I have just completed the toughest physics problem I have ever attempted ever. I kicked that beast into submission and it whimpered for mercy and I said NO and I kicked it some more.
Then I realized I'd done it wrong. Apparently the velocity of a particle can't be an imaginary number. Who knew?
But then I started again and kicked that beast some more and I emerged VICTORIOUS. And it only took me, what... two hours? Although a lot of that time was spent lounging around racking my slow, sleep deprived brain for answers. Answers which it wouldn't give I might add. Sometimes my brain can be very uncooperative. For those crazy, crazy people who are interested, the problem is at the bottom of this post.
In other news, I recently completed the absolutely spectacular game known as Rayman Origins. Here's a video if you aren't aware of it.
What makes this game spectacular? Quite a number of things really. Lets start with the quality that anyone can appreciate even if they have never picked up a joypad in their life: The game looks stunning. The art style is charming. The environments are detailed, vibrant and colourful. "Eye candy" doesn't even begin to cover it. But I've always been a firm believer that how a game looks must always take a back seat to the gameplay, to whether or not the game is actually good. Fortunately, Rayman Origins delivers in spades.
The Rayman games have always been of the platforming genre. For those not in the know, think Mario. You run, you jump, you try not to fall down pits, you collect shiny yellow things (in Mario's case, coins. In Rayman's, little yellow fairies called Lums) and you generally have a good time. For these kinds of games, the controls are by far the most important aspect to consider, with the level design a close second. On the controls front, Origins is near perfect. Rayman and his friends respond to the slightest touch of a button, they can change direction instantly even when running at maximum speed and the precise height and distance of every jump, with practice, can be manipulated. The only other game I've played that I feel rivals this level of precision is Super Meat Boy, but that's for another post.
As for the level design, no two stages felt similar throughout my entire playthorough. Each one offers a slightly different experience from the last. The game slowly introduces new concepts and mechanics throughout it's first half, such as Rayman's signature move of using his hair as a makeshift helicopter, or the ability to swim underwater, preventing the challenges from ever becoming stale. In the second half of the game, with a fully kitted out set of abilities, the designers pull out all the stops and you begin combining the different moves in ways you wouldn't have even thought possible to begin with. It all gets very devious towards the end, you have been warned.
The many areas that Rayman can visit in his adventure are hugely varied as well. Sure you have your basic classics, such as Jungle, Desert, Ocean, etc... but Origins manages to put it's own unique spin on each one. The desert, for example, also shares a musical theme, with drums and cymbals becoming the platforms. It's certainly refreshing and if I'm being perfectly honest, Mario could learn a thing or two from it.
So yeah. Play it if you haven't already. You might like it.
Until next time.
Jake
P.S, Here's that problem. Baker, Stokes, Matt... Good Luck
You'll have to imagine the diagram, it won't upload.
A water hose is used to fill a large cylindrical container of diameter D and height 2D. The hose shoots water at a 45 degree angle to the horizontal from the same level as the base of the tank, and is a distance 6D away. For what range of launch speeds will the water enter the tank? Ignore air resistance and express your answer in terms of D and g.
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