The VOX POPULI have decided that it’s time to start introducing some of the unsung heroes of the VOXVerse!
To start, we decided to sit down with Bolts McWhiffles in the newly created crafting room that is like a second home for her. This is a very capable squirrel, right at home in her trusty self-made robot contraption that helps her and has all sorts of tools and contraptions available on it to help her put things together. Bolts uses this machine as if it were an extension of herself.
She is the creator of almost every recipe that can be crafted in the VOX universe. The Leonardo da Nutci of the VOXverse. You know the creator of the Mona Peanut…
Vox Populi: Hey Bolts! Nice to meet you.
Bolts McWhiffles: Nice to be here.
VP: So where did you come from? How did a squirrel become the master of crafting with the VOX?
Bolts: Ah, my origins are as tangled as a squirrel’s nest! I was once a carefree baby nut collector, frolicking in the dappled sunlight. Then — bam! — I found myself all alone, like a hazelnut forgotten in the back of the pantry. Gala Girl, the kindest VOX you will ever meet, scooped me up and brought me to her workshop. And there it was—the magical moment when I discovered my true calling!
I started playing around with nuts and bolts and putting things together. I figured out I had a real gift for it. Far more than most of the VOX. After a time, I took over the workshop. I created these fancy 3d printing machines and have been teaching VOX on how to craft ever since.
In this real gameplay shot from development of Project Cerberus, we can see Bolts McWhiffles in action alongside VOX !
VP: But how did you become the VOX crafting guru?
Bolts: Well, I invented the Nut-o-Matic 3000 — a 3D printer that churns out widgets faster than a caffeinated chipmunk. And I taught the VOX how to wield those printing machines and little tools. They owe me a lifetime supply of hazelnuts, by the way.
VP: Is there a favorite thing you like to build?
Bolts: Anything that uses nuts of course! [McWhiffles chitters at her own joke] Seriously though, I like to build Idols. They have unique shapes; are a bit more complicated to build. The VOX have figured out how to use those idols to gain power, or to gain knowledge of more advanced items to create.
VP: Do you see anything new going on in the VOXVerse?
Bolts: Well, I have been helping the Vox Populi on creating even more recipes and items to build- and places to store them. I have been supplying specs for rooms, doors, windows and all sorts of exterior items to create to help the VOX create places to live. Its a big, exciting task.
Hot diggity dog! It’s time for Negan to make his appearance in our weekly direct Hero Card sales.
Negan is a force to be reckoned with. Negan’s past actions were distasteful, to say the least… but no one can dispute that his leadership and strength helped The Saviors survive and rise to prominence. Sound like somebody who could help grow your empire?
Sale Details
This sale takes place on Friday, August 9th at 7am PT. Negan Hero Cards will follow a tiered pricing structure based on the remaining supply, with Common Hero Cards staying at one low price throughout the sale.
This sale is not time limited, and Negan will stay available in The Walking Dead: Empires Store until the supply is exhausted or it is taken down to make room for new Heroes in the future.
Like our other direct Hero Card sales, Negans purchased in this sale will fulfill directly to GalaChain and be usable in the game right away!
Survival at Any Cost
The new event cycle for August has begun. Are you ready for this weekend’s Walker Wipeout? Have you scavenged enough this week to climb the leaderboard?
Negan will arrive for direct purchase very soon. Will you add him to your empire? Lucille is thirsty, and Negan is ready to put her to work building your empire.
Have you ever been listening to someone who works deep in an obscure niche of tech talk only to realize that you only understood two out of the nine words in that last sentence? It’s ok. Most of us have been there.
Welcome back to DevSpeak, where we dispel confusion around dense tech jargon. Often people who are fully capable of understanding some big topics in technology are pushed away, simply because they don’t know the lexicon. No more! DevSpeak is here to clarify!
Today we’re diving into three terms you’ll hear pretty often across all sectors… front end, back end and full stack development!
Front End Development: The Dining Area
Imagine you’re going out to eat at a restaurant. The dining area is designed just for you down to every detail. It’s comfy and well-lit with a relaxing ambiance. The waitstaff is friendly and ready to answer your questions. It’s a polished user experience. This is similar to what front end development is all about.
Front end developers work on everything you see and interact with on a website or app. They design the layout, choose the colors, and ensure that the buttons and links work as expected. They test and make sure everything is up to the standards of the customer.
Just like how a restaurant’s dining area is crafted to create a pleasant atmosphere and make your dining experience smooth, front end developers use languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create an engaging and user-friendly interface.
Back End Development: The Kitchen and Staff
Now, think about what happens behind the scenes in the restaurant’s kitchen. The chefs prepare the food, the kitchen staff manages the inventory, and the dishwashers clean up. There is an entire different workplace with its own systems and procedures going on back there just one wall away from you!
This is what back end development is like. Back end developers work on the server, database, and application logic that you don’t see directly. They ensure that when you place an order (like submitting a form or searching for information), it gets processed correctly and the right information is delivered back to you. This is back end development. Even though it’s all working to serve your need as the user, none of it is designed for your eyes.
