Direction Needed
Author
Greetings.
I would appreciate everyone here who responds, please keep serious, and have them be helpful, and not spam this thread, etc.
First off, about me. I am 12 years old, currently in all GT classes, and have a great will to learn about computers.
Currently I have started off with Visual Basic and Blitz Basic. I have not made great achievments, but am getting somewhere.
I was curious to the input of others. I was curious if I should contine learning these two, or add or trade in for another. I am looking forward to the day, where I can be working on Text Adventures, 2d Sprite Tiled Based games, and then Text Adventures with graphical componets.
*Visit exosyphen.com for the Text Adveture game with graphical componet.*
Again, I appreciate any helpful information you can provide me with.
I say switch off! Do C++! Find some decent C++ tutorials and follow them from beginning to end. I used to do VB but it suked ass. I then moved to C++ about 5 years and have come very far. I am on the verge or creating your ideological game. (Hint. Look at my collisoin detection post! I need that to work!). I started C++ when I was younger than you so theres no need to worry about not being able to do it because your only 12. I guess, If you do decide to switch to C++, Good luck!
Quote:Original post by Quiet Warlock
*Visit exosyphen.com for the Text Adveture game with graphical componet.*
Or, just click here
Out of VB and blitz basic, (by the way, is it vb6 or vb.net?) I don't really know because I've never fooled around with blitz. But I think that VB is quite capable of creating a game. Start out with bitblting, (don't use the built in picturebox control) and then advance to directx. And you might want to check out this link. Good luck!
To be honest, most games programmers are coding in C++ these days. However, there's nothing to stop you using VB or Blitz Basic.
The only thing I will say, is there's quite a lot to C++. It's more difficult than VB, but that comes with added power and more flexibility.
Thinking in C++, is a free e-book from which you can get to grips with C++ if you choose to switch to it.
If you do decide to switch, you're obviously going to want a compiler, but there's still a few free options here, too, so you don't necessarily have to splash out any money on something only to realise it's not your thing 3 months down the line (not saying that'll happen, just nice not to have to make that risk [smile]).
You can download Dev-C++, which is a C/C++ compiler that comes with an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
Alternatively, you can download the Visual C++ Toolkit 2003. It's the same compiler that ships with Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional, without the IDE - you have to use it via command line.
The toolkit is a 31.4MB download, but it'll allow you to write .NET applications as well as unmanaged applications.
Again, the choice is yours. I'd imagine C++ would be more beneficial to you in the future, if you got to grips with it now, but like I said there's certainly a lot to it.
There's nothing to say you can't make games in VB or Blitz Basic; other people here have done it, so there's no reason you can't.
The only thing I will say, as a mild side-topic to this, is that any math classes you take at school, make sure you remember what's being taught. I'm in the position of having to re-learn what I was taught at school, because quite simply, I need the maths to progress.
Hope that helps a bit, and if not, I'm sure the others will be of help. [smile]
The only thing I will say, is there's quite a lot to C++. It's more difficult than VB, but that comes with added power and more flexibility.
Thinking in C++, is a free e-book from which you can get to grips with C++ if you choose to switch to it.
If you do decide to switch, you're obviously going to want a compiler, but there's still a few free options here, too, so you don't necessarily have to splash out any money on something only to realise it's not your thing 3 months down the line (not saying that'll happen, just nice not to have to make that risk [smile]).
You can download Dev-C++, which is a C/C++ compiler that comes with an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
Alternatively, you can download the Visual C++ Toolkit 2003. It's the same compiler that ships with Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional, without the IDE - you have to use it via command line.
The toolkit is a 31.4MB download, but it'll allow you to write .NET applications as well as unmanaged applications.
Again, the choice is yours. I'd imagine C++ would be more beneficial to you in the future, if you got to grips with it now, but like I said there's certainly a lot to it.
There's nothing to say you can't make games in VB or Blitz Basic; other people here have done it, so there's no reason you can't.
The only thing I will say, as a mild side-topic to this, is that any math classes you take at school, make sure you remember what's being taught. I'm in the position of having to re-learn what I was taught at school, because quite simply, I need the maths to progress.
