jwierer Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Here is a project that I have been working on for some time and it's finally in a shareable state. VisualbB is an integrated development environment for writing Atari 2600 programs in batariBasic. For anybody that is familiar with Microsoft Visual Studio, it has a similar look and feel. Hope somebody find this useful ALTERNATIVES: Please Pardon the Interruption While Visual bB helped many folks get started with batari BASIC, it has not had an update for many years. A more well-maintained alternative is Atari Dev Studio for the popular (and free!) editor Visual Code. (Besides being easy to setup it is also an alternative for Mac and Linux users!) A kickstart for working with it can be found here. Atari Dev Studio does not have the assortment of asset managers and editors for graphics and sound. Some replacements (all generating ready-to-run batari Basic code) can be found at https://alienbill.com/2600/ And as always, see https://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-batari-basic-commands.html for the most complete list of batari Basic resources. NOW BACK TO THE PROGRAM! Build 568 - Update by CPUWIZ Please click the link below for the last version of VbB that jwierer gave to Random Terrain in 2014: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/?do=findComment&comment=3537039 *New* Build 554 Update Notes (Because AA limits 2MB uploads you'll need to download both files and unzip it to the same folder) VisualbB_1.0_Build_554.zip VisualbB.SoundLib1.0.0.1.zip Work in Progress You can grab the latest from my blog. Along with changes that work with the bB1.1 beta builds there are other enhancements like a title screen wizard, integration with bblint, and a new bookmarking feature. These builds are specific to the beta versions of bB1.1 so use at your own risk. It should work fine (even better?) with the latest 1.0 release of bB.Previous Releases Build 550 Update NotesVisualbB_1.0_Build_550.zip VisualbB.SoundLib1.0.zip Build 548 Update NotesVisualbB_1.0_Build_548.zip Build 544 Update NotesVisualbB_1.0_Build_544.zip Build 536 Update NotesVisualbB_1.0_Build_536.zip Build 535 Update Notes VisualbB_1.0_Build_535.zip Build 532 Update Notes VisualbB_1.0_Build_532.zip Build 530 Update Notes VisualbB_1.0_Build_530.zip VisualbB_1.0_Build_526_.zip Feature list: Project Management and Grouping Color Sprite Editor Image Importer & Converter (works with the bitmap kernel and titlescreen kernel) Sprite Animator Color, Height Playfield Editor Project Wizard for creating new projects Code editor with Syntax Highlighting and color coding Music composing and Sound Editing Built in integration with bB compiler Built in integration with multiple Windows Atari 2600 emulators Built it in TIA Palette Built in Score Table Editor Quick bB Commands for rapid application development Quick launch Online Guide available here Troubleshooting guide is here Daniel Davis has started a set of video tutorial herePrerequisites If you are not running Vista or Windows 7 then you'll need to make sure the .NET Framework 3.0 is installed If you are running Vista you may need to RunAs Administrator. If you are logged in with admin privileges or have turned off UAC then it should just work If you are having trouble with the music and sound editor, it's likely you don't have the .NET 1.1 runtimes installed. Older machines don't include it and I believe newer ones won't allow the install.You can just copy msvcr71.dll to your visualbB folder. msvcr71.zip Optional If you are having trouble you may want to try a different 2600bas.bat 2600bas.zip If you're using Windows 7 64-bit, you'll need to update your bB files. Here is a copy of my working bB folder bBWin7_64bit-2-26-2013.zip You can learn more by reading this thread. Updated on 2/13/2013 with RevEng's jitter fix If you're having trouble using the sprite/playfield editor go here for a registry fix. Special thanks to Random Terrain for beta testing and submitting bug reports for many, many years!Screen Shots -Jeff bBWin7_64bit.zip 12 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbs30000 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Holy crap, that looks awesome. I'll definitely have to give it a try. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496330 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MausGames Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I haven't tried it yet, but I couldn't wait to say Thank You! This is much, much appreciated and it will contribute greatly to bB game creation. Everyone who develops a game using this IDE owes you one, big time. Why did you make it? Will you be releasing any bB games? Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496331 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwierer Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 I haven't tried it yet, but I couldn't wait to say Thank You! This is much, much appreciated and it will contribute greatly to bB game creation. Everyone who develops a game using this IDE owes you one, big time. Why did you make it? Will you be releasing any bB games? I always wanted to learn bB, but couldn't find an editor that would make it easy enough to do it quickly. The more I thought about it, the more I became obsessed with making a great bB editor. I've made some test projects, but nothing really worth sharing, mostly stuff to make sure I could get this working. I'm hoping you more creative types can use it to create better games for me to play. Thanks, Jeff 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496338 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks for your effort - I'll have to try this out later. I usually use a Mac but have a PC as well. That said, do you have any plans to release the source (privately would be OK) as I wonder if it will build under Mono? Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496350 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 VbB isn't just for programmers. Your artist friends can use the VbB sprite editor to make some cool color sprites, then they can save the sprites and send them to you. All you'll have to do is plop them into your game. No more spending hours trying to recreate sprites by looking at GIFs. The same can be done with playfields using the VbB playfield editor. Once programmers and artists start using VbB, a lot of time and energy will be saved. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496372 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nognir Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I will try this on my old PC but I hope there will be a possible Mac conversion available in the future. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496375 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I will try this on my old PC but I hope there will be a possible Mac conversion available in the future. I thought a Mac could run PC software: http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496381 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwierer Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks for your effort - I'll have to try this out later. I usually use a Mac but have a PC as well. That said, do you have any plans to release the source (privately would be OK) as I wonder if it will build under Mono? I would have to do some serious code clean up and commenting before I felt comfortable sharing the source -Jeff Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496388 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Here is a project that I have been working on for some time and it's finally in a shareable state. Visual bB is an integrated development environment for writing Atari 2600 programs in batari Basic. Wow, that looks awesome! Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496390 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I will try this on my old PC but I hope there will be a possible Mac conversion available in the future. I thought a Mac could run PC software: http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html I still have PPC-based Macs, so that's not an option for me. In a few years, the issue will probably be moot, however. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496413 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbs30000 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Stupid question, but in settings, what do I put for Commands and Dictionary, or do I leave those blank? Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496434 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Stupid question, but in settings, what do I put for Commands and Dictionary, or do I leave those blank? From what I remember, you leave those blank unless you have saved your own edited versions. Say that jwierer decided to take a 20 year trip to Mars. You can add more commands and more entries in the dictionary as batari Basic changes, so VbB will never get stale and out-of-date. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496439 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwierer Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Stupid question, but in settings, what do I put for Commands and Dictionary, or do I leave those blank? Not stupid at all. Those features aren't that intuitive to use. The Dictionary is for custom terms you want to show up with color codes in the code editor. Click the dictionary button to see the current list of terms, edit as you choose and then save. It will create an XML file with your settings. Commands are useful if you want to extend the list of commands which you can access from the project explorer pane on the right side. Those commands can literally be anything such as snippets of code that you reuse. You can right click from the commands pane to generate the basic commands.xml file. From there all changes will be saved to that file and reapplied every time you load Visual bB. You can always leave them blank and use the defaults. They are only necessary if you want to make modifications. -Jeff Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496440 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbs30000 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thank you Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496452 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MausGames Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 (edited) I always wanted to learn bB, but couldn't find an editor that would make it easy enough to do it quickly. The more I thought about it, the more I became obsessed with making a great bB editor. I've made some test projects, but nothing really worth sharing, mostly stuff to make sure I could get this working. I'm hoping you more creative types can use it to create better games for me to play. Thanks, Jeff What are your favorite games created with bB so far? What would you most like to see developed using this IDE? Any suggestions on how the language could be improved? I wish there was an official spiral bound bB manual. I don't have a printer and I'm sick of reading it on my screen. It looks like this will really help shorten the "staring at the same s^&*" aspects of using this language for me. I hope you will be able to release an update for use with 1.1 as well. Edited April 6, 2008 by MausGames Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496458 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I wish there was an official spiral bound bB manual. I don't have a printer and I'm sick of reading it on my screen. Once the AtariAge Wiki is set up, many people will be able to work on the bB info and it will become even easier to understand. Then maybe someone will put it in book form. Now that we have a new IDE that is easy-to-use, has cool tools, and won't become obsolete overnight, maybe more people will finally use bB and a book will be worth the cost. A company like Chris++ uses that logs a worldwide ISBN number might be worth looking into. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496462 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler172 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Hi Jeff Works great on my computer.Really good work.... greetings Walter Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496538 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 i'm about to download this. hopefully this will help me see a lifelong dream come true; my name on a cart. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496620 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 uhh ok it's asking me for the link to the bB compiler. which of the four EXEs is that? and then "Commands"? and for "Dictionary"? wtf??? Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496632 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 uhh ok it's asking me for the link to the bB compiler. which of the four EXEs is that? 2600basic.exe and then "Commands"? and for "Dictionary"? wtf??? Look above: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1496439 http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1496440 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496638 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 thank you. i should have read every post. sorry. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496658 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I thought a Mac could run PC software:http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html $80 for Parallels$200 for XP Sorry, ain't spending $280 to use a bB IDE. You can drop that down to $200 by using Boot Camp, but that's still a lot of money. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496674 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Prerequsites- If you are not running Vista then you'll need to make sure the .NET Framework 3.0 isinstalled That said, do you have any plans to release the source (privately would be OK) as I wonder if it will build under Mono? That would be slick, but, in reading that wiki link I see an issue: Implementation of .NET Framework 3.0 is under development under an experimental Mono subproject called Olive, but the availability of a Mono framework supporting .NET 3.0 is still not planned yet. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496676 Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatohead Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 SWEET! Thanks! I'm wanting to work with bB again. Will use this. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/123849-visual-bb-10-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/#findComment-1496684 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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