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AppGameKit Classic Chat / Hands On AGK BASIC

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LeeBamber
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Posted: 12th Jan 2015 12:57 Edited at: 12th Jan 2015 12:58
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The Hands on AppGameKit BASIC Book by Alistair Stewart (the author of Hands on DB Pro books) is now available. For more details please see: http://www.thegamecreators.com/?m=view_product&id=2366

Hogging the awesome since 1999
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AlistairS
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Posted: 12th Jan 2015 16:23
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This is the new thread for the second version of the Hands On AppGameKit BASIC book, so I'll be posting any news here from now on.
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unlikely
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Posted: 12th Jan 2015 16:36
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From what I can tell, the version for sale from TGC is the 1st Edition?
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AlistairS
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Posted: 13th Jan 2015 07:43
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Yes, TGC are selling the first edition. I'm just getting started on writing the second one.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 13th Jan 2015 11:29
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The TGC website (and the Digital Skills one) offer a free download of the first 7 chapters of Hands On AppGameKit BASIC (1st ed) and, when complete, they will also offer the first 8 chapters from the second edition.

As a little show of appreciate to those of you that have bought the book I'd like to offer a free half-page advert for your apps/ website at the end of this second edition's free extract (which should be complete by the end of February).

If you post me your book purchase details and a PNG, JPG or AI (you must own the copyright of the image) attachment, I'll add it to the end of PDF file for these chapters. The images will be placed in a first-come basis. The cut-off date for sending is January 31. The ads will not appear in the full version of the book.

If you are interested, please email your details (and the attachment) to ads@digital-skills.co.uk.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 18th Jan 2015 16:25
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The third chapter of the new Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2 is now available for free download from www.digital-skills.co.uk.

This is the first chapter to deal with the new IDE.
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Lost Dragon
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Posted: 19th Jan 2015 01:21
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I'm going to throw this out for your consideration..

This seems like a process suited to Patreon funding. I would pay to have access to an AppGameKit 2 book that was constantly kept updated with best practices, the latest function syntax, and the newest tips and tricks.

I would pay someone for that monthly if they really kept on the ball. As the language matures and there was less to update in the book proper I'd pay to watch specific code tutorials. I'd pay to have access to someone I could show some code to and have them point out my glaring error.

Basically I'd pay monthly for access to a good mentor and a well-updated text. What I'm not as interested in is a static resource and nobody to explain it if I get lost.

This is kind of an unmet need in the indie community. People get stuck and have to rely on forum help and wiki style documents - but those are not always enough. I think a lot of projects die because somebody needed help they just couldn't get.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 19th Jan 2015 07:30
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@Lost Dragon What you are suggesting is an excellent idea, but I doubt there is a large enough demand to have a constantly updated book. In any case, there are people on this forum who are more than willing to help others with their problems.

But perhaps we could have a topic suggestion thread and TGC could pay someone to write an in-depth article on the most popular requests and add the article to their Newsletter.

Another idea would be to schedule live tutorials on various aspects of AppGameKit with forum members who have experience in that area taking the lesson.
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george++
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Posted: 19th Jan 2015 18:57
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@Lost Dragon: Your idea is excellent as AlistairS said, but:
A book is a book. It must be static. It is a snapshot of our lives. When I read an old book again, it reminds me the old good days, all the moments of learning and conquering places of knowledge
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MrValentine
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Posted: 21st Jan 2015 11:02
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Quote: "This is kind of an unmet need in the indie community. People get stuck and have to rely on forum help and wiki style documents - but those are not always enough. I think a lot of projects die because somebody needed help they just couldn't get. "


Working on it

I believe those who have Book 1 also have an accompanying free download which has some extra detail on some differences between 1 and 2 that is AppGameKit, some more mention about this in clarity should help others wanting to grab book 1...

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AlistairS
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Posted: 25th Jan 2015 13:01
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The fourth chapter of Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2 has now been added to the
free sample download. You'll find it at www.digital-skills.co.uk.

