Feel Like I'm Missing Something

[michaeljustman]

I've had my GP2X for about three months now.

I've listened to MP3, watched movies, read ebooks, and showed people pictures of my kids.

I've replayed Doom and Doom 2, and Quake.

I've replayed most of my favorite games from years past, on the PCEngine, Lynx, NES, Gameboy, SNES, Megadrive.

I've played Beat2x, Solitaire, Freecell, Sokoban, Dstroy, Miss Driller, Sudoku, The Minigame Project, Oh The Humanity, Hexbattle, Liquidwar, Super Mario War, Bunny Traps, etc, etc, etc

I've messed with gp2x-gpe and qtopia.

I've learned to write simple bash scripts and how to traverse a linux filesystem. I know how to mount a share in samba, or telnet into my gp2x, but...

I still feel like I'm missing something great about this wonderful handheld. It's not so much that I'm getting bored as I'm running out of things to tinker with as I've tried almost everything it seems. (Not that my list is conclusive, just didn't want to name everything.)

What am I missing out on? What should I try? Are there games or programs that might have slipped under the radar so to speak?

Look forward to your responses.

- Mike

 

[Shikaku]

Do you know what this means?

You want to programmmm!

*weee

 

[BenScar]

I was just thinking the same thing.
Does software/game development interest you at all?

C/C++ or perhaps Fenix?

 

[michaeljustman]

Do you know what this means?

You want to programmmm!

*weee

I left my C++ for Dummies book in The States, but I used to program (don't laugh) in BASIC, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the concept, it's just so daunting because of all these makefiles, toolchains, and things I've never heard of...

Programming for a handheld is a bit harder then

10 PRINT "Hello World!"
20 END



Where do I start?

 

[craigix]

I don't think C is very hard if you can code in basic, most people started in basic and moved up when they needed to do more.

You should adjust to the different syntax quite fast if you get a project to hack about with.

 

[oqnet]

Do you know what this means?

You want to programmmm!

*weee

I left my C++ for Dummies book in The States, but I used to program (don't laugh) in BASIC, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the concept, it's just so daunting because of all these makefiles, toolchains, and things I've never heard of...

Programming for a handheld is a bit harder then

10 PRINT "Hello World!"
20 END



Where do I start?

you could start by looking at other peoples code, buying a cheap 20 dollar book with the basics and reading the wiki(if its up yet it was down a couple days ago). Their are also some sites that give you tutorials on writing loops, linked lists and other wonderful things. C and C++ are not that difficult of languages I went from java to C++ and the transition didn't take much and I love it.


Out of curiosity where do you live now?

 

[BenScar]

I left my C++ for Dummies book in The States, but I used to program (don't laugh) in BASIC, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the concept, it's just so daunting because of all these makefiles, toolchains, and things I've never heard of...

Programming for a handheld is a bit harder then

10 PRINT "Hello World!"
20 END

*big smile* Started with that program myself, so it's good place to begin!
"Makefiles" and "toolchains" I have a passing memory of but never looked into them all that hard.
And I've even made a game now (Shameless plug: oxo v0.3 now with AI)! As for things I've not heard of, tend to leave them alone until I need to hear about them

There is a copy of "C++ for Dummies" about the house but it was only useful in so much as the syntax, if you know flow control and that sort of thing, you're half way there.

Where do I start?

Grab a copy of the offical DevKit (with Dev-C++ all set up and ready to run in it, it'll make the "makefiles" for you, toolchain already installed and working), and then take a look at the Lazy Foo' Productions "Beginning Game Programming" and run with it...

After that your imagination is your limit!
:lol:

 

[michaeljustman]

Do you know what this means?

You want to programmmm!

*weee

I left my C++ for Dummies book in The States, but I used to program (don't laugh) in BASIC, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the concept, it's just so daunting because of all these makefiles, toolchains, and things I've never heard of...

Programming for a handheld is a bit harder then

10 PRINT "Hello World!"
20 END



Where do I start?

you could start by looking at other peoples code, buying a cheap 20 dollar book with the basics and reading the wiki(if its up yet it was down a couple days ago). Their are also some sites that give you tutorials on writing loops, linked lists and other wonderful things. C and C++ are not that difficult of languages I went from java to C++ and the transition didn't take much and I love it.


Out of curiosity where do you live now?

I don't really live anywhere. My family is in Texas right now. I'm an American in the Middle East. I'd give you three guesses as to why I'm here, but you'd only need one.

I've got Dev-C++ installed. Found SDL.dll and put it in system32. I tried to add

printf "Hello World.";

inside one of the button checking loops in the program, but with no luck. Compiles, but can't figure out why it doesn't work. (Maybe cause I don't really know C ).

When I file ends in .c, it is programmed in C and .cpp is C++. What's the difference?

Guess I'll just have to start reading. Thanks for motivating me to try this.

 

[Montsubai]

C++ support Object Oriented programming, with classes etc.
And it supports booleans! h34r:

 

[Parkydr]

When I file ends in .c, it is programmed in C and .cpp is C++. What's the difference?

Guess I'll just have to start reading. Thanks for motivating me to try this.

C++ is an object oriented language which is based on C. You can generally compile C with a C++ compiler.

e.g.
C or C++

printf("Hello World\n");

C++ only

cout << "Hello World" << endl;


PS If you want some good games, look at my sig

 

[michaeljustman]

C++ support Object Oriented programming, with classes etc.
And it supports booleans! h34r:

Isn't a boolean, just an integer? 0 and non-zero and such?

