Blitz Basic Help
Community Forums/General Help/Blitz Basic Help
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| Was not sure where to put this, it seems Blitz Basic is dead. I can not even find product updates on here anymore :(. Anyway, I bought BB with Krylers book many years ago. I gave it a try but never had the will to full learn or understand, I gave up to easy. Many many moons later I found blitz basic mint in its box (missing book damit!) in my loft. I intalled it and watched a few Youtube tutorials to make a basic space invaders game. I am so impressed, I feel I understand the basis behind making games and taking user input now. Though I still have far to go and learn I am feeling motiviated! Basicly my game is a basic space invaders, I could post the code here but its quiet long. It checks the number of aliens and once they all die (deleted) it loads another bunch with text LEVEL: updating as per to say level 2, etc etc level 3 so forth. I have my lifes which is set Lives= 3, once they all delepte it says GAME OVER! I have that fine, but I cant seem to get my lives increment by 1 each time they get to a new level. So +1 life each level they pass. I've tried lives = Lives + 1 in the code and my lives count up to mad numbers mega fast I tried A type and that failed I tried many things, cant seem to do it. Any suggestions? p.s Any other video blitz basic tuts I can view or any suggestions of where I can go next to learn? Also my BB says it supports MP3, but everytime i load MP3 it dont play... though i can play .wavs Thanks |
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When all aliens are deleted and you go to the next level you could do something likeLives=3+LEVEL |
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| You have to admire "Waz" - Blitz Basic is 9-10 years old and he is still using it - having been absent from the forum for 6 years. Can't be may people still using it. "Waz" - out of interest, why haven't you upgraded to Blitz+, Blitz3D or BlitzMax? Blitz3D is way more exciting - well, if you like 3D stuff it is. |
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| Not sure, cant really afford a whole new package. And struggling with BB as it is, let alone using another program thats harder! Like 3D and stuff. So BB is that dead??? lol |
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| So BB is that dead??? The original is rather dead, yes. |
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| It's deader than A-line flares with pockets in the knees. (Sorry, couldn't resist) |
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| oh, What should I do then? |
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| Save up and buy another Blitz language? |
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| Get Blitzmax, and put some effort in this time? |
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| BlitzBasic itself has been discontinued. BlitzPlus is the closest to BlitzBasic (few improvements, windows GUI module, some overall tweaks), mostly compatible. While still supported, there haven't been many updates for this one either, most of the development focus is on BlitzMax. BlitzMax has slightly different syntax, but also adds a lot more features (such as real-time rotations, alpha transparancy, etc. As far as your question was concerned regarding your lives skyrocketing when you go up a level: Make sure that you have the increment outside your main loop, and that your program flow only hits the lives = lives + 1 *once* when you go to the next level. (You are already detecting when the level is finished, or you woulnd't know when to load the next level. Perhaps just at the lives = lives + 1 in the bit of code where you first detect that the level is over? |
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| ok, Good advice I might do that. My concerns are, what would be the main reasons just so I understand? There is nothing wrong with learning BB right, it still good to learn and make games right? |
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| There is nothing wrong with learning BB right Theres nothing wrong with using square wheels, but round ones are much better. |
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| BB does not work properly on modern systems due to DEP issues. Blitz Plus is extremely compatible with BB. Blitz Plus is a newer compiler and is faster than BB (the compiler was rewritten for B+). Blitz plus supports DirectDraw, OpenGL and a Software Driver for maximum compatibility. It also has basic GUI capabilities built in. It appears a good solution if you only want 2D and you want to keep close to the BB syntax. |
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| OK, If I buty Bplus (Just moving out and trying for a child so money is tight). But if I get Blitzplus is harder than BB? and any suggestions of where I can start to learn it? Thanks for replies. |
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| There is a book on blitzPlus (Amazon carries it). You can probably get a used copy fairly cheap. |
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| I can not find that book anywhere (inc Amazon) |
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| Amazon.Com Search "blitz basic" First Result the book: Game Programming for Teens However, you want the second edition: http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Teens-Second-Maneesh-Sethi/dp/1592008348/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247860315&sr=1-2 The second edition is for Blitz Plus The third edition is for BlitzMax. If you buy a used copy, make sure it is for the second edition if you want Blitz Plus. |
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| "Waz", don't rush into buying anything. You can download demo versions for the other Blitz products. You cannot compile .exe versions of your stuff, but just use the demo versions until you are happy you want to pay for something else. I think the demo versions are not the latest versions of each product; however, they are more up-to-date than Blitz Basic. |
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| 99% of Blitzbasic will work without changes in blitzplus, but it has a few extras thrown in as well. If you know how to program in Blitzbasic, you'll know how to program in blitzplus as well. Blitzmax, on the other hand, is very different in places so it'll be more getting used to. As far as your question: There's is nothing wrong with blitzbasic perse, if you're happy with it you can keep using it. The only real issue would be the DEP thing mentioned above. (DEP = Data Execution Prevention. Modern processors have a feature that can prevent the execution of programs from parts of memory that are not explicitely defined as containing executable programs. This is a feature that can help protect against certain windows exploits. It's not enabled on all computers, but there are quite a few that do have it turned on. If you try to launch a blitzbasic program on one of those, it will fail to run. Now, depending on what you are doing with the program that may or may not be an issue: if you write programs for fun for yourself, you can happily keep using BlitzBasic... But if you start distributing the program to others, then you'll find out that it simply won't work for everyone. Of course, you can continue writing in Blitzbasic, and if you ever do create something you think you'd wish to sell or something, buy Blitzplus at that point. |
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| "Waz", don't rush into buying anything. You can download demo versions for the other Blitz products. You cannot compile .exe versions of your stuff, but just use the demo versions until you are happy you want to pay for something else. I think the demo versions are not the latest versions of each product; however, they are more up-to-date than Blitz Basic. Now, depending on what you are doing with the program that may or may not be an issue: if you write programs for fun for yourself, you can happily keep using BlitzBasic... But if you start distributing the program to others, then you'll find out that it simply won't work for everyone. Of course, you can continue writing in Blitzbasic, and if you ever do create something you think you'd wish to sell or something, buy Blitzplus at that point. Very good advice there! Also migght be worth noting that at least with BPlus, B3D and BMax, there's plenty of support on these forums if you get stuck :) |
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| pitty the b3d update isnt automatically available to old editions of bb i know it was once sold seperatley and you could buy an upgrade, but to have a 'classic' edition that wasnt the pcplus version all these years ... |
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| If your looking just to mess about with 3d stuff, then blitz3d is pretty good, if your coming straight from the old blitz basic. You get a 3d engine that still seems farily stable in it's old age. |
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