the GameCity Prize 2011, with the entries including Minecraft, Portal 2, Ilomilo, Pokemon Black and others. And the winner was… Minecraft!

Compared to the competition, Minecraft upon initial scrutiny appears to be the weakest of them all, offering very simplistic graphics and not even boasting a full release as yet (it is still in the beta stage). However the judges saw past this and awarded Minecraft first prize based on its mood and the creativity it offers to players. As one of the judges Ed Hall put it, “It’s the broadest definition of art that you can have”.

Dennis Ritchie

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

You will no doubt be aware of the fact that sadly Steve Jobs recently passed away (October the 5th) after his struggle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. But how many people have heard about the death of another computing trailblazer just a week later? I am referring of course to Dennis Ritchie, the man “…who helped to shape the digital era”, who died on the 12th of October at the age of 70, again after losing his battle with cancer (www.nytimes.com, Oct 2011).

OpenGL game: Tank Battleground

Fri, 03 Apr 2015 12:10:00 +0100

Here’s a new game that I created for a university assignment called “Tank Battleground!”

The assignment required me to create a 3D game which used physics and demonstrated OpenGL and GLSL. I decided to use the idea of an arcade tank game so that I could demonstrate physics for movement (acceleration, velocity and displacement), projectile trajectories, friction, recoil, etc.

The game was written from the ground up using C++, OpenGL, GLSL, GLFW, SDL_mixer, FreeImage and FreeType. I first coded a game library (simple engine) and then used that to build the game.

64bit ARM Architectures

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

ARM, the British multinational semiconductor company, have just announced their forthcoming ARMv8 microprocessor architecture, the first of their architectures to incorporate a 64-bit instruction set.

ARM have been steadily growing in the microprocessor market ever since the days of the Acorn Archimedes (released in 1987 (old-computers.com, 2011)). Since then, their processors have been used in mobile phones, routers, modems, tablets, music players (including the iPod), hand-held consoles (including the Nintendo DS) etc. Their processors are so widely used that many common operating systems have versions capable of running on them (for example, Linux, iOS, Android) and Microsoft have recently announced that Windows 8 will ship with support for these later ARM processors (Bloomberg, 2011).

The Unblurring Line Between Photoshop and GIMP

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

I have just finished reading an article about Adobe’s demo of their new “incredible unblur feature for Photoshop”. While this feature is undoubtedly very useful, I wonder how many people understand what is actually going on here.

I am reminded of a similar video a year or two ago that demonstrated a new feature that is now part of Photoshop CS5, the Content Aware Fill. Again, this is a very useful and impressive feature, but many people don’t realise that this technology has been available before Adobe developed their version, and for free too.

A* Path-finding

Thu, 24 Apr 2014 20:35:00 +0100

As you may or may not know, I am currently working on a game called Mendel’s Farm with the rest of the team at Static Games. Over the last couple of days I have been thinking about various ways of adding AI-controlled actors to the game and how best to make them navigate the farm…

I decided that path-finding over a grid will be required to achieve this, so I decided to investigate the A* path-finding algorithm. Before implementing it in-game (in UnrealScript) I decided to create a test implementation in JavaScript using HTML for rendering and the UI. I’ve uploaded the result here, so click here to run the A* test!

Unreal in Flash

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Epic Games’ Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director Tim Sweeney has recently (4th October 2011) demonstrated the Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) running inside an Adobe Flash environment at Adobe’s MAX 2011 conference (the same conference at which Photoshop’s new unblur feature was also shown). This coincides with Adobe’s release of Flash Player 2011 which allows hardware-accelerated graphics through its new Stage 3D APIs.

With the advent of HTML 5 and compliant browsers, many people have predicted that Adobe’s Flash technology may be dropped from it’s current status as the dominant web-based multimedia platform. This new announcement shows that there is still a large amount of functionality that this technology can offer, blurring the lines between it and other lower-level technologies. As Adobe Gaming Solution’s Emmy Huang stated, “As the console of the web, Flash is delivering immersive gaming experiences across screens and we’re thrilled to have Epic Games using Flash Player to deliver its blockbuster, premier 3D games on the web.”

The UK’s Rising Stake in Semiconductors

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 21:04:00 +0200

Photo by L N on Unsplash.

