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AppGameKit Classic Chat / Teach Yourself App Game Kit [video version in development]

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Daniel TGC
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 04:45 Edited at: 26th Feb 2013 20:39
[b]
Teach Yourself Game Programming for Android and Windows


The ebook has been written and published, but development continues as the book is turned into a comprehensive video tutorial similar to my previous DarkPRINCIPLES works.

For all the latest information on this project please view the latest threads.
MrValentine
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 05:13
Seeing as most of my clients nag me on and on about creating apps for Apple based devices... [Still can not figure out why but meh...] I would be willing to back this project, yeah...

I too have the conundrum of having to buy a Mac Mini and eventually learn to use XCODE so this would be handy down the line...

[Do you really need a display port converter? or do you mean for the HDMI to VGA/DVI? - or are you planning to get an old second hand one?]

Daniel TGC
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 06:59 Edited at: 29th Dec 2012 15:53
*** Idea scrapped ***
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 15:52 Edited at: 29th Dec 2012 15:59
64 views and only one user supporting. I think I have my answer, I'll scrap this idea.

Thanks for taking the time to read this everyone.
MrValentine
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 15:54
Odd I did not get the previous post above your last one in my emails... Give it a week Daniel, the forum is rather quiet this time of the year...



JimHawkins
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 16:00
Daniel - don't be impatient! Give us a chance.

I'll send you £20 if we can have a Pascal section (which I or others will contribute). Courage mon brave!!

-- Jim DO IT FASTER, EASIER AND BETTER WITH AppGameKit FOR PASCAL
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 16:01 Edited at: 29th Dec 2012 16:02
Naw it's ok, I don't really like this crowd funding concept anyway it feels too much like asking for charity, it all makes me rather nervous lol. I've been umming and erring about starting something like this for over a year, and the fact is it just doesn't sit well with me.

Sorry Jim, what I know about pascal could be written on the back of a postage stamp in very thick pen!
MrValentine
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 16:09
Quote: "I've been umming and erring about starting something like this for over a year, and the fact is it just doesn't sit well with me."


That makes two of us... but sometimes you got to bite the bullet... I am having to face that fact recently...

Quote: "Sorry Jim, what I know about pascal could be written on the back of a postage stamp in very thick pen! "


Same here...

JimHawkins
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 16:16
Quote: " Sorry Jim, what I know about pascal could be written on the back of a postage stamp in very thick pen!"


That's why I said I and others could write those bits!

It's not charity: it's helping to get something out of the door. You have to go for it.

Alternatively, some of the Mac experts could write a section on the specifics. Having those extra "guest" sections always looks good in technical books.

-- Jim DO IT FASTER, EASIER AND BETTER WITH AppGameKit FOR PASCAL
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 29th Dec 2012 16:45 Edited at: 29th Dec 2012 16:48
Quote: "That makes two of us... but sometimes you got to bite the bullet... I am having to face that fact recently..."


I hear what you are saying, but I've got other skills I can sell. With my youtube income steadily increasing (about £25 a month now, if I save that for 10 months that's half a mini mac there). The royalties for my Freedom-engine ebook are due at the end of the month that's a good £120 there. I think I just need to stop being impatient and wait for this revenue sources to trickle in.

In addition to this, the main AppGameKit eBook draft is about 75% complete, another month of work and I'll be ready to start proofing. It's possible the funding from that will speed things along.

Quote: "That's why I said I and others could write those bits!

Alternatively, some of the Mac experts could write a section on the specifics. Having those extra "guest" sections always looks good in technical books."


I can't really sign off on subjects I barely understand, the last time I used pascal in any form was around 1998 and that didn't go much beyond the usual hello world programs. I like the idea of pascal but I don't have the time to study a whole new language, and I can't publish something I can't verify. If you want help writing a pascal guide then I'm more than happy to help you. I've got great ePub skills and have experience publishing in various ebook formats.

Quote: "It's not charity: it's helping to get something out of the door. You have to go for it."


That's true, however I've got something I can get out the door, it's just not as ideal as I'd like it to be.
Alien Menace
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Posted: 31st Dec 2012 04:03
How about TGC ponying up for it? I think it would be in their best interest to get some decent documentation released not to mention a book covering AppGameKit that doesn't cost people in the states a small fortune in shipping charges to get a hold of.

