CIS170 C++ iLabs

I thought I'd make a tutorial for the assignments we have in class on my blog. This guide is assuming you have an IDE like Visual C++, a version of Visual Studios 2010 or Visual Studios 2012 installed locally on your computer and not using the Citrix crap.

BEFORE YOU START: The professor highly recommends you type these out, in this blog I quickly forgot that typing is also a good method of learning for beginner programmers, try typing the code and analyze it as you go. In this blog I suggest copy and paste but only do that if you are confident in learning the material in such a way.

Week 1

=Part A=

Step1:

Step One basically walks you step by step on how to create a new project to work on. Simply follow the steps one by one and you should be OK.

⦁    From the File menu, choose "New Project."
⦁    Choose “Win32 Console Application.”
⦁    Enter a name in the name field.
⦁    Click “OK”
⦁    Click “Next” and choose the following options:
⦁    Application Type: "Console Application"
⦁    Additional options: Check mark “Empty project”.
⦁    Click Finish. Your project is now created.

Step2:

After step1 you should have a project to work on but you don't have any code, and to write code you will need a source file (a file that contains your source code "The code you write"). Again this is a step by step process and simply following the steps, you should be fine.

⦁    In the Solution Explorer, right-click on the “Source Files” folder and select "Add" and then "New Item."
⦁    In the next dialog box, choose C++ file (.cpp), enter a name for your source code file, and press the Add button.
⦁    Type or copy and paste your code into the newly created source code file. Build the file by pressing F7, and then execute your program by pressing CTRL-F5 (start without debugging) or use the F5 key (Start Debugging).

At the end you will be asked to press F7 to build and then F5 to start debugging. Simple forget F7 and just press F5 as debugged actually builds the program in the process already. F5 is for debugging and as of yet in class we have yet to touch on that so I wont go into it.

Step3:

The next part say to enter the following code EXACTLY as you see it:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
  cout << "John Doe" << endl;
  cout << "CIS170C - Programming using C++\n";
  cout << "\n\n\nHello, world!\n\n";

}

but who has time to type that, simply copy and past it into your source file. You then have to change the name John Doe to your name, remember to leave the double quotes intact. Anything inside double quotes is considered a string, and a string is just a bunch of characters or if its easy its plain text. The next step says that the program will appear and disappear this is because once the program runs through all its steps it is complete and simply closes, you need to tell the program to not close and there are a number of ways to do this though simply typing system("pause"); will suffice apparently in this class and it looks easier to understand to beginners. So your code now should look something like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
  cout << "YOUR NAME" << endl;
  cout << "CIS170C - Programming using C++\n";
  cout << "\n\n\nHello, world!\n\n";
  system("pause");
}

Step4:

Simply states what the output should look like when you run the program (press F5 again).

John Doe
CIS170C - Programming using C++
Hello, World       

Though this isn't true as you see in the code above there are  multiple instances of \n which means NewLine. So in turn every time \n appears the cursor(blinking vertical line) should move down to the next line in the console(black box with white text in it), we also added the system("pause") so the actual output should look more like this:

YOUR NAME
CIS170C - Programming using C++



Hello, world!

Press any key to continue . . .

Tip: If you get a similar result to this, while the console or "command prompt" is selected Press Alt + Print-screen now and paste it into a new word document to be able to skip the repetitive steps later.

Step5:
This part just tells you to save your project, but from my experience each time you debug it(press F5) the project is automatically saved, but in case I'm wrong just press Ctrl + S or what I do is press the little floppy disk in the top left corn of Visual Studios. There is also an icon what has two floppy disks, that is for saving projects with multiple source files etc, for the time being we are only working with only one source file but you can still alternatively press the double floppy icon.

Step6:
This again in my opinion is useless If you followed the tip from step4 skip this step if not continue reading. When debugging the program an executable is already generated so why is the purpose of building it again unless you have made some changes to the source file? it also goes on to mentions errors etc, if errors had come up it would have came up already in steps before this one, if you did get errors you have made recent changes. If you made no changes since last debug simply skip this step.

Step7:
Again we debug it but if you followed my Tip from Step4 you can skip this Step, if not shame on you and continue reading. Simply press F5 again to debug the program again.

Step8:
If you followed my tip from step4.....skip, if not read on. Having the console or "command prompt" selected press Alt + Print-screen. Open a new word document and paste into it.

Step9:
Copy the source code and paste it also into the same word document and save it with the following file name format: Lab01A_LastName_FirstInitial (keeping the underscores).
You are now done and can close Visual Studios or Visual C++.

Note: During submission the professor wants both the word document as well as the project files.
The project files are located in you "My Documents" or "Documents" folder depending on your version of the windows operating system. In there is a folder called either "Visual C++", "Visual Studios 2010" or  "Visual Studios 2012". In there is a folder called "Projects" and in that folder is where you will find the project files for your programs you have made and/or are currently working on.

