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Hey!
I have been around here for a long time. It says 2006 as when I joined. I moved and/or lost my login info or something around that time but I have been a member since they first started. I think since the end of 99 or beginning of 2000.

So I have been messing around with this for a long time. I have not been around for the past few years, Got laid off no money, trying to make a living online ( big no go there LOL!)I finally was able to get my own semi truck so now I got some money again and have been slowly getting back to this.

Some of my problems are I really want to learn to program but to me learning it is boring and not so fun and it will be a long time before I see any worthwhile results. I can't make up my mind either I flip back and forth between DBP and C++ and really never get anywhere with either.

I am also into graphics but am spending so much time trying to learn programming that graphics is getting neglected, but I think if I spent the time with that as I do trying to learn programming I would be pretty good and better off.

This is where FPSC comes in. I have not done much with this software since I got it years ago except the 2 room tutorial. I think I can get my dose of programming by learning the scripting for this software. I know I can get my graphics fix by making my own entities,segments and characters and getting them into a game.

I don't just want to make FPS games. I am into role playing games and D&D type stuff. As my first attempt or 2 It will for sure be fps with stock stuff so I can learn the program and script. I would like to do a couple of Halo type levels but what I really want to do is a remake of an old retro game called bard's tale and then do something of my own. I am also into helicopter and airplane games and would like to try that but I don't think FPSC can do that stuff yet. That is why I want to learn programming, freedom to do what I want without any software restraints.

I do know there are some mods out there. I saw on here that you can't get the RPG mod anymore but I got it a couple of weeks ago. You have to go to someones website and sign up then you can DL it. I have no idea how it works. I need to learn FPSC better first.

So with all that said any tutorial suggestions or any thing at all that may help me learn this OR programming or which is the best direction to go would be appreciated!!!

Thanks
Dragonslayer

Don't. If you're looking for real coding experience, stick with C++. If that's a little too hardcore for you, try your hand at VB. If you want to use something that has many options, go with Java. (You can grab Express versions of C++ and VB for free. Java can also be downloaded, wherein I recommend using Eclipse with it.)

You can get experience with practically ANY language for free. And tutorials for all the popular languages are found everywhere.

In my experience, yeah, tutorials can be brutally boring. What I do to learn a new skill is to fit it into something I would find interesting (Ex. Make a small (VERY small) game) and look up tutorials that would help me get there. This way you have something you can directly relate the tutorial's material to, and won't leave you discouraged or mind numbingly bored.


~Plystire

What about DBC or Pro? I think c++ is the language to learn but it's pretty hard. I am up to functions now and and haven't had much of a problem but I looked at pointers and know that is going to break my brain.

When I started game making I tried to start with C++ and it almost put me off making games altogether!

I actually ended up making games with VBA to start with. VBA was eay to learn and had the added benefit that I could work on my games using my work computer when travelling. I would not recommend this route - I would go straight to DB Pro. The basic language is easy to learn and DB Pro lets you create something small quite quickly.

As Ply said, start off small. Make very small games just trying out the different features to see what can be done and what problems you run into. Keeping your first games small keeps your motivation up. There's nothing worst than trying to make a huge game that then takes 6 months before you can even test it.

If you have a great idea for a massive game - consider taking a single idea out of the massive game and spinning it into a smaller game just to test out the feature.

For example, consider BioShock, the Bot override game would be perfect for testing as a small stand-alone simple game.

I think that's part of my problem with programming is I want to do to much to quick. I like the idea of doing small programs to test things out so that's how I will do that. I am still very interested in doing something in FPSC. When the time comes for me to really do a good game with DBP I would like to make my whole world (buildings, paths, roads, land, sky etc...) in FPSC then bring it into pro and take it from there. I think this is possible, at least some of it.

Please check out processing.org.

In my opinion, this is one of THE best ways to learn programming. Wonderfully simple IDE, write and run rapid prototyping, built for visual artists, good community support, and TONS of add-on libraries to interface with all manner of HCI devices including the Kinect.

Cheers,
SREALIST

That's pretty nice but if I am going to learn any language it will be DBP first then on to C++ much further down the road. I don't see any sense to learning processing to learn DBP or another language.

One thing I have noticed about every language, and I am probably not spilling a big secret here unless you just started yesterday is that the core of every language is the same. You have your statements if, if-then, your loops, functions the maths, variables arrays etc... I think the difference is how they are used and the syntax and what you can do with the language. It may take 5 pages of code in c++ to do what you can do in DBP with 3 commands. With c++ it will probably take you many months to get to that point with DBP minutes.

I just don't think processing is the right language for games. I have to admit I didn't spend a lot of time looking at it but I think for games the MACK DADDY language is C++ and pretty much right behind that DBP would be MACK DADDY lite. I have a book on game programming with VB and have seen that VB can be a pretty good game language but for the sake of simplicity

DBP = Make Light 1

VB = a few pages of programming

I think DBP rules for fast game development.

bards tale was class, so was pool of radiance and dungeon master and eye of the beholder along with ultima, check out rpg mod on here, it allows to create characters etc, if speedy quick game building try that mod if it is still going. and some good scripts on here can help things out, there is errants spell casting kit free as well to toy with, so you can do a type of game what you want, only problem is game area, and some other bits, but check them out while learning your language of choice if you need a quick fix

Been on a fishing trip to Canada for a week, just got back late last night so no replies until now.

I loved all those games and tried the rpg mod on the laptop but could not figure it out before said laptop crashed so I will put it on my d-top and continue.