t2d.net hibernation, life, etc
by Jason Swearingen · 01/13/2006 (8:26 pm) · 10 comments
it's been a while since i've posted a .plan, so i thought i'd fill in the people who care (all one of you ;) on some details of the things i've been working on.
T2D.NET
For those who dont know, T2D.NET is a C# Wrapper of T2D, allowing .NET developers to write a T2D game in C#, VB.NET, Perl, Python, etc.
Though t2d.net has technically been 'finished' since november, i consider it rather unusable as a product. This is because it is effectivly a direct 1:1 translation of all of T2D's TorqueScript accessable functions, which doesnt lend itself to .NET programming methodologies very well (using ConstructorBlocks, passing everything as strings, etc).
To improve it's usability, In december I wrote a prototype abstraction layer dubbed "TAO" (Torque Abstraction Objects) From my testing, it holds very good promise, as it really '.NET-afies' t2d.net.
Currently, T2D.net is in hibernation, i've been busy with other ($$$) projects, writing an account management app for a financial company, and writing a water chemistry simulation for a university. This is all in addition to my primary job, so yeah, i have a good excuse.
Non-Profit
I mentioned in some eariler plans that I've been setting up an educational non-profit. Well things are going smoothly, if slowly. Currently we are in the second round of IRS interigation, which is supprisingly comprehensive. I guess when you can legally not pay your taxes, the irs is gonna do it's due-diligence.
If anyone is currious, we have spent a total of 110 hours so far on the paperwork and research needed for the irs process. (And approval is still pending additional information) I will give more info when things are approved :)
Thailand
I'm on track for moving to thailand... in the May 2006 timeframe.
Thailand?!?! why Thailand?!?!?!? well good question... right now I have a pretty comfy FT job at a big software company, making a pretty good sum of cash each year... so why give that up? well i am a guy with ideas.. lots of ideas, and only a few (t2d.net, etc) that i can do myself, with the little free time that i have.
I tried the collaberation route, but so far i have not found people with compatable ideas that are willing to put the time into a project to make it succeed. So the only way i can do the 'big ideas' is if i pay people to do them.
So thailand... well because my girlfriend is thai (otherwise china would have been my choice), and the labor is cheap. No, i dont plan on opening a IT sweatshop, but seeing as this will be my first try starting a company, it's better that i do it somewhere where i can screw up 10 times for the some cost of one screw up in the USA.
In general, i'll be a software shop.. probably the first project will be polishing up T2D.NET and writing a commercial game with it at the same time. I figure the best way to get people's attention on t2d.net would be with a good example of it's use.
I know it's a big risk.. but honestly i'm sick of the corporate life... time to give something new a chance :)
T2D.NET
For those who dont know, T2D.NET is a C# Wrapper of T2D, allowing .NET developers to write a T2D game in C#, VB.NET, Perl, Python, etc.
Though t2d.net has technically been 'finished' since november, i consider it rather unusable as a product. This is because it is effectivly a direct 1:1 translation of all of T2D's TorqueScript accessable functions, which doesnt lend itself to .NET programming methodologies very well (using ConstructorBlocks, passing everything as strings, etc).
To improve it's usability, In december I wrote a prototype abstraction layer dubbed "TAO" (Torque Abstraction Objects) From my testing, it holds very good promise, as it really '.NET-afies' t2d.net.
Currently, T2D.net is in hibernation, i've been busy with other ($$$) projects, writing an account management app for a financial company, and writing a water chemistry simulation for a university. This is all in addition to my primary job, so yeah, i have a good excuse.
Non-Profit
I mentioned in some eariler plans that I've been setting up an educational non-profit. Well things are going smoothly, if slowly. Currently we are in the second round of IRS interigation, which is supprisingly comprehensive. I guess when you can legally not pay your taxes, the irs is gonna do it's due-diligence.
If anyone is currious, we have spent a total of 110 hours so far on the paperwork and research needed for the irs process. (And approval is still pending additional information) I will give more info when things are approved :)
Thailand
I'm on track for moving to thailand... in the May 2006 timeframe.
Thailand?!?! why Thailand?!?!?!? well good question... right now I have a pretty comfy FT job at a big software company, making a pretty good sum of cash each year... so why give that up? well i am a guy with ideas.. lots of ideas, and only a few (t2d.net, etc) that i can do myself, with the little free time that i have.
I tried the collaberation route, but so far i have not found people with compatable ideas that are willing to put the time into a project to make it succeed. So the only way i can do the 'big ideas' is if i pay people to do them.
So thailand... well because my girlfriend is thai (otherwise china would have been my choice), and the labor is cheap. No, i dont plan on opening a IT sweatshop, but seeing as this will be my first try starting a company, it's better that i do it somewhere where i can screw up 10 times for the some cost of one screw up in the USA.
In general, i'll be a software shop.. probably the first project will be polishing up T2D.NET and writing a commercial game with it at the same time. I figure the best way to get people's attention on t2d.net would be with a good example of it's use.
I know it's a big risk.. but honestly i'm sick of the corporate life... time to give something new a chance :)
About the author
#2
It's kind of ironic, but i've found that starving college students are more passionate and driven over start-up type ideas than any working professional i know. This seems to be because the people i know with good jobs are too busy being comfortable with their place in life instead of busting their ass working 16x7 on pie-in-the-sky projects.
