Forums > Game Talk > Programming in C
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/21/2008 7:37 PM · Permalink · Report
I've decided to make a game this year (finally) but I'm having trouble getting started. C++ is too complex. So I've decided on C. But I need to find a book and the right compiler. I tried this one, but I'm not sure. Can anybody help me out ?
Sciere (930479) on 4/21/2008 7:41 PM · Permalink · Report
Based on the experience you already mentioned, start with Game Maker or Multimedia Fusion (advanced). No use trying to learn C without long dedication.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/21/2008 7:47 PM · Permalink · Report
Uhh...I barely understood some of the C++ guides I got off the internet. I meant is there a simple compiler that anybody knows of ?
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/21/2008 8:37 PM · Permalink · Report
If you can speak English, you can write a game using Inform 7.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/23/2008 7:23 PM · Permalink · Report
Yeah yeah, no one is ever interested in this unsexy option 8)
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/23/2008 8:18 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I know this is kinda unrelated, but why do developers (back in the 90s at least) make those 500+ level game packs for DOOM, Duke and the like ? Does anybody even wan't to play 500 levels of Duke Nukem ? (With his his catch frases ad-nausium) XD
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/23/2008 8:22 PM · Permalink · Report
Everyone knows that nothing is a follow-up to a good thing like enormous amounts of pale derivatives! Cloning a game is a lot of work, while just going online and stealing (sorry... appropriating?) handfuls of levels that have already been released and redistributing them for a fee to people who haven't yet realised that the internet exists is a sound business model!
As people have since realised that the internet does, in fact, exist, this business model has become largely defunct. If publishers want to find a way to make a profit off the unpaid efforts of amateur level designers now, they're going to have to use them to enhance the value of their own proprietary engines.
Sciere (930479) on 4/23/2008 8:32 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I once bought illegal demo (!) versions of One Must Fall 2097 (7 disks! and the full game is only 5 disks!) and NASCAR Racing (one course!) on a computer market. People were also selling lots of early Nintendo emulators bundled with the entire software library.
In my defence, I wasn't even on Compuserve yet at the time. To think of it, games were surrounded by much more mystery then. People made booths to promote a single game they were only selling the demo for. I remember one of these markets was one of the first to show DOOM II in action, and you could play a multiplayer game for $0.5 per session =)
And now that we are talking about Duke Nukem, I had to store a downloaded version on a ZIP disk because my hard drive was too small. Those drives were so slow I had to unzip/decompress for an hour before I could even start playing.
Игги Друге (46653) on 4/23/2008 8:48 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Sciere wrote--]And now that we are talking about Duke Nukem, I had to store a downloaded version on a ZIP disk because my hard drive was too small. Those drives were so slow I had to unzip/decompress for an hour before I could even start playing. [/Q --end Sciere wrote--] That's strange, I've found Zip disks to be very fast. But then I'm used to Syquests and MO drives.
Steely Gaze (208) on 4/23/2008 8:46 PM · Permalink · Report
Well I downloaded Inform 7 and started playing with it. It is incredibly easy, and a lot of fun to mess with. Of course it helps that I'm a big fan of text adventures (interactive fiction always sounded so pretentious to me).
Thanks for the recommend, Pseudo!
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/23/2008 11:53 PM · Permalink · Report
(interactive fiction always sounded so pretentious to me)
Sometimes you just want to randomly scatter treasures around an underground cave system without employing post-modern storytelling techniques to further a sophisticated, adult meta-narrative. There ain't no shame in cranking out a text game! It's like graphic novels and comix; same basic medium, but using different devices toward different ends.
Thanks for the recommend, Pseudo!
I'm going to need all the people I can get in my corner when we start lobbying for games created in Inform to be accepted in Mobygames again 8)
(Which reminds me: either we need to rename the Z-code group to the Inform group, or its description needs to be opened up enough to let the Infocom games back in.)
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/24/2008 12:05 AM · Permalink · Report
I just download 9:05 earlier.
Игги Друге (46653) on 4/24/2008 12:47 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]I'm going to need all the people I can get in my corner when we start lobbying for games created in Inform to be accepted in Mobygames again 8)[/Q --end Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--] You haven't even filled out a platform rap sheet. Start by doing that before you pester the admins.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/24/2008 2:02 AM · Permalink · Report
You haven't even filled out a platform rap sheet.
Is any template for doing so available anywhere outside the wiki?
