Looking at making a game

[oracle]

Hi guys,

I'm looking at making a computer game. I'm not sure why, but I just am. I have a good idea of what it's going to be about, and how it's going to work, and I'm applying the stuff I've learned at uni to this like it's a full-blown project.

Anyway, I was looking at the general specs I have, and wondering about what language I was going to write it in. So I'm wondering if FreeBasic has the following abilities:

* OO
* Cross-platform (that goes for the FB IDE too, I guess it's the best tool for the job if I use FB)
* Can handle 2D graphics with relative ease (QB with UGL/Rellib or better is the sort of low standard I'm aiming for here)
* Can handle sound, music
* Can handle networking, including network play. Also, I'd like to write a server for the game when it got going, can FB handle that?
* Can handle menus/graphical widgets.

Is there an FAQ lying around that would answer future questions for me also?

[1000101]

* OO, no. This is fb, wait for fb += 1
* Cross-platform, yes. There are win32, linux and DOS compilers. The win32 compiler can target the other platforms, making it easier to target other platforms.
* gfxlib will give you access to 2d graphics, however, you can easly use directx or opengl, which is cross-platform also.
* fb doesn't have any sound library built in, but you can use sdl, openal, fmod, bass, etc, etc.
* Again, fb doesn't inherently support networking, but you can use sdl, winsock, etc, etc.
* wx-c is a crossplatform gui interface library, I understand, and works with fb.

Hope this is useful to you.

[KiZ]

=O

Oracle!

woo!

=D


anyway...

* Cross-platform (that goes for the FB IDE too)

FB is on Windows, Linux and DOS. AFAIK, FBIDE is only available on windows (http://fbide.sourceforge.net)

* Can handle 2D graphics with relative ease

Yes. Unlimited memory and fast blitting make it better than the original QB. Layers are standard in the built in library and bit depths ranging from the original qb 4/8bit up to 32bit true colour. Resolutions ranging from 320x200 up to 1280x1024. Of course it doesnt have all the fancy routines that rellib had.

* Can handle sound, music

Just use the fmod library and you instantly have easy to use, widely supported sound fx and music support with support for almost every music/sound format.

* Can handle networking, including network play. Also, I'd like to write a server for the game when it got going, can FB handle that?

You just need to use a net lib. Im no expert, but I'm sure all that is perfectly possible.

* Can handle menus/graphical widgets.

There are some libraries. Not hugely sure.

Is there an FAQ lying around that would answer future questions for me also?

Yup. Im not sure how detailed it is though: http://fbtk.net/phpBB2/qa.php


Good luck =)

[Dr_Davenstein]

You could easily do a gfx engine using OpenGL. I've made one and it works great.

Oh yeah... Hi Oracle.

[SJ Zero]

* SJ Zero glares at people hysterically for forgetting that fb .14 supports *4* compiling targets.

I haven't gotten together with drv to actually get it to WORK yet, but it *IS* in there.

And use SDL, oracle. SDL is the rocksorz.

[Jofers]

As Microsoft and many video game companies are still learning, a product does not "have" or "support" a feature until it's in consumer's hand WinFS anyone?

Hey, Oracle.

[oracle]

* OO, no. This is fb, wait for fb += 1

Oh dear, that's a near-critical blow straight away. I can't live without it now... any idea of when it will be added?

* Cross-platform, yes. There are win32, linux and DOS compilers. The win32 compiler can target the other platforms, making it easier to target other platforms.

Great

* gfxlib will give you access to 2d graphics, however, you can easly use directx or opengl, which is cross-platform also.

I'd probably use SDL/OpenGL stuff - I'd code this game in linux.

* fb doesn't have any sound library built in, but you can use sdl, openal, fmod, bass, etc, etc.

Cool, that's no more than to be expected from any language.

* Again, fb doesn't inherently support networking, but you can use sdl, winsock, etc, etc.

Again, no more than to be expected - good.

* wx-c is a crossplatform gui interface library, I understand, and works with fb.

Haven't heard of it before, I'll look into it if I choose FB.

Thanks for your help

FB is on Windows, Linux and DOS. AFAIK, FBIDE is only available on windows (http://fbide.sourceforge.net)

Pity... another (minor) blow. Perhaps, however, there might be a plugin for eclipse that handles BASIC that I could use, so the problem isn't big.

The game would be looking at 800x600 I think, or 1024x768 depending on certain things. Good that FB supports that stuff.

I read the FAQ. Not too helpful in terms of describing the language, but has some pointers about common problems.

Hey Jofers . Still here I see... I guess it got exciting after I left, FB was in its infancy when I went.

I see wildcard is gone too.

And hi, Dr_D . What happened to your website at qbnz? (Actually, you could say the same to me, heh )

[Jocke The Beast]

Hola Oracle! Nice to see you here again!

[oracle]

Hey Jocke, how's it goin'? Good to see the old crowd are still here... you seen Piptol or Agamemnus recently?

[KiZ]

you seen Piptol or Agamemnus recently?

Funny you should mention Aga, he stopped by fairly recently.