Introduction

Getting the Basics of Website Development is crucial for any web developer. In this section we will learn about the basic terms of web engineering.

DOMAIN

Domain Name - A Domain Name is the website name. Example : www.google.com, www.facebook.com.

Protocol - Protocol is a set of rules which the internet follows in the data exchange. ex : http-> hyper text transfer protocol, FTP -> File transfer protocol.

Prefix - Also known as the world wide web is a network of online content that is formatted in HTML and accessed via HTTP.

HOSTING

Hosting Server - This is the location where your webpages are stored to be hosted. Hosting means setting up webpages on a server to be accessed by other people. A Hosting Server is the place where you will your webpage data running 24/7 so that anyone can access from anywhere.

WEB

Web Page - A Web page consists of texts, pictures, videos, audios, and many other visual appearance data. It is basically what you see.

Website - A website is a combination of webpages. Ofcourse, your website can be one paged.

CPANEL

Also known as Control Panel. This is the panel given by the hosting server provider to handle the web hosting process.

Miscellaneous Section

Domain Name Server (DNS) - This is a special type of server which contains a table/list of domains. If you buy a domain name from a company, your name is registered in one of many domain name servers. When you google your website, or simply type the website name in the url, the domain name servers lookup each other until they find your website.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) - This is used to specify addresses on the World Wide Web

Note : I might update this overtime

Contents --

• Introduction
• Domain and Hosting Purchases
• Installing Wordpress
• Setting Up Wordpress
• Setting up Elementor
• Maintaining Overtime

Thank you all for your time in reading this!
Last updated on : 01-Dec-2018

Introduction

Hi guys, welcome to the first Introduction to Unreal Engine! You can't pretty much do anything if you don't download the engine first. In here we will talk about few terms of what Unreal Engine does and what it's for.

Note : Apologies if the same questions in the before post is mentioned here as well.

First let's start with What is Unreal Engine?

Unreal Engine is a set of developing tools in an Integrated Developing Environment (IDE) which is used to develop games. The reason why I choose Unreal Engine (UE4) is that UE4 has a good environment to design, animate and develop the games you've want to make.

Can you make good games like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto(GTA) in UE4?

Short Answer, Yes. UE4 can be used to make big games, but you will need alot of people to do each work, and usually, companies end up creating a game engine of their own eventually.

Is it possible to Learn how to make games without prior knowledge for coding?

Yes. UE4 has a Visual scripting method called Blueprints shown below. Using that you will be able to drag drop nodes which is the same as coding. Yes you will need to learn blueprints, but learning blueprints is actually easier than coding since its visually appealing.

Can one person make a game?

You can. Do NOT ever Demotivate yourself thinking you need anyone else. If you want to make a game, step up and start learning. There are so much of free resources which you can use that I will link later onwards.
For a start, I'm a beginner at cinematics (which is something like trailers) and I'm working on this cinematic by myself using existing assets.

What do you need to learn if you want to make a complete game yourself?

Character Designing - You will need to design your characters in the game. Draw them in a 2D environment and have a rough idea what kind of character it will be (for example : A human, A robot or any other).Here you can use an application like Maya.

Character Modelling/Rigging - This is where you design the character in a 3D environment, add the necessary colors and rig the character with a skeleton. Rigging means you make bones for the character for animations and physics.

Character Animations - Here you make the animations from the character rigged earlier. Animations include walking, running, jumping, etc

Level Designing - Now you focus on the environment the character(s) are going to be on.
You make a plan and start designing what the environment is going to be. Here you can use an application like 3DS Max.

Level Designing Advanced - Here you focus the terrain or level details, example, the lighting.

Programming - This is the place where you start the coding process. Here is where you connect the character to the animations, to the level, inside the engine.

Sounds - You will need to create sounds for main menu and effects when running, getting damage.

FX and other effects - This is the place where you design effects, for example, rain, any abilities used.

As an inspiration/motivation, this is a video of a speed level that was made in UE4. Do check it out and leave a like for the creator!

How to Download and Install Unreal Engine?

• Go to this website - https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/download and download the file epic games (Which should be auto downloading).

