tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30547292024-03-07T23:02:50.702+00:00The Blog of ScottIf I change the name of my blog again, I'll eat my hat...Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-17609243864489700332023-10-11T16:22:00.004+00:002023-10-11T16:26:53.481+00:00Polymer Picker v1.10 releasedPolymer Picker v1.10 introduces a new adversary - JellyfishPolymer Picker v1.10 has been formally released. The original v1.00 has been replaced with the newer one, so you don't need to amend any URLs to play the latest edition.Making this game has been quite the journey these last 2 years. The recent additions to the game were performed over the spring and summer of 2023, and represent what I Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-72233299751387983342023-05-18T17:19:00.006+00:002023-05-18T17:19:57.406+00:00Polymer Picker, and why 8-bit programming matters to meLate last year, I released a BBC Micro game, Polymer Picker. Realising that 2022 marked the centenary of the BBC, as well as the 40th anniversary of the release of the BBC computer (which was designated as one of the BBC's 100 Objects), I wanted to work on something that related to the BBC's mission of being able to 'educate, inform and entertain'. So what better way than to release a game for Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0Godalming, UK51.185731999999987 -0.61280822.875498163821142 -35.769058 79.49596583617884 34.543442tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-78022878044417710832021-09-13T16:04:00.002+00:002021-09-13T16:04:48.071+00:00Using ADFFS on emulated RISC OS, within Parallels Windows 10 DesktopEarlier this year, I posted the following tweet:
Wanted to play one RISC OS game.An old one.Too much hassle faffing with emulators and tooling.This stuff should be easy.But it isn't. Gimme Chocks Away with 5 minutes set up time. Not hours of breakage and tears!— Stephen Scott 💙💚 (@sassquad) August 11, 2021
I was somewhat frustrated - and have been for some time before then - about being ableStephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-76653270873503724412021-08-24T15:47:00.002+00:002021-08-27T10:25:24.673+00:00Using Beebasm for BBC Basic games programming (Mac & Windows)In August 2021, I released Androidz Redux, a remastered version of my 1994 game Androidz. This process started a year ago, with a couple of days spent playing around with the original code, far away from a real BBC computer.The original game was published in a magazine called Acorn Computing, and has been available to play online for a number of years now.Because I wrote the game on an actual BBCStephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-63489234359883316082021-04-15T16:25:00.009+00:002021-04-15T16:32:44.270+00:00Installing Sitecore 9.2 as a developerInstalling Sitecore 9.2 as a developerMy current role requires my upskilling into Sitecore development. As part of the Sitecore developer certification, a certain portion of the exam you undertake, requires you to understand the installation process.Installation of Sitecore is not for the faint hearted. Even with the copious documentation provided, getting this to run successfully is beset with Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-13342395809870286902020-09-30T14:57:00.003+00:002021-03-02T11:37:27.177+00:00Blue Meanie - a most vicious puzzle game
I sporadically make visits to the BBC Micro games archive, and have a quick blast through some arcade smashes of the past, and lesser known titles. Hidden amongst the catalogue are some real gems.
Mike Goldberg's Blue Meanie is one of them.
Anyone familiar with the BBC Micro games scene may know the name of Mike Goldberg. An artist and illustrator, he created many pieces of artwork for variousStephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0Godalming, UK51.185731999999987 -0.61280822.875498163821142 -35.769058 79.49596583617884 34.543442tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-855003906928890362017-07-24T19:18:00.000+00:002017-07-24T19:18:56.616+00:00Building BBC Micro disc images reprisedI recently used my previous post on building disc images for the JavaScript based jsBeeb emulator to create an image for a game I played a very long time ago, called Goldbank. Here's a screengrab of the game, while this link will take you to the new disc image I've made, for playing on jsBeeb.