Игги Друге (46653) on 4/24/2008 11:30 PM · Permalink · Report
It's in the wiki.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/24/2008 11:35 PM · Permalink · Report
and I, unfortunately, am stuck outside the wiki 8)
Игги Друге (46653) on 4/26/2008 12:53 AM · Permalink · Report
Admit it, you just hate Wikis.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/26/2008 1:48 AM · Permalink · Report
They have their uses, but this is more a case of the wiki hating me, or at least preventing me from logging in.
beetle120 (2415) on 4/22/2008 12:44 PM · Permalink · Report
If you want to learn a complex language like C my recommendation is to go to a educational institute (not sure what is called in the US so I'll stick with that). About 5 years ago I wanted to make a game so I decided to do a course in TAFE and I loved it so much that studied it for 5 years. Now I have a job in the industry, still haven't made that game though.
Indra was here (20756) on 4/22/2008 2:20 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Sciere wrote--]Based on the experience you already mentioned, start with Game Maker or Multimedia Fusion (advanced). No use trying to learn C without long dedication. [/Q --end Sciere wrote--]
Like the man said. Programming is like...er....learning programming. If it isn't your major, then might as well use those game-making tools. Hell, I gave up after 2 weeks just using one of those game-making tools. Too much work, man.
Steely Gaze (208) on 4/21/2008 7:55 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm sorry Daniel, but I don't know of anything I would ever call "simple" related to programming, of any sort. For a long time I, too, wanted to learn C++ (why bother with C? It's not really any easier) but I lacked the dedication to really learn it, so without that, and a lot of free time, I don't know if you can manage to do it on your own.
But hey, I could totally be wrong and you might be the man for this, but I just want you to know that it's nothing easy or simple. You might want to cut your teeth with something like Sciere suggested. Something to teach some basic scripting and some tidbits you can take with you when you graduate to a more advanced level.
St. Martyne (3648) on 4/22/2008 6:46 AM · Permalink · Report
Yeah, it's not the question of what is easier. C++ is an object-oriented language, while C is not. So it doesn't mean that much which one you chose, I would suggest going with C++ and taking additional time learning classes and objects. It would pay off in the end.
And the majority of game-related SDKs and API are written for C++ anyway.
Essentially, programming is quite easy, once you've learned the syntax and learned to think completely logically.
But it might be a good idea to start off with GameMaker or Fusion (if your goal is Ski Free). They all have a scripting language of their own, which will still take a couple of months for you to learn.
Just don't lose the enthusiasm.
Servo (57070) on 4/22/2008 8:13 PM · Permalink · Report
I don't think C is any easier than C++; in some respects I think it's harder.
My favourite game programming book?
Windows Game Programming for Dummies!! Helped me write my first (and so far only) game....
Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus is also excellent, I used that one a lot too.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/22/2008 11:39 PM · Permalink · Report
What is your game ? I'd like to see it !
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/23/2008 4:29 PM · Permalink · Report
If you can find it (and if it's freeware) I can put it up on my web page for download if you want.
Servo (57070) on 4/24/2008 12:57 AM · Permalink · Report
Ok, here it is. Download for free and have fun!
I make no guarantees as to how well it runs on modern PC's - In theory DirectX is fully backwards compatible so there really shouldn't be any issues, but I don't have a recent PC to test on. Works fine on my pentium II with Windows 98 though. The file is pretty big, around 20MB; this does not represent the pinnacle of programming efficiency!
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/24/2008 9:00 PM · Permalink · Report
It's cool ! And it works fine too ! But my page is a Google page, so I can't put it up because of the 100 meg. limit.
Indra was here (20756) on 4/25/2008 3:47 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Servo wrote--]Ok, here it is. Download for free and have fun! [/Q --end Servo wrote--]
Is it in the database? Adding yourself as the developer in the credits sounds like a wet dream to me. haha.
chirinea (47496) on 4/25/2008 7:20 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] Is it in the database? Adding yourself as the developer in the credits sounds like a wet dream to me. haha. [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] I once was going to be added as a developer for Left Behind, but then you guys decided for having me as an entity (Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior). =P
J. P. Gray (115) on 4/22/2008 11:45 PM · Permalink · Report
Let me second Windows Game Programming Gurus--very accessible and entertaining treatment of a difficult, often exclusively technical subject.