Full Stack Development: The Restaurant Manager
This brings us to full stack. Let’s think about the restaurant manager. This person understands both the dining experience and the kitchen operations – and more importantly, how they work together. They ensure that everything runs smoothly. They troubleshoot problems in the front of the house where customers are all the way to the back of the house where food is prepared. They handle staff, manage inventory, and resolve any issues that arise. They are often the ones who have the best context to deal with issues that affect the entire pipeline from prep table to dining room table!
This is similar to what a full stack developer does. Full stack developers are skilled in both front end and back end development. They manage the entire web development process, ensuring that the user interface and the server-side functions (work seamlessly together. Just like a restaurant manager coordinates every aspect of the restaurant, a full stack developer oversees both the visual and functional aspects of a website or app.
Now You Have the Full Stack
That’s all for this DevSpeak. These aren’t huge concepts, but they’re important pieces to understand the language developers use. Hopefully these short summaries give you a little more context and confidence to take part in the greater conversations out there about technology! We don’t all start from the same knowledge level, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t all have valuable input!
It wasn’t very long ago that we released the GalaChain SDK. Honestly, it wasn’t all that long ago that we were just getting started with big dreams and a long road ahead.
Gala grew fast… and so did GalaChain. This quaint little neighborhood is getting more bustling by the day so we thought it’d be a great time to make a quick little reference guide for everyone.
Sites that are not owned and/or controlled by Gala are indicated with *
We’ll try our best to keep this updated regularly for now. If we’ve missed something, let us know on Discord!
The world of tech is full of buzzwords and jargon that seems to change faster than many can keep up with. Never fear. DevSpeak is here! Today, we’re learning all about virtual machines!
Imagine you have a powerful computer at home, capable of handling many tasks simultaneously. Now, picture this computer being able to run not just one, but several different “mini-computers” inside it. Each of these mini-computers can run its own software, operate independently, and even have its own operating system. Sounds like science fiction? It’s actually a reality, thanks to something called a Virtual Machine (VM). If you’ve ever wondered how a single computer can do so many things at once, or how developers test software in different environments without needing multiple physical computers, you’re about to find out!
Virtual Machine, Defined
A virtual machine is basically a computer within a computer. Imagine your computer is a big, fancy hotel with several rooms. Each room can be rented out separately and has its own furniture, decor, and amenities. The hotel is your physical computer, and each room represents a virtual machine.
Just like rooms within a hotel can be used for different purposes, each virtual machine can run different types of software and operate under different operating systems (like Windows, Linux, or macOS) and perform different tasks. For example, a software developer might use one VM to test a new app on Windows, while another VM runs a different app on Linux.
Virtual Machines are incredibly useful in various situations:
Testing and Development: Developers often need to test their applications in different environments to ensure compatibility. Instead of buying and setting up multiple computers, they use VMs to simulate those environments.
Simulation of Different Environments: If you need to use software that only runs on a specific operating system, you can create a VM that runs that OS without affecting your main computer.
Security: By isolating potentially risky software or browsing activities within a VM, you can protect your main operating system from malware and other threats.
Better Development Through VMs
Let’s walk back to your hypothetical hotel. Regardless of how many rooms it has, those rooms are what they are and can’t be changed without sinking some remodeling money into it. Not the case with virtual machines. You can easily adjust your environments to do what you need them to when you need them to do it.
There are lots of ways that a VM could be leveraged for more effective use of digital tools, beyond just making yourself a fresh computer environment.
Cloud Computing: Many cloud services use VMs to provide resources on-demand. If you run a website, your traffic demands aren’t exactly consistent all the time. Cloud providers can use VMs to handle high traffic by creating more VMs to accommodate more visitors. When traffic decreases, they can easily reduce the number of VMs to optimize cost and resources.
Resource Efficiency: Virtual Machines maximize your use of physical hardware. Instead of having one physical server for each task, you can run multiple VMs on a single server. This not only saves space but also reduces energy consumption and hardware costs.
Disaster Recovery: VMs play a crucial role in backup and disaster recovery plans. If a VM crashes or gets corrupted, you can quickly restore it from a backup without affecting the entire system. This is akin to having those multiple hotel rooms in the above example. Say one room floods… you’ve got other rooms to move guests to that provide the exact same quality night’s stay.
Sandboxing: Developers and security professionals often use VMs as “sandboxes” where they can experiment with new software or analyze potential threats without risking their main operating system. This also can be referred to as “staging”. You copy your main environment to the stage or sandbox, then implement your changes there first. That way, if you bork your whole site or app, the part you need to stay working stays working undisturbed.
You’re Virtually an Expert Now!
In essence, Virtual Machines transform a single physical computer into a versatile, multi-functional tool.. They provide immense flexibility, efficiency and safety in computing. Whether it’s for running multiple operating systems, testing new software, or managing resources efficiently in the cloud, VMs are a cornerstone of modern technology.
Next time you use a cloud service or hear about tech-savvy developers working on different systems, you’ll be a little wiser about what this all means.
We’ll be back with another DevSpeak before too long… there’s so much jargon out there and so little time! Have a topic you want us to cover? Let us know on Discord!