Visual Studios 2012 project to 2010 Conversion:
Open your solution file (*.sln) in notepad. Make 2 changes (the * means what ever file name)

1. Replace "Format Version 12.00" with "Format Version 11.00" (without quotes.)
2. Replace "# Visual Studio 2012" with "# Visual Studio 2010" (without quotes.)

Keep in mind this doesn't work on projects using the .Net 4.5 framework so for another quick fix when your solution is loaded a pop up will come up (only if your project was on 4.5 framework) that asks to use the 4.0 framework instead, select re-target and press OK
Here is a video I found on YouTube of someone doing it:

=Part B=

Step1:

Simple Create a new project a source file like in PartA.

Step2:

Again we are lazy or what I'd rather consider myself efficient and copy the following source code into your source file.

// ---------------------------------------------------------------
// Programming Assignment:    LAB1B
// Developer:            ______________________
// Date Written:            ______________________
// Purpose:                Ticket Calculation Program
// ---------------------------------------------------------------

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    int childTkts, adultTkts, totalTkts;

    childTkts = 3;
    adultTkts = 2;
   totalTkts = childTkts + adultTkts;

   cout << totalTkts << endl;
}

Change the Developer to your name and also set the date. The final result should look simething like this:

 // ---------------------------------------------------------------
// Programming Assignment:    LAB1B
// Developer:            YOUR NAME
// Date Written:            DATE
// Purpose:                Ticket Calculation Program
// ---------------------------------------------------------------

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    int childTkts, adultTkts, totalTkts;

    childTkts = 3;
    adultTkts = 2;
   totalTkts = childTkts + adultTkts;

   cout << totalTkts << endl;
}

Step3:

Remember that awesome little floppy icon on the top left, yeah? well click it.

Step4:

Press F5.

Step5:

Skip it.

Step6:

Alt + Print-screen, Paste into a new word document along with the code and name it with the following format: Lab01B_LastName_FirstInitial (keeping the underscores).

All done.

=Part C=

 Step1:
At this point I shouldn't have to tell you to make a new project and a new source file, it should come naturally like eating, pooping, peeing, sleeping, and hopefully showering, I mean the concept of soap and water isn't hard, neither should this.

Step2:

Aws no copy and paste this time around, well TOO BAD we still gonna rock this assignment. Lets do it. Ok the task is to calculate and display some text and numbers in according to some everyday stuff.....yeah I don't know this crap because I still live in my moms basement.......Good thing there is an output sample and diagram provided that makes our lives that much easier....well at least on this assignment, though the sample is off from what the actual result is (we'll get into that later).

Enter Weekly Sales: 28000
Total Sales:       28000.00
Gross pay (7%):      1960.00
Federal tax paid:      352.80
Social security paid:    117.60
Retirement contribution:  196.00
Total deductions:      666.40

Take home pay:       1293.60
Press any key to continue . . .

But because I found that the Diagram was missing a step I edited it so its more clear and understandable to beginners.

uwww look at all the pretty shapes....we will be working on this one shape at a time. First the oval. The oval can be consider the step where you setup your project, including libraries and namespaces and the main function. So your project should the look something like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{

}

PS: I will be using void main until the assignments switch over to int main.

The next part (first rectangle) is kind of misleading as I initially interpreted it as declaring everything as global. Global variables are variables that are outside functions and they can be accessed from anywhere else in your program, but for this simple program it doesn't really matter since we will only have one main function. Raise your hand if you think you know how to declare variables......put your hand down I can't see it anyways, if you know then skip this paragraph, if not read on. Variables are data and specific data at that. To declare a variable you first specify the type, for example you can use integer for whole numbers, string for plain text, boolean for a value that is true or false, float which is a decimal number to a specific decimal place, double which is like float but is more precise as it can store decimal numbers with more digits after the decimal place. Then the next thing is you want to give it a name, just like giving a name to a pet you will find that you will be calling this name to distinguish it from the rest. The thing about C++ is that it is cap sensitive and that means you can have variables with the same name but with different capitalization, for example TizzyT is not the same as tizzyt and is not the same as tiZZyt and not the same as....you get the idea. Lastly you can choose to give your variable an initial value, this is like mutant messenger pigeons that come once their names are called (smart ass pigeons), you can get a new pigeon, and not give it a message, but you will still have that pigeon to give a message to later on. So to recap variable are declared by first specifying type, then given a name, and then optionally given an initial value.

Here is a variable that is declared with no initial value:

int Hungry;

Here is a variable that is declared with an initial value:

int Bloated = 9000;

Also do not forget the semicolon as the end.

