Back

As in, "I'm back" and "Oh, my back!"

It's been too long since my last post. On the other hand, if I felt I really had stuff to say I suppose I would have posted. TrainSim has been slowly progressing. The Devs are plugging away at some of the groundwork for fundamental systems. Like anything we do, we want to make sure the technology we develop now has "legs". We've more or less finalized the design for this version but want to leave lots of room for 3rd-parties and future versions. Also, thoughtful design helps provide for compatibility as we move forward.

The Art team has also been busy. Of course I can't show you anything but the team has been treated to what we can expect in terms of visual detail and fidelity. I must say I've very impressed and excited, especially since it's all in-game stuff! Having a mature engine like FlightSim's to build on is a real advantage as it has capabilities that I've yet to see, er, competing efforts. <g> At the same time we've pretty much figured out how we're going to take the engine to the next level in terms of up-close detail you need for a slow-moving, on-the-ground simulation. If any of you remember the initial screenshots of FSX, you can imaging the type of thing we're seeing, just with a focus on being up close and personal.

Speaking of personal, another reason I've not been very active on the blog is the time off I've taken recently. Some was unplanned, after I threw my back out while carrying luggage into an inn on Whidbey Island for a supposed getaway weekend. As it happened Jackie and I spent the first night in the ER in Coupeville. A subsequent MRI showed a bulging disk and evidence of arthritis in two lower-lumbar joints. Yay. Fortunately I recovered enough for a long week in Florida with my family. We spent 4 days at Disney World where our 3 1/2 year-old daughter got her first taste of the Magic Kingdom. She even managed a private audience with Cinderella. You Disney fans out there know how rare that is! The remainder of the time was spent in Key Largo where Jackie's sister was getting married. The weather was great, the vibe was sweet and, frankly, I didn't want to come back.

But, alas, duty calls. Hopefully my duty will give me more to talk about in the near future.

Cheers!