Photoshop Elements: Cropping just One Layer

• Use the Rectangle Marquee to select the portion of the layer you want to crop
• Right Click > Select Inverse
• Now Delete! 

Photoshop Elements: Could not complete your request because the smart object is not directly editable

If you get this error:

Go to Layer > Simplify Layer and you should now be able to edit the image

ERROR:EDK:4182, ERROR:EDK:4075 & 4073 Miscellaneous Errors that occur when adding cores

So I ran into some interesting errors when adding simple cores to my design. On ISE13.2 working with the ML510 I encountered these errors when adding one simple core. 

At first I started out with a set of errors that looked like this:

 ----------------------------------------
ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:PLB_masterID - VEC evaluation of (C_SPLB_MID_WIDTH-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\data_checker_v1_00_a\data\data_checker_v2_1_0.mpd line 51

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:PLB_BE - VEC evaluation of ((C_SPLB_DWIDTH/8)-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\data_checker_v1_00_a\data\data_checker_v2_1_0.mpd line 55

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:PLB_wrDBus - VEC evaluation of (C_SPLB_DWIDTH-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\data_checker_v1_00_a\data\data_checker_v2_1_0.mpd line 60

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:Sl_rdDBus - VEC evaluation of (C_SPLB_DWIDTH-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\data_checker_v1_00_a\data\data_checker_v2_1_0.mpd line 76

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:PLB_masterID - VEC evaluation of (C_SPLB_MID_WIDTH-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\rx_serdes_v1_00_a\data\rx_serdes_v2_1_0.mpd line 57

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:PLB_BE - VEC evaluation of ((C_SPLB_DWIDTH/8)-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\rx_serdes_v1_00_a\data\rx_serdes_v2_1_0.mpd line 61

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:PLB_wrDBus - VEC evaluation of (C_SPLB_DWIDTH-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\rx_serdes_v1_00_a\data\rx_serdes_v2_1_0.mpd line 66

ERROR:EDK:4182 - PORT:Sl_rdDBus - VEC evaluation of (C_SPLB_DWIDTH-1) failed - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\rx_serdes_v1_00_a\data\rx_serdes_v2_1_0.mpd line 82
  ----------------------------------------

 To get around this, most of the time you see a VEC evaluation failed, you can just hardcode the values in the .mpd file to what they should be. When you do this you clear these but you get another set of errors as depicted below.

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ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: DDR2_SDRAM_DIMM1, PORT: SPLB0_Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Xilinx\13.2\ISE_DS\EDK\hw\XilinxProcessorIPLib\pcores\mpmc_v6_04_a\data\mpmc_v2_1_0.mpd line 1013
ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: PCI32_BRIDGE, PORT: Sl_RdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Xilinx\13.2\ISE_DS\EDK\hw\XilinxProcessorIPLib\pcores\plbv46_pci_v1_04_a\data\plbv46_pci_v2_1_0.mpd line 191
ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: SysACE_CompactFlash, PORT: Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Xilinx\13.2\ISE_DS\EDK\hw\XilinxProcessorIPLib\pcores\xps_sysace_v1_01_a\data\xps_sysace_v2_1_0.mpd line 121
ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: mdm_0, PORT: Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Xilinx\13.2\ISE_DS\EDK\hw\XilinxProcessorIPLib\pcores\mdm_v2_00_b\data\mdm_v2_1_0.mpd line 159
ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: xps_intc_0, PORT: Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Xilinx\13.2\ISE_DS\EDK\hw\XilinxProcessorIPLib\pcores\xps_intc_v2_01_a\data\xps_intc_v2_1_0.mpd line 130
ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: blink_test_0, PORT: Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\blink_test_v1_00_a\data\blink_test_v2_1_0.mpd line 72

ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: data_gen_0, PORT: Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\data_gen_v1_00_a\data\data_gen_v2_1_0.mpd line 75

ERROR:EDK:4075 - INSTANCE: tx_serdes_0, PORT: Sl_rdDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_Sl_rdDBus - calculated index is out of signal VEC range of [0:1087] - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\pcores\tx_serdes_v1_00_a\data\tx_serdes_v2_1_0.mpd line 79

ERROR:EDK:4073 - INSTANCE: mb_plb, PORT: PLB_BE, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_PLB_BE - 16 bit-width connector assigned to 8 bit-width port - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\_xps_tempmhsfilename.mhs line 112

ERROR:EDK:4073 - INSTANCE: mb_plb, PORT: PLB_masterID, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_PLB_masterID - 3 bit-width connector assigned to 2 bit-width port - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\_xps_tempmhsfilename.mhs line 112

ERROR:EDK:4073 - INSTANCE: mb_plb, PORT: PLB_wrDBus, CONNECTOR: mb_plb_PLB_wrDBus - 128 bit-width connector assigned to 64 bit-width port - C:\Users\user1\Documents\Projects4\v2\_xps_tempmhsfilename.mhs line 112
----------------------------------------

These errors are fairly bizarre since I didn't really touch anything. To fix the errors, simply ignore the beginning ones about VEC signal out of range, and jump straight to the last ones at the end about the PORTS. The trick is to manually change the the widths in the .mpd to the values the errors are requesting.