Now that we have that out of the way lets continue. the syntax in the box looks a lot like VB (another programming language) so converting it, one can use float or double in place of decimal. Do that for each variable, you should now have something like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales;
    float grossPay;
    float fedTax;
    float socSecurity;
    float retirement;
    float totDeductions;
    float takeHomePay;
}

 Alternatively it can also look like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales,
        grossPay,
        fedTax,
        socSecurity,
        retirement,
        totDeductions,
        takeHomePay;
}

Now this part is where I added that extra rhombus thinga-mahjig, so that we don't have to work backwards later on like we would have to do if we followed the original diagram. Here we are basically asking the user for an input that is the number of sales he made in a week. For that we use cout which is short for C out, hehe pretty clever huh...no? oh wells moving on. We first use cout followed by << and then the text you want to display that is between two double quotes. Don't for get the semi colon, in this instance we are not using the endl because we still desire to work on the same line we are currently on. So the code you should have should look something like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales;
    float grossPay;
    float fedTax;
    float socSecurity;
    float retirement;
    float totDeductions;
    float takeHomePay;
    cout << "Enter Weekly Sales: $";
}

Next is another rhombus looking du-hicky, It says "input weeklySales" where input means that the program is expecting the user of the program to put something in, and where weeklySales is the name of one of our smart ass pigeons I mean variables, basically its saying the user will assign a value to the variable named weeklySales. we do this with cin short for C in, get it? (hey writing this isn't exact fun you know) followed by >> and then the name of the variable weeklySales. Your code should look like this at this point:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales;
    float grossPay;
    float fedTax;
    float socSecurity;
    float retirement;
    float totDeductions;
    float takeHomePay;
    cout << "Enter Weekly Sales: $";
    cin >> weeklySales;
}

Next we go onto the next rectangle, it says "grossPay = weeklySales * .07". OK its saying the variable named grossPay will be assigned a value of weeklySales mulitplied by .07. First it looks at the variable weeklySales and looks what value it has then it does the multiplication then assigns grossPay with that resulting value. The next five rectangles are pretty much the same idea. Your code should now look something like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales;
    float grossPay;
    float fedTax;
    float socSecurity;
    float retirement;
    float totDeductions;
    float takeHomePay;
    cout << "Enter Weekly Sales: $";
    cin >> weeklySales;
    grossPay = weeklySales * 0.07;
    fedTax = grossPay * 0.18;
    socSecurity = grossPay * 0.06;
    retirement = grossPay * 0.1;
    totDeductions = fedTax + socSecurity + retirement;
    takeHomePay = grossPay - totDeductions;
} 

OK now that all of our variables have values lets move onto the last rhombus what-chu-ma-call-it. It says....you can read scroll up. Basically it wants to output all the information we have onto the console so that the user can see it and along with a description for each piece of information, each on its own line, NOT A FREAKING PROBLEM. Again we are going to use the cout in combination with the information we have in our variables, but before all that we have to cout a special line:

cout << fixed << setprecision(2);

This one line is used to specify how many digits to show after the decimal point and because cent in currency takes up 2 digits as in 00 to 99 we specify 2 as a parameter. You will also need to include a new #include line at the top to be able to use this:

#include <iomanip>

Now we can go a head and cout our information.

this is how each line should look like:

Cout << "Description Here" << variableHere;

So in your code should look something like this:

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales;
    float grossPay;
    float fedTax;
    float socSecurity;
    float retirement;
    float totDeductions;
    float takeHomePay;
    cout << "Enter Weekly Sales: $";
    cin >> weeklySales;
    grossPay = weeklySales * 0.07;
    fedTax = grossPay * 0.18;
    socSecurity = grossPay * 0.06;
    retirement = grossPay * 0.1;
    totDeductions = fedTax + socSecurity + retirement;
    takeHomePay = grossPay - totDeductions;
    cout << fixed << setprecision(2);
    cout << "\nTotal Sales:\t\t $" << weeklySales;
    cout << "\nGross pay (7%):\t\t $" << grossPay;
    cout << "\n\nFederal tax paid:\t $" << fedTax;
    cout << "\nSocial security paid:\t $" << socSecurity;
    cout << "\nRetirement contribution: $" << retirement;
    cout << "\nTotal deductions:\t $" << totDeductions;
    cout << "\n\nTake home pay:\t\t $" << takeHomePay << endl;
}

Alternatively it can also look like this:

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    float weeklySales,
        grossPay,
        fedTax,
        socSecurity,
        retirement,
        totDeductions,
        takeHomePay;
    cout << "Enter Weekly Sales:\t $";
    cin >> weeklySales;
    grossPay = weeklySales * 0.07;
    fedTax = grossPay * 0.18;
    socSecurity = grossPay * 0.06;
    retirement = grossPay * 0.1;
    totDeductions = fedTax + socSecurity + retirement;
    takeHomePay = grossPay - totDeductions;
    cout << fixed << setprecision(2)
        << "\nTotal Sales:\t\t $" << weeklySales
        << "\nGross pay (7%):\t\t $" << grossPay
        << "\n\nFederal tax paid:\t $" << fedTax
        << "\nSocial security paid:\t $" << socSecurity
        << "\nRetirement contribution: $" << retirement
        << "\nTotal deductions:\t $" << totDeductions
        << "\n\nTake home pay:\t\t $" << takeHomePay << endl;
}