This chapter includes variable types, named constants, arithmetic operators, timer and random functions.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 1st Feb 2015 11:02
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The fifth chapter of Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2 has now been added to the free sample download. You'll find it at www.digital-skills.co.uk.

This chapter covers the if and select statements as well as how to test these structures.
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tsaulic
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Posted: 1st Feb 2015 13:56
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Thank you AlistairS, your work and contribution is appreciated!!

Looking forward to more..

Your instructions are clear and easy to follow.
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Sph!nx
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 20:16
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Looks like a quality product. Well done.

However, I understand it is only for the BASIC variant, correct? Since I got no clue about C++ I would like to have some good C++ resources/examples for AGK.

Regards Sph!nx
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unlikely
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 20:31 Edited at: 4th Feb 2015 20:35
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If you have no clue about C++, I'd start with a good primer on C++... If you know it, then the commands and usage are VERY similar to basic, everything is in the "agk::" namespace.

Using AppGameKit v2 T1 + T2
Systems: Primary: Mac OS X 10.10
Secondary: Windows 7
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Sph!nx
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 20:45
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Thanks for the tip!

A "Primer", that's some kind of beginners manual, I assume. I'll google for it.

Regards Sph!nx
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SpecTre
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 20:45
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I have just started converting one of my programs to C++ and have got stuck. I have another post open re that but found in general it is quite easy to convert the main part of the code.

Someone on the other post mentioned this site which I have found very helpful.

http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/program_structure/

Programming - AMOS on the AMIGA! / DBPro / Python / A bit of C C++ / now also AGK2! - Graphics - Deluxe Paint on the Amiga / Paintshop Pro / Photoshop / Lightroom / Grafx2
Previously worked for Prisma Software producing childrens educational software on the Amiga - Titles - Pepe's Garden - Paint Pot / Kids Academy range - Paint Pot II / Shopping Basket / Which Where What? / Blobs / Alvin's Puzzles
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Sph!nx
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 20:47
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Thanks spectrepaul! I'll bookmark it and dive in.

Regards Sph!nx
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SpecTre
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 21:08
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No worries, you can check the post here
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=213519&b=41

Although there is a problem with the code at the minute it might give you an idea lol.

All I did was cut and pasted the AppGameKit code into Visual C++ 2010 and then went through the code line by line converting it.

Programming - AMOS on the AMIGA! / DBPro / Python / A bit of C C++ / now also AGK2! - Graphics - Deluxe Paint on the Amiga / Paintshop Pro / Photoshop / Lightroom / Grafx2
Previously worked for Prisma Software producing childrens educational software on the Amiga - Titles - Pepe's Garden - Paint Pot / Kids Academy range - Paint Pot II / Shopping Basket / Which Where What? / Blobs / Alvin's Puzzles
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Sph!nx
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Posted: 4th Feb 2015 21:22
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Great! I've bookmarked the thread and I'll follow your progress.

First I need to accomplish some stuff in Basic before I dive in C++. When I do, I'll do the same process of recoding like you did.

Regards Sph!nx
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AlistairS
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Posted: 7th Feb 2015 06:03
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All of the first eight chapters of Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2 are now available for free download (www.digital-skills.co.uk).
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Bored of the Rings
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Posted: 7th Feb 2015 08:05 Edited at: 7th Feb 2015 08:06
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@AlistairS - went to the site but can only download chapters 1-5.

[update]: please ignore is now there, many thanks.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2015 11:44
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I've added a AppGameKit BASIC command summary PDF file to the resources available for the free chapters for Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2.

The summary includes the command syntax, brief description and page number in the book where the command is explained in full. Only commands from the first 8 chapters are included.

You'll find the resources at www.digital-skills.co.uk.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 13:18
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The free chapters from the Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2 have been updated to include details on how to use the debugger (www.digital-skills.co.uk)
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noname34
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Posted: 8th Apr 2015 20:28
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I buy the book.I loved the book. I've read several times. And developed two applications, but during the development of one of them had problems with:

GetCapturedImage / IsCapturingImage / ShowImageCaptureScreen
GetChoosenImage / IsChoosingImage / ShowChooseImageScreen

I'm using AppGameKit 2.0.12 (64 bits) with Tier1 and Tier2 on Linux.

