VouSei Advent

Here I am, waiting and waiting, but the guys at the shop are really taking their sweet time. I've drawn up more line art (yeah, I don't do pixel art) to be used for enemy ships in the game, but without a scanner, I can't add them to the computer and start coloring them.

I'm getting sick of WMP and its occasional Codec 55 error, so I replaced it with the latest Winamp. The newest custom modern skins are awesome.

Wanting to test audio, I fired up the good ol' VouSei Advent demo (alpha). It does sound much better with Winamp as the default media player.

Anyway, during today's test, I rechecked the weapons out for the millionth time. I was really suprised that I overlooked the effectiveness of "Hypocluster". After a little recalculation of the projectile trajectories (thank trigonometry), I also changed the "stun effect" from slowing enemy fire rate to momentarily halting enemy motion. "Hypocluster" is now greatly more flexible, whereas it was an overly situational weapon before.

The sad thing is that this new change is actually what was originally planned for "Hypocluster". Somehow, the ideas didn't translate well enough from paper to code.

I guess I've sharpened my programming skills a little from creating the core engine of the card game, "One".

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One

Since the last update, I haven't added more to "One" yet. I solved the last major bug using more trial-and-error than logic, so it wasn't exactly a pleasurable experience. Seeing it work perfectly (even though I'm still a little confused as to how it does, honestly) is a great relief though.

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Classical Music

Last Friday, I went to an orchestral concert with a few friends. As usual, it was awe-inspiring, with the exception of Mozart.

Everytime I listened to Mozart, it threatens to put me to sleep. I figured that since Mozart wrote so many musical pieces, I happened to hear his worse ones. I mean, hey, Mozart can't be all that famous for nothing, right?

I find Tchaicovsky's music very deep and interesting. Mendelssohn's (forget it, I can never spell his name correctly) violin concerto is so vivid and dramatic that I actually see mental images of the adventure story told through his music. It's amazing! But what about Mozart? Ugh.

Last Friday, I had great expectations for Mozart. That was because they were going to play the legendary "Jupiter", the greatest music Mozart ever composed. Was it as great as its reputation? Hell no. It was all the same as his other music, except that it is filled with little, clever tricks that doesn't really capture your soul.

After that, my mind is set - I don't like Mozart. At all. And now, no one can convince me otherwise. My friends pretty much agree. Somehow, Mozart does not appeal to today's audience. Even I, who really appreciate classical music, cannot bring myself to enjoy Mozart's music.

Why? A little reflection lead me to discover the answer. Think about science . There are two main concentrations - applied science and pure science. This analogy can be used with classical music. While Tchaicovsky tells a story about him and his struggles through life and Mendelssohn weaves a heroic, epic tale together, Mozart plays with music as if it is a magical toy. In other words, Mozart's music is "music for the sake of music", unlike others of the following Romantic Period, where music is "music for the sake of storytelling". Personally, I believe that the latter is incredibly wonderful and powerful, while the former lacks true substance.

My music appreciation professor expresses his concern that classical music is dying. One reason it is dying is because, at least from the shows at a nearby orchestral hall, too much Mozart is played. Sure, some people may worship Mozart, but his music is too "difficult" and "detachful" for the average person to appreciate. I'd like to hear much more of Tchaicovsky and Bach, personally.

Oh, and for those that don't like classical music, if you've never been to an orchestra, don't consider yourself having heard classical music. Classical music is absolutely, abyssmally pathetic when compressed digitally. Classical music is polyphonic, meaning that many layers of melodies and harmony play simultaneously. Compressed, you hardly hear what's going on. And even with the best sound system, it is still extremely difficult to achieve the "resonance" of the orchestral hall.

One of my friends once thought that classical music sucks, but after going to a real orchestral concert, he says that he is actually starting to like it.

That's right. All CDs of classical music should be buried. Everyone should go to a real, live concert to listen to "true classical music" in its full splendor. Then, decide whether you like it or not.