The reason why I only have an endl at the very end is because at the beginning of every description I have a \n and that means a new line, some have 2 \n and that is because there is double spacing (refer to the sample to see were double spacing comes in). You will also notice the \t, it represents a horizontal tab. If you already know what it is skip this, if not read on. If you were to imagine the console being split up into pieces the beginning of each piece is a tab. Anything to the right of \t will be started at the next tab, or if you put \t\t it will be the 2 tabs away or if \t\t\t it will be 3 tabs away. Here is an image that might help:

Finally we add a system("pause"); so that we can see the output. Your code should look something like this when completed:

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
using namespace std;

void main()
{
    float weeklySales;
    float grossPay;
    float fedTax;
    float socSecurity;
    float retirement;
    float totDeductions;
    float takeHomePay;
    cout << "Enter Weekly Sales: $";
    cin >> weeklySales;
    grossPay = weeklySales * 0.07;
    fedTax = grossPay * 0.18;
    socSecurity = grossPay * 0.06;
    retirement = grossPay * 0.1;
    totDeductions = fedTax + socSecurity + retirement;
    takeHomePay = grossPay - totDeductions;
    cout << fixed << setprecision(2);
    cout << "\nTotal Sales:\t\t $" << weeklySales;
    cout << "\nGross pay (7%):\t\t $" << grossPay;
    cout << "\n\nFederal tax paid:\t $" << fedTax;
    cout << "\nSocial security paid:\t $" << socSecurity;
    cout << "\nRetirement contribution: $" << retirement;
    cout << "\nTotal deductions:\t $" << totDeductions;
    cout << "\n\nTake home pay:\t\t $" << takeHomePay << endl;
    system("pause");
}

In the console input 28000 and press enter, Alt + Print-screen and paste it into a new word document along with the source code.

Gather the project folders for A,B and C and also the 3 word documents and zip them altogether for submission.
Week1 DONE!!!

Manga/Image archiving program

I made this program a while ago due to me starting to collect manga. It was very cluttered and really a complete mess and manga with many page scans just looked ugly in a folder. So to organize my new found hobby I made a simple program that will archive my manga collection into single files known as simple manga pack (.smp). Sure there are other similar programs made for comics and such out already and I've tested them and in some cases my format rivals even them. For now the program is in 2 separate executables, one to create SMPs and one to read them but I plan to implement it all in one program in the near future as their current states are incomplete and is only functional and not final.

Download Simple Manga Packer (creates .smp files)

Download SMP Reader (reads .smp files)

To be implemented:
- Encryption
- Compression
- Volume, Chapter seperation
- Volume, Chapter, Page seeking
- Descriptions
- More Viewing modes
- Extract image sequence from smp
- Importing folders to convert to smp
- smp preview before packing

Current smp limitations and specification (subject to change):
- 65535 scans possible in smp file
- 255 characters possible in smp file
- 16,777,215 Byes max per scan (under 16 MB)
- Only jpeg, png, bmp supported as inputs

As mentioned compression is not implemented yet so it will be larger then other formats out there but it has been tested and results are good.

How to use:
:::packer:::
- run program normally
- drag and drop images into list
- provide a name for the smp
- click pack

:::reader:::
-  associate file extention .smp with the reader and open reader by double clicking the smp file you wish to read.
- another way is through dragging and dropping the smp ontop of the excutable
- another way is through command prompt
                                     SMP Reader.exe <input smp file>

[Fixed] EasyStaticRafConverter

Here is my previously released but not working StaticRafConverter. This is the finished and working/Tested release.

This will be the final revision of a Raf creation program as I believe this is the easiest to use. I will still make updates if bugs are found or if something added.

Instrustions:
There are 2 ways of using this, One way is to simply drag a supported image over the tool's icon and a new folder is created in the same location as the image that was used. Inside the created folder is a coldboot.raf.

The second way is to run the program normally and select an image. And press Convert after desired settings are selected. Using it this way provides a few simple minipulation features to adjust the logo and there is also a preview button to preview your logo.

[UPDATE 1]

Changes:

Version is now 1.0a (because its a small update)
Added Fill resize option
Saves a preview in output folder
Added a "Specify Output" option to change output location

Planned:
A fade in/out effect has been requested, I might or might not get to that.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?7rnjy5n2ki6u6z3 (NEW)

Log:
This is version 1.0 of a new revision of PCLCv2.
Adjustment settings:
Resize, Reposition.
There are also presets like Stretch, Zoom, anchor to top left/top right/top center/center left/center/center right/bottom left/bottom center/bottom right.

Planned:
A modded version of this will be used in a dynamic theme creator I will be working on.
A Fill resizing option might come in later update.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?z8dbhz8bvhh6at9 (OLD)

PS: feedback would be awesome :).

Static Raf Converter

Here is a final revision of my easy to use PS3 coldboot creator.

Changes:
No editing program is included.
Does not require any special software plugins, uses png/tiff and other common formats.
Drag drop support.
Resizing and repositioning of logo.
***Zoom option is not implemented yet this is only a test version, zoom will be available in the version after someone confirms this program creates working coldboots.


This application has not been tested use at own risk until confirmed/verified!
Confirmed not working....