• Install Epic Games

• Make an account - https://accounts.epicgames.com/register

• Log into Epic Games from the Launcher you downloaded

• From the top menu bar, click on Unreal Engine which should be on the far left side.

• Click on the yellow button on the left middle which says install/Download.

• Epic Games will automatically download and install it on the place where you specify.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Verification code takes time to reach my gmail account - Don't worry, it is common Epic games takes time. Wait for few minutes and you will get it.

Note : I might update this overtime.
Last updated : 31-Dec-2018

Thanks for reading this. Hope ya'll learn something new!
Cheers!

INTRODUCTION

Okay so, purchasing the domain and hosting is the only things here which will cost you some money. Let's check out on how to get your domain and server.

There are many server providers in the world, for example : Digital Ocean, Namecheap, OnlyDomains, Godaddy, etc. Choosing which one for your website is more of preference. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will work on namecheap.

So how domain and server works is, think of a kitchen in a fancy restaurant. The entrance/exit to the kitchen is through a door and one door only (not considering the emergency doors). The kitchen is where the food is made and stored, and the door is what you use to move the food in and out.
Likewise, the domain is the door and the server is the food. You cannot store any food if you dont have the kitchen and just have the door, and you cant move the food inside the kitchen if the door is blocked. Likewise, you cannot host the website without a domain AND a server.

DOMAIN

Step 1 :
Head onto namecheap.com and make a profile using the Sign up link on the top left.

Step 2 :
Search for the domain that you aim to buy.

Note there are few things to consider before deciding on the domain that you wanna purchase.

-Domains which have english dictionary words which are already bought by a client/company are usually high price, for example, if you search the domain knowledge.com, you will notice that it is already taken. If you want these type of domains, you need offer the bought client/company money, which is usually more than $199 (LKR 35591.15 as of 01-Dec-2018).
-Domains which have english dictionary words and are not already bought by a client/company requires a very price, for example, if you search the domain deductible.com, you will notice that it is a premium domain and the price to purchase a premium domain in namecheap is $53,750 (LKR 9613186.82 as of 01-Dec-2018). Note : This is the initial price, after that its like $12 per year.

Therefore I suggest going for a word which is easy to remember and is practical.

Step 3:
Select the TLD

Select what you want from a variety of tlds from .com to .online

This is preference but if this is your first domain, and not much important, I suggest to choose a low price TLD

This should look something like this

Step 4:
Add to cart any that you want.

Note : You can always purchase more domains of the same name and different TLDs so set up redirection so that if someone types abc.online, they will automatically be sent to abc.com

Here, you can purchase the hosting server with the domain or complete the domain purchase and buy the server later. If you have a server already bought, then you can buy the domain directly.

Step 5:
Complete the purchase of the domain

Here you can select the number of years you are paying to straight up. The ICANN fee is a compulsory fee to register your domain which is paid every year. The WhoisGuard hides the personal data of the server, the one I bought had it free forever, but before purchase always check the features you are given.
Confirm the Order and move forward to the purchase. The rest should be easy

HOSTING

There are few types of hosting. Basics are, Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting and Dedicated Hosting.

• Shared Hosting - What happens physically in the service provider is, one actually physical server is partitioned and configured to parts, and one part is configured and given to you. This is the weakest performance wise, but is the ideal for a smooth website.
• VPS Hosting - A Virtual Private Server is a bit similar to Shared because the physical server is shared accross people, but the section you are given is very private to yours and is more secure than Shared Hosting. Also, configuring a VPS is kind of hard as some VPS comes with no Cpanel for web management.
• Dedicated Hosting - This is the most powerful hosting and should be used for websites which have large content or large traffic. A full physical server is allocated to you.

Step 1:
Find the suitable Hosting Service

You can select payments yearly or monthly. I want to talk about the features here.

• SSD-Accelerated Disk Space - This is the disk space for the full server, the hosting web files, database files and the small cache files.
• Bandwidth - Which is the internet connection. All three packages give unlimited internet.
• Websites - This is the amount of websites you can have linked with the server. Notice you can have any number of pages, subdomains, but not main domains.
• Website Builder - This is the basic building tools for a website.

