Project: Roguelike Renaissance

[Joshua Day]

Nothing matters half so much as getting used to the frustration of experimenting with new tools.  Spend a few days pumping as many hours as you can into a couple of languages and their respective interpreters, compilers, or linkers.  You will not make any progress with books or their kin.  You might think that sitting down with something new and spending two or three hours completely frustrated is a waste of time and discouraging -- but it will be a basic part of your life from now on.

Things will go wrong.  They will not work.  It will not be your fault, but it will eat hours of your life.  So dive right in and get used to it, and learn how to use the language you choose while you're at it -- there's more to a language than its syntax and semantics, after all.  If you can't use the toolchain (I mean again the compiler and linker or interpreter), you can't use the language.  So just dive in.

C is a great way to go.  On a Linux box, especially, nothing is easier to get working.  Lua is great, too, for the same reason, and it has great relevance in gaming.  And remember always that the bulk of game logic -- the stuff that you'll be contributing the most to with your ideas -- has nothing to do with graphics or sound, or even the grid layout of a roguelike.  You can testing new ideas for combat systems, or conversation AI, or alchemy even when you only know printf and its peers.

Of course, reading source is the second most important thing to do (next to writing it), and it sounds like you've started doing that.

[getter77]

Well, the financial angle largely precludes me from affording the top end of the professional spectrum, especially given it is early yet/I don't know exactly how the laws and procedures go in my state for becoming a one-man home business entity of sorts----the free and not terrifyingly expensive shall be what I accomplish things with.  It makes for a tricky balancing act in my head where my interests, tastes, and needs all wind up being pretty broad with only so much 'me' and hours in a day to reconcile the lot of it while trying to keep tabs on the lot of things for gamechangers as they pop up.

I surely do appreciate all advice and thoughts on the matters Hajo---I hope you never elect to not offer an informed take on the situations as they come.

On a brighter note, after a series of service techs----it seems more likely than not that my internet connection woes will abate.

Edit:  Yes, being able to throw 10+-24 hour days repeatedly at learning/doing something once I have enough momentum is my hopeful ace in the hole considering other people have managed to learn things on a part-time basis after many months at it.  If I keep making different mistakes each time, that should be a sign that I'm on my way at least somewhat.  I know nothing on Linux though...another one of those areas what will surely come up at some point to where I'll have to get informed/some sort of distro or Virtual Box configuration as I'm just on Win 7 64.

Lua seems like a good idea in general as I've heard scripting is pretty swell...perhaps I'd do well to learn/contribute on ToME4 in this regard given how "fresh" and utterly dependent on Lua it is.

[AgingMinotaur]

(It is a crazy thing Journeyman is managing with the Incursion rewrite...check his last news post or so!)

PS. That would be here: http://www.incursion-roguelike.net/news (yowza!)

As always,
Minotauros

[Joshua Day]

My point, and I'm undoubtedly reiterating what other people have said, is that planning is of very little use.  Even if you can only devote a single hour at a time for now, you must do it.  You cannot put off the early phase, and ten hour pushes aren't useful until you've got the hang of a few tools, anyway, and started to get a feel for the languages you want to know.  There are even interpreters for various languages running from websites -- you can play with http://doris.sourceforge.net/lua/weblua.php to try some simple Lua, for instance.

Play with TOME4.  That sounds like a fine idea.  But the point is, you've got to start, and start now.  You can't go on hearsay.

[5v3nd0ttg]

I just recently saw a chart that claimed that C is the most commonly used language again after some year of other languages being in the lead.

I'd like to see the link to that please. No offense, but that's absurd.

http://langpop.com/

It's a far cry to say it's the most popular. It certainly won't disappear for a while but there are many other viable languages out there and it should always depend on the programmer as it's entirely dependent on the scope of project and preferences he or she may have. During my studentship of computer science they taught in the beginning programming classes: Java, C, and C++.