If you do end up messing up your PS3 through the use of this program simply reinstalling
your desired firmware using recovery mode will fix the problem.

Playstation Color Logo Creator V2.511

This version is a slight mod of version 2.51.
Instead of Photoshop I have replaced it with GIMP 2.6, DDS plugin is included.
For now I will say use with care since I have not figured out what settings need to be set in GIMP to create a successful coldboot, if anything stay away from this version unless you want to test.

I am looking at 2 potential alternatives for photoshop.
One being the one found in this version and the other is Paint.Net.

IF YOU ARE TESTING:
My ps3 is unfortunately not functional and so I want to take this time to request testers.
Testers need to keep in mind that installing a messed up coldboot cannot perma-brick your ps3.
Testers also must know before hand that if the system does hang or seem to be in a brick state that
they should be ready to reinstall the firmware.
Testers goal is to find a working setting while saving that will create a working coldboot and report it.
ProTip: it is one of the DXT5 options.
Protip2: use save as and not save to get to the different settings that need to be tested.

Changes:
Replaced bundled Photoshop with gimp 2.6 portable (added dds plugin).
Kind of stupid of me but added a close button in the help menu.
Changed the browse window to browse to any editor and not just Photoshop.exe

Future plans:
Update help menu with editing/saving information.
Fix the issue of not loading preview image on slow computers (maybe sometime soon)
Get a Paint.Net variant version (maybe)
Add simple preset animations ex: scroll in from left/right/top/bottom (possibly sooner then later)
UI changes (eventually going to happen)

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zdwnjgll7jga5n8 (Intentionally removed, will NOT re-upload).

Future versions of PCLCv2.5+

I will NOT be including Photoshop as a bundled option for editing and making the coldboots.
A user has displayed great worry and so I respect his thoughts and will look into using other ways and programs to make coldboots easier.

Reason:
Photoshop used in the bundled version is a modded portable version I found online. While I have made the entire coldboot creator with functionality in mind I did in fact forget about the other issues. I will advise that anyone using my program should either completely remove it from their systems or use it without the included Photoshop.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Playstation Color Logo Creator V2.5

Finally wasn't lazy enough to get to work on the next update.
The version is now 2.5 and its more of a complete redo then an update.
Everything should work and contains the word BETA because I wasn't able to test it myself but
PS3Hax.net member RobGee789 has tested and stated it working.

UPDATE 1:
Finished up and implemented the missing things.
Version is 2.51.

Changes:
Detects when Photoshop is extracting and when its finished extracting.
Save preview image during coldboot packing process, saved in the Coldboot folder.
Code Rebug's Coldboot installer will be extracted to the same location as the application.

Download:
Download has been removed

Changes:
UI has changed.
Shouldn't have packing errors anymore.
Does fine if file-size of logo changes.
No hex-editing.
There are no more arguments.
Like prior versions of PCLCV2, (should) creates/extracts all required files.
CS5 extended instead of CS4.

Not implemented:
Detects when Photoshop is finished extracting (will add in soon).
Save preview (will add in soon).
Have not added Code Rebug's Coldboot installer (will add in soon).

Download:
Download has been removed

PS: comments opinions would be nice.

Random.

     I will be picking up video projects again but will not announce any progress on them until the finished stage. Other groups have done the same and I think that is key to their success. In the past I have announced progress and asked for people's opinions and suggestions, and I think that was my downfall, because I am always looking for the audiences approval. But the thing is the audience always wants it to be better and better and so I always try to make it better and better. In the past I have mentioned that I will be making the quality checks and final decisions, I lied. I still thought about the audience and wanted to continually make it better. This time I will not announce anything, not the name of which series I'm working on or its status. The only thing that will be announces is its completion and its release. I would like to thank the people who have been sticking around although there might only be one or two of you and would like to apologize for the way I will be working from now on.

     On another note I will be attending school again going for my Bachelors in Computer Information Systems. I will be starting at the end of April so I have plenty of time to catch up on video projects.

     I will still be making programs for various things just for people to use. I am working still in VB.NET but will gradually move into C++.NET as I become more familiar with it through school. I was hoping to get into C++ but my school seems to not have it unfortunately, but time will come when I will learn that too, might as well start where I can.

     I want to be able to program micro-controllers at some point too so I'll be looking into that in my spare time. Every break I've gotten I pushed to learn something new, this break I planned to learn to use Blender the 3D modeling program. I've gotten as far as getting the hot keys and program layout but when it comes to actually working with models I seem to be struggling but I will get it eventually. I have yet to get to lighting and physics and I doubt I will be working with the game engine anytime soon.

     In the PS3 scene I have taken a semi-break as my PS3 has broken. I can further develop my program but I don't want to get it all done and have it not work and not know where its not working. I like to take it nice and slow and have everything working one step at a time.

     Over the past 1.5-2 years I have took part and gotten active online, joined a community and enjoyed every bit of it. This blog was not my first and will not be my last. In the years to come I want to do as many things as possible like contributing useful programs like I am now, advice and support like I am at PS3Hax.net and Yahoo Answers, and taking up video projects like I am doing here and much more.