J. P. Gray (115) on 4/21/2008 8:24 PM · Permalink · Report
The cold hard reality of starting from scratch in C is that it will take you many months of on-and-off work to successfully create... a Breakout or Tetris clone. To go from there to more complex genres will force you to learn complex API libraries and rules, search through reams of code to find elusive and well-hidden bugs, and create at least decent media (sounds, music and art) for your games. That's all without bothering with 3D, which is a whole other state of near-depsair requiring mammoth amounts of patience. :-D
In other words, it's really hard and requires dedication, but once you start the ball rolling it gets better and you will feel more competent. Lots of persistence and perspiration is necessary!
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/21/2008 8:44 PM · Permalink · Report
One question, if I bought a book on C, would it include a cd with a compiler, or not ? Because if not I'll probally go with the compiler I tried earlier. And the type of game I was wanting to make was kinda along the lines of Ski Free.
J. P. Gray (115) on 4/21/2008 10:41 PM · Permalink · Report
I heartily recommend going with Cygwin or some other free C compiler and plowing through Kernighan and Ritchie's book on C--try to borrow it free from a local library, or a programmer friend. :-D Once you have the basic aspects of C under control, a more game-centered book will be more helpful to you.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/22/2008 4:48 PM · Permalink · Report
Thanks !
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/27/2008 8:22 PM · Permalink · Report
Or, now thinking about how bad I am at animation, I might do an adventure game.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/27/2008 10:39 PM · Permalink · Report
A static, "Myst"-style animation-poor adventure game? (vs a lively, Sierra/Lucasfilm-style adventure game?)
A dearth of graphical abilities is also a good reason to consider text adventures 8)
Steely Gaze (208) on 4/28/2008 1:20 AM · Permalink · Report
Well you could definitely use Inform, which Pseudo already mentioned. But if you've got some skill with graphics and art, and want to try a Sierra or Lucasarts style adventure, go for the Adventure Game Studio. It's free, powerful, easy to grasp the basics of, and has created some remarkably professional games.
DJP Mom (11333) on 4/28/2008 1:50 AM · Permalink · Report
What about RPG Maker? Or RPG Maker XP?
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 4/28/2008 2:48 AM · Permalink · Report
Personally, I think he should make his adventure using a combination of the Pie-in-the-Sky FPS engine and the Bard's tale construction set.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 4/28/2008 5:05 PM · Permalink · Report
Thanks for all of the suggestions, but I'm just going to get a book on programming this weekend. I've tried going back and forth between the PDF manual and the program it'self, but it's too much hassle for me. I think I'll go with Windows Game Programming for Dummies or a book on C. And now I'm sure I'll do a adventure game of some type.
Jewelcase (1185) on 5/3/2008 5:56 AM · Permalink · Report
Why not learn a (possibly)easier language?
Learn any "Procedural" language, like BASIC. Make a few programs to learn things like loops, functional decomposition (subroutines), the different types of variables, etc. Once you master these basic concepts, learning C is just a matter of understanding pointers and their notation.
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_programming
Игги Друге (46653) on 5/3/2008 4:28 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I thought procedural languages were academic things such as Prolog.
Otherwise I agree, not only because BASIC is easier than C, but because the development environment is often better. It's easier to run tests on an interpreted language (which C usually isn't), and game-oriented BASICs have game-oriented extensions which make simple games such as skiing or Breakout clones ten times easier than in lower-level languages where you have to learn not only the language, but all the convoluted APIs of the operating system which really aren't there to help you make a simple Breakout game.
I think there is a good port of Blitz Basic for Windows, try that out. There's no reason to learn C if you haven never programmed before, since that's a rough start, and rewarding only once you've learned the basics of programming.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/4/2008 6:34 PM · Permalink · Report
Well, I went ahead and got The Dumies Guide to C++. Going to start tomorrow.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/15/2008 7:57 PM · Permalink · Report
And so far it's going well. I'm already making graphics for the game I'm doing before hand so I'll have them ready later. (Much later). 8)
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/26/2008 8:54 PM · Permalink · Report
Ok I have a MASSIVE frustration problem. I'm using the Dev-C++ compiler, and about a week ago I copied some cource code to a different file. Ever since then I can't get it to recognize "cout" and "endl". Some help ? And I'm still doing simple console programs.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/26/2008 11:01 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I think that's still there. I usually leave that part alone.
