AGK2 vs Pure Basic

Pfaber11 · October 11, 2019, 13:47:51

Yes I see your point steve the code once deploy everywhere is a real plus for AGK . I've got 3 of my games on my phone how cool is that. The PB is coming along nicely gonna check out the sound today . Trying to learn a couple of new things a day and I think after a few few weeks I'll be doing good . so far got sprites on the screen detecting collisions and text. I think this is day 4 so not bad . When I originally looked at PB a few months ago it looked too complex to me but now getting into it am really enthusiastic . I tried an If Then bit of code to be told you can't do that . I take it Then isn't in it's vocabulary. Not that it really matters . Fantasia say there are over 1400 commands in PB so I should imagine they've got all the bases covered . AGK has loads as well but don't know how many. Have a nice day and yes you guessed it Happy coding .

Coder Apprentice · October 11, 2019, 16:02:21

Quote from: Steve Elliott on October 11, 2019, 08:11:48
You're welcome, glad it worked for you!

What I liked about Pure BASIC is it's very fast and produces a small exe. You can produce application software with it (Windows, menus and such) as well as games. What I didn't like was the very wordy syntax, like DisplayTransparentSprite(), old fashioned syntax with having to use StartDrawing and StopDrawing blocks and it's Windows only.

What's windows only? PureBasic? It's Win32/64, OSX, and Linux.

Steve Elliott · October 11, 2019, 17:09:53

That's true, I was thinking of Nuclear BASIC. As you say, Pure BASIC does indeed run on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

Pfaber11 · October 29, 2019, 12:16:25

Well I've had 17 days learning PureBasic and I have come to the conclusion they both have their merits . Pure Basic is much faster and if speed is king this is the thing . Just such a shame it doesn't do Android like AGK2 . The style of the syntax is very similar in some ways but also different . I think PB is just as easy to learn as AGK2 and it comes with many good examples to learn from . Happy coding .

Pfaber11 · December 25, 2019, 19:31:41

You know I've come to the conclusion that no computer language is easy and programming is an extremely skillful thing to be able to do . The Game Creators say that AGK is simple to learn but I think it depends what level of programming you are talking about . It's all pretty tricky if you ask me and you've gotta be dedicated . I've been at this on the pc for 2 years now and my programs have improved immensely but I'm not exactly about to produce the next GTA5 . Dug out my first pc game written in Blitz3D . It runs fine on my desktop but for some reason it won't run properly on my laptop . It crashes after a while which is a shame and the score doesn't update properly . Still there you go . It's not too bad either . The second game I wrote in AGK2 and it is really terrible . The worst excuse for a game I've ever seen ,no fault of AGK2 but very poor programming. But there you go you've got to start somewhere . Really hoping to produce something worthwhile in 2020 using PureBasic or at least finish what I'm currently working on . Merry Christmas and a Happy and Productive new year.

zxretrosoft · February 08, 2020, 20:21:21

For me, AGK is a much more friendly language than PureBasic. I will mention a few essential elements that PureBasic does not have: Simple work with animations, easy work with physics, adjustable depth of sprites, particles, export to Android...
In all this, PureBasic is lagging behind.

Pfaber11 · February 08, 2020, 20:40:27

Yeah you're right . I believe PB has a particle thingy now though. But yeah having no Android export is a shame and I'm not bothering with spiderbasic I'd rather use AGK for that. I do like the PureBasic syntax now I've gotten used to it , at first I found it complicated but once I became accustomed to it I really like it. If I had a faster computer I don't think speed would be an issue with AGK but my computer struggles a bit . If AGK had a machine code compiler for desktops in tier one I'd be straight back over to that side . And I think they could manage that quite easily . would at least double the speed I'm thinking . As it is to do this you have to use C++ tier 2 and I don't see myself learning C++ in the near future when I can use PureBasic at about the same speed .
You know the first time I looked at PB I thought sod this and was straight back to AGK but then I decided to give it a fair crack of the whip and once I had picked up a few things I was off . In fact although different a lot of what I learnt using AGK applies pretty much to PB and I see that as part of my learning curve . Most of what I do is 3d these days so physics and sprite animation are not so important to me . I saw somebody post that the 3d with AGK was incomplete and not that good but personally I found it really excellent although I'm no expert (YET) . Anyway enjoy your evening . over and out .

zxretrosoft · February 08, 2020, 21:56:34

I'm surprised that you're still writing about PureBasic speed. This is somewhat strange...