Playstation Color Logo Creator v2

Here is the program I have been working on for the past 3 days and I finally finished it. It is a rewritten/remake of the previous version "PS3 Color Logo Creator". This is a complete re-write and I never once looked back at the previous version's source so this is all new. This program is used to make custom boot logos for modded "CFW/MFW" PS3s. I have handled some issues that came with the first version and added some features. There are two versions a "Full" version and a "Lite" version.
The Lite version is practically the same as the Full version and the only difference is that I took out Photoshop in the Lite version. The Full version has Photoshop, look in the program's Help Menu for more information.

Instructions:
This versions is completely portable and will create anything that is missing on its own.
Once the program is ran click on "Edit". Browse to your Photoshop application if you have the "Lite Version".
Edit the logo how you would like it and save as DXT5 ARGB 8bpp | interpolated alpha.
Select "No MIP maps" and save. *(for version 2.1, on version 2.01 and lower leave it on "Generate MIP maps")
Click on "Preview" to see a sample of what the logo will look like. (Optional)
Then click on Create to start making your custom logo.
The Logo will be displayed after it has been created.

Info:
To get the Coldboot Installer.pkg included when the logo is created use the /coldbootinstaller argument.
For Windows XP users run the program with the argument /noaeroborder to remove the Aero border.
For people who get the full version who don't have Photoshop use /internalps to extract and use the included Photoshop.
PS: More information on my blog


UPDATE Pre-Release (TESTING NEED)
Since my PS3 is broken but I still want to update this program, I am putting out a pre-release of the next version it is made from scratch so you can think of this as a third revision or something lol. This version has a couple changes that should fix many of the issues that people have informed me of.

Changes:
-Doesn't do any hex editing.
-Includes CS5 extended (instead of CS4 in previous versions)
-Made GUI smaller but added an actual button for everything instead of small hard to notice question mark and cross.
-Finished coldboot will be created in a coldboot folder which is also create in the same location as this program.

Arguments:
-/internalps to extract and use included Photoshop CS5 extended

What doesn't work in this pre:
-Help menu is not present as program is not complete to know what I need to put in the help menu.
-Preview is not finished yet either.

If you want to test:
-know that this can semi-brick if the produced is corrupt in some way. To fix the semi-brick you will need to go into recovery and reinstall your CFW/MFW. If you don't mind doing that then you can go ahead and test this for me and thank you :). Please post findings/results in this thread.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1hp92dsd9f7r96k


UPDATE 4:
Very minor update, just added a button to extract photoshop for people who have problems using the argument /internalps.

Download:
Playstation Color Logo Creator V2.111 (Full)

UPDATE 3:
The Version now is 2.11
Added save preview features as I see people taking screenshots. The feature is located in the preview window called "Save Preview".
The preview will be saved in the mode the preview is in for ex: if in 480(4:3) then the preview saved is of the 480(4:3), if you are in 720 then the preview saved will be of the 720.
Looked around and even got a PM on an error for people who plan on using their own installation of Photoshop "Could not complete your request because it is not the right kind of document", I included the fix(es) which is installing Nvidia's DDS plugins, located in the help menu.

Download:
Playstation Color Logo Creator v2.11 (Lite)

Playstation Color Logo Creator v2.11 (Full)

UPDATE 2:
The version now is 2.1
I have implemented Full-screen logos, thanks to Glowball1's Help.

Download:
Playstation Color Logo Creator v2.1 (Lite)

Playstation Color Logo Creator v2.1 (Full)

UPDATE 1:
I fixed a couple unwanted behaviors and bugs, added a couple things to make it handle situations where the program would throw an exception.

Planned:
Logo that fills screen < Maybe sometime soon.
Effects in logo < Might/Might not happen

Playstation Color Logo Creator v2.01 (Lite)

Playstation Color Logo Creator v2.01 (Full)

TORrent

This is a package I came up with while I was trying to get TOR to work with utorrent.
Everything is preconfigured and so far from my testing works as in it does download torrents. I will need more testing and feedback to know for sure if this works privacy wise.

[Update 1]
utorrent and tor clients have been updated to latest releases and enabled forced encryption in utorrent.
Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?b5u57kzn4zs2n43

Info:
This package contains 3 programs.
- TOR (Anonymity Network)
- Privoxy (Non-caching Web Proxy)
- uTorrent (Torrenting Client)

Note: This package is provided as is.
That does not mean this is a virus, this is a clean package you have my word on it.
I will not be responsible for anything regarding the use of this package.
TOR is not meant to be used as a proxy for P2P traffic, this was made to torrent files privately.
On that note, I do not guaranty the COMPLETE anonymity of this package.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?33tw2jk5b8trtu8