Edit- I might have messed with it. I'll have to check.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/27/2008 6:51 PM · Permalink · Report
I tried it. It still wont work. One other thing, I bought the C++ guide for Dummies book, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't tell you a lot about actual window Window's programming. Just stuff for consoles. (aka Command prompt.) Should I stick with the book I'm using currently, or try and find something more Windows oriented ?
Servo (57070) on 5/27/2008 8:55 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Maybe; I'd continue trying a few simple console applications first to get used to things, even a simple windows program can be a beast. But eventually, yeah, a different book will be needed...
What is the exact compiler error?
May also want to try:
#include < iostream > . . . std::cout << "Hello World!" << std::endl;
cout may be in a different namespace causing the error. This may or may not help.
I haven't done anything in C++ in a long time!
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/27/2008 9:34 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
The compiler gives me a message when I try to compile. It goes" 'cout', 'endl' an undeclared first function", or something to that effect. And just out of curiosity, made a new window project. I didn't do anything with it, but you're right. Even a blank, non-functioning window generates a HUGE amount of code.
Edit- The compiler I'm using lets you make console, window, OpenGL, and blank projects. You can make any one of these, not do anything to it, and run it, even though it doesn't do anything.
Игги Друге (46653) on 5/27/2008 11:08 PM · Permalink · Report
I think you should switch to an easier language. If you can't work through the Dummies book, you won't be able to accomplish much programming such a difficult environment as Windows without any API in-between.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 5/28/2008 3:40 PM · Permalink · Report
I think you misunderstand. It's my compiler that's acting up. I've actually had a easy time with the language. The most advanced thing I made was a console program that when you type in something it gives you a message back.
Игги Друге (46653) on 5/29/2008 12:53 AM · Permalink · Report
I think you misunderstand the concept of threading entirely.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/6/2008 11:43 PM · Permalink · Report
What exactly is Visual C++ ? I know it's Microsoft related, but is it any different than what I'm using now ?
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/8/2008 4:59 PM · Permalink · Report
Now that I've been searching some more, I think I'll go with Visual Basic.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/8/2008 7:28 PM · Permalink · Report
God. Help me. Help us all. God?
Indra was here (20756) on 6/8/2008 7:39 PM · Permalink · Report
I was expecting Chirinea to answer. At least he has a beard. :)
Indra was here (20756) on 6/8/2008 7:52 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Show the pic here or on MSN, and I'll see if your "God-worthy." Heh. I for example, don't look "celestial" when fully-bearded. I look like more a suicide bomber you'd arrest at the nearest airport.
Aren't you still young to have facial hair? Or am I mixing you with someone else?
DreinIX (10446) on 6/8/2008 8:01 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--]Show the pic here or on MSN, and I'll see if your "God-worthy." [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] Sorry no pictures from me :-)
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] Aren't you still young to have facial hair? Or am I mixing you with someone else? [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] No I'm not that young. Plus facial hair don't start to grow from a certain age to everyone. I was shaving from when I was sixteen and believe me I should start sooner.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 6/9/2008 12:22 AM · Permalink · Report
There's no point in anyone posting pictures of their beards because they will all come second to mine, unshorn in eight years. It's just a fact.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/9/2008 6:05 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]There's no point in anyone posting pictures of their beards because they will all come second to mine, unshorn in eight years. It's just a fact. [/Q --end Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]
Well I can bet your hairy face that I have more leg hair than you do.
Now isn't this a very mature and intellectual conversation we're having? :p
beetle120 (2415) on 6/9/2008 6:44 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]Now that I've been searching some more, I think I'll go with Visual Basic. [/Q --end DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--] Good idea. Best to start with VB and then go to more complex languages after you get more experienced. After learning a few different languages you can pick more complex languages like C a lot easier.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/9/2008 11:46 AM · Permalink · Report
Now I have just one question, should I go with version 4 or 6 ?
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/11/2008 12:02 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Is it possible to do 3D in VB ? I have this great idea for a space game.
Edit- Without doing anything DirectX related ?
Servo (57070) on 6/11/2008 3:15 AM · Permalink · Report
[quote]Is it possible to do 3D in VB ?[/quote] Sure. I've never tried it, but my understanding is OpenGL can work fine with VB. There may be other api's I'm not aware of that can be used, and nothing would stop you from writing your own 3D graphics routines of course. (what the easiest approach is may be another question entirely!)
