From: "Chris A. Triebel" 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 Lines: 62 Message-ID: References: <52a2hr$d6t AT apollo DOT isisnet DOT com> NNTP-Posting-Host: sun4.iol.unh.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII In-Reply-To: <52a2hr$d6t@apollo.isisnet.com> To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp On 25 Sep 1996, Graham Howard Wile wrote: > Date: 25 SEP 1996 01:40:11 GMT > From: Graham Howard Wile > 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