Golden Boy is a pain in my ass LOL

I have gotten Trigun's Method down, but its still too slow, A little more optimization and it should be ready for releases. I have given that project a quick pause and went back over to Golden Boy as that was the anime originally requested and also the fact that its shorter. But like last time it is giving me a lot of problems lol, mostly due to it being so old and the method used when it was placed on DVD. Getting the progressive frames from DVDs is something I can do easily now, even made 2 programs to automate that for me, but with Golden Boy the progressive frames themselves are also interleaved so I can't just automate the process. Please don't be mad as I have decided to give up on trying to extract the progressive frames and work with the interlaced/telecine frames. This will give an after/before image in some of the frames. You shouldn't notice it unless you actually paused the video and seek through the video frame by frame. The only side affect that will be noticeable is in fast moving scenes a blur effect is slightly there but this is also in the original DVD (its nothing I did). I will be uploading a sample clip to show what I have for Golden Boy so far. The sample clip will be using the method that I might actually consider using as a final method for the series. So check back soon for a sample clip download of the first episode.

Trigun Method Changes!!!

There are going to be a couple changes in the method I use. Instead of interpolating frames at all, The final method will take all the progressive frames that I have obtained and then duplicate the necessary ones. This in fact turns out to be the best choice quality wise as you don't see any after images/ghosting. Just to give an idea the progressive frames are currently at ~18FPS. So I'm guessing that the original animation was done at this frame-rate so I will be leaving the progressive frames as is and duplicating the ones necessary to push it up to 29.9760 FPS like on DVDs and other distributed anime.
If anyone has any other ideas then please mention it in the comments.
PS: please don't recommend to me software which does video interpolation as I have tried many and they all are good but didn't give a satisfactory result.

Here are some interpolation I have tried:
MSU Frame Rate Convertor,
Twixtor,
Linear interpolation,
Motion Perfect,
and some others that I don't remember.

Tough CopyRight Protection!!!

LOL took me about 2 hours to finally get through the copyright protection. I first used methods I usually use and well, only the first episode was extracting everything else returned as a 0KB file. I immediately knew it was a protection scheme and I went to research on how to bypass it... LOL it was actually easier then I thought, the 2 hours was because I was trying to bypass it with my own knowledge but failed utterly. Well now I have all the Episodes extracted and placed in a neat organized project. I will be working on it tomorrow since right now its 4:04 AM. Yeah I'm tired, but like always I will continue this project (Unless I plan not to). Peaces!!!

DVDs Have arrived today!!!

The DVDs came today, earlier then expected. I popped it in and immediately watched it. I saw that the quality was good and the telecine looks easier to manage but I wont know for sure until I actually try. I will be working on this as soon as I rip and setup the project.

New Trigun Source Ordered!!!

The new source of Trigun that I will be using has been ordered and will arrive in about 5 days. In the mean time I will look into and mess with Golden Boy a little more as it is a really tackle to get that to a great quality level which I think will be satisfactory.

The new DVDs were purchased from here:
http://www.amazon.com/Trigun-Complete-Box-Dorothy-Melendrez/dp/B003VQO4WA/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1314890010&sr=1-2

Any questions, comments or suggestions will be appreciated.

Trigun Source Change!!!

I have been using the trigun remix DVDs as a source to enhance from but I found that there is a more recent and better version released by Funimation in 2010. I will be using that as a source for my enhancements as soon as I get them from a barns and noble.

TRIGUN Quality changes!!!

As I have stated, I will me making changed to the method I use to enhance TRIGUN to HD. The following are the changes that I am currently testing, these changes are not final and are expected to be changed, and/or removed ,and/or added.

The first thing that I will change is the interpolation method. Currently I am using twixtor to more accurately interpolate in-between frames to reach the 29.9760 fps needed as a HD format. The frame rate without that is ~18 fps. I will be using a less accurate blending interpolation method instead as it is faster and requires less editing for its completion, but it is less accurate as a result.

The Second thing I will be changing is I will be making this a dual audio (English/Japanese) with English soft-subs at release. Because of the addition of the subtitle phase The process will take a little bit longer then if I just did English audio only.

Remember I am only one person, there is no group that I am working with, its all me. I also have other projects that I am working on as I am also on the PS3hax.net scene. And as a reminder again for those who didn't read the info on the left about me, release will take awhile and come slowly.

TRIGUN HD LOSSLESS QUALITY DEMO!!!

The previous quality demo before was from a "VERY QUICK" comrpession. I noticed that the quality of the quickly compressed one and the quality of the lossless version was quite noticeable and so here is the lossless quality demo, I will find a better compression for when I finally release.

TRIGUN HD QUALITY DEMO!!!

Here is the Demo I have finished, it is the credit-less opening of TRIGUN. The quality came out nice but The process to achieve it takes forever, for the next week or so I will be looking into how to make this process faster, whether its degrading the quality a little or I find a better method all together.


Well here is the download:
DOWNLOAD TRIGUN HD Intro DEMO 720P.


PS: Any feedback with be great.
PSS: Even though the final quality of the video is decided my myself, you guys are always welcome to suggest things.....

FOR THOSE WHO DOWN WANT TO OR CANT DOWNLOAD HERE IS A PIC:

Trigun Status!