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/11/2008 11:54 AM · Permalink · Report
Well, the game I was going to do first is a adventure game. I've got all the graphics made for it, and I only need about two more sounds for it. Then once I figure VB, I'll put it all together into a game. After that I'm going to try something 3D.
Игги Друге (46653) on 6/11/2008 5:50 PM · Permalink · Report
That's like buying the tyres before you know if you'll ever get a driving licence.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/15/2008 9:46 PM · Permalink · Report
I just got a VB book today. Going to start Monday.
Игги Друге (46653) on 6/15/2008 11:49 PM · Permalink · Report
Thank you for the status update.
What did you eat today?
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/16/2008 12:00 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Chicken and sugar cane pop. has affected my brain I think that pop . 8)
Игги Друге (46653) on 6/16/2008 1:24 AM · Permalink · Report
Let's move this thread to a relevant forum.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/16/2008 5:41 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Игги Друге wrote--] What did you eat today? [/Q --end Игги Друге wrote--]
Three packs of clove cigarretes. Yum.
a /sarcasm would be helpful Iggy, for the intellectually impaired. :p
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 6/16/2008 6:16 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--]Three packs of clove cigarretes. Yum. [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--]Everyday? Holy shit, if that's true you must smell like one of those seedy Japanese pachinko parlors; can you post an x-ray of your lungs, please?
chirinea (47496) on 6/16/2008 6:36 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]Everyday? Holy shit, if that's true you must smell like one of those seedy Japanese pachinko parlors; can you post an x-ray of your lungs, please? [/Q --end FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]It would be useless, you'd only see a black square and nothing more...
Indra was here (20756) on 6/16/2008 8:02 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start chirinea wrote--] [Q2 --start FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]Everyday? Holy shit, if that's true you must smell like one of those seedy Japanese pachinko parlors; can you post an x-ray of your lungs, please? [/Q2 --end FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]It would be useless, you'd only see a black square and nothing more... [/Q --end chirinea wrote--]
I'm planning to die of lung cancer around the age of 35, hopefully sooner. Around 1-2 packs on a good day or 3-4 on a bad day. So far every day is a bad day. :p
Probably wouldn't be this bad if someone introduced me to pot when I was in university.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/16/2008 8:17 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DJP Mom wrote--]Sometimes I really fail to get your humor, Indra. [/Q --end DJP Mom wrote--]
Unfortunately, mom. That really wasn't humor. I actually mean it.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 6/16/2008 8:18 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--]I'm planning to die of lung cancer around the age of 35, hopefully sooner. Around 1-2 packs on a good day or 3-4 on a bad day. So far every day is a bad day. :p
Probably wouldn't be this bad if someone introduced me to pot when I was in university. [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--]That's one horrible death you're working on, dude. And I've seen them as I worked in a hospital instead of being drafted into the army. Have fun, man.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 6/16/2008 8:10 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start chirinea wrote--]It would be useless, you'd only see a black square and nothing more...[/Q --end chirinea wrote--]Hmm. Contrast agents would help here... or may be not as the condition of Mr. Deparis lungs might send him earlier to The Great Unknown due to bronchospasm. So: Youtube posting of Indra strolling past a bunch of dogs after a day without a shower. If everything's true what Mr. Depari said they should perform a nice evening concert.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/16/2008 8:14 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--] Contrast agents would help here... or may be not as the condition of Mr. Deparis lungs might send him earlier to The Great Unknown due to bronchospasm. So: Youtube posting of Indra strolling past a bunch of dogs after a day without a shower. If everything's true what Mr. Depari said they should perform a nice evening concert. [/Q --end FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]
Oddly enough, I've been smoking this hardcore for at least 5 years now...only difference in health is the ability to breath. Have trouble walking fast, much less run. And I avoid stairs even if held at gunpoint. :p
Oh, actually tried that dog-thingy. Either dogs in Indoland smell more wierder stuff than me smelling like an industrial chimney or they are pretty much used to it.
Игги Друге (46653) on 6/16/2008 9:46 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--] So: Youtube posting of Indra strolling past a bunch of dogs after a day without a shower. If everything's true what Mr. Depari said they should perform a nice evening concert. [/Q --end FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--] Indonesian cigarettes contain spices, so I think he smells like gingerbread.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 6/17/2008 12:34 AM · Permalink · Report
Indonesian cigarettes contain spices, so I think he smells like gingerbread.
It always seems a bit out of character when you posted a message that /doesn't/ sound ticked off.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/17/2008 6:45 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]Indonesian cigarettes contain spices, so I think he smells like gingerbread.
