No, you just impressed some of the right people.
IIRC, you now might have the right to set a custom title, under the name.
Choose wisely....
As far as the game goes....
For some reason, Doom 1 is coming to mind.
Don't know why....
Printable View
No, you just impressed some of the right people.
IIRC, you now might have the right to set a custom title, under the name.
Choose wisely....
As far as the game goes....
For some reason, Doom 1 is coming to mind.
Don't know why....
Finally making a return to the model shop tomorrow and I think I've decided on my materials but will confirn that once I have them! Going to pick up some paints from good ol' Humbrol too as I have a shedload of old battleships waiting paint :p
Anyway you're close with the date 88 but it's not an RPG. It was published in 1994 and although it ties a few gameplay concepts together (for the first time) it's definitely a strategy game. Interestingly it's set a few years later than it was released but no distant future stuff. The construction you can see so far isn't a great clue unless you've played the game really as there are lots of different terrain pieces in the game but this is the one I have down as the most recognisable.
So very few clues really but no hits yet except the release date! Once I get back into it there'll be more to go on anyway. I'll be back tomorrow to share any purchases I make, hopefully I'll be able to get everything I need so we'll see!
Got to the shops yesterday so have a brief bitz update! Nothing particularly interesting really as I can't showcase any of it till I get home and can put it in context...
Anyway I managed to get a sheet of wood for the case itself which gives me enough for a 300x400mm build and leaves plenty spare to make the sides as deep or shallow as I like. I'm doodled the design onto what will be the top of the case and I don't think I'll make it much smaller than 300x400 as it looks about right. Probably be less than 50mm deep though.
In addition to the case material itself I've got a couple of bags of model railway 'ballast' to act as both soil and gravel for me. I don't have anything to use as grass currently as although they had grass matting it was very poor quality (just paper with green flock on) and I think the build justifies something a little better than that. The brown stuff I got to use as soil will also be used to fill the gaps in my paving so that'll be the first thing I do when I arrive home.
I've also got myself an assortment of glues that I'm going to need between now and the end of this build and some paints for my warships as I said I would!!! Bought a few short lengths of metal bar and tube to detail later on but I'm not ready for that yet so will explain the use of them when I'm home again.
Looking forward to getting back and cracking on now as the only thing I don't have yet is a method for seeding my grass. Will keep my eyes peeled but I have so much soil that'll be spare I think I may use that to form a base all over and then sow the grass on top of it. Will allow me to vary it from patcy to muddy to full thick grass.
Will post again when I'm home on Monday and should have some new pics of some progress by the time I do!!! Thanks for looking, and please keep watching!
Ok time for another update! Only spent a few hours actually working on this today as I'm being very bad and not organising myself at all well. Add to that the fact that my newly filled floors need 24+ hours to set and I'm fishing for advice on final case size and shape from the missus who's hardly ever here!
Still, maybe you chaps can help me with that instead as I'm still yet to cut any major holes so nothing is set in stone just yet! Here are some pics of the stuff I bought on my hols (minus the humbrol paints!) and what I've got round to doing with them so far.
Ok so here is my shopping! Got one sheet of 3mm board at 12x36" which I've cut into two pieces measuring 300x400mm for the top and bottom of the case and the remainder is more than enough for all 4 edges. In this pic I've already chopped it up and you can't see it but there's also a bit of doodling to try and finalise the ideas!
Also got PVA glue in the back along with superglue and plastic modelling glue because you just never know! In the front are 2 bags of small scale ballast as intended for railway modellers. I have one dark brown one for my dirt and a slightly more coarse one for a gravel patch which will later be a sort of scruffy courtyard area. The ballasts are shown below but crap webcam limits usefulness of pics...
Below is my doodling on what will become my top panel. It's divided into 100mm squares at an angle I choose because it looks best! This is to represent the scaling of in-game components I'm creating and help me finalise placement. Doesn't show much due to camera quality but it's still only 90% confirmed anyway!
Turns out that filling the gaps in these floors is not a particularly easy job! Wish I'd bought some 'Scenic Cement' from the modelshop to do the job for me but instead I followed an online suggestion by multiple railway modellers and made a mix of 50:50 water and PVA with a touch of washing up soap! Was rather distraught during this process as it looked like a horrible mess but after sticking with it for a while it cleaned up ok and now I'm just letting it harden.
Again poor image quality but you may be able to see the end result in the following pics! The first one shows the gaps filled but no sealing mixture applied and the rest are after application.
Again I've kept the spaces clear for the bottom of the walls in the small shed. I did this by fitting a few offcuts while the mixture was applied and then removed them when it was in a sort-of semi-solid state. I've also extended the bottom of the walls in the small barn by fitting a row of 3x1mm planking around the whole thing but I didn't take a picture. That means this building is ready to base and roof as soon as it's stained. I tested some 'dark oak' stain I have today but it's far too glossy so will keep trying a few different methods.