Last year, the UK government, through the UK Research and Innovation’s programme Strength in Places, granted CSconnected £43.7 million to form “the world’s first Compound Semiconductor Cluster.”

The cluster is a consortium of organisations directly involved with the research, development, and manufacturing of compound semiconductors, which power most technological devices. The programme aims to develop new supply chains for unmanned aerial vehicles and new packaging platforms for emerging communications applications. This funding comes three years after the Cardiff Capital Region cabinet was awarded a £37.9 million investment, this time to establish an advanced semiconductor foundry.

C#: Normal Map Generator

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:54:00 +0000

For a recent university assignment, I needed to create many different textures for both 3D models and surfaces. I wanted to create normal maps for each of these but I didn’t know how to do it.

I decided therefore to experiment with different approaches including photographing a surface with light from different sides and by using filters in GIMP and Photoshop. Both techniques worked well and I realised that I could create a program to speed up the process.

What is Consciousness?

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0200

Introduction

Throughout the ages, philosophy and science has grappled with the concept of consciousness. This intangible yet fundamental aspect of every single human life has defied all attempts at being comprehended, understood and scientifically defined. For something that is at the core of our very being, how can this be the case? Through biology and chemistry we understand how many parts of the human body function and what purposes they serve. The brain however still leaves many questions unanswered: while giving us the power to pose these questions, currently it still does not give us the opportunity to answer them. The biggest question of all is the nature of consciousness. Naturally, we deduce that the our consciousness or soul resides within the brain since this is the final inexplicable aspect and most mysterious part of the human body.

C: Commodore 64 Emulator

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0100

This is a work in progress Commodore 64 emulator written from the ground up in C. I’m lucky enough to own an original Commodore 64 together with the technical reference manual, and using both of these I was able to create a working emulator.

My first step was to code the MOS 6510 processor core. From there I coded the memory manager, the I/O, interrupt handling, the VIC chip etc. All I then needed to do was plug in the original C64 ROMs (Kernal, Character Generator and Basic) and I had bare-bones emulated C64, which was quite a thrill!

C++: "Malevolent Revenge!", Linux Allegro Game

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:24:00 +0000

Downloads

Linux build: malevolent_revenge_linux_v1.0.0.zip (29.5KB)
Windows build: malevolent_revenge_win_v1.0.0.zip (364.5KB)
Source code: malevolent_revenge_src_v1.0.0.zip (38.5KB)
The resource files (bitmaps, music etc), same for Linux and Windows versions, to be placed in the same directory as the executable: malevolent_revenge_files_v1.0.0.zip (14.6MB)

Building from source in Ubuntu aside from the usual also requires liballegro4.2-dev and running requires liballegro4.2 and liballegro4.2-plugin-esd. Running under Windows requires alleg42.dll (included in the ZIP file) and the MS Visual C++ 2010 runtime, which can be downloaded from https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=5555

Delphi (Pascal): 3D Test

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This is a program I wrote in Delphi quite a few years ago. I wanted to investigate the principles of 3D graphics so I decided to create this program to explore this.

All of the rendering is performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis using my own graphics routines. It is not meant to be a viable 3D engine or renderer; it’s far too slow for that due to the fact it uses Delphi’s VCL to access graphics memory.

C: SDL 3D renderer

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Following on from the Delphi 3D test program, I have started to code another 3D renderer, this time in C using SDL. Again my goal is not to create a viable renderer for games, 3D applicatins etc, but rather as an exercise that will teach me more about 3D rendering. I have always been fascinated with how things work, so doing something like this will give me a better understanding to the internals of OpenGL, DirectX graphics etc.

Rust/WebAssembly Graphics Library

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 20:26:00 +0200

Introduction

This is a quick post to describe a little Rust crate that I created for fun: a WebAssembly graphics library.

The library is not meant for any serious work; it has no hardware acceleration and is not highly optimised. I created it to help me to learn Rust, WebAssembly, general graphics routines and unit testing and benchmarking in Rust. I’m sharing it mainly for fun, but also with the hope that it might help someone who is learning this type of thing too.

Lishwist (beta)

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 21:50:00 +0100

I’ve just released a beta version of a new project that I’ve been working on: Lishwist!

