Sometimes you may get an error when trying to install the Adobe Flash plugin on your browser that reads something like "Adobe Flash Player failed to initialize". If you do, one possible solution is to download the full standalone Flash installer directly from Adobe's distribution site. Here is a direct link:

I couldn't think of an easy way to explain references (or pointers), so I'm going to jump right in with examples.

Here's a quick description of a unit vector for those that don't know. A unit vector is a vector with a magnitude (distance) of 1. The vector can be pointing in any direction, but the magnitude will always be 1. To get a unit vector from any old vector, you "normalize" that vector, which gives you a new vector with the same direction but a magnitude of 1. Unit vector and normalized vector are often used interchangeably.

When working with BitmapData and copyPixels, you'll quickly run into the limitation of not having an alpha attribute with which to change the transparency level of objects. If you're like me, you started out using Sprite and MovieClip in your games and could easily fade-in or fade-out objects using the alpha attribute. Unfortunately, BitmapData does not have the alpha attribute, so how do you adjust transparency dynamically while using copyPixels?

Creating semi-transparent BitmapData in ActionScript 3 is done using an ARGB hexadecimal value (32-bit). ARGB stands for Alpha-Red-Green-Blue and is just like an RGB hex value but with an alpha level at the beginning. Due to the alpha level, ARGB hex values are 8 hex digits and not 6. If you aren't familiar with hexadecimal, I suggest reading up on it before continuing.

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It is a widely-used model for transferring variable data as text, and is often used in combination with AJAX to create the basis for highly-interactive, portable, and modular websites (Facebook, Twitter, etc).

AJAX allows you to update parts of a page with server-side content using JavaScript, without reloading the whole page. AJAX is not a new language, but rather a method for using JavaScript to achieve this functionality.

The simplest way to adjust the FOV in Black Ops is to bind it to a key in the config file. This is because certain parts of the game, such as the teleporter in zombie mode, often reset your FOV to the default, and it's very easy to then just hit the hotkey and change it back.

By following this guide, you will be able to survive nearly indefinitely on the "Kino der Toten" zombie level in Call of Duty Black Ops. It may take a few tries to get through the early part of the game, but once you make it through round 15 it will be smooth sailing, until you die out of boredom or simply quit.

I've put a lot of thought into this subject over the years, and as a former console gamer now PC gamer, I think I have something to add. This will certainly come off sounding a little bit PC-biased, and it shouldn't be a surprise since I am a PC gamer. I also try to stamp out a few PC gaming myths that pro-console-gamers tend to propagate.

But can it play Crysis? Yes, yes it can. Crysis 2 is overall a more refined, playable, and consistent game than Crysis, and it should run smoothly on a larger number of systems thanks to a combination of less demanding visuals and better optimization for lower spec systems (IE: consoles). Don't let that deter you though, the game still looks great, though it certainly isn't the same Far Cry -> Crysis leap in visuals and physics that some were hoping for.

This is a followup to my post about the Crysis 2 demo fix. "Fixing" some in-game settings can make or break your experience with this game. I recommend looking over these fixes and applying those that you desire before even starting the campaign.

Many websites have a print link that opens up documents in a separate window with special formatting for print. This works, but often times you can achieve the same result using CSS and the media="print" attribute. What I generally do is specify two external stylesheets, one for media="all" and one for media="print". For example:

With Crysis 2 hitting the shelves today (and a copy already ordered for myself), let's take a look back at some of the cool and unique things that have been done in Crysis: