lunikon

Review: Kingsman

Martin Simons — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0100

Many of the recent additions to the spy movie genre were mostly dark and serious in tone, something many fans - especially those of the Bond franchise - disliked, but which definitely worked exceptionally well at the box office (Skyfall made more than USD 1.1 billion!). Yet it looks like the classic Bond-like, tongue-in-cheek style is making a come back and if you are a fan of the genre, there are plenty of new movies to pick from recently and in the near future. One of them is “Kingsman” which I watched yesterday and I’d like to write a few words about. (Might contain spoilers for some!)

Blog reboot. Again.

Martin Simons — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0200

This blog has been silent for a long time. More than three years, in fact. And I don’t know yet whether anything about this silence will change in the foreseeable future. I’ve run a short-lived experiment on Tumblr because I felt like I wanted to share stuff in a way that would make it accessible to people who are not present on Facebook as well. But since content posted on Facebook with third-party tools is rendered differently from stuff that’s posted directly (wonder why…), I ended up posting things using Facebook’s page and app again.

Current side projects

Martin Simons — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:10:28 +0200

Today is a public holiday in Germany and as such the "friendly" side of my split boss-personality granted me half a day off. So after getting all to-dos of the day ticked I was thinking about what to do with my free time. I spent the first one or two hours finishing Portal 2 (I absolutely recommend it to anyone...awesome game!) just to return to an annoying state of boredom immediately afterwards. Figuring that the closest thing to a hobby I got was coding I decided to work on one of the side-projects I got in the pipeline right now. Problem was: I realized - once again - that there are a crazy 3 (three!) of them right now and that I couldn't decide on which to work on. So I figured: Good opportunity to breathe some life into this boring blog and let you know what else is cooking besides AirlineSim. Maybe you can decide on a favorite...

UI Inspiration

Martin Simons — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:03:00 +0200

For a few weeks now I've spent a considerable share of my development time to work on a prototype of our upcoming game title. For now I am still pretty much in the experimenting stage, trying out various different types of interfaces and playing around with different client devices (desktop, touch, mobile etc.). Beyond that, most aspects of the game are still undefined. Basically two aspects are set: The game will take place in a space setting - as our teaser site boldly states - and it will once again be a more or less serious business simulation (not a transport simulation, though).

Why I probably won't write a transport simulation again

Martin Simons — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:43:16 +0200

On this blog and elsewhere I've described more than once how AirlineSim came into existence and what were the driving factors behind it for many years. To give a short summary once again: The whole idea was born out of pure enthusiasm for aviation. From the beginning it was intended to be a solid airline simulation, not a "game" and in no case a "product". It was a hobby, something I and the many supporters of the project did for personal enjoyment rather then mass-market appeal. As I presented in my last post, this and several other factors posed to be huge show-stoppers in my endeavour to make a living from AirlineSim.

So...what next?

Martin Simons — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:49:05 +0200

It's almost 3 o'clock at night and I can't sleep. Probably due to the larger quantities of coke and coffee I had the evening before...but also because I have a lot of stuff floating around my head that keeps my brain from slipping into sleep-mode.

Integrating CAS and Wicket

Martin Simons — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:08:33 +0100

At AirlineSim we use CAS for user authentication and right now we are in the process of migrating parts of the game to the great web framework Wicket. Yesterday I thought about a way of integrating both in a way that a user is automatically redirected to a login page when he lacks access rights and that he returns to the exact same page after he has completed the login. All should be done in a "Wicket way". Below you find my approach, please let me know when you find errors or if you can think of ways so solve it in a better way. For demonstration purposes I use simplified code passages. It looks slighty more complex in AirlineSim.

Going international

Martin Simons — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:17:03 +0200

The last few weeks AirlineSim have been quite a bit of fun again and it almost feels like the good old times. With the definite decission taken that we want to roll out an English version of the game before the end of the year a whole lot of things have happened. Let me summarize real quick:

Visiting an aviation sanctuary

Martin Simons — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:46:26 +0100

We did it. Nils and I actually took the trip every true aviation enthusiast should take once in his/her life. Well, at least should try to whenever around the area ;). Since any reader not absolutely visually impaired knows that I'm currently residing in Hong Kong, most of the more interested in aviation might have already figured what I'm talking about: We visited the probably most famous checkerboard there is...at least in aviation. For everyone who doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about a short explanation: The old airport of Hong Kong, namely Kai Tak, was located right in Kowloon with its only runway constructed in the middle of victoria harbour. Because of the predominant winds and the mountainous surrounding area a direct approach was impossible. Therefore pilots had to fly into Hong Kong low over densly populated districts and turn sharply by 43 degrees just seconds before touch-down. To help the pilots "hit the right spot", a checkerbord was installed which, whenever visible, marked the spot at which the turn had to me made. This approach is easily the most exciting one in aviation history and if you can't quite imagine what's supposed to be so interesting about it, take a look at this or this or this picture. You can find more information on the airport and the approach on Wikipedia.

Technology in Hong Kong

Martin Simons — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:14:21 +0200

One thing I immediately noticed after arriving in Hong Kong was the local attitude towards technology. While back in Germany the idea of an RFID-based ticketing system for public transport would be dead before even leaving conceptual state it is reality over here. Instead of "movement patterns" which is the first association you get to hear in Germany my most important thought is "comfort". The little card is called "Octopus" and kind of works like an electronic wallet. Primarily it serves as a quick and fast method to pay smaller amounts of money. Most stores, fast-food chains and vending machines allow payments with the card. To pay with it you don't even have to take it out of your wallet...just move the whole thing in front of the sensor, you hear a beep and you know you've successfully paid. Usually a little display besides the sensor shows the remaining amount of money you have on your card and sometimes it is also printed on your receipt. If you take the subway, you scan the card on entering the origin station. When leaving the destination station the amount you have to pay for exactly the route you travelled is debited. Never miss the train because you haven't gotten a ticket yet and there's only one ticket machine on the whole platform! You buy the card once which costs a "fee" of 50HK$ (less then 5 Euros) and you can recharge it at "value add machines" which are distributed all over the city and at many places. For anybody who's afraid of "movement patterns" or is just German: Buying the card is completely anonymous. Recharging can be done by cash, so no connection to your credit card or whatsoever can be made.