Progressive frames have been successfully generated from the DVDs, A HD version is coming near. LOL I actually had to program a program to help me with getting the progressive frames. The program will be able to help speed up the process by at least a day or two. For full episodes it might save about the same amount of time, but over all process will still take awhile.

Golden Boy Haulted, Trigun Started!!!

Golden Boy is not cancelled but I want to give Trigun series a go first, I will leave off Golden Boy where it is and have been working on Trigun for the past 7 hours. What I am doing is manually getting telecine information from the opening as that is the shortest video clip in the anime. I will get this done, but exactly when is another matter. This will actually take me a long time to finish a first episode. So to make things more convenient for people I will ask you to simply subscribe to my youtube channel as it will automatically notify you of anything I upload. If you don't want that option then you can hit me up on AIM. my screen name is "manoman344" without the quotes. Of course I will be making posts on this blog but because this is a long project I thought I'd make it easy for people instead of checking up on this blog all the time, but if you do prefer using this blog and don't mine the wait then your free to come on by :) . Now I know I say it takes long but the intro might be done in a week or so, full episodes will take a lot longer to do.

AIM: manoman344

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TizzyT455?feature=mhee

PS: I will be using the intro as a quality demo.

Golden Boy Status Report:

I will be using the NTSC version as I have compared the 2 and lines are better looking in the NTSC version, also the PAL version cuts quite a bit off the image. Here is a comparison of NTSC (on left) compared to PAL (on right).

Golden Boy Status Report:

I have obtained the DVDs from a download site and am now in the process of finding the best method of converting them into progressive frames. I am having kind of a hard time doing just that because I usually work with NTSC content and this is the first I have worked with PAL. I will post before and after pictures when I get a method down that works best.

Golden Boy Project Officially Restarted!

The Golden Boy HD project has official restarted as I have to re-obtain the DVDs. The ones I have now are R1 and I did some research to find that R2 has better quality, dammit how come the Europeans gets all the good stuff. Well not to worry as I have found the DVDs and will get them soon enough it will probably be a week until its here then the enhancing begins. I reassure people that I try to use the best quality source as I can get before I start my enhancing procedures. I then try hundreds of different methods and finally come to a single method which I will use for the series. After I finish the enhancing part I'm not completely done yet, I pop it into adobe and make the final tiny tweaks to bring out a little more quality and then after rendering that I finally encode it with a high quality codec because believe it or not I work in loss-less (no loss in quality compression, takes a lot of space) the whole time before this. The final encoded result will be the MKV container files for people who don't want the bluray version. The bluray version will be processed using the loss-less version of Golden Boy.

PS: working in loss-less is very space consuming and I will only be able to do this with small series such as this, larger series which contain something like 26 episodes will take up too much space and will only have the MKV downloads available.
Just to give you guys a clue of how much space loss-less takes up, a single episode can take up to 50 GB of space, if I were to do a 26 episode series it would be 50GB x 26EPs = 1.3TB. In the future when I get myself a raid setup I will be able to provide such series but for now settle for GOLDENBOY. :)

Dropping all other video projects

I'm dropping all other video projects and continuing only Golden Boy as its the only one anime that has been requested. Thanks prd0x for replying. :)

Continuation Notice!!!

Please people if anyone is reading this and wants me to continue on any one of my projects please leave a comment stating that you want me to continue an anime, I recently thought my blog was dead so I stopped working on the video but then a comment came up and I am not asking if there are people who wish for me to continue. If not anyone of my projects then state what anime you would like me to work on in the comments. Thank you, and have a nice day everyone.

Project Changes!!!

All "Current" and "Future" video projects will not be on and physical media type or format, the only available version will be the digital version. The reason I am doing this is because it takes time away from me doing other projects and secondly and more importantly I don't know how to make custom Bluray menus. Please don't offer to do the menus because my decision id final.

UPDATE: Spirited Away HD is finished and will be uploaded soon.

Taking a break from Golden Boy!

I'm taking a break from working on Golden Boy and am focusing on Spirited Away, After re-watching the movie I thought I had to work on this too. As for progress on Golden Boy I'm sorry to say that I only have the first episode done and I think I will be changing the method I used to enhance it and redo the episode so no preview sample images quite yet but I will keep updating when I can.
PS: Even though Golden Boy was my first project, I might finish Spirited Away first.
PSS: Like Golden Boy I will continue to work on Spirited Away but whether I finish it or release it is a different matter.

First Anime Project: Golden Boy HD

My first project will be to create a Blueray version of the Anime Series Golden Boy. The Series will be brought to 720P, still deciding on whether or not to bring it to 60fps. I am trying to make it fit onto one 25GB Bluray disc, Of course I will also have a MKV for each episode for people who don't plan on having it on Bluray.
Will post comparison images soon.

PS: I will continue to work on this project but whether or not I finish it or if/when I release it is another thing.
PSS: I will be deciding whether or not the quality is acceptable, so please don't suggest anything, unless it really is a good idea, not trying to be mean but this way I can release things on time. The final release might have changes that might not be mention, I will try to keep info up to date.