So I have been quite inactive here. The end of the semester is approaching and I really received a lot of new assignments in quite a short amount of time. But today I finally got a bit of time to breath and take a break. There are still some small works to do as well as a final project, but I no longer feel the same pressure as last week.
I am actually quite happy of how much icons I managed to do during the days before my previous blog, since the following days after that were quite tiresome. I wonder if spending that time playing around on Inkscape affected the amount of work I got after, but there was no hurry at the time, and while there was work and projects I could have done instead, in the end there would have been no difference.
One of the assignments I got was from a teacher who is a bit of a Linux evangelist. He asked us to install a Linux distro and showcase how it works, as well as how to install a program on it. It was just an optional thing that would only score a few more points to the final grades, but since I was already using Linux, I couldn’t help but going the extra mile
Switching to EndeavourOS
Obviously, I already knew how to do all of the requirements, and the teacher said we could do it on a Virtual Machine if we wanted. However I decided to take the opportunity and switch my distro once again.
I was also having a few caveats with Void, there were some random graphical glitches, almost as if the display connector was not working anymore, sometimes the screen became just glitchy lines and I had to close my current window or switch workspace in my window manager (so it was not a hardware issue, and it has not happened since I switched).
Another “problem” was that I just could not figure out how to make cups work with my printer and stuff. In the end I realized that I was just dumb and managed to make it work, but I was already on EndeavourOS, and as I plus I managed to use the AUR to get scanning working too!
I ended up choosing EndeavourOS mostly because I wanted to experience Arch without the hassle of installing it. In the end I was quite happy, because Endeavor is almost as light as Void, it only had around 800 packages installed, which is quite less than I thought compared with the ISO’s weight.
The installation had no problems, but the online installer took a lot of time to finish up since my internet connection is not that great.
Overall I am pretty happy with how it turned out and despite a few hiccups getting Jekyll running again, I managed to make it all work and it has been wonderful.
Delivering final projects
So, somehow, I managed to go overkill on all of my projects despite my severe lack of confidence on the knowledge I have acquired during this semester. I really struggled with most of the subjects and professors. I felt like most of them were lackluster in the content given each class, or maybe its just me not paying enough attention in class.
I am not really that sure of whats the best way to learn for me. I thought I would like to have online classes this time, that my teachers would learn how to manage Google Classroom, how to setup their meetings on Google Calendar, or something like that. Instead, we had to wait for their message sharing a photo taken from their phone showing the Google Meet link.
Anyways, the point is, I had to deliver two pretty big projects, one of them consists on simulating the production process of something, in my case,chose Yogurt. The second one was about the text adventure game I had to do for my Discrete Math class.
I felt quite dissapointed by having to do the first project as a simulation only. I learned about LabVIEW, a proprietary software that uses a graphical programming language known as G We learned a bit about DAQ cards, PLC’s and other protocols related to human-machine interfaces. But in the end, I only used basic algebra, booleans, event structures and for loops to “simulate” the whole process, and I didn’t know if I should be proud or sad, because it looks like my block diagram was the most complex one in the class.
I felt like I should have learned more, that I should have actually connected some PLC to my computer or setup a server somewhere. I have learned more about computers and communication protocols just by switching to Linux and setting up a blog!
Now, the second project was a bit more exciting for me. I had to make a text adventure game for my Discrete Math class. I wanted to go with full force and use Godot Engine as my working environment. I followed a tutorial series to understand the basics, but since at this moment it’s still incomplete, I had to keep going by myself, I am used to that so that was no big deal.
Most of my companions had games based on predefined choices and a small story to tell. That is alright, but I wanted to make stuff like command processing and an actual room layout where you can move, pick stuff up and unlock pathways.
I managed to get it all working just in time, and you can get the source code and binaries here. The game is in Spanish and its also quite short. But let me know what do you think of it, if you manage to complete it. I wanted to have some kinda story but I just managed to do simple descriptions and hints.
The only thing I am a bit upset about is everyone has their python and C++ binaries which are around 200kb and my files are around 40mb, but well, that’s how Godot works, and I have a full graphical interface there too.
Finishing up
After all, I managed to get this two big projects. I will talk more later about the second one, since I am quite happy and I have a lot to tell about it.
This was quite a long post, and I didn’t expect to write this much, so I am gonna call it here. I still have a lot of work to do for other final projects, but they have to be delivered next week, so I still have some time. Endeavor is awesome, my projects were great and I am cant wait to finish this semester.
This has been day 45 of #100DaystoOffload