The second is based app capturing images for analysis.

Which version of AppGameKit which was used to test samples in the book? Because I could not use the commands informed. By choosing the image in the pictures folder or get an image on the camera the while loop does not return when the image is captured or choosed.

If you have a version that works for the book, is available for download?
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AlistairS
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Posted: 9th Apr 2015 08:12
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@noname34 The book was written a couple of years ago using AppGameKit 1. I'm currently updating the book for use with AppGameKit 2.

If you'd like to email me at alistair@digital-skills.co.uk, and give me more details of the example in the book which isn't working, I'll have a look at it for you.
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noname34
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Posted: 9th Apr 2015 15:11
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Thanks You.

The new version of AGK2 has bugs. I'll try to get a version of the AppGameKit 1.08
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AlistairS
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Posted: 16th Apr 2015 09:49
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Hands On AppGameKit BASIC 2 ebook (free first 8 chapters download)

The latest version of the download has a typo correction on page 218.

Thanks to Dave for taking the trouble to point out the error.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 21st Apr 2015 09:44
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I'd just like to thank those of you that have taken the trouble to email me to point out the few typos you've found in the free 8-chapter sample of the AppGameKit 2 book. (An updated version is available from today with a correction to the page number alignment.)

To show my appreciation (and to encourage others to email me any errors they may find), I'm going to send a copy of Chapter 9 (User-Defined Functions) to anyone who reports an error in those first 8 chapters.

So, if you find anything significant that is in error (not just a comma here and there) in the current version of the free download, please let me know (comments@digital-skills.co.uk) and I'll tell you how to download Chapter 9.

For those of you that have already sent corrections, I'll email you shortly.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 17th Jun 2015 15:34
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I've been asked to make the new version of Hands On AGK2 BASIC available while its still being written, so I've now added this option to the BUY area of the website (www.digital-skills.co.uk).

The option is open to existing buyers of the original Hands On AppGameKit BASIC book only and will give them access to each new chapter as it is finalised (Volume 1 only) for a cost of 4.50GBP. Currently the first 13 chapters are available (this includes the 8 free chapters).
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Trisect Development
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Posted: 27th Jun 2015 22:57
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Okay, I just paid for the update. When will i receive an email with the chapters?

I guess you will take some time to test my order number for the first book.

Check my games for iPad, Android Tablet and PlayBook.
www.ipad-apps.dk
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AlistairS
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Posted: 28th Jun 2015 08:10
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@Trisect Development
Digital Skills, who publish the book are a
separate company, so you should really be asking this question on that site. Email to sales@digital-skills.co.uk
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Trisect Development
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Posted: 28th Jun 2015 18:57
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Its okay, It came on another mail address.

So I have it.

Check my games for iPad, Android Tablet and PlayBook.
www.ipad-apps.dk
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AlistairS
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Posted: 1st Jul 2015 09:57
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For those of you who have upgraded to the "live" version of the second edition of the book (downloading the book as it is being written), the next two chapters are now available. That's 15 chapters so far (521 pages). Details of how to download the latest version will be emailed to you shortly.
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arnzzz
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Posted: 5th Jul 2015 17:18
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Hello AlistairS, I see there are 15 chapters of the new book. So is this more or less a book on AGKv" now, not just AppGameKit?

Ive been holding off on this until its a book focusing on the newer features of AGKv2.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 5th Jul 2015 17:38
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@arnzzz
There are currently 15 chapters (with two more in the next couple of weeks, hopefully) but I expect at least another four after that. When it's complete, that will be Volume 1 of the new Hands On AGK2 BASIC book and should be around 750 pages.