As you can see, the graphics are very basic, but extremely bold, bright and colourful. The game was Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-58554539720806273242016-09-07T13:29:00.002+00:002016-09-07T13:29:50.262+00:00Using Atom editorFor the past year or so, I've been using a variety of code editors, from Notepad++ to Sublime Text, Brackets, and more lately, Atom. For some reason, I like Atom. I thought I'd let you know two very useful things concerning it.
The Best Atom Packages
There's a Github page of great packages for Atom. These packages include various linters, and Sublime Text like features such as the Minimap, plusStephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-58961313757205610642016-09-06T15:39:00.000+00:002016-09-06T15:40:28.669+00:00Useful web accessibility resources from Government Digital Service and moreDuring my tenure at Home Office Digital earlier this year, I gained an insight into the variety of resources created by the Government Digital Service to allow your web service to remain accessible to users. Public bodies must maintain a very high bar with regards to the needs of their audience, and not discriminate. That said, you may be in breach of The Equality Act 2010 if your website Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-49462359408863829322016-03-20T03:28:00.001+00:002016-03-30T15:56:23.326+00:00Rough guide to building UK election maps for D3.jsDuring my time at CITY A.M. I helped to build an interactive British General Election Map. This blog outlines how I created it.
Let's see the map then
Here's a simplified version of the map, hosted at Codepen.
See the Pen D3 Election Map by Stephen Scott (@sassquad) on CodePen.
Here, the map looks rather small, as it has been resized to fit the page. You can use your mouse wheel (or Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-16725015990176548972016-03-18T09:47:00.000+00:002017-07-24T19:15:50.176+00:00Building BBC Micro game disc images using Linux
[July 2017 update - links to BBC games updated to HTTPS links]
I wrote this following blog post around Christmas 2015, during that time I posted various BBC Micro games running via the JavaScript based jsBeeb emulator onto Facebook. These games were typically buried within compilation discs, so were not easy to access. Although jsBeeb provides an auto boot facility, you still Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-68448613441572365072016-03-10T17:39:00.000+00:002016-03-10T17:39:04.942+00:00Test your website in IE using Linux with Vagrant/VirtualboxI've had an on-off relationship with Vagrant, having first used it for a short while at a previous job. However, in my current employment, we primarily use Linux based laptops, while a select number use Macs. Either way, testing our website developments in Internet Explorer is an added, but necessary headache.
However, Vagrant is actually quite brilliant for not only hosting development Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-58851140171735199392015-03-09T17:39:00.001+00:002015-03-09T17:39:47.656+00:00I've gone purpleAfter a good 8 years or so, I finally gave my site a reasonably good going over, and given it a distinctive purple appearance. I'm now wondering whether I've unwittingly given it the UKIP purple. I hope I haven't.I've not had to change too much of the underlying HTML, but have given the CSS some extra love, including provision for a mobile and tablet version. It's by no means perfect, but it's Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-80663287225972740892014-04-03T17:13:00.001+00:002014-04-03T17:13:46.720+00:00Blowing off the dustIt's been a while since I last posted. The problem with blogs is that I always feel you have to write something worthwhile before posting. And the truth is, nothing much happens that can't be put into a tweet or a Facebook posting.Today, I'm trying something different. I've had my brothers iPad for some months now, usually the kids are playing on it. Today I decided to take it with me to work. I Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0Mytchett Mytchett51.294405 -0.7357tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-82768856061270256992011-09-20T10:49:00.001+00:002012-04-11T01:00:55.380+00:00RISC OS stuff for sale (or to give away)I did have items of RISC OS software and books to sell or give away. As of March 2012, all these items have now been taken.
Thanks to everyone who expressed interest, and collected my items.
Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-86860016297775735702011-08-16T08:54:00.013+00:002011-09-20T10:47:10.001+00:00BBC stuff (sold)BBC Micro, TV and Cumana Floppy Disc Drive Combo - sold!
BBC Micro Model B (32K, with Watford Electronics Sideways RAM, power supply replaced early 2011)
Ferguson TX 14" colour TV (aerial broken, front door broken, but otherwise great for the Beeb)
Cumana 5 1/4" floppy disc drive
Various BBC games tapes and educational software (listed below).
