SyntaxBomb - Indie Coders

You know I see two sides to this . You either pick to start with a language as a long term solution and stick with it , or you pick a language suitable to learn with and then move onto the end goal. I've ended up doing it the second way pretty much everything I have learnt using AGK both classic and studio is transferable to PB . Anyway i think as a starting block AGK is a very good place to start and I am glad I took that root . so there we go I took the AGK way for about 2 1/2  years with the odd break and really enjoyed most of it . I'm not saying everybody would outgrow it if all you want to do is games and there is tier 2 however not my thing . So I'm going the PB route for the third time although this time just feels right (I've bought it and are now commited) and all is going well with PB 6  Beta 10 now. It would be great if they brought out a Pro version that was faster and could be used for anything well . If your target is Android AGK kicks arse though ( in my opinion ). There we are just my thoughts.

Whichever one you choose you are always learning all the time, there's always something new.

hi!, sorry if it's a very silly question of mine, but what is PB?

Quote from: Santiago on June 10, 2022, 22:43:42
hi!, sorry if it's a very silly question of mine, but what is PB?

PB is PureBasic

Yes PB being PureBasic. And yes I agree you never stop learning .

I have started javascript again. I got some extra books for it. I keep jumping languages.

Speed of the language is not always the problem. In a "ai" game programming book I was reading that the way you write code matters too. The book mentioned cpu cache. That if you spread out variables all over the place. This data might not end up in the fast cpu cache. Making it slower. Storing important variables for sprite positions in a single array makes it easier to be placed in the cache(paging)

I also remembered in a project that in stead of checking every sprite for collision. I made a temp array for each car that loads every close by sprite into it every half a second or so. This also speeds up a lot.


Knowing tricks that you read about. Or learn along the way help a lot with creating speedy games.

I really hope to stick with what I'm using now but never say never. Javascript I've vaguely looked into and quite a few more . I guess they all have pros and cons. I did love AGK but for one reason or another It's time to move on . It really is very good though and if I need to make anything Android it will be in use again. 

I've done quite a lot with AGK, took to it like a duck to water. I'm also learning Godot Engine on and off.

AGK is definitely a good language, both for getting started and for professional use.

The problem is still the same: You run into the mainstream, which only recognizes what is already recognized. So we can think what we want about it, but there will always be millions of mainstream advocates coming out and saying how it's best to start with Java, C++, Python, etc., which, mainly thanks to the mainstream, they also came into contact with for the first time.

The culture in programming today is not what is objectively better, worse, more efficient etc., but what is mass, mainstream, in vogue...

For the price I don't think you can go wrong with AGK for 2D games. The 3D side sucks and needs some serious love though. Ideally it could do with a native compiler to help with big logic loops. For indie games it's a great choice, very easy to learn, pretty nippy and supports all the major platforms.

As some of you may Know I'm back to AGK Studio. I guess it's time to put learning a new language away and get on with what all the learning was for.
If PB worked as well as AGK for 3d I'd still be using it but although I got round stuff some things were not so good . If I had to make any app or game I would prefer to use AGK Studio anyday because PB is either broken or I'm just not very good at using it  (nine months though) .  Yes the grass is always greener however having tried several languages and basic variants and the best one I've tried is AGK S for what I do anyway .
     Enjoy your Easter .

I was concerned that AGK was a toy, however I really don't see it that way anymore having looked at other basics . if AGK is a toy then so is PureBasic which it is not . AGK is streets ahead of PureBasic as in 3d works way better in AGK . Yes PB is way faster than AGK however as long as I can reach that 60 fps consistently it doesn't matter . I hate the name AppGameKit  but that's just me . I was thinking the other day how with a small amount of effort  I could easily use the Android virtual buttons in AGK to make a GUI on the PC . The results I get with AGK are very good . I tried PureBasic for some time and I prefer the AGK syntax probably because I've been using it for years ( a few anyway ) . I think Fred needs to spend some time on PB and replace Ogre with something that is good which ogre ( only my opinion ) is not. 
  Have a nice day .

I have come to the conclusion that AGK Studio makes me a better programmer . Although I had a zx81 and then the spectrum I never got into programming until I got my bbc model b . I did write a game using a sprite utility on the bbc but it was not very good and painfully slow . Now today I can write pretty much anything I want with AGK S and the possibilities are endless with a bit of imagination . If I had to choose a language to use for the next 5 years this would be it .

I'm one of those people who learns something for a couple of years and then think this is easy and anybody can do it  just because I can, however in reality I consider I have learnt a very valuable tool and it has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. I do feel I have achieved . 

A couple of plugins that I have found useful are Nulkear and FileExplore by madbit . If you go on the appgamekit official forum in the showcase it is the first post at the very bottom( FileExplore20230527 ) .  Nuklear is a very nice modern GUI and FileExplore is great for changing the screen resolution on the computer to gain a good FPS. With both those in my arsenal I think I have a very capable programming language. It would make sense for the game creators to buy Nuklear and File Explore from MadBit and include them with AppGameKit Studio or Classic.