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Daniel TGC
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Posted: 31st Dec 2012 05:24 Edited at: 31st Dec 2012 05:25
At the moment TGC's focused on developing it's new products. They did pay for the How to build an Android app video released earlier this year. But forking out hundreds of pounds isn't really an option at the moment.
Alien Menace
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Posted: 31st Dec 2012 07:01
That seems odd to me given that this company seems to be at least reasonably successful.

Apps published: 3
DVader
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Posted: 1st Jan 2013 22:31
Well, I would see the answer as fairly easy, with some collaboration with TGC. You have no access to a Mac, but TGC do. Perhaps they could give you a basic run through that you can use (Lee already has released a video on this some time ago, although probably out of date somewhat). You might want to mention that you do not work on apple games and so can only suggest the TGC supplied advice, which is correct at time of printing.
Also, with freedom engine providing one click port options in the future. The current headache compiling for different devices might become a non issue. (Hopefully AppGameKit will get very soon that also ).

Daniel TGC
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 07:24 Edited at: 2nd Jan 2013 07:26
I can't write about something second hand, I either have access to the hardware and software or I don't. I can read other peoples guides, and watch all the videos I want, but it's no substitution for hands on experience.

Remember TGC is a virtual company with most of it's employee's working from home offices, and given my disability it's not practical to just go pay a house call.

As you say TGC future plans may make spending hundreds of pounds on an iOS tutorial pretty mute. But I'm not directly involved in TGC's software development so your guess is as good as mine on that front.
Ancient Lady
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 18:21
Daniel, I think your post was viewed so lightly because of the timing. I just got back from my holiday travel and didn't look at the forum the entire time I was away (22-Dec thru 1-Jan).

Your idea looks good and I have all the hardware to support it. But I just looked at the price for Camtasia ($100 USD) and I just cannot do that right now. What do you use the Camtasia for? If it is something that can be done with a free or less expensive app (or utility) I might be able to help you.

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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Daniel TGC
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 18:39
Screenshots and converting the ebook into videos. I already have camtasia for the PC maintaining the same software keeps the quality consistent. Converting between various formats is always a headache in my experience.

You might be right about the timing, but as you can see I really gave up so quickly because I'm just not comfortable with asking for money up front. I'll get the funding eventually, it just won't be this year, until then the PC and Android users can still benefit from the book.
Ancient Lady
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 18:41
Okay. Good luck with the project.

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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Daniel TGC
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 18:47
thanks
Brendy boy
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 23:21
why don't you install mac os on virtual machine?

Ancient Lady
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 23:43
Quote: "why don't you install mac os on virtual machine?"

Apple doesn't approve of this. It quite breaks your license, unless you are installing it on an Apple product (the device that the virtual machine is running on, not the virtual machine itself). And that sort of defeats the general purpose (unless you are testing multiple Apple OS versions).

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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Daniel TGC
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 02:13 Edited at: 3rd Jan 2013 02:20
Basically it's illegal, and if I'm going to be attaching an Apple Developer account to something it had better not be an illegal system Apple might become aware of. Chances are nothing would happen, but if I can't afford £500 for a Mini Mac I certainly can't afford legal fees! lol
MrValentine
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 03:47
That is interesting... I was hoping to use a virtual MOS [LOL] to learn to use XCODE... then use a physical unit to publish with when the time came...

Looks like that is out of the Window now...

I have not had time to walk into a Big Mac store [] recently, but I found that on their Fruit site [] they did not sell any disks...

Do you know if they sell MOS Disks in their Big Mac stores?

And is it possible to put some Fruit inside a Virtual Window with 64 bits?

[Ahhh tired and still able to gaggle a little, hope you like the little kidding in this post... sadly I have to delve into the world of Fruit and Burgers to satisfy one of my agents...]

Daniel TGC
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 12:43
* nods and smiles while looking puzzled *
MrValentine
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 12:59
You just made my day and my face hurt lol

Ancient Lady
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 16:46
Quote: "Do you know if they sell MOS Disks in their Big Mac stores?"

Nope, as far as I know you cannot purchase a Mac OS without some sort of Mac hardware to go with it.

Quote: "And is it possible to put some Fruit inside a Virtual Window with 64 bits?"

Not unless you have a virtual machine that supports it and none would for anything other than when working on a Mac without running afoul of Apple.

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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MrValentine
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 17:33
Sad... Looks like these fruits do not help keep the doctor away...

Would have been good to just have it so I can learn xcode...

Guess I have to buy a MInI Burger now...

Ancient Lady
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 17:38
The Mini is a good solution, especially if you have a keyboard, monitor and mouse available.