Unfortunatly, college kids, while motivated, generally dont have the technical expertise to create quality products. (I am not talking games btw, i havent tried writing a game yet)
For me, i'm a work-aholic. I wasted most of my college life playing quake (i used to be one of the top 50 dm6 players in the nation) so i figure it's payback time now. Unfortunatly, my peers are not that particularly motivated to work long hours, learn new technologies, etc. So I have to look elsewhere.
And fyi, I did try the GG community.. and elsewhere (craigslist, locally) trying to find people who were interested in collaberating on ideas. But hell, "collaberations" are a dime a dozzen. so many people want to write the next WoW, from the ground up, using free volunteers... I dont blame anyone for not replying to my adds. You need something to bait people with, short of that, you'll never get volunteers i think.
So short of volunteers, you gotta pay people. and at that time, it's all about the money. I'm taking my best interests into account here, and like I mentioned, I've never ran a real company with real employees and budgets and such. So chances are, i'm going to screw up. If I screw up here in WA USA, I'll be out 100k or so, and then i will pretty much have to give up. So I would rather learn the ropes somewhere where I can afford to screw up a few times, and still have enough reserves to fund a killer project when i do figure it out.
It's a bit cold and calculating i suppose, but you gotta work with what you got. I got a good brain, but i'm not particularly charismatic, so i better pay people to work on my ideas :)
01/13/2006 (9:54 pm)
Touche Anton :)It's kind of ironic, but i've found that starving college students are more passionate and driven over start-up type ideas than any working professional i know. This seems to be because the people i know with good jobs are too busy being comfortable with their place in life instead of busting their ass working 16x7 on pie-in-the-sky projects.
Unfortunatly, college kids, while motivated, generally dont have the technical expertise to create quality products. (I am not talking games btw, i havent tried writing a game yet)
For me, i'm a work-aholic. I wasted most of my college life playing quake (i used to be one of the top 50 dm6 players in the nation) so i figure it's payback time now. Unfortunatly, my peers are not that particularly motivated to work long hours, learn new technologies, etc. So I have to look elsewhere.
And fyi, I did try the GG community.. and elsewhere (craigslist, locally) trying to find people who were interested in collaberating on ideas. But hell, "collaberations" are a dime a dozzen. so many people want to write the next WoW, from the ground up, using free volunteers... I dont blame anyone for not replying to my adds. You need something to bait people with, short of that, you'll never get volunteers i think.
So short of volunteers, you gotta pay people. and at that time, it's all about the money. I'm taking my best interests into account here, and like I mentioned, I've never ran a real company with real employees and budgets and such. So chances are, i'm going to screw up. If I screw up here in WA USA, I'll be out 100k or so, and then i will pretty much have to give up. So I would rather learn the ropes somewhere where I can afford to screw up a few times, and still have enough reserves to fund a killer project when i do figure it out.
It's a bit cold and calculating i suppose, but you gotta work with what you got. I got a good brain, but i'm not particularly charismatic, so i better pay people to work on my ideas :)
#3
01/13/2006 (10:01 pm)
Well, I guess I have until May to find you a strong team then. Challenge accepted. I'm tired of losing the strong people in this community whom haven't connected yet. I am going to make it my personal mission in this community to help connect quality people. It's not my place, but GG can't do everything. So, I am going to do it too. This losing great people for lack of partnership is gonna stop.
#4
This is actually a GOOD thing because it'll give me a chance to write some tools that will help the community out.
and heck, it'll give me something interesting to blog about... heh
01/13/2006 (10:39 pm)
Anton, dont worry about it, really. This is actually a GOOD thing because it'll give me a chance to write some tools that will help the community out.
and heck, it'll give me something interesting to blog about... heh
#5
01/14/2006 (1:09 am)
Well... Thailand sounds like fun: http://www.thailandguru.com/culture-1997-bust.html
#6
01/14/2006 (3:02 am)
Jason, hire the cheapest, highest quality people you can find. Shopping for labor is like shopping for anything else - accept nothing less than the best deal and you'll be happy. Having said that, there's still some very cheap, quality labor available on GG if you tell people you're paying a little. Plus, a surprising amount of people in GG aren't in America anyway, so they can be cheaper for that reason. The problem is having to work long distance from them whereas in Thailand you could possibly all work together in one office and possibly less taxes. 
#7
01/14/2006 (6:02 am)
Jason - Have fun. I lived on and off in Southeast asia for several years, while i was working at my last job. (We still have a house in Jakarta, that we rent out to my brother-in-law). Some of the best times of my life - lots of stuff to do, interesting people, and inexpensive. I'd do it if I could again.
#8
01/14/2006 (10:08 am)
Jason, I won't worry about it then. I just got a case of the late night dreamer last night when I wrote that. It's morning, common sense has regained control.
#9
03/01/2006 (2:07 pm)
TGE.net anyone? ;) 
#10
i just passed by. I am glad to hear you are coming to Thailand(as i am a Thai).
if you ever come to Chiang Mai which is one of the largest touriusm city in thailand.
I will be glad to help you get aroung.
game division ,CMD works
Aun :)
03/02/2006 (1:59 am)
hi Jasoni just passed by. I am glad to hear you are coming to Thailand(as i am a Thai).
if you ever come to Chiang Mai which is one of the largest touriusm city in thailand.
I will be glad to help you get aroung.
game division ,CMD works
Aun :)
Torque Owner Anton Bursch