[getter77]

  :good stuff to keep in mind:
you can play with http://doris.sourceforge.net/lua/weblua.php to try some simple Lua, for instance.

Play with TOME4.  That sounds like a fine idea.  But the point is, you've got to start, and start now.  You can't go on hearsay.

NICE, that's a new bookmark I'd not come across before right there----perfect example of the "obvious" sneaking past me as I build a set of resources to consider and avail myself of.  You've surely my thanks Joshua Day!

I hear ya on the "early phase" notion, that was what I meant by initial "momentum" I'm currently trying to get the ball rolling on snowball-on-a-snowcap style via PLOS.

[Etinarg]

I just recently saw a chart that claimed that C is the most commonly used language again after some year of other languages being in the lead.

I'd like to see the link to that please. No offense, but that's absurd.

It was printed in a computer magazine, so I have no online reference. Thanks for providing a online source with better data!

But the first chart (Normalized Comparison) says C is second only to Java while my chart said Java just dropped under C, so the difference isn't that big. I'd think the question in ranking 1 and 2 can be from different interpretation of the same source data and I wouldn't really bother. Nice though to see Java on top in that chart since I'm more inclined to Java than C

Anyways, thanks for the link!

[getter77]

OP updated with some sideline help I did that turned out to be rather appreciated.

http://www.classicgamesremade.com/

[Etinarg]

This list is meant to grow and shrink over time and as people can better inform me of projects out there and these in question.  If you have some to mention, or can clarify on anything I’ve got a question mark on, please do so in this thread.

[...]

H-World                 Yes      Lua, ?

This is one of my old projects. The core is C++, it used Lua for scripting. If I can help with anything, let me know.

[getter77]

Will do Hajo.  Of course, feel free to resurrect and/or liven it up again as the notion strikes completely regardless of myself doing a single thing.   

[Etinarg]

I lack the right development tools currently. But it's been one of my better tries to make a game, and would be worth to be revived once I get into C++ development again.

[getter77]

Right, due to the odd course of events:

Does anybody know of a 2D, digital oriented(non-animated), Glossary of Terms/Vocabulary with application examples out there?  I have a learning quirk in this regard----even moreso the fact that one can't effectively "sample" what is out there without having the, surely finite, list at one's disposal.  Google has been less than helpful despite this striking me as something that would be rather "obvious"....

I lost a lot of ground this week with familial turmoil and hope to roar back this weekend with this Key Tool at my disposal.

Please help!~

[getter77]

Well...PC kinda got utterly screwed up early yesterday morning---had to reinstall Win 7 entirely, lost much, only today able to start picking up the pieces to get back up to speed on everything.   

I blame Zonealarm and will probably never use the thing again.  Anybody have a recommendation for a LIGHT, non-bloated, free Win 7 64 compatible firewall?   The kind of firewall a man dreams about....the kind where it doesn't freeze in such a way while updating itself that it causes such a gigantic problem.....   

[Etinarg]

What about  Windows own firewall? It should be good enough in most cases.

For a list of 2D graphics terms, I can't help, but if you have terms that need explanation, or if you look for a specific term and can describe the thing in other words, I might be able to help.

[5v3nd0ttg]

The idea of purchasing or even using a free firewall other than the one built into your windows OS seems a little unnecessary. I've been into pirating [you like it, you buy it] since the 90's without a firewall (to be honest, i only have antivirus detecting software installed on a quarter of my computers.) The important thing is to understand how to secure your computer, keep it up to date and maintained, and to understand what the threats are and what they look like out there, not to mention how to avoid them. If you have a router it's generally unnecessary to install a firewall. (I think most of my hatred for them stems from their overhead, not that I avoid them completely, they do have their practical uses, none of which consists of your average joe's everyday computing.)

I would say though, ZoneAlarm is one of the best out there. Generally most of the errors or problems that occur with such software is user error. There are many others out there, though only a few are less intrusive and likewise less capable at times.

I do wish you luck in finding something that suits your purposes.