It always seems a bit out of character when you posted a message that /doesn't/ sound ticked off. [/Q --end Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]
Oooh, good one, mate.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 6/17/2008 7:24 PM · Permalink · Report
It isn't a dig, just an observation. Perhaps the avatar helps reinforce this assumption... reminding me of nothing so much as an enraged simian George W. about to bash me over the head with an 8-bit microcomputer.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/16/2008 1:49 PM · Permalink · Report
And now I have a BIG problem. It seems that the disk that came with the book doesn't have VB6 on it at all. Where on earth can I find it ?! And no jokes, because I nearly pounded my desk in half when I found this out, and I would rather not do the same to this computer.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/16/2008 2:01 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
It actually includes Visual Basic 6 ? Is this the book you meant ?
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/16/2008 6:16 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Would somebody mind answering my question ?
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/16/2008 8:05 PM · Permalink · Report
I looked at a image of the back of the book. It said it did.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 6/16/2008 8:12 PM · Permalink · Report
What do you mean, "from now on"? I thought that was our approach all along!
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/16/2008 8:15 PM · Permalink · Report
Come on guys ! This is driving me up the wall ! And the software by it'self on ebay is 400 dollars average !
Sciere (930479) on 6/16/2008 8:18 PM · Permalink · Report
We already gave you the solution: use Game Maker or Multimedia Fusion to start creating a simple game. If that works, you can move on to more complex things. Without prior knowledge trying anything else is a waste of time if you want results quickly.
Indra was here (20756) on 6/16/2008 8:21 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Oh, I do love it when resident Belgians get annoyed. Yay! :)
Where's Zovni when you need him? :p
Bagels, anyone?
Terok Nor (41955) on 6/16/2008 8:42 PM · Permalink · Report
Try the Express Edition. And personally, I would go with C# for learning programming.
Игги Друге (46653) on 6/16/2008 9:55 PM · Permalink · Report
Remember that he can hardly read instructions.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/17/2008 12:20 AM · Permalink · Report
I think i've found a suitable book. This one.
beetle120 (2415) on 6/17/2008 7:39 AM · Permalink · Report
With the "in 24 hours" version you get (well should get) VB without the help files and cannot make .exe files. As with learning VB, I had almost no computer knowledge when I started with that book and it was not that hard.
About finding the VB program on the disk. I have no idea and my recommendation is to go to another forum that deals in VB programming as they would have more knowledge on the subject then you will get from a game database site.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 6/17/2008 11:59 AM · Permalink · Report
I can't believe I didn't think of that before !
Indra was here (20756) on 6/17/2008 6:46 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DJP Mom wrote--]Just so you are aware that is says it is a "learning version", probably similar to the version you get in school when you take a VB course, NOT a full program. [/Q --end DJP Mom wrote--]
Wow, you get VB at school over there? Hell, some of the police departments here are still using Wordstar. :p
Indra was here (20756) on 6/16/2008 8:16 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]What do you mean, "from now on"? I thought that was our approach all along! [/Q --end Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]
We really need to get synchronize our strategies here, people. I was using the "Elf talking to the Orc" approach. :p
Игги Друге (46653) on 6/16/2008 9:47 PM · Permalink · Report
Post in the right forum, idiot.
Ryu (50) on 7/6/2008 6:22 AM · Permalink · Report
An interpreted language such as V-Basic or even an old copy of Q-Basic for DOS is a good starting point if you're new to programming languages, I fooled around with Q-Basic when I was a kid, never really made anything concrete, but some small adventure games, various graphic demo things, and some other tomfoolery, it was fun. Once you have a firm grasp of loops, variables, subroutines, arrays etc etc. the transition to other programming languages is easier. The nice thing about Object oriented languages such as C++ is that everything is neatly organized into functions that have clearly defined roles and limits, it's easier to re-use and relate code etc, it's much more flexible in the long run. In any case, you will probably get frustrated now and again as you move through C++ , but when everything clicks and your code works, it's cool, and though programming a game engine yourself is quite an undertaking (one I have not committed to), you have the benefit of maximum flexibility and performance. Well, whether you're using tools or programming them yourself, making games is not an easy undertaking, even for simple games, but it can be fun....good luck.
durplu pobba (353) on 7/20/2008 10:42 AM · Permalink · Report
I wouldn't recommend starting off with BASIC, if you get too deep into it it really screws up your mind and it's easy to "expand" into better syntaxes and programming structure.
