A trip to Ramallah, Gaza

I've just got in from a trip to Gaza, which was incredibly interesting.

If you just want pics, the full album is here: http://goo.gl/YNd1

First was a trip to Ramallah, where we showed up at a coding event and gave a quick talk, and then let them get on with it.

It was in a treehouse/café called Snobar, which confused us, but it's arabic for 'pine'. About 100 people turned up. Good results.

The following day, we went to Gaza for 3 days, which involved a lot of red tape. It was our second attempt to get in - the first was back in november, when our passes never came through. This it went smoother.

Once there, we headed to the hotel, and checked in, and left our stuff. Then we headed out to a summer camp, where some of the 200, 000 girls and boys from the UNRWA-funded schools can play together and work on arts and crafts for a couple of weeks.

After that, off to an actual school to talk with teachers about some of their challenges. They have very few computers (I wrote down 640, but for 200, 000 students, that seems way too low). But, they're implementing a school for basic arabic and maths for the 45, 000 students who are currently failing them. Many schools run split shifts - that is, different students morning and evening, because there aren't enough buildings.

Then, to the UNRWA, where we learnt some pretty shocking statistics - I won't preach them at you now, but suffice to say, the region is destitute.

After that, some lunch, and then to a school for the deaf, who learn english, arabic and have a partially equipped hearing aid and medical lab, funded largely by donations. 300 students learn classes and vocational training - some stay to work in the workshops making furniture, rugs and trinktes. You can buy online from here: http://www.atfaluna.net/crafts/

Then it was time for a meeting with Impact Consulting, and a chat about some of the problems Gaza faces. It turns out that actually, the internet is one thing they do have access to, and with pretty good speeds.  Their biggest issues are equipment - there's a 1 year waiting list to get ADSL, although when you get it, it's 2meg, and reliable. Companies frequently have 20 meg or more. Universities are well connected too.

Then, back to the hotel to meet some kids who were working with Mercy Corps to learn about global politics. Their YT Channel is here: http://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalCitizenCorps

Then, dinner with MercyCorps, who had helped us get in - their work behind the scenes can't be overstated, and they're there every day, not just for a short visit like us.

Bed time (so tired), and then up at 6, for another day of full meetings. The morning was spent visiting 3 universities with varying degrees of technology - they all had internet with PC labs, but facilities varied wildly, and 2 universities had 20k students. The backbones were anything up to 1gig networks, but outbound was significantly lower, ranging from 5 - 20 meg.

The third started as an e-learning centre, but the government refused to recognise e-learning as attendance, which is a requirement for obtaining a degree, so they've pioneered a video streaming and archiving service for their entire curricula which means students can always go back and watch, and easily find out their tasks, as well as video chat with other students and professors. Pretty awesome.

As mentioned in one of the pictures, we also saw a makeshift UPS from car batteries, and a mechatronics lab.

Madness.

Next, Marna House, where a number of companies talked to us about what they're up to. Everything from web design and SEO, Android development, serach engines, trading platforms through to ISPs and e-government initiatives.

Then, off to meet an incubation program, PICTI, which invests in student projects. One of the universities ran a similar program, with three clear steps from idea to functioning business, and mentors along the way. Many startups are building apps for phones or the cloud, taking advantage of the global economy. One major problem is banking - the few banks which remain often can't cash cheques - one guy had a $3000 check that he couldn't cash.

Finally, we had some students present to us their ideas, which ranged from a prayer time display to a wirelss health monitor for ICUs, complete with business plans. A little rough around the edges, but impressive to see such work being done at all.

Then the third day, we presented for 5 hours to a crowd of developers, entrepreneurs and students keen to learn how Google could help them. We covered Adsense, Blogger, Knol, Chrome, Geo, Translation and Transliteration, Chrome Extensions, HTML5, Mobile Web, App Engine, Google apps, as well as sessions on basic search and innovation. The questions asked showed a pretty decent understanding of the web, and many people already had websites operating. The one that sticks in my head is http://eshopy.co.cc/eshopy/index.htm. Uses the Maps API, too.