The other job I've done today was to make some stand-offs for the motherboard as I'm not using any of the original parts from the laptop except hardware.
My first attempt at these was a few bits of plasticard (HIP, Styrene Sheet) glued together then drilled, tapped and filed to as close to circular as possible. They were perfectly functional but all of them were too short (only 4mm out of a necessary 7mm) due to my poor measurements and not realising the RAM and other modules are located lower than the rest of the MOBO.
So I moved onto plan B as I wasn't too delighted with the idea of trying to secure the plastic standoffs to a wooden case anyway. Went into town this afternoon and borrowed part of a display from the DIY shop which fitted the role almost perfectly! And don't worry they had loads of these things I'm sure they won't mind! If there had been a similar item for sale I would've bought it but this'll do just as well...
So I've got myself a wooden rod, about 9mm in diameter and much longer than I need. Ideally I wanted something of 7mm diameter but I've been able to use this just as easily.
So armed with a ruler, some guess-work and my recent investment of a Dremel I set about making the 11 little logs I needed, cut to 7mm lengths. Here is a shot of my ever so high tech workshop (yes that is my keyboard in the back)
I then moved onto drilling the necessary holes in all of them (slightly smaller than the fitting screws of course) The ones with the holes off-centre are not mistakes but made specifically for particular spots where the 9mm diameter would've interfered with the hardware.
And here's an image of the underside of my MOBO with all it's little wooden feet in place! The lump in the back is one of the lower areas that scuppered my first round of measurements.
Here's a final image of the MOBO using it's feet for the first time. The desired effect has been achieved and I'll have a nice sturdy base to work from once I glue down the bottom of the feet. I'm hoping that plain old wood-glue (once allowed to harden thoroughly) will be enough to hold the feet firmly in place during any future removal of the screws. If not I'll just glue them back on, no big deal hey! The 2 pieces of wood shown are obviously the base and rear of the finished case. You can see there's a lot of space around the actual inner workings of the lappy even with only a fraction of it installed.
The backplate is 40mm deep making the very thickest part of the whole case about 46mm but I'm wondering if I can do better with the front and sides of this case than just make it a big flat sided, square cornered box. I could have it shallower at the front or have the front and sides angled into the centre. Would improve the appearance but also give me a bit of a problem with where the CDD and FDD are currently situated which is right against the left hand side of the case as can be seen above. I can always leave the sides perpendicular but have the front shallower than the rear to give the whole thing a gentle slope and also lean in the front to blunt that corner a little.
Would like to hear some thoughts from anyone who has them as I'm currently undecided. I now have lots to do and no particular order to do them in though. I've decided after much consideration to cut my own IO panel but I'm not sure what I can use to get an accurate result. I only need 4 ports and I already have the panel cut but need to finish it by making the necessary holes which I don't want to look scruffy.
Until I decide the final placement of the sides of the case I can't securely attach the MOBO to the base so I guess that's next. If I can finish tomorrow with the IO panel hole cut in the wooden back of the case and the MOBO mounted then that'd a good start. Can probably get the sides in too as well as the rest of the hardware fitted inside the case.
Still unsure about touchpad but have a possible location for it which I can easily conceal. The keyboard that came with the lappy simply won't work so I'm going to try booting it up with a USB or PS2 one fitted asap. The result will have a serious impact on future direction of this project so I'm hoping I don't have trouble with running newer hardware on an old 98 system.
So that's what's next! My paving will all be dry tomorrow as well so I'm hoping to stain the wood, fit the walls to the small shed and start building up the brickwork and stairs in the big one. Will see how I get on though, got lots still to think about...
Feedback and critique appreciated as always, and I'm still waiting for someone to guess the game! It's a 90s turn-based Strategy game which uses 10x10 modular terrain generation. I can't give any more than that so it's down to someone on the forum having played it now!
More tomorrow.
More images today, all of the case! Made good progress but it has meant I've been neglecting the detailing so the buildings haven't moved on much since last update. My apologies AGAIN for the awful images. If anyone has a digital camera they wish to donate please feel free to do so :D
Anyway here they come, mostly self explanatory! Started off with what the last image in my previous post shows. A base and top cut to size and the beginnings of a rear panel. I've done no sketchups and very little of this design is down on paper so it's evolved along the way. The process has been rather haphazard if I'm honest. Placing components, cutting hole, shaping wood, placing components etc. But it's turned into something I'm pretty pleased with so looking good so far!
So hear come the pics, first job was to cut the other sides of the case and I decided on an angled front panel in the process to break up the large boring shape I'm creating. The detailing will improve on the remainder of boring lines and the front panel is now larger and better presented so it's worked out well. You can see my first attempt at standoffs here at the bottom of the pic!