Even though the first package limits websites and space, if you are trying this to test out, I suggest the first package on the left.

Step 2:
Select the domain link process

Click the Use a domain I own with Namecheap if you already bought the domain in, or set to buy in the cart.

Step 3:
Select the domain that you want using the Select button.

Step 4:
Continue with the purchase, the domain should be automatically linked with the server if you buy both inside namecheap.com

Shortforms used

• TLD - Top level domain
• VPS - Virtual Private Server

Note : I might update this overtime

Contents --

• Introduction
• Domain and Hosting Purchases
• Installing Wordpress
• Setting Up Wordpress
• Setting up Elementor
• Maintaining Overtime

Thank you all for your time in reading this!
Last updated : 01-Dec-2018

Thats a personal decision to be honest. If you choose to become a java developer, you might as well get any oracle based certifications as those are the best to get you fast into companies.
If you plan on doing any other languages like .Net or C#, then follow the microsoft based certifications.

Introduction

Hi there folks! Welcome to a starting guide to Game Development and Unreal Engine. Here we'll few things about game creation in general and help getting started into game development.

Let's answer most of the asked questions about Game Development first!

What is the difference between Playing Games and Developing Games?
As the word implies, one is playing a game and other is developing, but let's go for a more in depth answer. Playing a game means you are running a set of instructions which the processor moves around from the application on the HDD to the memory on the RAM. Which means it is always constantly on the move and on the run.
Whereas developing a game means the application won't be running always. Using tools and mini applications, at runtime or otherwise, the environment of the application(game) is modified.

Too Advanced or Doesnt make sense? Let's move on!

What do you need to make a Game?

• A medium-high end Computer
• Some knowledge about Game Creation
• Internet connection

Yes that's it!

Is it hard to development a game like Assassin's Creed or Grand Theft Auto?
Simplest Answer : Yes, but do-able. The problem is, high level games have alot of details in the environment. We will talk about the basic overview the people in companies like Ubisoft, Activision do to create huge games.

What is the Recommended PC for Game Development
Despite what many people might suggest, I recommend the following.

• Core i7 8th Gen Processor
• Above 12GB RAM
• GTX 1080 Graphic Card
• Decent Motherboard to handle the processor and GPU
• Decent Powersupply to match the GPU and Motherboard's needs
• Basic 2TB Magnetic HDD (If possible go for a SSD)

What is the Software used to Develop Games?
There are many game engines used to develop games. The one that I am familar with is Unreal Engine 4 or UE4 in short. Here's an example what it looks like :

Do you need to learn a Programming Language to make games?
Engines like UE4 use a visual scripting language called blueprints, as shown below : .
Learning a programming language is not necessary, but it better if you can to learn a language like C++ which is commonly used in the Game Development industry.

What fields do you need to learn to make a game by yourself?
I recommend the follow fields to be learnt. This will be mentioned more in future posts.

• Character Designs
• Level Designs
• Effect Designs
• Programming
• Sounds and Effects
• Animation Designs

Is there an easy way to make games?
To be honest, there is few ways you can make your workload reduced by using external services. That will be mentioned in another post.

How to get started with Unreal Engine?

1. You need to Download Epic Games from here and make an account.
2. Using the Epic Games, Download unreal engine

Here is what my Epic Games UE4 looks like : .

Hope this covers atleast a start to Game Development. If you have any questions feel free to comment below or DM. I am learning Game development myself.

Thank you for your time in reading this!

Introduction

Hi Friends! Welcome to quick crash post on the terms used in the music industry field to get yourself started into the topic of Music engineering. This post will be update as I find newer words, so stay updated!

Who is a Music Producer?

• “The music producer is in charge of either writing the material or if he didn’t write it, he’s in charge of organizing it and making it sound like a cohesive song. He calls all the shots on what’s played, and when it’s played, and how it’s played, and the sounds that are used, or the vocals that are recorded if they’re correct or not. The producer is in charge of everything.” - Rick Camp

• This term is pretty much misunderstood by many people with the rise of computerized song creation technologies.