Then, off to the checkpoint for 3pm, for some insane security checks and re-entry to Israel. 

G-Ghana

I thought I'd better update my blog, given that I'm at G-Ghana today, and just presented a session on blogging. It doesn't look good when I haven't updated in a while.
It's been an incredible week over here, and it's such a shame it's coming to an end. We started with Doodle for Google on wednesday, and the last couple of days have been the G-Ghana event.

Panoramio Widgetry

Today, I am a little happier than usual!
Panoramio have released a super-easy-to-use API that lets me embed pictures easily into any website, using iframes or javascript.
There's more over here: www.panoramio.com/api/widget/api.html

Here's an example (ugly red border is all my work!)

Eurogamer and Alan Wake

I'm pretty stupid, and tend to pre-order games based on hype-alone. Sometimes, I end up cancelling, if the review is really bad and it hasn't already been shipped, but other times I end up with crap like Alone in the Dark.


So, I pre-ordered Alan Wake, and I was just reading the Eurogamer review (I know, I should have been working, but I have, like, 6 minutes before a really big presentation, sitting outside the meeting rooom so there's little point in starting something else - although I am writing this. But I digress).


Anyway, there's a line in there that goes like this:
He decides to take a holiday in a bid to clear his head. And how does Alan choose to get away from it all, do you think? By spending a fortnight in Rio, drinking pina coladas by the pool? Or by visiting a tiny, rainy Pacific Northwest town inhabited by hilarious simpletons and frightening weirdoes, where the only available accommodation is an ancient log cabin in the middle of a haunted lake?


It made me laugh, anyway.

Final Fantasy 13

Well, here's a post that's never going to rank. Ever. There are already a bajillion FF13 pages.
So, as you may know, I was playing a LOT Of Resonance of Fate. Great game. Sucked ~140 hours of my life, but time well spent, I'd say. It had engaging lead characters, a story that was only really ever suggested (rather than overtly told, like in FF13), and a cool combat system to boot. Fun.


But, I've covered that already.


So, Final Fantasy. Well, first Splinter Cell. I played a bit of Splinter Cell: Conviction (which I note was topping the games sales charts for a bit), and it was pretty good fun. I didn't finish it (at least, not at time of writing. Check out my live profile to see I have finished now! http://www.xboxlivenation.com/community/livedna.php?gt=lord%20of%20goats). Actually, I also played some Lego Indy 2 (VAST improvement on the original), some more DJ Hero, and Just Cause 2 as well, before starting FF13.

I'm going to actually not talk about FF13 at all, and instead talk about the other games. Save FF for later.

Splinter Cell
Fun. Interesting. A couple of places where I kept wiping were incredibly annoying - especially when I had to sit through a cutscene before being allowed to try again - and the loading times weren't always that good, but on the whole, very enjoyable. As I mentioned above, I haven't finished it yet, but I'll probably go back to it at some point. The multi-player is also intriguing.

Lego Indiana Jones 2
If you like the lego games, you'll like this too. They've mixed things up a bit in the layout - the hubs are a little more interesting, and the replays are pretty cool. It's all a bit better signposted, in some respects, but worse in others. Still fun, though.

Just Cause 2
Ridiculous, in the best possible way. And frankly beautiful to look at. You've got a massive MASSIVE island sandbox to play in. And although some of the missions are a bit samey, and the gameplay gets a bit stale after a few hours, it's still one of the most striking games I've ever played. Steal a helicopter, take off, blow up the guards, fly up, jump onto the front, hook onto a plane and throw out the pilot. Stupid. Fun. And stupid fun.
Or, you know, just hook two planes together, and go for a ride:



Projector
What now? Yes. I got a projector. Games on a 12 foot screen can't be beaten. Here's a quick capture showing the motogp, in broad daylight. Just imagine what it looks like at night!

Resonance of Fate, sidequests

So, I found the in-game training area last night. Which sort of defeats my need for a combat guide. But I'll likely write one anyway.

