Worth Purchasing BLit3d this late ?
Blitz3D Forums/Blitz3D Programming/Worth Purchasing BLit3d this late ?
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| Hi all, is it still worth purchasing this language now ? I currently own bmax, and I know b3d utilizes dx7, however, would it still be worth owning b3d ? |
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| omw, that subject line is srewed sorry about that. I just want to know some points of why it may still be good. as in, yes, it will allow your games to run on older hardware |
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| Id say yes if you dont mind the cost, it will train you to make 3d games in general while the 3d module is being made, NO IDEA when the max 3d module is being released -could be a year! |
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| Blitz3D is a really solid game language. It lacks some features, but i have tested lot of them, including c++ engines, and i must say that Blitz3D is damn stable! And if you work good, you get a fast code too! I recommend it if you are going to make games for your own, without 5+ people working on a c++ engine. |
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| awsome, thanks for the input :) |
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| I think its a tricky question. I love Blitz3D - its hard not to. But, Bmax should give you everything you need eventually. One very good reason to consider Blitz3D is that it will run on a very wide range of old hardware, which is great for shareware games. Another good reason: you can learn a lot about 3D game making. The downside of using both Blitz3D and Bmax is that the languages are quite different and you might find it hard to switch between the two, until you highly proficient at both at least. You can't beat Blitz3D for easy 3D twiddling. |
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| You've probably picked up a lot of info by now about Blitz and 3D in general, but I think it's worth mentioning that Blitz is also a great language for just conceptialising in. Often I'll just get stuck into a new idea, and write code as I think; as opposed to a day spent just setting up a c++ project. |
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| i think i might purchase it, blitmax' feet is dragging :) it may be cool to own both i guess. |
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| ...and to give proove for all this comments before...I purchase brand new Isuzu Trooper with bussines I done with Blitz3D....simply, this is good stuff..thats all i can say.. |
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| yeah, what business ? more info please !! |
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| ..I'm owning few 3D engines more except Blitz3D...its TV3D, OGRE (free), 3impact, Torque and Serious Sam 1...all of them is more expensive then Blitz3D (except OGRE)...point is, that usual problems I have to maintain is very hard to control with all this tools in comparison with Blitz3D...mostly bussines I did is industrial software for visualisation, virtual walktroughs,and many others apps...right now I'm working on something with CNC machine guided by 3D builted on the top of the Blitz 3D, becouse in usual apps for that, you have to guide and do motion tracking for robo hand every time you changing object, but in my case, you have to import proper geometry with proper scale factor and things will be done very well.....for that things I find Blitz3D excellent..and if we talking about games...after I pass carefully all nice samples and effects done by other peoples, I am pretty sure its possible to do excellent game with Blitz 3D, not just to learn how to build games... |
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| Only big thing missing from Blitz3D is DXTC, otherwise it's good and stable when you add to it few bought add-on components like MoleBox, Sswifts shadow-system, ODE for physics and ParticleCandy for particle effects. And of course shaders are missing but that won't stop any pro for making awesome looking gfx. |
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| ok cool, awsome stuff, erm DXTC ? |
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| DXTC = DirectX Texture COmpression: DXTn DirectX Texture Compression (sometimes written as DXTCn). This is a technology used to compress and decompress texture maps, either in real-time or before rendering. The process belongs to a company called S3 (see S3TC), but Microsoft licensed it for use in DirectX 6. There are 5 different levels of DXTC; the one being used is denoted by the "n". DTX1 is the simplest, allowing basic texture maps (i.e. 100% opaque or with just 1-bit alpha) to be compressed to a size up to 6 times smaller. DXT2 and DXT3 are the same as DXT1 but are used for texture maps with alpha channels greater than 1-bit - however, the transparency is not compressed so DXT2/3 can only make a map up to 4 times smaller. DXT4 and 5 are the same again but with alpha compression this time. While this form of texture compression is fast and very popular (as it allows very high resolution texture maps to be used without too much performance loss), the process is "lossy" - this means that some of the original texture detail is lost in the compression and cannot be recovered when decompressing. Explanation taken from our (I work at FM) pages: http://www.futuremark.com/community/hardwarevocabulary/?page=2#D |
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| oh ok cool :) Ok, I think I might shelve out for this :) How big is the target market still for this. I see alot of quality b3d products, even today, how long will this last. Now I dont want to start a flame war please, but I own DarkBASIC Pro, but the level of work I see here, seems to be of a much higher quality. Can someone maybe explain why ? I have been told that because the programmers here are of a higher quality, but I dont really believe that ( with all due respect ) because there are some amazing DB programmers out there. I love BD Pro and the Dark SDK, but there must be something significantly different. I mean, I look at this gallery and each day it blows me away. Is the b3d language easier ? More logical ? I dont quite understand. Or is it maybe the target audience WRT age. |
