function arc4Bitstream(key, drop)
{
	// initialise s array to identity
	this.s = [];
	for(var i = 0; i < 256; i++)
	{
		this.s[i] = i;
	}
 
	// key scheduling algorithm
	var j = 0;
	for(var i = 0; i < 256; i++)
	{
		j = (j + this.s[i] + key.charCodeAt(i%key.length)) & 255;
 
		// swap s[i] and s[j]
		var k = this.s[i];
		this.s[i] = this.s[j];
		this.s[j] = k;
	}
 
	this.i = 0;
	this.j = 0;
 
	// ARC4-drop[n] support - recommended: 3072, compat: 768
	if(drop)
		this.getStream(drop);
}
 
arc4Bitstream.prototype.getStream = function(size)
{
	var data = [];
	for(var c = 0; c < size; c++)
	{
		this.i = (this.i + 1) & 255;
		this.j = (this.j + this.s[this.i]) & 255;
 
		// swap s[i] and s[j]
		var k = this.s[this.i];
		this.s[this.i] = this.s[this.j];
		this.s[this.j] = k;
 
		data[c] = this.s[(this.s[this.i] + this.s[this.j]) & 255];
	}
	return data;
}
 
arc4Bitstream.prototype.transformText = function(input)
{
	var bitstream = this.getStream(input.length);
	var output = "";
	for(var i = 0; i < input.length; i++)
		output = output + String.fromCharCode(input.charCodeAt(i)^bitstream[i]);
	return output;
}

I recommend any of the other well recognised and more importantly well tested javascript implementations out there if you are intending to put this into production use, as I only tried it with a couple of the wikipedia examples to check it worked. It also supports ARC4-drop[n] by use of the drop parameter when initialising a new arc4Bitstream. This helps to defend against analysis attacks which take advantage of strong indications to the key which are especially prevalent in the first bytes of the generated keystream. Also, there is no key management, that is left up to anybody who is using the code to implement, so using the same key twice will destroy your security. I don’t really know why I really wrote all this out anyway, it’s not like anybody will read it, even less likely they’d try and use it ;D

Edited 21/10/2011 when I finally realised I’d bothered doing a pair of encrypt/decrypt functions that did the exact same thing with different variable names… transformText now does both.

Still working on my not-so-secret project though. Hint: it contains JavaScript, WebGL and deformable, muddy terrain

I pretty much ran out of posts when the local shop ran out of energy drinks. Now, the last exams of my school career and exodus to university lay on the horizon. In the next couple of weeks though, I’ll hopefully have enough time to get back into a routine of posting stuff. I’ve been working on a load of things recently.

First of all: new programming project. Trench Breakthrough: Ypres is coming back once again, and I’m rolling my own engine in Javascript, using the new features which HTML5 and related specs (basically WebGL) have made possible. I’ve been working on this for a few months now – hopefully this’ll be big enough to have some posts of its own soon

Secondly, banterous.co.uk expansion, including the new domain “bantero.us“, thanks to webhead. So far it’s been a site for sharing demos, but soon it will be a general DP:PB2 utility site, hosting demos in addition to a map database and other tools which were once provided by sk89q’s Digital Paint Resource site. The reference sections of that site will be replaced by the wiki which webhead is currently developing on the banterous hosting. f3l1x, the author of some awesome server tools is also helping out. And another developer called Payl has developed a banterous demo downloader

I’ve also been trying to finish Cold War City for release, having done another 3 betas or so.

Hell, maybe I’ll even put some content up here that is actually useful for once instead of just a brain dump. You never know

Same as the other 2 £1.19 Rockstar spinoffs, there’s the usual 32mg/100ml caffeine and so the same “value” figure of 1.34mg/p. How boring. The only thing differentiating this from the others is, of course, the taste.

And what a taste it is. This drink does “tropical” well. It tastes very fruity, without being artificial. It also contains 10% apple juice (from concentrate), which you can’t immediately taste, but definitely adds to the flavour. It’s not so fizzy, which means it feels nice and juicy. It’s not over-sweet or very syrupy either. I haven’t tried this drink warm so I can’t be sure how that would compare, but what I know is that this drink is VERY refreshing chilled. For £1.19, definitely a good deal, especially on a hot day.

Taste: 9/10
Value: 5/10
Experience: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

As you can see from the can, it has the same price as Rockstar Recover. And the same concentration too. So it’s also got the same value rating, 1.34mg/p.

So, the drink itself. It looks like cola. It tastes a bit like cola. Not coke or pepsi quality cola, but more like supermarket diet cola. A slightly fruity aftertaste too. Sadly it also leaves your mouth feeling dry, but if you like cola and the alternative has an unappealing-sounding “mixed-fruit” flavour, you know you could do worse.

Taste: 6/10
Value: 5/10
Experience: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

It’s £1.19 per can, which was the same price as two of the other Rockstar varieties I bought, which seemed nice given its extra claims. Now – to the interesting bit: the taste test! Well, they were definitely right about it not being carbonated. Sadly, they failed to mention that while it is fairly easy on the tongue to begin with and leaves no aftertaste, helpful if your throat is still “recovering” from whatever, it has a horrible too-much-lemon-squash taste in the middle of your drink. Nasty. As far as the refreshment goes, I didn’t really feel anything noticably different from the effects of any other caffeine drink, although once down, my throat felt a bit better I guess. It packs 32mg/100ml into the £1.19 500ml can, resulting in a mid-range caffeine-by-price of 1.34mg/p. A mixed drink.

Taste: 4/10
Value: 5/10
Experience: 7/10
Overall: 5/10

Looks nice and refreshing, doesn’t it? Well surprisingly enough, it is – at least a refreshing break from the “mixed fruit” flavours of other drinks. I’m not quite sure what it tastes of, but it has a sort of citrus tang to it, instead of a sickly sugar-overload taste. Peculiar. It tastes like a slightly medicinal fruit punch.

Taste: 7/10
Value: 2/10
Experience: 5/10
Overall: 5/10

A long time ago, on a blog not very far away (right here in fact), there was posted a preview of an in-progress map named Cold War City. The first beta of that map went on to win the xMapCom mapping competition. After that, it pretty just sat there for a year and a half. Now I’m finally trying to finish it up and get it out of beta and onto some servers. This is also what I’d like to do with another map I worked on, a collaboration with another mapper, JeeJee, who is now inactive, called 100 Years Of Solitude, which was actually made for the following xMapCom event, which sadly was never judged. I’d like to think we were in with a chance of winning that one too

However, I’ve also started working on another map, for a possible upcoming Paintball king-of-the-hill event hosted by GlobalGamers. It’s a small and as yet unnamed deathmatch map using some awesome GPL textures. Here are some badly-taken shots of it:

Nothing special. They even have the same colour code as Source. And the horrible colour. So: do they taste any different?

Short answer: No. You could put these pretty much side by side with their Morrisons counterparts and be unable to tell the difference. If anything, they feel ever so slightly less syrupy, but that’s about it.

So, as there’s nothing else really to say, here are the scores. Same as Source, if you were wondering. Even the value is the same; same price and concentration.

Taste (regular): 6/10
Taste (sugar free): 3/10
Value: 7/10
Experience: 5/10
Overall (regular): 6/10
Overall (sugar-free): 4/10