In the meantime, here's a brilliant guide containing all the locations of the weird sidequests - like who is the good looking female for whom  the postman has a delivery (A small errand)? And who's the target in 'freight request?'. Anyway, you get the idea. Check out the guide.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=214586

Resonance of Fate - Combat 101

So, Resonance of Fate, and the crazy crazy combat system. In this quick guide, I'm going to talk simply about the very basic attacks - hero attacks and tri attacks. I'm assuming you've done the basic training in the Arena, so you understand the basic concepts. If you haven't done the training (and I only found it after 50 hours of play), go to the Arena, then head to the entrance door, and go left. There's a guy hiding under a girder, who does the basic concept training.

So, first things first. Guns?
Guns and Damage Types
There's really no wrong setup here. You'll start the game with 2 handguns, and 1 machinegun. Later on, you can dual-wield if you like. I've found success with most loadouts, so do what works for you.
I've tried one person with dual machine guns, and 2 handgunners, and also 2 machine gunners going solo, with a dual handgunner.
One thing worth noting - you probably want to keep someone equipped with the first aid kit - just in case -access to escape hexes is never a bad thing.

I'm hoping you understand scratch damage vs direct damage. If not, leave a comment, and I'll do a separate post, but the training should cover it. Which takes us to tactics.

Party order
First, you'll want to go to the character screen and hit (x). This will let you rearrange your party. Put the machine gunner(s) at the top.

For most enemies, you should find you can beat them in under 4 attacks with the following method. Some bosses require a slightly different approach, but this should keep you going. Before each attack, you want to jump, to ensure that damage is spread across the enemy's parts.
Also, note that you can change targets mid-hero attack by using the D-Pad. This is essential.

1. Run player one back left with a hero attack. Depending on your level, you should be able to get at least one complete bar emptied. Once you've done this, you can switch targets using the dpad, and try to run down another.
• Res points: 1
2. Step 2: Run player 2 to the back right. Charge one bar on the fully depleted enemy that your gunner has attacked, and kill it. For the second, pick someone you want to gauge break (stun), and get the biggest charge you can.
• Res points: 2
3. Step 3: Run player 3 straight to the back. Gauge break the toughest foe.
• Res points: 3
4. Step 4: Run player 3 back to the starting position. Gauge break the toughest foe.
• Res points: 4
5. Step 5: Tri-attack. Make sure you've selected the machine gunner as your lead character. Go for maximum charge on each pass. You might need to occasionally change target to make sure you're attack someone you're running towards, and not away from.
6. For most packs of enemies, that's it. You're done.

In fact, for ever weaker/smaller groups, you can run your MGer front and left, and your second guy front right, and then just start a tri-attack.

Extending your run

Normally, you just run to your destination. Or you jump. You can extend the time spent charging by running for the majority of the path, and then jumping right at the last moment.

Changing targets

When attacking, you can change target with the d-pad. This means, if you've got a very strong machine gunner (or gun), you can reduce many targets to zero in a single hero attack. Using the method above, you might run towards two targets. On the 'run' part, you charge that attack, hit 'a', and do your damage. Then, hit 'x' to jump, push left or right on the d-pad to change targets, and get another big charge on a secondary target.

The next gunner to attack can potentially kill 2 people in a single run, and break the gauge of a third.

Gauge Breaking

The exact method of gauge breaking is a little unclear. Your guns have a gauge break value, but I'm not clear what this does. It seems that you multiply the direct damage you do by the gauge break multiplier from your charge, and if this equals 100% of the creature's health, you break the gauge.

Regardless, a full charge with dual handguns will generally break an enemy pretty effectively.

The reason for gauge breaking is two-fold.

1) It stuns them, meaning they're less likely to attack next round.

2) You earn more bezels, which are key. If you've broken the gauge into 3 parts, say, then killing the enemy will earn 3 bezels instead of just one. Most enemies break to 6 individual parts. Some bosses will break less.

Well, that's all there really is. Get creative. Enjoy.