Author Topic: Programming Megathread  (Read 104172 times)

Probably stuffty games and Blockland mods for now.
then torquescript, I would say, if there was any decent way to learn it. instead I'd probably suggest learning javascript or something to start with and then it should be easier to get into ts

I disagree with the whole "learn one language in order to learn another" concept.
Especially javascript, since 99% of it's use is in web pages, which would give him a whole slew of other things to learn.

Yeah I've already had JavaScript recommended to me by others, so I think I'll start with that, thanks!

I disagree with the whole "learn one language in order to learn another" concept.
Especially javascript, since 99% of it's use is in web pages, which would give him a whole slew of other things to learn.
then how would you suggest he learn torquescript
not only does learning javascript not require learning about web APIs, but even if it did it wouldn't hurt anything whatsoever

idk learning torquescript in blockland is good because you have a lot of open-source material to look through as well as probably the best source of torque knowledge around. ts also has the advantage of being instantly executable inside of a game that's already functional, so you can much more easily work on things that are already part of a game, whereas JS would probably have you working in webpages when that's not what your desired goal really is. if you want to make mods for blockland, the best way to learn how is to just start making them.

then how would you suggest he learn torquescript
not only does learning javascript not require learning about web APIs, but even if it did it wouldn't hurt anything whatsoever
The same way he'd learn javascript...?
It's not like there's a lack of documentation or example code
Yes, javascript can be ran standalone, but most of the documentation and example code you're going to find is going to be using web pages
If you really want to recommend another language first, then go with something that is usually ran standalone

IIRC you don't even use TorqueScript...so I kinda recommend he use the opinion of someone who does...
« Last Edit: July 24, 2016, 12:42:02 PM by Headcrab Zombie »

The same way he'd learn javascript...?
It's not like there's a lack of documentation or example code
there's no general introduction to it. not that I can find, anyway. an older reference I found is explicitly for people familiar with other languages, and while this other one doesn't actually say that, it's clearly the same. so neither of these are going to teach you how to program in general. on the other hand, there are such tutorials all over the place for other languages
Yes, javascript can be ran standalone, but most of the documentation and example code you're going to find is going to be using web pages
If you really want to recommend another language first, then go with something that is usually ran standalone
that still doesn't matter. I don't even know why you think it does. you are going to lose absolutely nothing by learning more
IIRC you don't even use TorqueScript...so I kinda recommend he use the opinion of someone who does...
he's not asking for torquescript advice. you don't have to know a language to suggest alternatives, lol

garagegames documentation is usually not too helpful these days for modding BL, the BLF has much more useful advice a lot of the time, but the basics are nice to have covered. that might also be because i haven't had to go over the basics of TS in a long time tho

i think the biggest thing is that if he said he wants to mod blockland, spending a bunch of time learning how to do things that aren't modding blockland might not be the best way to learn how to do that. it's more of a personal choice, but i generally learn better by directly doing things i want to know how to do, and luckily blockland is a pretty good place to do that. i just find it hard to feel motivated to learn something in a roundabout way, it's much easier to work when i can get instant feedback on my progress toward my real goal. learning how to mod is also more than just knowing a language, most of the work in learning is figuring out the engine and all its quirks and tricks, and that's certainly not something you could ever learn by working in javascript

edit:
torquescript is a easy language to pick up imho. it's like c and c# had a baby but they tried to get it aborted and failed
i rly think it is, even though its syntax error reporting is sometimes a bit mystifying, it's just really easy to quickly test your code and get results right away. JS can do that too in webpages i guess, but it's not really modding blockland
« Last Edit: July 24, 2016, 01:50:31 PM by otto-san »

torquescript is a easy language to pick up imho. it's like c and c# had a baby but they tried to get it aborted and failed

edit: also having the raw engine code/using the GG website is a good idea for finding stuff you've never found before
along with http://pastebin.com/tNZMnT6g
« Last Edit: July 24, 2016, 01:53:50 PM by Metario »

There's advantages to each approach.
One on hand, you may have a bit more documentation if you use a more widely used language.
But on the other hand, you're adding a lot of learning time by learning a language that doesn't fit in anywhere in your end goal.
When I started, C# was the "thing" that everybody was recommending that you start with. I tried it and gave up, and just went straight to TorqueScript. I personally found it easier.

he's not asking for torquescript advice. you don't have to know a language to suggest alternatives, lol
He wants to make BL mods. There are no alternatives


It's just I'm really bad at learning by reading stuff, I like being taught and run though thinks with guides or books I guess, because I have looked through some code for a mod before and I had no idea what some stuff was.



am i using too many scripts yet?

what template language is that?
also yes. too many stylesheets too