123
-=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- (c) WidthPadding Industries 1987 0|686|0 -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=-
Socoder -> Blitz Max -> Whats next!

Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 04:24
Scaremonger

Whats next!


Following the closure of blitzmax.com and the apparant loss of years of articles in their forums; i'm interested if anyone is going to continue to use it?

Yesterday, the truth hit home when my installtion became corrupt. I was unable to download a new copy and thought it was the end until i found version 1.48 windows on a backup. I guess in future i might need to compile from github!

At this moment i am trying to decide whether to move to NG, or compile all my code into C/C++ source with it, give up and move to something else.

The new Red programming language looks to be a possibility, but its not yet ready for full scale deployment. I don't rate other 'basic' languages very highly and free pascal has become such a beast that I've lost interest in it!

What are you guys planing to do?

Si...
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 04:37
GfK
I was going to muddle on with Blitzmax and finish Crime Solitaire 3, but then came news of Apple phasing out support for 32-bit apps as of January 2018, and you'd strongly expect Microsoft to follow suit. That means that by the time I've finished anything in Blitzmax, the target platforms will most likely be obsolete.

I could move to BlitzMaxNG but, given that somebody's working on that on an "as and when" basis, and for free, its longevity is not something I could put a lot of confidence in. You just can't guarantee that any show-stopping bugs that turn up would ever get fixed. It's not like I have the brains to fix things myself on that level.

I don't know or care if MX2 supports 64-bit apps. BRL abandoning everything they've ever produced in favour of something bigger/better/newer/different (delete as applicable) has set a worrying precedent.

I'm using Unity now. I bought Unity 5 a few months before it was released - a half-assed purchase when I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do any more. It isn't perfect by any means (in certain areas, the documentation is worse than BRL docs!) but at least I've got a fair idea that it'll still be supported/actively developed by the time I manage to finish something with it. And that does count for a lot.

If you're serious about programming, forget using abandonware, or anything that history says will shortly become abandonware.
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 04:41
Jayenkai
BlitzMax, Blitz3D and Monkey-X are all still available on itch.io (links are in the DevTools/Languages page)
AFAIK, they're going to be there for the long-term, so should always be available should you need them.

As languages, they're pretty much feature complete. Anything else is down to us to build on the framework and take things into the next gen.

The journey is definitely over for those, and Mark's moved on, but that doesn't mean the languages are "dead".. They're just no longer being updated.
Until the day that Microsoft change the rules and make everything break, (eg, the inevitable "Only things from the Store will run" day...) we'll be fine with what we've got.
It's not the end of the world.

It is probably a good idea to search for other languages, though. Different tools give different abilities.

For me, doing AGameAWeek, I'm comfortable with what I've got, (currently Monkey-X) but I do occasionally wonder what other functionality I might get from other languages and tools.
.. I'm too set in my ways to bother changing, now, though!

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 08:55
Pakz
I tried to install blitz3d from itch last week and it gave a error when I started it. Runtime dll problem or something. Looks like it is broken already.
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 10:24
Dabz
I'm going to have a play with this when on my weeks jollybobs:-

https://oxygine.org/

Looks pretty neat!

Dabz

-=-=-
Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 10:49
GfK
Fuck me he's like Alan Wicker!

Where you goin this time??
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 11:10
Dabz
lol, unfortunately, not very far this time!

I was musing with Seville, with a quick jaunt to Gibraltar and Ronda when down there... But, I'm going to keep that back a little, for the sole reason I'm absolutely shattered and I just need a bit "Do absolutely sod all" time... So, I've drove back from Bracknell today, then all next week... nowt!

Though I still have a bit pencilled in, got two race meetings to go too (Ripon and Newmarket), Belfast at the start of December, New York [again] for over Christmas, Chester [again] for New Years and then Thailand in Feb!

I'll still get to Seville this year though, but for now... Weary bones need resting!

Dabz

-=-=-
Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 18:05
cyangames
I'm sticking with C 'n' Assembly for a while it seems, one of the cool things about console development is that it'll always run on hardware

Floofy Sheepie for NES is coming along nicely as always, level editor is working well, generating nametables as well as the map data, might add a password system or something to it before deciding when it's complete.

It's taken a long while to get anywhere, but after this, the next few games should be quicker to develop.

-=-=-
Web / Game Dev, occasionally finishes off coding games also!
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 02:32
therevillsgames
oxygine does look good... and there showcase shows decent games... but its C++!!!
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 02:38
Jayenkai
I think I'd like to use something with 3D in the future. Even if I only ever use it to do nice lighting, shadows and shaders on a 2D game, it'd be nice to have a piss about with 3d and see what new things I can do, nowadays.

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 02:41
Dabz

but its C++!!!


Yeah, but I'm one of them odd balls that like using C++! hehehe

Dabz

-=-=-
Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 03:49
Scaremonger
I've always found C++ a little terse and it annoys me the way programmers seem to find ways to make their code as unreabable as possible. Code that uses neat tricks just makes it more complicated later.

Saying that, i installed NetBeans and whilst testing C and C++ I had to install QT which came with QT creator.. That looks neat!

At this point I'm thinking C/C++ for low level stuff and modules that need speed. Red ( when finished ) for how easy it is to create a Gui and maybe Monkey2 (maybe). The important thing for me is cross platform and that includes Windows, Linux (incl Raspberry Pi), AVR/arduino and Android.
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 06:07
Dabz
I also like Vala as well, C# orientated, I think it's one of the nicest languages I've used, but sadly, resources arent the greatest for it, but I wrote an editor for it first program actually and quite enjoyed myself delving in, here she is here:-

sourceforge.net/p/bamboobasic/code/ci/master/tree/Editors/PI/Editor/main.vala#l1619

I just wish it was a bit more mainstream, saying that, it might have more of a following then when I used it...

Dabz

-=-=-
Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 06:31
Jayenkai
I used Cocos2D for a while. I did SpikeDislike1 and a few others in it, for iOS.

There's now a Cocos2D-X for cross platform, and I'm sure that's just as good.
Post-op, I just couldn't be arsed faffing about with individual languages for different devices, and Monkey-X was there just at the right moment.

Note : Cocos2D at the time was just a library for ObjC dev.
No idea if Cocos2D-x is still the same!

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Mon, 07 Aug 2017, 08:09
cyangames
Ohhh, Oxygine does looks pretty handy there, might give that a looksy at some point when homebrewing loses it's appeal.

-=-=-
Web / Game Dev, occasionally finishes off coding games also!
Sat, 12 Aug 2017, 09:14
cpsmith0191
I'm going to continue, its just nice to use. Have fun cps