36 Challenging Games for the BBC Micro
Building Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-14286925526042079812008-07-08T00:02:00.000+00:002008-07-08T00:12:54.287+00:00Ballantines WhiskyOne of my more recent projects has finally come to fruition - a touchscreen kiosk for Ballantines Whisky. This kiosk features a webcam for users to take their picture, then incorporate onto a postcard design, for printing out, via the kiosk printer.Work began late last year, and after jumping through many hoops and wiring (both metaphorically and physically) many disparate elements together, the Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-33282608976623862302008-04-24T22:50:00.000+00:002008-04-24T22:53:39.923+00:00Ruby on RailsI've often considered whether to get into Ruby On Rails. Back in December, it reached version 2. I had a dabble with it over a year ago, and found it to be quite amazing. However, I lost enthusiasm for it, when I learned that my employer's hosting provider had no plans to support it.Are there any good hosting providers out there for RoR?Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-31817098393087815302008-04-15T14:34:00.000+00:002008-04-15T14:43:56.139+00:00Ah wow - Blogger is great nowWow, I haven't touched my blog in centuries. But what changes Blogger has done in my absence. A lot of the niggles I had concerns about have been addressed, especially how the archive is displayed down the right hand side.So much has happened since last year. I am now a proud father - my son was born in May 2007, he's a little smiler! I'll put some pictures up at some point. You'll get to see Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-1168438375322653212007-01-10T14:10:00.000+00:002007-01-10T14:12:55.513+00:002007Belated Happy New Year to you. I had a great Christmas, taking a much needed break from computing, and doing usual festive stuff, like shopping, lazing, a bit more shopping, and copious amounts of eating! Hope you had a good holiday as well.I've upgraded my digital camera, found a good deal in Tesco, a Hewlett Packard camera and printer, I'm well impressed by the quality of both photos and Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-1159963077568311912006-10-04T11:49:00.000+00:002006-10-04T11:57:57.680+00:00RISC OS related updateIn the past month or so, some minor developments relating to my RISC OS and Beeb stuff.I've revised Cavern Duel so that it runs properly on Virtual RiscPC. Version 1.23 can be downloaded from my site.As for Androidz and Headcase Hotel, I've had interest from Dave Edwards of Acorn Electron World on these two. Can't say anything more than that, but watch this space. For retrogamers, his site is Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-1156495366867423772006-08-25T08:39:00.000+00:002006-08-25T08:43:04.346+00:00BBC game update: Headcase HotelI finally managed to extract the files mentioned in my previous post, and Headcase Hotel is now available to play at last. Check out the page, and download the zipped SSD image into your favourite BBC emulator. Enjoy :-)Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-1155659718116951202006-08-15T16:18:00.000+00:002006-08-15T16:35:18.573+00:00RISC OS and BBC Micro ContentI have been a closet fan of RISC-OS for many years now. Cut a long story short for those of you unfamiliar with it: ROM based operating system, originally designed by Acorn Computers for the Archimedes range of computers in 1989, and still in development to this day, despite the demise of Acorn in 1999, by a group of enthusiastic companies mostly based in the UK.I had been an Acorn user since Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-1155658666744492552006-08-15T16:17:00.000+00:002006-08-15T16:18:03.970+00:00Updates aplentyOver the past few weeks, I've been hard at work, and some of the fruits of my labour are on my site, namely my first work in Flash.Some simple rolling animations for a housing development in London, called Chiswick Park. I haven't seen it on-site, but I gather that these animations play in their snazzy elevators to occupants, promoting events which take place throughout the year.I have to admit, Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3054729.post-1152811150624900172006-07-13T17:18:00.000+00:002006-07-13T17:19:10.763+00:00Google sitemapI've created a Google sitemap, to improve rankings. DMXzone have a nifty tool for Dreamweaver to allow you to create it automatically.Stephen Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929776482834676097noreply@blogger.com0