I really tried to make Unity work, but many of the things I wanted to do required the Unity Pro package (post-processing was really important) so I couldn't continue. I had a few backup ideas, one of which I'm pursuing, and it's quite different, but it's also going quite well (I think). 2D game. I have a blog post here which discusses the basic idea.

I wrote my Masters thesis a bit over three years ago, and it took me about a month (although I had a job waiting and needed to write up before I could finish my degree and start the job, so that provided some good motivation to keep me on track). One thing that I still remember distinctly about the whole process was the laptop I was using at the time was pretty crappy, and a bunch of the data for the experimental section was in the form of massive tiff files. Just trying to scroll through the document containing this data would bring my poor laptop to its knees in an instant, and whenever I realized I had placed some of the data out of order (and would have to spend ten minutes waiting for the computer to do what should have been a 5 second operation) I felt bashing my head against a wall. Amusing in retrospect, but definitely an experience I wanted to forget at the time.

Wait,what is with these people churning out a thesis in a month, nay, a NIGHT?! Are you guys super humans or did your thesis have different requirements? It's supposed to be at least 6 months of work over here, and you can extend it to a full year (which also means twice the work, obviously).

Personally I'm on the edge of the writing pit, slowly sliding in. I need to get started in a month. Not sure if I'm looking forward to it or .. guess I'll find out if it's fun or hell soon enough.

I was wondering that myself. In my field, dissertations are expected to take 1-2 years, and it is not unusual for some to take longer.

My guess is that it depends on the field. Science/business/engineering etc. may focus more on performing experiments of which the written product is just a report. I once read a physics dissertation that was only 30 odd pages long. In liberal arts, the dissertation is the sole product. Just a guess...

I started gathering the materials for my dissertation and doing necessary questionnaires/interviews during my third year (while I was in Kanazawa). Then started writing it proper in my final year back in the UK. I ended up having to write it all in a night (the very night before it was due) as a result of certain requested materials not arriving in time and my supervisor advising me to cut 75% of the material due to the limits imposed by the department.

So I scrapped the original I'd been working on, and rewrote it all in that last night. That is certainly not something I ever I want to repeat.

Its a pretty top class effort though, how were your marks for it?

We were never told exact marks for dissertations. But I was told off the record that even if I had failed all my exams, it was of a level that would have earnt me my degree without the exams.

Clearly extreme pressure works out well for you. You may be dead by 45 but you'll die with a lot of good works

Wrote my Master's thesis in 1985 (using a CP/M version of WordStar 3, I think) and my dissertation in 1991 (moved to a PC so WordStar 5).

Last year I backed up all of my 5.25" and 3.5" disks (well, most of them. I think I was not able to read 6 or 7 of the 5.25" disks) and ran across one of my dissertation backups. I can't read it (the last version of Word that could convert from WS was the Win 95 version I believe) but it was interesting to see them.

While writing the dissertation was a pain, I'd have written 2 if it would have allowed me to skip my qualifying exams - yuck!!!

Best wishes on the writing - it sounds like you've got a nice routine.

My thesis was in the field of chemistry, and the thesis itself was just the final step after two years of doing the actual research that the thesis described. For an advanced degree in the physical sciences most of the time is spent doing research that will hopefully result in findings worthy of a thesis, then writing up the thesis is just the last little bit to finish everything off. For a masters degree the research usually takes 2-3 years, with the thesis writeup taking 1-3 months, while for a PhD the research takes 4-6 years, with the thesis usually taking around 6 months.

Seconded, for physical sciences most of the time is spent researching. Also, I have to complete 5 semesters of teaching (physics labs, recitations, etc) before I can get my masters.

I'm currently writing a manuscript for a journal submission. Hopefully after this is accepted and with my adviser's approval, I can expand my results into my masters thesis which will probably be around 25-30 pages. With a few different failed projects along the way, it's taken me ~2 years to get some potentially thesis worthy results. Go experimentalists!

First thing I need to do is stop procrastinating. Yeah, I'm looking at you GoG forum.

Thanks for the good wishes! Another 1500 words under the belt today.

I have to disagree with you on exams however. I would take prelims ten times over than write a dissertation! Somehow exams just seem so much more...straightforward.

Have you tried OpenOffice? Last time I used it it had a few of the more obscure formats that have since been dropped from Word
I have to say that this thread has opened my eyes about theses, I always thought they were long and complicated things but it turns out I've been writing thesis length stuff since my diploma much less before I started my degree.

Might do that doctorate after all...
Thats the one thing I've noticed over the years of education, it seems the passing & failing are as much a function of how well someone handles tests as they are a consequence of actual knowledge.

I still maintain that tests are a woefully substandard method of assessing knowledge and ability

Just turned in the final piece of rough draft work for the diss. 34,000 words and I hope to god the chair doesn't ask for too many revisions. For tonight, its just a big sigh of relief.