Recent posts by Esoto on Kongregate

Topic: Game Programming / Show us a screenshot of what you're working on!

This is the beginning of my RPG, AsciiQuest:

Topic: Game Programming / How long have you been programming for?

About 2 years, and I just might be managing to level up from the rank of half-noob.

pro
???
half-noob
noob

Topic: Game Programming / Online Comp. Sci. Course Suggestions

I just found out about those, also: www.coursera.org/

Topic: Game Programming / How good should my game be before I upload it to Kongregate?

Yeah, if you use FlashDevelop you’ll have to learn not only FlashDevelop, but also the programming language it uses (ActionScript 3). A standard way to start using FlashDevelop is opening a new project, select “ActionScript 3 with Preloader”, then add ActionScript code to the files on the /src folder in order to display things. Good luck.

Topic: Game Programming / Is there any reason to use CS3 over CS2?

I have some memories of picking Flash CS2 and it having as3, unless my memories were… injected? :P
Each version of CS* certainly adds things, but probably nothing of significance, so unless you specifically want some particular feature there is no problem using one over the other.

I personally thought CS really was easier to draw things with than other programs (gimp was particularly obtuse… I don’t think CS is meant for non-vector graphics though), I am trying to adapt to others mostly because they are free. My drawings being stick characters, of course. :P
FlashDevelop is recommended because you can use it WITH FlashCS (if you have some actionscript class files) or WITHOUT FlashCS (if you decide you don’t need it).

Topic: Game Programming / Worried

Even if html5 becomes popular and gets extra support on Kongregate somehow, it sounds highly unlikely that Kongregate (a flash gaming website) is going to suddenly decide to drop the support for flash games or get rid of the support it already has and lose the 50’000 or so flash games in the site. :P

Topic: Game Programming / Java tutorials?

Well, I have those two bookmarked…

http://math.hws.edu/javanotes/ (seems fine and starts on pretty basic stuff)
http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/guidebook/ (is specific to building GUIs)

It seems there are tutorials on the java website aswell, and of course sometimes it helps using google. :p

Topic: Game Programming / Will learning Flash help me learn C++???

If you are thinking Pong and Tetris then actionscript seems a good guess, they are pretty much ready to be flash games and many tutorials on flash will cover this stuff, if that helps. :P
Java is kind of a simplified C++, so I guess you could go with it, then again they are all kind of close and this topic does tend to be very opinionated.

Topic: Game Programming / Will learning Flash help me learn C++???

Yes.

C++ and Flash are close enough that switching to one shouldn’t be too complicated if you know the other. I wouldn’t be sure if one is really harder to learn than the other, C++ has the advantage that you can start making some really simple programs in it (which you use by command-line) while Flash is good for having built-in ways to handle graphics (so you can make flash games and upload them here etc).

Topic: Game Programming / Where to learn Actionscript?

I found this one, which probably seems nice: http://active.tutsplus.com/sessions/as3-101/
I am guessing this and others mentioned, aswell as an AS3 book (such as Essential Actionscript 3), possibly the tutorials on Flixel/FlashPunk sites if you want to use one of those frameworks later, should be enough.

Topic: Game Design / Legend of Zelda Bullet Hell!?!?

I approve the idea.

Topic: Game Programming / :'( No linux compilers

Well, there is (a command-line one): http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Flex+SDK

As mentioned, FlashDevelop/FlashCS likely not outside of VMs. Stencyl does work, if that counts. :p

Topic: Game Programming / I wish to learn Sensei

This also seemed like a neat tutorial for beginning Java: http://math.hws.edu/javanotes/

But yes, looking up Google for “[specific thing you are having trouble with]” or “[thing] tutorial” is usually a good idea.

Topic: Game Programming / Python Thread

I looked into it, since from time to time I look up random languages. :p
I wouldn’t say I used it that much. Except once I made a chatbot! So yay!

Topic: Game Programming / initializing static class + API

That sounds useful! Yay!

Topic: Game Programming / initializing static class + API

So I was thinking on making some kind of static class that I would use to call the Kongregate API from anywhere.

package 
{//by Esoto
...
        public class KongAPI extends MovieClip
	{
		static public var kongregate:*;
		static public var initialized:Boolean;
		public function KongAPI()
		{
			//copypasted from api tutorial
			trace("init KongAPI");
			trace(kongregate);
			var paramObj:Object = LoaderInfo(root.loaderInfo).parameters;
			var apiPath:String = paramObj.kongregate_api_path || "http://www.kongregate.com/flash/API_AS3_Local.swf";
			Security.allowDomain(apiPath); //allow API
			var r:URLRequest = new URLRequest(apiPath);
			var l:Loader = new Loader();
			l.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,loadComplete);
			l.load(r);
			this.addChild(l);
		}
		public function loadComplete(event:Event):void
		{
			//save reference to kong API
			kongregate = event.target.content;
			//connect
			kongregate.services.connect();
		    // You can now access the API 
			initialized = true;
		}
		//e.g. KongAPI.submit("highscore",378);
		static public function submit(statName:String,value:int):void 		
		{
			if(!kongregate) return;
			kongregate.stats.submit(statName,value);
		}
	}
}

Calling the static method submit works fine, except it doesn’t work at all because the KongAPI constructor was never initialized and so I didn’t connect! Doh. So… what is the best way to solve this, pro gamers? What do you suggest I do? ._.