Hope that helps a bit, and if not, I'm sure the others will be of help. [smile]
I've heard the Basic languages are a bit limited but I'm pretty sure they are more than capable for the projects you mentioned. If you like using those languages then you might as well keep using them until you find them inadequate. Once you learn to "program," it is not hard to switch languages and a lot of what you learn using Basic applies to equally to other languages.
VB lacks alot of the things in C++ such as Dynamic memory and it uses garbage collection. These things will be completly new to someone who is used to VB, but if they know how to program, it still shouldnt be too hard.
i would say you can continue using basic for a while.
i started with gwbasic, qbasic, turbo pascal, delphi, c and now c++. after you know one language its not so hard to switch to another (except maybe that you use the wrong syntax from time to time). the principles of programming stay the same for the most programs so if you feel comfortable with basic then learn more until you feel that you reached a limit or you want to try something new. you dont have to decide which language you will use in the future now. everything you learn about programming in one language can normally be transferred to any other language. i would suggest to keep in mind that there are more powerful languages out there but theres nothing wrong with starting with basic even when some ppl try to make you believe that you should abandon basic and learn language A or B (A or B dont refer to programming languages like C... probably i should have used X or Y). if you feel like switching to c then do it but keep in mind that it can be difficult and confusing for a beginner (or at least it was to me). i suggest you learn the easy stuff with basic to get a general feeling for programming because you already know some basic. after a while you will realize that basic isnt powerful enough. then you can take a look at c/c++. remember, nothing that you learn in one language is wasted time. you can always use it for the next language as well. so learn everything you can and dont worry about the language. you can say a sentence in english or in german or in spanish but the meaning stays the same and even some words are the same. all that changes is the grammar and some new words but you express the same things with them.
happy coding (i wonder why i wrote such a long post... maybe i'm bored)
BiGFooT
i started with gwbasic, qbasic, turbo pascal, delphi, c and now c++. after you know one language its not so hard to switch to another (except maybe that you use the wrong syntax from time to time). the principles of programming stay the same for the most programs so if you feel comfortable with basic then learn more until you feel that you reached a limit or you want to try something new. you dont have to decide which language you will use in the future now. everything you learn about programming in one language can normally be transferred to any other language. i would suggest to keep in mind that there are more powerful languages out there but theres nothing wrong with starting with basic even when some ppl try to make you believe that you should abandon basic and learn language A or B (A or B dont refer to programming languages like C... probably i should have used X or Y). if you feel like switching to c then do it but keep in mind that it can be difficult and confusing for a beginner (or at least it was to me). i suggest you learn the easy stuff with basic to get a general feeling for programming because you already know some basic. after a while you will realize that basic isnt powerful enough. then you can take a look at c/c++. remember, nothing that you learn in one language is wasted time. you can always use it for the next language as well. so learn everything you can and dont worry about the language. you can say a sentence in english or in german or in spanish but the meaning stays the same and even some words are the same. all that changes is the grammar and some new words but you express the same things with them.
happy coding (i wonder why i wrote such a long post... maybe i'm bored)
BiGFooT
Just my opinion but Visual Basic is a great language, especially for the starting programmer. It was the first language i started in when i took programming classes. It seems a whole lot easier to comprehend at the start because it is visual. C++ is a popular language and a good one to get into for games, but if you get the basics down in VB, C++ can be much easier to pick up. Think of it like this. VB is a special on the history channel, C++ is a history textbook. Which one is more fun to do and learn from, the graphical or the text? You may do fine jumping right into a program like C++, but VB won't hurt you. Good luck with your programming, whatever language it is you decide to take up.
i say stick with Blitz Basic / VB.
as along as you understand the basics of programming and you can create some text-based and graphically interactive programs (note: this is not the same as a game) then you should be fine until you really feel the need to move on.
as along as you understand the basics of programming and you can create some text-based and graphically interactive programs (note: this is not the same as a game) then you should be fine until you really feel the need to move on.
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