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| I'm not familiar with dark basic, but maybe the Blitzbasic syntax is closer to the original basic, and because of that, attracts people who used to program with the original basics back then? Maybe this would make them more experienced, or more mature in general? |
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| Is the b3d language easier ? More logical ? Probably, and more stable for sure... although I only have the "classic" DB. Also DBP is more hyped / advertized, so it has broader user base and probably they are also probably younger and less experienced too - and that shows? Shaders and buggy app / language to start with is really hard way to do anything and makes a steep learning curve for beginners. Blitz3D may have "less" features and ready-made language commands, but what it has is tested, fast and stable. Having "ShowFPS" command might be nice for beginners but it only takes few lines of code to program it yourself, and code archivives is full of little gems for beginners, no need to invent the wheel again. |
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| ok :) Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense :) |
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| Well i have worked with DBPRO and B3D very hard. I programmed the Super Kario DBPRO for the retro competition. I must say that DBPRO (at least two years ago) was VERY VERY BUGGY. I had to change lot of things to live with the bugs. But in b3D all runs stable and fast (if you program well). All the commands make what you expect (or very very near!). I don't know the actual state of DBPRO, although they have released a kit for c++ that sounds very interesting. Perhaps you see very exciting things in b3d because people loves it. |
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| Got to say, when I gave up in 3drad I went for Blitz3d as the next option because it had a sort of 'it does what it says on the box' feel to it...DBpro just seemed a wee bit clunky and shall we say less trustworthy. So far Blitz3d is doing everything I was unable to do satisfactorily in 3DRad with ease, and it's faster too...I've done many dumb things, but buying Blitz3d was one of my smarter moves! |
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| Most economical thing to do is to wait for the BMax module to come out (probably less than B3D?) |
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| yeah, you see, this is where I am struggling now, buy b3d now or get the bmax 3d module, I just dont know what to do |
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| Waiting the "next best thing" can be a long wait... BMAX 3D is coming, but when? BMAX itself took a very long time to materialize from the first rumours... and the first 3D-module version might in any case need some bug-ironing and thus take a long time before it's mature and stable like Blitz3D is now. Also to my understanding BMAX 3D will be OGL, not DX - if this matters. But yes, if I'd be making purchase desicion now it would be difficult one. If only Mark would give out more info about the BMAX 3D-module... |
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| that is thing, there is no indication of the bmax 3d module. It can be a bit annoying, but I understand, good things are worth waiting for :) the thing is, I cant wait right now, hehe |
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| ..well..look at that on this way..100 US$ is not some serious money..and for return, Blitz3D can make it much more than 100 US$ if you know how to use it for right purpose... |
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| too true, I will buy at the end of this month, will just use the demo until then :) the demo aint restricted is it ? |
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| the demo aint restricted is it ? I think it isn't but last time I checked it was v1.66 and if so, it AGES old so don't expect every (if hardly any) code snippet you come across to work... Good thing about Blitz3D is/was that there were many updates and those added major new features and commands and fixes to the newer versions. |
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| ok, thanks again guys for all the help :_) |
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| one more thing, is the demo 30 day limited ? I could have sworn I installed it more than 2 months ago on me dads compo, and it still works/compiles etc... |
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| The current demo is limited to 64k source files only - anything more than this will not compile. Its fine for trying out small routines which is what the demo is for really. |
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| ah ok that explains why some just did not wanna compile :) I will def buy it end of month, I am really impressed by it. Thanks smiff |
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| I'm owning few 3D engines more except Blitz3D...its TV3D, OGRE (free), 3impact, Torque and Serious Sam 1...all of them is more expensive then Blitz3D (except OGRE)... Torque is not more expensive than Blitz3D, both cost the same. |
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| Back to regarding B3D vs BMax3D uncertainties - yes BMax will be OpenGL, but I believe Mark is aiming for a transparent enough layer to meld in DX9 as well, so if it hasn't got DX9 support straight away then it'll probably come. Not sure tho. But it will be a much higher end system than B3D's... so I think it comes down to your intended market. BMax 3D module is supposed to be cutting edge/next gen, so will you want to be targeting next gen hardware requirements, or do you want to reach a broader audience with DX7 (B3D) and lesser hardware requirements... and it's available -now-, as opposed to -whenever-. Still, BMax is pretty fabulous ;] and BMax + 3D module is bound to be more expensive than B3D so if money is your concern and you want to target next gen you may want to wait it out instead. |
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| yes, its worth it. |
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| Two words for Blitz3d : Space Harrier Re-Loaded oh wait that was three :p.....nevermind!!! |
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