Topic: Game Programming / [Noob] Code Automatization

If the BotaoLevel objects are of the same type, I am guessing he might want to do something like…

var a:Array = new Array(); //create an empty array
var BotaoLevel:TypeOfBotaoLevel; 

var blur:BlurFilter = new BlurFilter(4,4,3);
for(var i:int=2;i<8;i++)           //just reference it can be from 0 to 10 or something else entirely
{
     BotaoLevel = new TypeOfBotaoLevel(); //create object of type TypeOfBotaoLevel
     BotaoLevel.filter = [blur]; //add filter
     a.push(BotaoLevel); //add on array so you can use it later by calling a[index]; the first element added being a[0], then a[1], a[2], a[3] ...
}

Topic: Stencyl / Stencyl is a failure.

Running on more systems sounds like a positive quality to me. :p

Topic: Game Programming / Programming Languages

Based on my own experience of failing to learn actionscript 2 as a first language, I would suggest not actionscript. :p
Pick Python or C++ (if so you might decide to start with C if you want, since C code works as C++ code) on the basics then get to the language’s OOP, then when you feel totally pro with it choose again based on what you’d want to do (say, if you want to make flash games then you can go for actionscript…some people here also like haXe). Then again, you can become a programmer with any language.

Topic: Game Programming / Progress Check

I am almost finishing my amazing point-and-click game with stick characters… in AS3! :P

Topic: Game Programming / C++ console as stand-alone?

So yeah, you use a library for making non-console applications, like those.
You could also look at Qt or GtK for portable GUIs, though they both seem to have a lot of stuff in them…

Topic: Stencyl / ! I_like_stencyl = true

Haha, now this thread has C++ codes. :p

#include<iostream>
using namespace std;

int main(){
 bool ILikeStencyl,flamewar;
 flamewar = (ILikeStencyl ? ILikeStencyl : true);
}

Topic: Game Programming / Friendly F#: fun with game programming and XNA

Oh, right. Thing is, I was storing each part of the map in fields/areas, and I thought it would be neat to make it so the map would be connections of them, simple example:

(area-conc room1 room2) (area-conc room2 room1) 
(area-conc-vertical room2 room-north)

##each area, not real scheme code##
room1:    room2:
###        # #    
                       
###        ###   
room-north:
# #
# #
# #
result:
  # #   # #
### ##### # (...)

######### # 

Supposedly you could walk to the east and you would keep getting back to the same place, or go north and escape. Supposedly I would do something more complicated, like a map:
[area1][area4][walls]
[area2][area3][area5][area1][area4][…]

So assuming the player is in the middle of the screen, how do I know what to print as the upper-left part of the screen? And lower-right? What if I am on (example1) room-north, if you know what I mean? I would have to make a pathfinding algorithm or something to print room1, maybe. I suppose it is possible (or complete nonsense — can’t think right atm) (edit: I guess make a function that returns a whole 2d map and print that? anyway got to go o.o’), but anyway I got mad at the compiler thing and all.

Topic: Game Programming / Friendly F#: fun with game programming and XNA

Originally posted by jonathanasdf:

there’s no way you’re gonna be able to make a game with scheme. Give it up

That is wisdom!

Once I decided I would make a Scheme game to show people saying you don’t make Scheme games who is pro (hint: I am a nub), so I decided to make a roguelike. WITH TIME TRAVEL.
It was great but at some point I realized I wasn’t sure how to accurately print the Escher-esque game map (it also had space travel), alright I have to think it more throughly. So I was browsing through some tutorials and some guy was using a cool function but I didn’t find any library with it built-in supported by my compiler, so I changed compiler and now the new compiler didn’t quite have the library that I was already using to print maps so my mind snapped and I was like “????” and I gave up. True story. /endrambling

Oh also, that book seems nice. I am not sure whether I’ll try to get it though.

Topic: Stencyl / Stencyl

To be fair, Stencyl block-thing does kinda look like a programming language (I didn’t really use it though, just looked at the Stencyl interface, really :p). I mean, many languages claim to have the goal of making it easier to do things (e.g. Python…most languages to an extent). Also some languages are visual ¹.
Stencyl ‘design-mode’ language has if-blocks, if-else-blocks, Booleans… unless I am missing something it doesn’t seem a stretch to call it a programming language. :P

¹ http://thedailywtf.com/Comments/Labview-Spaghetti.aspx