I like my Mac Mini. It takes up very little space (but the dual 22" monitors make up for it).

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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xCept
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 19:38 Edited at: 3rd Jan 2013 19:40
Although it has become much easier to install OS X on a virtual machine in Windows if you have an Intel processor (Osx86/Hackintosh), as others have said this goes against Apple's terms of use and license agreement. You can purchase a legitimate copy of OS X, but even then if you install it on non-Apple hardware you are in violation of their license.

I go the same route as AL, with a Mac Mini. I have it sitting on my main PC tower and use a KVM switch so I can instantly toggle between the Mac and my PC using a keyboard shortcut and both share a single keyboard, mouse and monitor. Makes it much easier to go between the two without requiring multiple keyboards etc.

Mac Minis are also the cheapest way to go, and you don't need a top of the line model to get Xcode as long as it supports Lion. You can get an acceptable one for $100-200 on eBay.
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 20:38 Edited at: 3rd Jan 2013 20:43
Would you guys help support this project by offering donations via paypal? I figure the money can go directly into a savings account and earn interest with my various other small little incomes until it's built up enough to purchase the equipment I need, then I can write the extra iOS and MacOS bits in after that and republish the eBook. The amount donated would be up to the user, anything from £1 upwards. If I redirect my google adsense savings to this account it'll make £20 a month in addition to any donations. That's half the cost right there in a years time just from my youtube income.

In return I'd give early access to the ebook via google drive's google docs. Donators will receive the right to comment on what's written, either pointing out bits they don't like/ don't understand/ or have some other issue with; or even submit questions via comments for consideration within the text.

Anyone who donates will also receive access to my Teach Yourself DarkBASIC Classic and Teach Yourself DarkBASIC Professional due to begin development around March or April.

I'm intending to convert these books into videos which again donators would have access too. Everyone one else will likely need to pay £15.99 - £29.99 depending on the length and distribution medium.

If donations total the whole cost of the Mac these videos would become a free community resource via youtube.

Finally once Teach Yourself App Game Kit is finished you'll also receive a limited edition ePub file with the right to distribute it to anyone you wish. By they work mates, school mates, or just some random guy in the pub.

I think all that would be worth a Quid or two.
Tone Dialer
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 20:46
@ Daniel,

Sounds like a plan, Im happy to donate. Do you want us to email you directly for information on how to donate?

MrValentine
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 21:17
I am cinsidering a subscrIption if you were to make one...£1-5 a month is my current ability...

Davee
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 22:03
Have you considered cloud mac services. I know there is a cost but its about $20 a month. One or two months might just be enough for what you are doing. They will often 'arrange' software you need if it is not installed.
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 22:34
No, I have not Davee, thanks for the tip. I'll look into it and see if it's a viable possibility. My only concern is that most Virtual Windows offerings I've checked out so far lock down on the software you can install, same with most Linux virtual options. But I'll look into it and see if it's an issue.

I'll setup a proper webpage on my server at www.teachyourselfstuff.com you'll be able to donate there, and I'll add a reporting system so you guys can see the progress.
JosephB
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Posted: 4th Jan 2013 07:56
Thanks for offering this project and I'll donate. Hopefully this will include step-by-step setup instructions for the devices along with the other essentials of producing a game.
pprem
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Posted: 4th Jan 2013 12:56
Hi Daniel

I have some questions:

- What would be the difference between your book and Hands on AppGameKit Basic from Alistair Stewart ? Do you explain all commands or give games examples and explain how to do them ?

- If a cheaper solution like http://virtualmacosx.com/index.php/xcode-plans doesn't answer your needs, why don't you try a kickstarter projet ? I think a learning book is a good project for the community.

- Why don't you make a book for PC development and a second one for Android (cheaper, with only differences), a third for iOS, etc ?

For info, if you buy a Mac (or use a virtual desktop), you can use iBooks Author and publish on Apple AppStore too (being on the two platforms Kindle and Apple may increase your public).

Thanks for your videos, they are very usefull.

--
Patrick P.
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Daniel TGC
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Posted: 4th Jan 2013 23:32
Thank you JosephB. I will be adding guides for PC, Android, and Playbook (version 1.65). Once I upgrade my hardware I'll update with Apple and iOS. The great thing about digital ebooks, is that a reprint just means another download.

Thanks for your interest pprem.

Quote: "What would be the difference between your book and Hands on AppGameKit Basic from Alistair Stewart ? Do you explain all commands or give games examples and explain how to do them ?"


