From:	"Chris A. Triebel" <cat AT sun4 DOT iol DOT unh DOT edu>
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	Re: HELP: low-level programming necessary ?
Date:	Thu, 26 Sep 1996 08:24:27 -0400
Organization:	University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH
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To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
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On 25 Sep 1996, Graham Howard Wile wrote:

> Date: 25 SEP 1996 01:40:11 GMT 
> From: Graham Howard Wile <an118 AT ccn DOT cs DOT dal DOT ca>
> Newgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
> Subject: HELP: low-level programming necessary ? 
> 
>         I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I am a good
> programmer, and good at constructing algorithms and general
> problem-solving, but not low-level programming like you do with assembly.
Why do you need assembly?



>         I want to program shareware games to release on the net, but I am
> really discouraged and disappointed. I bought the book "Build Your Own
> Flight Sim in C++" only to find that constructing a game like that
> involves in-depth in-line assembly and low-level programming (ie: video
> mode initialization with in-line assembly procedures, etc.) to a much more
> massive extent than I thought it would.
I have the same book ... Not bad as far as that goes.  What you want is 
16-bit assembly?  Fairly straight foward converting between C++ and 
assembly, on most machines I presume.

>         Yet I understand the basic concepts of game theory in terms of the
> mathematics, vectors, geometry, etc. as I did engineering and a science
> degree in university. 3D-space coordinates, translations, and rotations
> are like second nature to me in a mathematical sense.
> 
>  
>         My question is this: 
> 
>                 Are there tools out there that someone who is creative, a
> good programmer (but illiterate in low-level memory address, chip
> programming) can use to make good marketable video games ?
The tools ...
Assembly aside(I don't yet do 32-bit assembly), I use ... 

	djgpp w/allegro to write my software
	a good graphics editor which is capable of saving .pcx images of 
		any size
	... and a code grasp of the fastest ways of doing graphics
		( that is usually everyone's hangup )

>         Or am I doomed to learn not only C++ (which, by itself, wouldn't
> be overly daunting) but also Assembler if I am to achieve my goals ? If
> so, how long would it typically take a person to learn C++ and Assembler
> well enough to incorporate Assembly routines in C++ code to make a good
> video game ?
In many ( not all ) cases assembly can be avoided by an author by writing 
good C/C++ code, by taking short-cuts ( you don't plot every grain of sand 
on a beach in a 3D enviroment, you plot a hundred or more per pixel, and 
you only show the surfaces that can be seen from your point of view ) ... 
Good C++ code may be 10,20, or 50 times slower than good assembly code, 
but just starting out in C/C++ maybe you should give yourself some time 
before jumping straight into assembly ... Learn C/C++ great, and then 
learn assembly ( or vice versa ).  Just don't try to learn floating point 
in assembly, no matter what anyone says I feel it is a pain in the ass.


good luck
cat

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