Sleep Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 for someone such as me whos had no experince what so ever make a homebrew game? im really intrested but im afarid it would just be a waste of time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 for someone such as me whos had no experince what so ever make a homebrew game? im really intrested but im afarid it would just be a waste of time... Consider nothing a waste of time. Everything you do is a learning experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 for someone such as me whos had no experince what so ever make a homebrew game? im really intrested but im afarid it would just be a waste of time... Do you have any experience in programming at all? If yes, it would not be a waste of your time and if no, it still would not be a waste of your time, although it would be a lot harder. What system would you want to program for? 5200, 2600, 7800, colecovision, intellivision, Vetrex, Lynx? I don't have a lot of experience in this but if I had to guesstimate what are the hardest (and easiest) systems to program for I would put them in this order from easiest to hardest: 1. 5200 (due to 5200BAS basic compiler and tons and tons of docs.) 2. Vetrex (due to the 680? processor being a 16-bit processor and lots of docs.) 3. Lynx 4. 2600 (due to lots of docs and examples and of course the stella list) 5. Colecovision (due to lack of docs and examples) 6. 7800 (due to lack of docs and examples) 7. Intellivision (due to lack of docs and examples but just got a lot better due to this: http://spatula-city.org/~im14u2c/intv/sdk1600/ ) Let us know what system you would like to write for. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleep Posted October 15, 2002 Author Share Posted October 15, 2002 well i own a 2600 and an intellivision so if i was going to make any games id prolly be for those. and no ive never done any programing. the only thing ive ever made on a computer game wise would be doom levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 well i own a 2600 and an intellivision so if i was going to make any games id prolly be for those. and no ive never done any programing. the only thing ive ever made on a computer game wise would be doom levels. The 2600 is IMO the worst system for a beginner. You shouldn't try this one, before having any (the more the better!) programming experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_ruck Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 The best system for a beginner is probably the PC, or Java. And I don't mean a 3d shooter for the PC or anything, we're talking old school. Just learn about control loops, blitting graphics, and doing the logic. At least on the PC you have lots of good tools and books available. Much less frustrating. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calamari Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 Agreed.. learn the easy stuff first. I'd check out QuickBasic (or Qbasic). That comes with Windows 3.1, 95 or 98. There is a decent helpfile with example code. Once you get that down you can move on to assembly language and then other stuff. calamari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleep Posted October 16, 2002 Author Share Posted October 16, 2002 i dont have quickbasic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calamari Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 i dont have quickbasic What OS are you using? I don't think it is included with XP, not sure with ME. On 98 it's not installed by default (I don't think it's installed by default with 95 either, but I can't remember). With a Windows 98 CD you can copy it from the toolsoldmsdos folder (all you need are the files qbasic.exe and qbasic.hlp). If you don't have that folder, try searching your Windows CD-ROM for qbasic.* with the Start...Find, or Start...Search function, or borrow a friends 95/98 CD. If you still can't find it.. let me know in a private message. Have fun, calamari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleep Posted October 16, 2002 Author Share Posted October 16, 2002 im using ME but i just downloaded QBasic and i have no idea what the hell this is. all i know is i can type stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumpbucket Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 im using ME but i just downloaded QBasic and i have no idea what the hell this is. all i know is i can type stuff. An easier beginners BASIC would be Blitz Basic. There are 2D and 3D versions for Windows here: blitzbasic.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleep Posted October 16, 2002 Author Share Posted October 16, 2002 i was just messing around with quickbasic and i made this really cool thing where it asks you your name and you can put it in and stuff. im pretty proud of it! its kinda hard trying to remeber all those basic commands like LET, PRINT,CLS, INPUT, and all that crap. when can i get to the good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calamari Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 im using ME but i just downloaded QBasic and i have no idea what the hell this is. all i know is i can type stuff. I haven't tried that Blitz Basic.. but Qbasic is pretty easy to use, compared to almost all programming languages I've seen, and you should find plenty of example code online. You can also go to Help in the upper right, click Index, push "D", double click DO...LOOP Statement.. there is a nice beginners example there. If you don't understand the example just look up each statement it uses in the Index. I taught myself Basic (GW-Basic actually, even more primitive than Qbasic) by breaking apart programs and experimenting (I would change the program to do something else). I also read almost every page of the Basic manual I had (Just listed the instructions and what they did, with a small example, like the Qbasic Help files), that gave me a lot of ideas for programs to write. My first program from scratch displayed a crude ASCII stick figure doing jumping jacks. At the time I didn't know how to slow down the action so I used BEEP's . It looked (and sounded ) awful. But, I kept trying and experimenting, and figuring things out, and here I am 13 years later, STILL learning things that I didn't know. Don't expect to learn this stuff overnight, and be prepared to put in the time and do the work. Edit: Just saw your update! Thats what I was hoping for.. Keep at it! calamari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 If you want to learn Atari Console programming, why not start with Atari BASIC on the Atari800win Plus emulator? You can learn Basic as well as the in's and out's of the "Atari". You be that much more ready for Atari Assember when the time comes. By looking at the Age Poll that was here a while back, thats probably what most of us learned to program with back in the early 80's. WRL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 I actually did a little programming with Applesoft/ ADAM SmartBASIC, and I did come up with a few neat little programs on my own, but I could never understand the whole DIM statement, and so I never got beond a certain level... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 The DIM statement just allocates memory for variables. For example: 10 DIM SomeString$(20) This would put aside enough memory for 20 characters in memory. In Atari Basic, this is probably the statement you need to understand the most if you plan on learning assembly langage. In assembly language, you are always putting aside memory, copying memory .... Another way to explain it is to image your computers memory like an egg carton and there are only 12 memory locations (not unlike a 2600). If you DIM 8 of those locations, only four locations are availabe for something else. WRL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadenut Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 for someone such as me whos had no experince what so ever make a homebrew game? im really intrested but im afarid it would just be a waste of time... Like others have said, you need to start out simple. I highly recommend Blitz Basic. It's a BASIC language designed specificly for writing games on the PC. The Blitz Basic community is excellent and there are A LOT of resources available to you. Since you are just starting to learn to program, that will be very helpful. I just finished my first game in Blitz Basic called FrostByte Freddie. I've been writing software for 23 years, and know more programming languages than I care to remember. What I like most about Blitz is, is that it makes writing games fun because I don't have to worry so much about the language and I can concentrate more on the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadenut Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 The DIM statement just allocates memory for variables. For example: 10 DIM SomeString$(20) This would put aside enough memory for 20 characters in memory. Actually, that may be incorrect. In all the BASICs that I have worked in, that puts aside enough room for 20 Strings. Depending on the flavor of BASIC, that would be around 5,120 Characters (255 Characters + 1 Byte for Length = 256 x 20 elements in the array). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 Good point. I forgot that Atari BASIC handles strings quite differently then other (normal) BASIC langauges. Atari BASIC doesn't implement string arrays. In Atari BASIC, you do something like this DIM Days$(45) Days$="MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAYTHURSDAY FRIDAY " You have to parse it out yourself. Other BASIC implement it like this DIM Days$(5) Days$(1)="MONDAY" . . . Days$(5)="FRIDAY" Much easier! WRL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Player Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Those string variables were one thing I hated about Atari Basic. Well, I also hated typing in those horrendous string variables for J. D. Casten's games from Antic magazine. But it was worth it though--his games were awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Those string variables were one thing I hated about Atari Basic. Well, I also hated typing in those horrendous string variables for J. D. Casten's games from Antic magazine. But it was worth it though--his games were awesome. Sorry for the OT... Those J.D. Casten games were great weren't they I loved typing those in so I could play them. My favorite was Biffdrop. I really wish we could find him . I wonder what he's doing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Player Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Those string variables were one thing I hated about Atari Basic. Well, I also hated typing in those horrendous string variables for J. D. Casten's games from Antic magazine. But it was worth it though--his games were awesome. Sorry for the OT... Those J.D. Casten games were great weren't they I loved typing those in so I could play them. My favorite was Biffdrop. I really wish we could find him . I wonder what he's doing now. Biffdrop was my favorite as well. After playing it, I couldn't believe it was written in Atari Basic. I always liked Box-In as well. I'd love to see someone port that to the 2600--a very addicting little game. I wish someone knew where he is now. That guy has so much programming and game design talent. I'd say he was the David Crane of Atari Basic games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Don't recognize the name, but I enjoyed a couple of Antic type-ins. What was the name (and author?) of the game that would have ovals to pick up, and your character would extend "arms" to each one while avoiding enemies, similar to Okie Dokie (or is it another 2600 homebrew? Can't recall). It was easy to build your own levels in this type-in game, and awesome feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Sorry Cafeman, I don't recognize that one. I'll have to go through the Antic archives to find it. @Big Player I loved Box-In too. I wanted to port this to the 2600 but thought it would be beyond my 6502 and cycle counting skills. I do have a game idea mapped out using the same concept taken a little further. It stars my kids. The original idea was to do it for the GBA so they could play it in the car. It's on the drawing board for now as I have to finish my 2600 game. I guess I've gone WAY OT now...sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Player Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 @Cafeman J. D. Casten did make a type-in game with a level construction set program--Rebound. I did type this in back in the day, but I don't remember the game play details too well. Could this be it? http://www.atarimagazines.com/v5n9/Rebound.html @Debro I had never though how a simple 8-bit Basic game can become a major challenge on the 2600. No redefined character sets on Stella! Your expanded Box-In game sounds cool. I'll have to pick up a GBA by the time its ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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