- Hands on AppGameKit Basic is designed to cover as much of the language as possible. It's a great resource, and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who has the money. Teach Yourself aims for smaller, lower prices books at around the £3.49 to £9.99 mark, they are exclusively digital via kindle.

In addition to this, this book is centred around one main program example, I then teach you every command used within that program covering the basics first then going upwards. So that's how to use the IDE. Program variables and data keeping, decision and logic, mathematics, and program loops. I teach what a function and subroutine is, how to use constants, and how to include extra programs. I include a GIMP based sprite tutorial so users can make their own graphics. Then it's onto 2D space and sprite management, animation, collision detection, getting input from the user using keyboard, virtual joystick, and built in sensors. I demonstrate how to add your own adverts and use particles. There's other area's I cover as well including how to get your software onto Google Play.

Quote: "Why don't you make a book for PC development and a second one for Android (cheaper, with only differences), a third for iOS, etc ?"


App Game Kit is the same language, there's little point in writing three books. Because it's all the same source code, the various device builds should all be part of the same book.

Quote: "If a cheaper solution like http://virtualmacosx.com/index.php/xcode-plans doesn't answer your needs,
"


thank you for the website suggestion, I've tried macincloud but I can't seem to figure our how to get the AppGameKit libraries onto it. I'll give your site a try as well.

Quote: "why don't you try a kickstarter projet ?"


Kickstarter projects are a great thing. But they have limited time spans so they either work or fail.

Instead I've setup a savings account, and I've redirected my Google Adsense earnings into it, and some of the earnings from my previous ebook. The idea is to let this fund build over time. Users who wish to contribute to this fund will be able to make donations on my site www.teachyourselfstuff.com I'm presently writing page specific for this project. By doing it this way it ensures the long term success of this project even if it takes a year or two. The community will simply be helping to accelerate the process if they desire.
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 04:34
Hi guys, donations are now enabled at:

http://teachyourselfstuff.com/index.php/agk-ebook-donations

You can read the full and final details in the first post of this thread.
Tone Dialer
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 14:55
@Daniel,

I made a donation, good luck with the eBook.

@Everyone who makes a donation,

If you make a donation, please add a short post to this thread, so that it keeps it visible on the AppGameKit forum index page.

Daniel TGC
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 18:32 Edited at: 12th Jan 2013 14:07
Yay, the first donation! Thank you, I've given you access to the table of content and introduction chapters, as I finish drafting additional chapters I will include you with these as well. Many thanks.

P.s. that brings us up to 77 A4 pages, or approx 120 Kindle page turns, you've basically proof read a short novelette that's an achievement worth hanging on anyones wall!
JosephB
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 21:15
Donation given.

Thanks for the time you give to this project.
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 21:52 Edited at: 5th Jan 2013 21:56
Thank you for the donation. I've added you to the two placement holders you'll receive updates to your e-mail address.
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 21:56
Glad you did not scrap the idea, there are a lot of people who would support your efforts Daniel. I myself have around £4173 in incomes after taxes thanks to the strong value of Norway's currency over the UK £, each month, (but then i also have £3000 in monthly down payments on loans, haha) so I can donate some monthly, if that is possible. I really like documentation projects like this one!



----------------
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Did Amiga / AMOS programming in the 90's.
Impetus73
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 22:07
Just made a donation Hope you get you'r mac soon.

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Did Amiga / AMOS programming in the 90's.
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 5th Jan 2013 22:28
Thank you for your donation Impetus73, please send me your google e-mail address to donation@teachyourselfstuff.com and I'll get your address added to the system.
Daniel TGC
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Posted: 6th Jan 2013 02:16
Hi guys, so that you know what you're donating too I've prepared a video. I'll show the full document as created so far.

MrValentine
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Posted: 6th Jan 2013 04:37
Ah man, they do not support PayPal or SagePay... Can I pay you personally and you add it to the self financed amount?

I have as said £5 right now I can throw at your dart board

Daniel TGC
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Posted: 6th Jan 2013 04:59
Thanks, I'm afraid I don't have any alternative payment methods. Paypal supports credit card payments even if you don't have an account.
MrValentine
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Posted: 6th Jan 2013 05:30
Ahhh never mind I clicked the donate button... I thought it was through a different payment portal the text about that training.com site made me think it was a different portal...

Done and Donated and Emailed!

cryptojoe
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Posted: 6th Jan 2013 05:33
I'm in with a $8 donation... and looking forward to reading your book

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