In 2016 we’ve seen some exciting new tech things arrive: VR head-mounted displays from Oculus, HTC, Sony with VR games we dreamed about in the 1990s; PS4 Pro; nVidia 16nm Pascal chip. What I’m most excited about, though, is finally here after a decade of waiting: Microsoft .NET Core cross-platform support. Now I can write, build, and run .NET software on macOS, Linux, or Windows. Use the console, editor of choice, or Microsoft VS Code to write C# code, test, debug, and target multiple platforms. It’s about time! (Sure, Mono is nice, but this is cool!)

To get started with .NET Core, check out the guide at docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/articles/core/index and try out some tutorials. Find the SDK at https://www.microsoft.com/net/core.

How to setup .NET Core SDK on Mac

Follow the .NET Core installation instructions, which are a bit out of date as of this writing, so I’ll summarize the steps and note the difference here.

1. Use Homebrew to get OpenSSL

Enter the commands in console as shown.

2. Use the installer

3. and 4. Follow the instructions to test everything is working.

Creating a new application using “dotnet new” may be run immedately and should output “Hello, World!”

mkdir hwapp
cd hwapp
dotnet new
 
dotnet restore
dotnet run

If not working

Try the following (edit for your version of .NETCore):

sudo install_name_tool -add_rpath /usr/local/opt/openssl/lib /usr/local/share/dotnet/shared/Microsoft.NETCore.App/1.0.0/System.Security.Cryptography.Native.dylib

Lately, I’ve been working through the challenges at Cryptopals.com. The problems are organized for learn-as-you-solve method supplying the groundwork for later challenges. Cryptography is relevant given increasing number of actors involved in data theft from business competition to overreaching government agents. Even if cryptography isn’t your field, the problems are good practice for beginners or advanced programmers keeping skills in shape. Solve problems in your preferred language, or to help learn a new language. I’ve been working through the challenges in C# to round out some areas I haven’t had as much practice with, and also in Swift since it’s still new to me. It’s a good bit of fun.

Go ahead, give Cryptopals a try.

Chesko recently updated “Frostfall - Hypothermia Survival” mod for TES V: Skyrim to v3.1 along with required update, “Campfire - Complete Camping System” v1.8. If you’re using Chesko’s “Wearable Lanterns” then you’ll want to update that, too. The main new feature I’m excited about is the return (absent since legacy v2.6) of adjusting custom armors for more appropriate exposure protection so that those skimpy armors seem skimpy in Skyrim’s cold environment. Besides bug fixes, the update also includes the addition of a third vampire choice, immortal, along with mortal and supernatural. With SkyUI, warmth and coverage information shows up on the apparel menu.

This v3.1.1 (nearly?) completes the rewrite of legacy “Frostfall” v2.6 for improved stability and better player experience. Breaking out “Campfire” enables players to choose to camp without survival challenge and also makes things easier for the developer. The difference is huge. Big thanks to Chesko for the diligent, quality work. If you’ve been holding out with legacy edition, now is the time to update.

To me, TES V: Skyrim with “Frostfall” and “Campfire” complete Skyrim. Without these mods, Skyrim just doesn’t feel right.

Extracting a character or sub-string in the Swift programming language may seem less intuitive for programmers familiar with Java or C. One interesting difference is the CharacterView to access the length (count) of a string such as aString.characters.count. Swift String includes subscript notation by String.Index instead of an Integer, and the substring takes a Range or ClosedRange as argument. Let’s go over some code to see it in action.

updated for Swift 5

import UIKit
 
let aString = "A classic string, \"Hello World!\""
 
// need to use String.Index
let fifthChar = aString[aString.index(aString.startIndex, offsetBy: 5)] // s
// substring deprecated
//let suffix = aString.substring(from: aString.index(aString.startIndex, offsetBy: 18))
let suffix = aString.firstIndex(of: "\"")!
 
 
let start = aString.index(aString.startIndex, offsetBy: 19)
var end = aString.index(aString.startIndex, offsetBy: 23)
 
// get a sub-string with a ClosedRange
let range = start...end
let substring = aString[range]   // Hello
 
// replace by text matching is easy enough
let byeStr = aString.replacingOccurrences(of: substring, with: "Goodbye,").replacingOccurrences(of: "classic", with: "dire")
 
// replace by Range
end = aString.index(aString.startIndex, offsetBy: 24)
let bString = aString.replacingCharacters(in: Range(uncheckedBounds: (lower: start, upper: end)), with: "Hi,")

Bethesda Softworks announced a remastered “Skyrim Special Edition” coming 2016 October 28th for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The edition includes updated art, better snow and water shaders, improved reflections, and dynamic depth of field along with support for mods on the console game systems. Check out this YouTube video at 3:17. This will be a free update for PC players with “Legendary Edition” (or combined DLC packs). A 64-bit upgrade with more memory availability would be welcome on the PC, but would mean an update to SKSE for many mods.

Besides taking advantage of the popularity of TES V: Skyrim, this indicates to me that the next chapter in The Elder Scrolls may still be several years away. In the mean time, it will be interesting to see how the updated visuals compare with the work the mod community has accomplished. For Xbox One and PS4 players, it should be nice being able to install new quests, armors, or homes built by the mod community.

For TES VI, I’d be happy to visit Summerset Isles or Valenwood, but I’d like to see Elsweyr the most.

Update 12 August: As mentioned on Gamespot, Pete Hines has stated (on Twitter) about TES VI the studio “would make it eventually.” MMORPG interview with Pete Hines ends with a statement about Bethesda Game Studios’s interest in pursuing other projects. These follow up on comments made earlier this year by Todd Howard (IGN) and Pete Hines, the studio is pursuing at least two other projects before returning to TES. For now, fans will have to be content with modding Skyrim including the Special Edition.

Update 4 October: An announcement post on Bethesda.net confirms that Sony will allow mods on PS4, but only with existing assets found within the game. PS4 Pro will “render in native 4k.”