Next I started cutting the various ports and panels I'd need. In this image I've cut out the space for the I/O panel and the two holes on the right are a PS2 port and the charger socket. I need a 12mm drill bit to finish the PS2 port to the right size but I later enlarged it to 10mm.
The following pics show the location of the MOBO and a rear view of the first slots I cut.
Next I cut the flap for the CDD and made a cover for it from a further piece of wood. The cover is attached to the face of the drive at either end and sits just proud of the eject button so a push in the centre of the wood cover will open and close this drive. In the back are the two USB ports which took a fair bit of test fitting to get right!
The enlarged PS2 port, I drilled it a little high but due to it's recessed location it needs to be slightly larger anyway. Once I find a 12mm drill bit I'll widen it and lower it's position so the port should be central in the hole.
An image of the almost complete case with all hardware fitted. The last job was to devise a method of securing the battery as previously it was held in place by a clip on the case. I placed a piece of wood either side to keep it straight and a rubber pad underneath the end will hold it firm with a simple application of friction!
This is the final case with all components removed and all legs intact so it's all good so far! Despite the crappy quality you can still see the numerous stand-offs and the rails which hold the battery straight.
I then painted the whole interior black, losing one foot in the process but I'll reattach it after I finish this update as the paint is now dry! I know you can't see anything so I shouldn't have bothered with the picture but it's made a big difference in turning it from a wooden box into a nice neat case so I'm pretty chuffed with it!
The only corners I've gut so far is that I haven't cut the slot for the floppy drive. I'll be ignoring that for now as I want to get everything together asap and I won't need access to the floppy right now.
I'm also yet to address cooling as the original case had an intake on the right side and an exhaust above the CPU fan, near the keyboard. While the intake will be easily replicated with a bit of chopping I'm unsure where the fan will come out so haven't decided how to deal with that yet.
I also have 2 small speakers which were originally located on the front of the case. They'll go in the same place on the new case but I'll need to extend the wires and make some mounts for them.
The sloped front panel will at some point bear a name or logo for the case but I haven't decided on one yet and I'm also not sure how to show it. The exterior will all get a few coats of gloss woodstain tomorrow so I might use a nice bright metal to contrast the dark brown and have something made professionally for it. The missus has also suggested I cut the name out of the panel and light it from inside which is another good idea I might potentially consider.
I ran up this lappy today to make sure I hadn't messed anything up and I booted it with a USB mouse and keyboard while leaving the original touchpad and keyboard disconnected. It started up without a hitch so I'll be discarding the originals with the rest of the case and using off-board USB or PS2 components for the interfaces.
The only other thing I need to do it extend some wires on the monitor to allow me to relocate that further to the right of it's current location but seeing as it works fine currently I won't be attempting that job till later.
Right now my priority is finishing the case so that all hardware is complete. That means extending and fitting the speakers, addressing my cooling issue and finally giving it a good coat of stain!
I'll easily get that lot done tomorrow so the back of the build is broken! Won't be long until the detailing is all that's left to do, though the monitor will be the very last thing I actually attempt...
Will update again when something more develops.
Decided not to be lazy with the floppy drive so cut it out today and came up with a rather ingenious little cover if I do say so myself!!! There are plenty of 'very similar yet ever so slightly different' pics to follow which show it but basically I cut an oversized rectangular cover for the DVD drive. I didn't really think too much about it as if I had done I would've realised that the reason the original one is the shape it is, is because of the location of the floppy drive in relation to the CDD.
Rather than cut a chunk out of the CDD cover and go back to the nasty shape the original lappy uses I decided to just make a cover for it so it was hidden when not in use. It also allows me to keep the CDD rectangular :p
So below are images of the solution to the above problem and I've also put down the first coat of stain today which makes a huge difference. Got hold of a digital camera too which isn't as bad as the webcam for wide shots but for some reason is much worse close up! No focus in sight...
So here come the pics, first one shows the 2.5" slot and cover I made for the 3.5" floppy!
Here's the clever bit. It's just a T piece with part of the cover missing. The visible light wood forms the rightmost part of the cover and the gap at the left is concealed by the CDD.
And here's how it fits in the drive prior to assembly. Of course in order to use this drive I'll need to open the CDD for access but I imagine it will be rarely used so I'm not bothered!
I had to sand out a recess on the rear of the floppy cover to accommodate the eject button. It is this button that prevents the cover sliding too far in on the right side. On the left side I glued a small piece of wood to the inside of the opening for the same purpose.
Then it was time to stain! Got black paint on various parts of the case so had to sand it back which took forever. Finally was able to give it the first coat of wood stain and it's made a big difference. The bottom (shown here) will only get one coat and I've since attacked the rubber pads which are now it's feet! The sides will receive at least one further coat to create a nice uniform gloss finish.