• "A guy who makes beats on his laptop with FL studio is a Beatmaker guy." -Donny Baker , and as said, is not a music producer per say. So don't mix up the term Music Producer with a person who makes beats/melodies.

Common Terms in the Music Business

• Beat

  • The unit of musical rhythm.

• Chord

  • 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.

• Chord progression

  • A string of chords played in succession.

• Demo

  • A sample recording of a band's music. Often rough recordings or early versions of "songs in progress."

• Digital Audio Workstation

  • These are digital programs that are used to design and produce music in.
  • Examples : FL Studios, Reason, Ablteon Live, Pro Tools

• Dynamics

  • Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.

• FX

  • These are Sound effects used
  • Examples : Crickets, City Sounds, Rain,etc

• Harmony

  • Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.

• Instrumentation

  • Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.

• Interval

  • The distance in pitch between two notes.

• Key

  • System of notes or tones based on and named after the key note.

• Key signature

  • The flats and sharps at the beginning of each staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.

• Modulation

  • To shift to another key.

• Musicology

  • The study of forms, history, science, and methods of music.

• Orchestra

  • A large group of instrumentalists playing together.

• Pitch

  • The frequency of the vibration of sound. Pitch is measured in hertz, and is generally organised in a system known as 'equal temperament', a system of tuning in which different notes have a standardized pitch ratio.

• Register

  • A portion of the range of the instrument or voice.

• Rhythm

  • The element of music pertaining to time, played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.

• Scale

  • A sequence of notes in either descending or ascending order.

• Tempo

  • Indicating speed.

• Time Signature

  • A numeric symbol in sheet music determining the number of beats to a measure.

• Tone

  • The intonation, pitch, and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning, feeling, or attitude of the music.

• Tune

  • A rhythmic succession of musical tones, a melody for instruments and voices.

• Voice

  • One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.

As always Thank you all for Reading, I hope you learn something new!
Cheers!
Next Post - Getting Started with Fruity Loop Studios

Last Updated - 10-Jan-2019

Do you wanna learn Unreal Engine 4?

• Hi there! Welcome to this short guide on how to get yourself started on learning Unreal Engine 4, atleast the basics.

• Game development is really a different field than software development. While softwares are made as a solution to a problem, a game is made for a different reality (A world of it's own).

• Is Game development worth it in Sri Lanka? - Definitely! The Trend for game development will always increase with the trend for games. Even in countries like Sri lanka, game development will always be a step forward!

• Now that's out of our way, Let's start with where you can get the basics of Unreal Engine.

• Below is a set of content you can use to learn Unreal Engine 4 :

Unreal Engine Documentation

• LINK : https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-us/

• UE4's greatest help source is their documentation freely written out by the developers themselves.

• You can read through them to get an understanding on :

  • How Specific Nodes Work
  • How UE4 defines on parameters (i.e that graphic levels used)
  • Methods on how to achieve a goal
  • Design Issues
  • Coding Language (Blueprint Scripting)
  • Learning Export Settings (Specially other platforms, like, Android)
  • And Much more updated content!

• I recommend you to go through the documents whenever you get stuck at a how a node works and in your daily design or coding.

• UE4 Docs are the easiest to learn newly too as it helps on getting started around the engine!

Official Unreal Engine Youtube Tutorials

• LINK : https://www.youtube.com/user/UnrealDevelopmentKit/playlists

• You can use the youtube tutorials as they are really easy how to understand and follow along. The only small drawbacks is that due to the newer updates, some nodes/techniques may differ effecting its work.

• UE4 Youtube Tutorials have many sections as follows :

  • Introduction to UE4
  • Introduction to Blueprints
  • Introduction to Cinematics
  • Introduction to 3rdPerson GamePlay
  • Blueprint Multiplayer Game
  • C++ Battery Collector Game
  • Introduction to Cascade
  • Introduction to Level Creation
  • Introduction to Materials
  • Introduction to Physics
  • Paper2D Game
  • UMG UI Inventory

• Personally following that, I do recommend you do those courses as they are really good to get your hands dirty into coding!!

• Let me hook up some links of how I used from what I currently learned from those above courses

  • Small Cinematic Worked in Progress
  • Photo of Importing Assets into the Engine
  • ScreenShots of Cinematics Being worked and Blueprints

• That plus counting!