Lishwist is a web app which allows you to create and share wish-lists. There’s no registration requirement: just create a new wish-list (called a Wist) and bookmark the page! You can then share the list with others (one share per person) and these people can “claim” items to mark their intent to get the item for you. People to whom you’ve shared your Wist can see who has claimed an item (to avoid people buying the same thing), but you can’t see that yourself (so as not to spoil the surprise).

Rust really is a superpower!

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is a small post in appreciation of Rust, the programming language, and its ecosystem.

If you’ve read my other posts you’ll know that I have a strong interest in Rust. I have been using Rust for quite a number of years and I have released several posts about it, for example the performance of Rust when compiled to WASM. I’ve also built some software using Rust: Lishwist, Syswall and the Rust/WASM graphics library.

Verlet Physics Playground

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 12:51:00 +0200

I recently started playing around with the p5.js web editor and I created what I called the “Verlet Physics Playground”. That got me interested in other libraries in other languages that could be used for building real-time simulations like this.

The rabbit hole I ended up in first took me to Common Lisp’s Sketch library. I love using Common Lisp and I’m especially enamoured with the interactive/REPL-driven development workflow. I had a lot of fun rebuilding the p5.js version using Sketch.

About me and this site

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 13:28:05 +0100

My interests

Computing: gaming, programming, hardware, networking, administration
Design: websites, 3D modelling, game levels, illustration
Photography and photo manipulation
Travel: I’ve been to the US, Russia, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Crimea, Georgia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Cuba, Iceland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary
Reading: fiction and textbooks
Films
Keeping fit: mountain biking and running

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to Polaris64.net!

This website is intended to be a place where I can show some of my work and also write about the industry and other areas that interest me.

Search

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Polaris64's blog

Using Org Mode to keep track of exercise

Introduction

Writing a custom Hugo theme

Initial theme creation and set-up

First steps

Syswall: a firewall for syscalls

Links

Motivation

Software analysis

Introduction to the Cybersecurity blog

Move'm: Student Housing Reviews

My Dissertation Project

"Weeping Angel": game model and sculpt

Microsoft's NoIP takedown

"The Shining" in Unreal

4.74 Degrees of Separation?

Could Emacs Have a Set-up Wizard?

Introduction

Hidden in Plain Sight: how attackers use obfuscation to hide code

Introduction

What is obfuscation?

Network Editor Progress

About my programming

First UDK Level: Rooftop Deathmatch

Genesis-uk.com

Unreal level models: Helicopter

Not So Innocent…

Web Image Formats and WebP

Announcing my new game: Amazing Escape (Shareware)!

The Game

Web Exploit Detector: NPM module

Introduction

Engine Python Scripting Interface

Eyewood Marquetry

Unreal level models: Car

SCADA's Scarce Security

Browser Scripting and Google Go

Rust WebAssembly and JavaScript: Floyd-Steinberg Dithering

Code examples

Introduction

Floyd-Steinberg dithering algorithm

Web Exploit Detector: Node.js security scanner

Introduction

Pre-built Engine and Toolkit

Teeshirtsdirect.com

Unreal level models: Gargoyle

Technological Lockdown

Skyrim is Released

WebAssembly and Rust: performance analysis

Code examples

Introduction

WordPress Hacks: jQuery JS script injection

Introduction

Unreal level models: Rat

Mario Kills Raccoons!

Adobe Dropping Mobile Flash Support

Barmouth Viking

WordPress Hacks: functions.php Backdoors

Introduction

Shared Canvas: the next generation

Google Indexing Algorithm Gets an Update

Not So Humble Bundles

"Amazing Escape": Mobile Game in UE4

Minecraft Wins 2011 GameCity Prize

Dennis Ritchie

OpenGL game: Tank Battleground

64bit ARM Architectures

The Unblurring Line Between Photoshop and GIMP

A* Path-finding

Unreal in Flash

The UK’s Rising Stake in Semiconductors

C#: Normal Map Generator

What is Consciousness?

Introduction

C: Commodore 64 Emulator

C++: "Malevolent Revenge!", Linux Allegro Game

Downloads

Delphi (Pascal): 3D Test

C: SDL 3D renderer