September 2009 Archives

I recently started a project to develop a set of games to help teach the Latin language. Initially the games will all be text-based, but I'll start integrating in a GUI once I have enough code written to make it interesting. The target OS is Linux.

http://indicium.us/cgi-bin/pages/get?view=lusus

At present there are no binary packages - you have to compile the C++ source code.

Just wanted to note this post for my own reference.

http://forum.soft32.com/linux/gentoo-links-thunderbird-open-firefox-ftopict324450.html

In the Gentoo Thunderbird package, the default build does not set Thunderbird to open clicked links in Firefox by default. The important snippet:

There are a couple of ways of doing this. You need to add the following
into Thunderbird's configuration:

user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.ftp", "/usr/bin/firefox");
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.http", "/usr/bin/firefox");
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.https", "/usr/bin/firefox");

You can add this directly to prefs.js in your
$HOME/.thunderbird/<something>.default/ directory. However, heed the
comments at the top of this file. Any changes you make while
Thunderbird is running will be overwritten. So, stop Thunderbird, edit
the file and restart.

You can also create a new file in the same directory called user.js.
Add the abover user_pref entries. This file will not be overwritten by
a running Thunderbird.

Here's some cool 8-bit music:

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/3580

It has that early Gameboy feel, but sounds better. The tracks are under a CC license, with OGG and MP3 downloads available.

The coolest Linux game for me this week is Hedgewars. Hedgewars is a modern clone of the older video game Worms.  The basic idea is that there are two teams of hedgehogs, which take turns walking around a 2D map and blowing each other up with really powerful weapons. There are a large variety of fun weapons, like the bazooka, the shotgun, the cluster bomb, the remote control kamakaze plane, the napalm drop, and the robotic cake bomb. Gameplay involves a lot of strategy because you can not only aim and shoot, but you can also move from place to place, use grappling hooks, and build small bridges, in order to get yourself in the best position for a shot or escape enemy fire.

Here is a page with official screen shots and video trailers.

The game is great fun. Be advised, however, that Hedgewars is not always conducive to homework productivity.