• You can really learn alot using these!

Other Youtube and Google Sources

• There are so much of other video series on Youtube and Google that will definitely help you get your hands on something cool! As for starts, let me recommend you two channels that I follow for contents!

  • For Unreal Engine Work and Game Development - Virtus Learning Hub
  • For C++ and Game Engine Development - TheCherno

• These two above are really good at what they do and I totally recommend to check them out. You can always follow them on social media apps to connect with them more!

As Always Thank you for Reading this post and Hope you guys learn atleast something new!
Thank you again and Hope to see you all on future posts,
Cheers!
Last Updated Date - 10-Jan-2019

You can always follow my content to support me!

• Facebook
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• Instagram
• GooglePlus
• Youtube
• Offical Site - Under Construction

@root Indeed its a great field! I will keep the posts going whenever I'm free to make another.

Hope this rises up! Good luck to all!

Just bought LKR 864187.50 worth items for free. Thanks bro!

@shehan_s Thanks bro! Produce karanna hadagena yanne dan :)

Nice post man! Keep up ! <3

Good luck bro! Hope to see more in the future!! <3

@ciaompe Ade yes! We can definitely. Make sure to take me if ya'll are gonna someday ;)

@ciaompe Thanks brother <3

WAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNTTTTTTTT

Introduction

Hi Friends! Welcome to quick crash post on the terms used in the music industry field to get yourself started into the topic of Music engineering. This post will be update as I find newer words, so stay updated!

Who is a Music Producer?

• “The music producer is in charge of either writing the material or if he didn’t write it, he’s in charge of organizing it and making it sound like a cohesive song. He calls all the shots on what’s played, and when it’s played, and how it’s played, and the sounds that are used, or the vocals that are recorded if they’re correct or not. The producer is in charge of everything.” - Rick Camp

• This term is pretty much misunderstood by many people with the rise of computerized song creation technologies.

• "A guy who makes beats on his laptop with FL studio is a Beatmaker guy." -Donny Baker , and as said, is not a music producer per say. So don't mix up the term Music Producer with a person who makes beats/melodies.

Common Terms in the Music Business

• Beat

  • The unit of musical rhythm.

• Chord

  • 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.

• Chord progression

  • A string of chords played in succession.

• Demo

  • A sample recording of a band's music. Often rough recordings or early versions of "songs in progress."

• Digital Audio Workstation

  • These are digital programs that are used to design and produce music in.
  • Examples : FL Studios, Reason, Ablteon Live, Pro Tools

• Dynamics

  • Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.

• FX

  • These are Sound effects used
  • Examples : Crickets, City Sounds, Rain,etc

• Harmony

  • Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.

• Instrumentation

  • Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.

• Interval

  • The distance in pitch between two notes.

• Key

  • System of notes or tones based on and named after the key note.

• Key signature

  • The flats and sharps at the beginning of each staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.

• Modulation

  • To shift to another key.

• Musicology

  • The study of forms, history, science, and methods of music.

• Orchestra

  • A large group of instrumentalists playing together.

• Pitch

  • The frequency of the vibration of sound. Pitch is measured in hertz, and is generally organised in a system known as 'equal temperament', a system of tuning in which different notes have a standardized pitch ratio.

• Register

  • A portion of the range of the instrument or voice.

• Rhythm

  • The element of music pertaining to time, played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.

• Scale

  • A sequence of notes in either descending or ascending order.

• Tempo

  • Indicating speed.

• Time Signature

  • A numeric symbol in sheet music determining the number of beats to a measure.

• Tone

  • The intonation, pitch, and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning, feeling, or attitude of the music.

• Tune

  • A rhythmic succession of musical tones, a melody for instruments and voices.

• Voice

  • One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.

As always Thank you all for Reading, I hope you learn something new!
Cheers!
Next Post - Getting Started with Fruity Loop Studios

Last Updated - 10-Jan-2019

@dev_lak You're welcome!

@lahirunc You're welcome! Hope you learn Game dev! Cheers!

@root haha you're welcome!