Reconfiguring Zynq Processing System Settings and Clocks

I thought I would post this because someone was asking me about the Zynq FCLKs today. To determine the max frequency of the Zynq clocks you can access the "Clock Wizard" in XPS. You can customize and configure much of the pre-defined cores that are automatically added to most Zynq projects from the "Zynq" tab:

To check out the clock settings, click the box that says "Clock Generation" this core specifically configures the PS to PL available clocks.
Once you click this the "Clock Wizard" will appear. You can now see what the frequencies of the different clocks are.

Game Review: Blackguards

Title: Blackguards
Classification: Tactical Turn-Based RPG
Developer: Daedalic Entertainment
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Release: Nov 6, 2013 (Early Access Release)
Similar Games: XCOM, Fire Emblem, FF Tactics, Onimusha Tactics
Co-Op?: No

Description:

"
What happens when the only hope of a threatened world lies not with heroes in shining armor, but in the hands of a band of misfits and criminals? Blackguards, a new turn-based strategy RPG, explores this very question. You will discover over 180 unique hex-based battlegrounds within a dark and mature story of crime, drugs, and murder.

Play as a warrior, mage or hunter and customize your character's skills as you see fit. The challenging campaign delivers a story of doubt, treason and loss. You decide the course of the story at key turning points and determine its outcome.

• More than 180 unique battlemaps provide ever-evolving and novel challenges. 
• Make sure you have plenty of snacks, as this dark fantasy adventure has 40+ hours of exciting play time. 
• Lead up to five characters in your party to glorious victory or devastating defeat. 
• Enjoy enchanting hand drawn backdrops. They're beautiful even when your party members get their asses handed to them. 
• Your choice of spells, skills and abilities determine your battlefield tactics. Aggressive? Defensive? Tactical? It's your call how to tackle each challenging encounter! 
• Use interactive objects like bee hives or barrels to your advantage in combat, or blow yourself up by carrying a torch into flammable swamp gas. 
• Dish out some serious damage with 40 special abilities and more than 90 spells... or find yourself on the other end and get obliterated.

"

Summary:

I'll add on to this as I play more but for right now I have the following:

The first thing I have to say about this is I really, really like these types of games. I really enjoy games like Fire Emblem & Onimusha Tactics on the GBA and XCOM on the PC, which are specifically turn-based games. Blackguards also gives me the vibe/atmosphere of old school RPG games I love like Baldur's Gate I & II, Path of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor , Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights + expansions + mods (The old bioware game, not that new MMO). While the games I just listed are not turn based, they do have pause button tactics, and they share the fantasy setting and RPG skill allocation, feats, that sort of thing. The most recent game of this genre was Dragon Age Origins but it has been a while since that came out.

Anyway, since then, I have been waiting for another game to grab my attention the same way all these massive titles did. I decided to pick up Blackguards, and I will admit that I was scared because it was Early Access. I will tell you now this game has not disappointed me in the slightest, even though it is Early Access. The characters are fun, the gameplay is exactly what I wanted. I have to say they won me over pretty quickly. I wrote down a few pros/cons that were most apparent for me.

Pros:

• I personally love the turn-based gameplay/combat system
• Nice artwork and environments
• Plenty of voiced dialog
• Fun characters  

Cons:

• Kind of easy even on hard difficulty, but I like these types of games so.....yea
• Graphics are a tad dated so this might bother some
• Some features are kind of buggy but it is still Early Access so calm down (using bandages ect...)
• I would like some cooler / more tiered armors and weapons
• Seeing the reference tags on characters/objects is distracting
• No in depth character customization (but it is to be added later!) 

Verdict: 

YES. This is a fun game to play even early access. I am glad I did it and I think the RPG community will come together to love it. 

Torchlight 2 Camera Mod / Point of View Changer

I thought I would put this down:

I really wanted to change up the angles to play my character from behind like a 3rd person game. Turns out there is a mod for that.

Youtube Vid Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CGqMBRIJl4
Find the Mod Here: http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=40402
Download Link: http://www39.zippyshare.com/v/96628732/file.html


Here is the readme file I made myself to use the mod:

---------------------------
start the cam program
start TL2

once you're inside TL2 press and hold Shift and your Middle mouse button at the same time then move your mouse

that changes the camera angle

you can make the camera very low and behind you
you can move the camera left and right
---------------------------

Enjoy

Temporarily Stop Windows Update from Restarting the Computer

So lets say you are working on some stuff, copying some files, running a simulation, synthesizing a design, aaaand its late night. You then see that damn windows popup saying it will automatically restart. Drat! The temporary quick fix is to do this:

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Windows Vista/7: Open Start and search for cmd. Right click on the found program and click Run as administrator. Enter the command net stop "windows update" and you're good to go. Likewise, you can suspend the process with PsSuspend and the command pssuspend wuauclt.
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Source: Link