YouTube Tutorial Troubles

[Peter G]

I decided to try making an Atari 2600 game using bB, mainly because I understand the programming commands but I'm horrible at cycle counting (tried it once a loooooong time ago). I saw a video on YouTube about it, and thought I should take a chance. Also, if I come up with something halfway decent, I may write up my adventures for Video Game Trader magazine (yes, I'm THAT Peter G). Here's the video:

 

 

I downloaded VbB and loaded onto my computer running XP with SP3. I had to drag each of the six individual programs into a folder because XP wouldn't just unzip the folder, and the Mac I downloaded it to (I don't go online under XP) just turned it into another compressed file. Both the Stella emulator and the VbB environment start up and seem to work just fine.

 

Now, it gets weird.

 

I started off by following the instructions exactly as in the video, making the playfield. At the part where he says do a test compile, I do. I click to run the emulator, and all I get is a black screen. The video shows him getting a screen under Stella that flickers like it's going to turn you into the Manchurian Candidate. But I don't get that. Doesn't matter what folder I set Stella for, it still comes up a black screen.

 

I then started a new project and typed in (didn't copy/paste) the first bB sample code program on the forums, that makes a grey background and puts a yellow sprite on the screen. I figured, if that code can work, then I know I have everything set up correctly, the problem is in the code somewhere. At first, it didn't work, either. Then I saw a compiler error, and found one of the lines wasn't indented properly. Added a space, and it compiled and ran in the emulator.

 

I tried tinkering with the code from the video, and I can't figure out why it won't work. I double-checked the formatting, it seems fine. I start over, eliminating the space in the project name (I know that shouldn't make a difference nowadays, but I figured going back to basics helps eliminate potential side issues). I decide to go to the next step, setting up the loop to stabilize the image instead of leaving it there like in the video. Nothing. I change the label from draw_loop to main (a little of my C++ background there), nothing. I moved the "main" label around the code, and even change it back to draw_loop and move it around, and I still get a black screen. I even went in directly under Stella instead of starting it with the dev environment, and just a black screen.

 

Can anyone see either why this code isn't working (maybe he's using an older version of VbB and it's using something that isn't in there anymore?) or where it could be going wrong? Should I double-check my indentations again? It just seems odd that the sample code works fine, but this step-by-step instructional video that is showing its work is not.

[jwierer]

Hopefully you didn't download the files associated with the video. They are old, out of date, and known not to work. I recommend downloading bB from here and vbB from here. Once you are on the latest a lot of problems should disappear.

-Jeff

[Peter G]

Hopefully you didn't download the files associated with the video. They are old, out of date, and known not to work. I recommend downloading bB from here and vbB from here. Once you are on the latest a lot of problems should disappear.

 

-Jeff

 

Oh, yes, I got the most recent ones from this forum, in fact. I just wanted to make sure I avoid any landmines as I learn the interface. Sounds like the smartest thing I can do is just see how the features like the sprite editor are implemented, but when it comes to actual coding, stick with the samples from the forum.

[+Random Terrain]

I then started a new project and typed in (didn't copy/paste) the first bB sample code program on the forums, that makes a grey background and puts a yellow sprite on the screen. I figured, if that code can work, then I know I have everything set up correctly, the problem is in the code somewhere. At first, it didn't work, either. Then I saw a compiler error, and found one of the lines wasn't indented properly. Added a space, and it compiled and ran in the emulator.

 

Are you unable to copy and paste? If you can, copying and pasting makes sure that you won't mistype something, then feel like gouging out your own eyes when you can't find the problem.

 

If you have a problem that you can't figure out, you can attach your .bas file and we can try to solve the problem.

[Peter G]

 

Are you unable to copy and paste? If you can, copying and pasting makes sure that you won't mistype something, then feel like gouging out your own eyes when you can't find the problem.

 

Oh, I can copy/paste no problem. I just don't like to do it with simple code samples. It's sort of training me to get used to formatting, since, if I do something wrong, I can look at the original that does work and see where I'm going awry. It was something I picked up while learning C++ -- yeah, learning the commands is good, but if you don't get your hands dirty, you are going to make a lot more mistakes when it comes time to compile.

 

So the copy/pasting is just for learning stuff. Believe me, if it was pages and pages of code, you can bet I'd be copy/pasting!

 

I'll post the "nonworking" code later tonight. Sound good?

[Peter G]

On second thought....

 

I see Random Terrain has the same video on his page, and he mentions that the guy admits to making a lot of mistakes. So I think the best thing at this point is just to view the video as an overview and focus more on the code snippets posted here that are tested and work.