I began programming with GW-BASIC when I was 6 years old and continued programming procedurally in Turbo Pascal and in Free Pascal (FPC) afterwards. I was so stuck to the procedural paradigm that learning to do proper OOP was extremely challenging. Luckily I got rid of it and focused on Ruby (which is an awesome way to learn OOP as everything in Ruby is an object).
I would recommend FPC (www.freepascal.org) as a good startingpoint for simple programs, or perhaps a Ruby intepreter. C/C++/C# are good languages but designed in such way that they force you to learn a lot of extremely redundant stuff to do accomplish simple tasks. Some say it's a good thing, some the opposite. (A good example is sorting which is accomplished in Ruby with blah.sort universally whereas in C* you need to check what types you're sorting and then create a loop to compare and sort the values individually).
But honestly, if you haven't got any experience in programming, don't hold up your hopes too high - you have to start with the boring basics before you can grasp the larger concepts and create anything remotely interesting. Perhaps a simple tamagotchi-simulator on the command prompt OSLT would be a good start which you can later on enhance with graphics and more functionality.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 7/20/2008 10:38 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
OK. I'm sick of looking. What's a decent programming that'll let me make Windows applications (As in a Window box like this , not a DOS console window.) that isn't VisualBasic or .Net related ?
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 7/20/2008 11:40 PM · Permalink · Report
Sick of looking means sick of trying to find solutions on your own. Spare yourself the trouble, you'll never become a programmer with such an attitude. Try GameMaker instead.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 7/20/2008 11:44 PM · Permalink · Report
What about RapidQ ? It looks promising. And by the way, I've got almost all the stuff I need to make my game (just a few more sounds left). Once I learn a language, I'll put it all together.
durplu pobba (353) on 7/21/2008 4:52 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]OK. I'm sick of looking. What's a decent programming that'll let me make Windows applications (As in a Window box like this , not a DOS console window.) that isn't VisualBasic or .Net related ? [/Q --end DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]
The "windowing capability" is not related to the programming language but to the librairies that have been written for it to provide such functions as interacting with the window manager. Some languages have a broader collection of librairies, some have less (and you can of course write your own). And as I said earlier, you should start with a game that runs in the console window. Sure you can drag and drop buttons in the VB IDE and even create some functionality to them with a few lines of code, but it really won't teach you a thing about programming paradigms. I guess VB has .NET hooks to use but generally I would avoid VB like hell: nothing that was created almost 30 years ago as a "friendly beginner's language" and later on expanded with quirks and gimmicks into a "serious" language isn't good. Basic syntax is ugly and all the later features such as objects are just "glued on" hastily.
[Q --start DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]What about RapidQ ? It looks promising. And by the way, I've got almost all the stuff I need to make my game (just a few more sounds left). Once I learn a language, I'll put it all together. [/Q --end DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]
Before warezing 3DS max and recording kling klang sounds with a microphone you really should get humble and grasp the basics. Either use a game maker or step down and start with "enter your name:" "hello $name" -examples. As you've said yourself in the quote, "once I learn a language" - heck, that's the biggest task in the whole project unless you've programmed before ;-)
I wrote my first buggy 3d software engine in 96-97 with Turbo Pascal after weeks of reading through 3dica.txt - a kilometer long text file that went straight to assembler pipeline optimizations of filler routines and matrix math (which I knew next to nothing about back then). And all this I pulled off only after writing simple text adventures and crappy 2d games for 6 years.
Игги Друге (46653) on 7/21/2008 7:04 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start piksi wrote--]nothing that was created almost 30 years ago as a "friendly beginner's language" and later on expanded with quirks and gimmicks into a "serious" language isn't good. Basic syntax is ugly and all the later features such as objects are just "glued on" hastily.[/Q --end piksi wrote--] Well, Blitz Basic is quite good. Several commercial games have been made in that language.
It's easy to despise BASIC for philosophical reasons, but I like a structured BASIC because it doesn't pretend to be a serious replacement for assembly or C, and because it doesn't strive to be the ultimate all-purpose language.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 7/21/2008 8:59 PM · Permalink · Report
Well, I found a manual for RapidQ. And I'm going to start with it tomorrow. (It'll be raining so I'll have lots of time.) I won't utter another peep in this forum until my game is finished.