Here's a post-stain pic of the interior which I failed to show off last time. Quite a lot of sunlight but the paint and stain have made a massive difference from when it was plain wood just yesterday!
Last shot of ports as they're ALL now finished! Found a file and enlarged the PS2 port and obviously the floppy is new too!
Next one shows all the hardware back in as well as the CDD, FDD arrangement which prompted the intersting design!
And a few more of the cover (last ones promise!)
And a final few of the completed base. This is how the sides and back will remain when completed but I've yet to do anything on the front panel regarding the speakers I have for it.
Still a few things left to do on the base, some of which I was hoping to do today. As I said I'm yet to fit the speakers as I don't have any wire to extend them and I'm not going to cut into the case without knowing it's in the right place!
Still not decided on a name for the case or how to display it so hat's on the to-do list as well. I cut a hole in the top of the case today directly above the CPU fan but it'll be largely concealed by one of the structures I'm currently building. Based on the fact that a similar amount of the fan was covered by the keyboard on the original case I'm not anticipating any kind of problem.
I am however debating whether or not I need to cut another opening for the intake as this case is significantly larger and roomier than the original. Originally the CPU heat sink was essentially an enclosed wind tunnel with a vent on the right side of the case feeding in new cool air to the fan which then blew it all out the top of the case as warm air. I have the fan and lots more space so I'm debating the necessity of a further intake, especially since the 'wind-tunnel' effect does not exist in the new case...
I have the lappy up and running as we speak and have just whittled away another hour of my life playing the game it honours! The only things that need doing regarding hardware are speakers and monitor but both are manageable as they are.
I'm using USB mouse and keyboard at the moment but I'd rather run a PS2 mouse so one of the USB slots is always free for a memory stick. Either way I'm currently sharing both between the comp and lappy so I need to buy new ones at some point!
Regarding the case itself I now need to cut holes for the speakers (and intake if I decide to make one) and trim the monitor which is a whole other job in itself! The top of the case remains undecorated so that's the penultimate and undoubtedly the largest job of them all!
I'll start that off by setting out the terrain how I want it and then will place structures as I go. The small toolshed is STILL only in need of painting so that'll be a quick result but the large barn is still seriously lacking brickwork so will take longer and will demand a lot of attention from me!
Will probably start on that tomorrow but there won't be anymore fast process so no updates for a short while.
Please post something if you're reading this! I feel very lonely talking to myself and it's not much of a forum if there's no discussion. Tell me what you think, advise me on things I'm not sure about and guess the game dammit lol
lol, I like the floppy cover. Reminds me of those old floppy drive lock they used to make. :P
It definitely looks a lot better with the stain and paint; really makes it look like a finished product instead of just a white block. If it were me, I would just leave the battery out. It'll work fine without it and if the battery works at all any more, it won't last long. I would also add a plastic shroud over the heatsink, across the top, from the edge of the fan to the right side. That will channel the airflow through the few fins that are actually there. For the USB, a simple solution to that is a USB hub. You could even keep it all internal if you want to get a little fancy with the wiring.
Thanks 88, I wasn't sure if it would still work without the battery? I'd assumed that the DC was fed directly to the battery and used from there. I know for a fact the battery is already dead so I certainly don't need to keep it...
I'm trying to avoid messing with wiring where possible so I can probably cope with the 2 USB slots, bet it won't be easy finding a nice PS2 mouse though!!!
Sounds like good advice on the heatsink, reckon I'll do that as it won't be a difficult job anyway. Do you think it's worth having a vent somewhere to facilitate intake? If I'm making a cover for the top I could always extend it all the way to the edge of the case and shroud the sides too so it regains the wind-tunnel effect it was designed with. Is it worth it though?
I would put an intake and outtake of some sort. Maybe incorporate one or both into the scene on the top? IDK if that would fit; still no clue on the game...that was a bit before my time. :P
For the PS/2 mouse, you should be able to get a USB-to-PS/2 adapter. Most mice used to come with one; it would sometimes cut back on the functionality of the mouse or keyboard, but it would let you conserve the then relatively rare USB ports.
Try booting it without the battery. Most likely, a laptop of that era, the power from the AC/DC adapter, the power from the battery, and the power input lines to the MBB are all just a single junction, electrically.
I do have a USB to PS2 adaptor actually but I'd rather not use it if possible. I have an adaptor fitted to my monitor cable on the back of my desktop and because it adds over an inch to the length of my case it sticks out rather unpleasantly whereas it was a perfect fit with my old graphics card :( (old one didn't need an adaptor, new one only has 2 of the funny white ports so it does!)
I've cut the outtake exactly how it was in the original setup. In a way it's lucky that it's located right behind one of the buildings as it'll remain mostly invisible in that position. The intake will be on the rear or side of the case if I have one so I'll just cut a few slots like a standard vent.