Although there is a lot of new material in this first volume, most of the newer commands, such as tweening and skeletons (as well as 3D, physics, networking and memblocks) will be in the second volume (again, I'm expecting it to be about 750 pages). Of course, the second
volume's date of release will depend on when AGK2 is more or less stable.
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arnzzz
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Posted: 8th Jul 2015 23:11
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@AlistairA

Thanks for the reply, your work on this book is really appreciated

One thing ive been wondering though about this, Is that because its built on the foundation of the book you wrote on AGK1, does that mean that when following the examples in the book in AGKv2 (which is the only version i have), will i find examples where the code just doesn't work on AGKv2?

Or has all the code been updated to function well with AGKv2?
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AlistairS
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Posted: 9th Jul 2015 08:37
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@arnzzz

Although I haven't retested all the example from the first edition of the book in AGK2, I think they should all continue to work since AGK2 adds to AGK1 rather than changes it, so, hopefully, AGK2 is backward compatible with all of the programming examples.

The only thing I know no longer works in AGK2 is using mod in the form
7 mod 3
now you have to write
Mod(7,3)

The examples in the new version of the book are either new programs or reworked versions of those in the original book.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 13th Jul 2015 12:50
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For those of you who have upgraded to the "live" version of the second edition of the book volume 1 (downloading the book as it is being written), the next two chapters are now available. That's 17 chapters so far (588 pages).

The new chapters include a general program template that can be used when creating most programs, controlling sprite movement, adding sound effects and the first stages of three games: CatchACrab, BrickBat (Brickout-type game) and Meteors (Asteroids-type game).

Details of how to download the latest version will be emailed to you shortly.
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MrValentine
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Posted: 13th Jul 2015 13:07
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Have yet to receive any emails... what am I missing? I have AppGameKit Book 1, is it because I bought it through the TGC Store? only did that so I can download it again if needed... I did previously buy the HODBPRO 1 and 2 through your site though but downloading it again is problematic as far as I can remember... I might have to buy it through TGC again in future... do advise...

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AlistairS
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Posted: 13th Jul 2015 13:23
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@MrValentine

You will only receive an email on the updated "live" version if you've paid the upgrade 4.50GBP charge (see www.digital-skills.co.uk).
If you are waiting for the finished volume, when it is complete, you will be able to buy it from Digital Skills or TGC.

Although its true that you can't automatically download extra copies of your book when you buy from us, a simple email to us will get you details of how to obtain another copy free of charge.
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mllebienvenu
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2015 00:29
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As a novice programmer, this book is an invaluable resource. I have one small suggestion however (and maybe this is something you're going to add to the finished ebook/book, I don't know); Do you think you could add a proper Table of Contents at the beginning of the book? It would make looking things up much easier. (Bonus points with the ebook version if it's the kind with hyperlinks to the relevant pages).
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AlistairS
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2015 09:56
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@mllebienvenu
Glad you are finding the new AGK2 BASIC book useful. Lots more to come yet!

Yes, the finished book will contain a table of contents (and an index). Not sure if I'll get the bonus points though!
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mllebienvenu
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2015 08:42
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Ah that's great news! Awesome
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AlistairS
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Posted: 9th Aug 2015 09:46
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Another two chapters are available for the Hands On AGK2 BASIC book. These cover sprite animation and two complete game examples.

Purchasers of the "live" option will be emailed shortly with download details.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2015 11:44
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A few additions have been made to parts of the first eight chapters of the forthcoming Hands On AGK2 BASIC book. You can download the latest version of these chapters for free from www.digital-skills.co.uk.
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Mdj
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I would like to purchase the whole Hands On AGK2. Is it possible from this site?
This is the best link I can find
http://www.thegamecreators.com/?m=view_product&id=2366
I think that's old info on that link.
Thank you for any help.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 11th Sep 2015 09:29
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@Mdj

Volume 1 of Hands On AGK2 BASIC should be finished and available by the first week in October (I hope!).

You will be able to obtain a copy from our website (www.digital-skills.co.uk) or, shortly afterwards, from TGC.
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Mdj
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Thank you AlistairS. I will wait and watch for it.
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AlistairS
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Posted: 15th Oct 2015 10:45
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The final version of Hands On AGK2 BASIC Volume 1 is now available (www.digital-skills.co.uk).
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