Reading the Lazy Foo Tutorial right now. Silly me: Surface loading and Blitting... not just outputing strings to the screen.

 

[Parkydr]

If you run your program from sterm or over telnet, you will be able to see the strings

 

[yaustar]

I wrote this for a PSP forum but most of it should apply. Just replace PSP with GP2X

If you are just starting out with C++, then completely forget about programming for the PSP for the moment. It will only add an extra layer of complexity that will stop you from learning the language and the main concepts of programming.

Learn the fundamentals first, these include:
- Variables
- Conditional Statements
- Loops
- Functions
- Return values
- Parameter passing

Gamedev have a C++ workshop that has been going for a while now that you still might be able to catch up. 'Thinking like a Computer scientist' is also considered a good free ebook but nothing will substitute a good 'real' book on paper. At this point, you be mostly working with text in a 'console' (ie command prompt).

Targets: simple applications such as a Line based text editor that reads and writes to a file, Tic Tac Toe, a Text Adventure (with a command parser), Hangman, etc.

Workshop: http://www.gamedev.net/community/for...sp?forum_id=76
Thinking like a computer Scientist (C++ version): http://www.andamooka.org/reader.pl?section=thinkcpp
C Plus Plus Site: http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

After this you can move onto more language specific areas such as the macros, pointers, references, const, header/source organisation. Also you can start looking at graphical libraries such as SDL and OpenGL, both of which are cross platform and work on the PSP. This means that you can work on the PC and with some minor changes to the code, recompile and it should work on the PSP as well.

Targets: Graphical games such as Tetris, Breakout, snake, Mario clone, a small FPS level.

Thinking In C++ Vol 1: http://www.mindview.net/Books/TICPP/...ngInCPP2e.html
SDL tutorials: http://lazyfooproductions.com/SDL_tutorials/index.php
OpenGL tutorials: http://nehe.gamedev.net/

Finally, you can jump into Object Orientation programming and the finer areas of the language (although you can do this at any point really). Thinking in C++ Vol 2 is probably the best free ebook in this area.

Targets: Anything you want, think big and go for it.

http://www.mindview.net/Books/TICPP/...ngInCPP2e.html

Working on games? At the bottom line, there is little difference in approach to designing a Word Processor and a Game. They both require careful thought and preparation before starting otherwise you end up with very hacky and messy code base which will hinder your project's progress. At present, some of the Lua projects going on here (no offence to anyone, I know you guys are still learning) are falling in that trap, I myself have done so several times in the past as well. However, there several areas that will help you greatly in designing and building a game. One of them is Finite State Machines (FSM). This has been used for the game's structure, AI, item behaviour etc. The other skill is Abstraction which you will pick up with experience. It is basically taking an object and form it in code, from 'base' componments. Eg:

What is a bullet? It has an position in space (X, Y ,Z value), graphical representation and a velocity.

Some other bits and pieces of information:
Keep up your math skills at a good level, especially areas such as Trigonometry, Algebra and Vector math. They are invaluable in programming especially game programmming. Later on, you will need to have some knowledge of matrix math when dealing with 3D scenes.

Here are some FAQs for the C++ language, Matrix math and vectors although you wont need them for a while yet:

C++ FAQ lite: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/
Matrix Math FAQ: http://www.gamedev.net/reference/art...rticle1691.asp
Vector Math FAQ: http://www.j3d.org/matrix_faq/vectfaq_latest.html

Learn the Standard Template Library (STL) or/and Boost. They have a number of template classes that are extremely useful such as vectors, lists and smart pointers. Abuse them.

Here are a list of good books to read although they will be at an advance level so keep the list as future reference:
Code Complete
Rapid Development
Pragmatic Programmer
Game Coding Complete (Fantastic book, MUST READ)
Effective C++
Design Patterns: Elements Of Reusable Object Orientated Software

There is a ton more information that I can pass on but I think this should keep you going for a while and you will pick up the rest as you go along.

 

[BenScar]

I wrote this for a PSP forum but most of it should apply. Just replace PSP with GP2X

If you are just starting out with C++, then completely forget about programming for the
(lots of useful stuff removed, see above)
.

Wow, that is a lot of things to think about. Consider it copied and stored offline.

Thanks Yaustar, very useful.

 

[yaustar]

Wow, that is a lot of things to think about. Consider it copied and stored offline.

Thanks Yaustar, very useful.

No problem. Glad someone finds it useful

 

[whiskthecat]

I might have misread but i didnt see you mention playing neogeo.

 

[Lint]

I think that it's best start coding C, as people from basic are not familiar with object oriented programming (and also C is faster than C++)

if you have ever used the DIM statement in basic, in C you'll have to do it for each variable that you got

besides that, you'll have to include some headers and you're on the go for your first Hello, world! in gp2x

grab devkit for gp2x/arm but don't try to compile eveything else (squidgesnes, mame, etc..) this time

 

[xinfernoofdantex]

first language i learned was c++, then basic, doing java now

 

[jmetal88]

first language i learned was c++, then basic, doing java now

Yeah, in my Computer Science class right now, they're teaching us the fundamentals of OOP using Java.

Perhaps I can transfer some of that knowledge to whenever I want to learn C++.

 

[Alex.]

Definitely give coding a go, it's a very satisfying endeavour!

- Alex