From my point of view, the AGK speed is exactly the same as the PureBasic.

Pfaber11 · February 08, 2020, 22:33:43

Hmm that is probably because you have a faster computer than me . Seriously I do really rate AGK as I do PB . Different horses for different courses . Just depends what is needed at the time . Message to self do not talk any more about PB speed . It has been said .

zxretrosoft · February 08, 2020, 22:40:39

It's strange...

I've tried on multiple computers. Something must be wrong.
Show me a specific program that is slow in AGK and fast in PureBasic.

Pfaber11 · February 08, 2020, 22:46:36

Hmm I can't do that as don't have a program which does the same in both languages . But I accept what you say about them being the same . I think if you tried one of your programs on my computer you would see the difference . Mine is an especially slow beast . I should imagine on a 3 ghz machine there may well be no difference . 60 fps is 60 fps at the end of the day.

Pfaber11 · February 08, 2020, 22:53:39

This is a really subjective topic and I'm surprised I haven't been shot down in flames . The things to avoid talking about politics religion and choice of computer language .

Pfaber11 · February 08, 2020, 23:13:22

Hi zxretrosoft just took a look at your website and it's very impressive . I see you have coded in many languages and produced quite a few programs over the last 5 years or so . I guess you know what works best . For the last year I've been doing 3d programs and sometimes I may have 20 models on the screen at once all moving plus the terrain moving as well . I don't think I would get away with this in AGK2 on my laptop at 60 fps but I do with PB . If I had a better computer there would be no difference . I've had enough for one evening . Enjoy the rest of yours . Bonjour over and out .

zxretrosoft · February 09, 2020, 09:54:47

Quote from: Pfaber11 on February 08, 2020, 22:53:39
This is a really subjective topic and I'm surprised I haven't been shot down in flames . The things to avoid talking about politics religion and choice of computer language .

YES, exactly, languages are an irrational thing, no arguments, no truth, just brand worship!

I have the same feelings.

But no, just a supplement. I was just surprised that you write many times that PB is fast and AGK slow, which is not true to me.

Thank you very much, my friend, for your appreciation! I looked at your website too, 3D is very interesting! I wish good luck with 3D coding projects! AGK is a very powerful tool combined with GameGuru

But I understand PureBasic's passion. It is a high quality language!!

xaby · April 29, 2020, 19:48:04

PureBasic is a mature language. I bought it back in 2003, I guess. And it was better than Visual Studio 6 back than.
It was a boxed version of PureBasic 3.30, I am using it mostly for tools. It can do XML, JSON, HTTP, SQLite, ... all out of the box.
The GUI elements are fine and so on.

But I am also using App Game Kit Studio. But we have two products and ideas behind that.
PureBasic has like FL Studio a lifetime license. I bought it back than and could update till today and will so tomorrow for free.
App Game Kit was before DarkBasic, than App Game Kit 2, now it is App Game Kit Studio. The same is it with First Person Shooter Creator, First Person Shooter Creator X, FPS Reloaded, Game Guru
and now we have Game Guru MAX. Every few year, we would have to buy another product. It is like an update fee, but feels better, I guess

You could do great tools and games with PureBasic. Would be possible to publish something to Steam with it. You were able to do it back in 2014, because it was matured.
You could do games with App Game Kit in 2014, because it had to many bugs. Today its great.

PureBasic has a very small install size and has a German help integrated. For App Game Kit Studio you could say the same, nearly about 15 years later compared to PureBasic 3.30

"Dune 2077" was done completly in PureBasic 3.30
And you could search for "Restricted Area", I guess, it is from 2004. Great game.

I love both of them. PureBasic e.g. runs on Windows 95 and on Windows 10. App Game Kit can export to Android 4.1 for the OUYA. And it runs on the Raspberry Pi 3.
And the commands work nearly the same. I love the integrated "3D Engine" of App Game Kit. I miss some GUI things like the Gadgets in PureBasic.

Also the Win32-API calls are nice in PureBasic. But I can't use PureBasic for exporting games to my OUYA. For HTML5 I guess, it would be possible to use SpiderBasic from the creators of PureBasic.

Both are great and fast. Unity, Game Maker Studio and Unreal Engine are too big for there own good. And Godot needs Android Studio for exporting.