Blitz Basic: Is it any good?

I'm starting to get tired of gamemaker, and its starting to frustrate me.

Ive thought of Blitz Basic as an alternate thing to try,

Is it any good?

How does it work?

Is it similar to gamemaker?

Blitz Basic will actually be useful only if you learned the BASIC Programming language.

To add on, Visual C++ outclasses everything. Except learning it is a nightmare, I heard.

I've used Blitz Basic for some time now, the old version that is. It's what I used to make Mario: The Last Castle. I'd post a link to the game but bandwidth has been exceeded. Wait... I think some other website stole it. Here is a link (Linkage). Keep in mind that was my first game I ever made so it wasn't that great. I'd say BB is great for those just starting out in game making. And I'm sure the later versions fix those bugs with it not playing midi's in XP.

And trust me.... BASIC is 90 times easier then the English language to learn. You should do fine. It has built in tutorials that teach you all the basics anywho. Or atleast the function workings... Can't remember.

I've personally only use BB for it's ability to easily create UI programs. My in developement level editor as an example:

If you decide to get into it, I'd gladly help you with problems. I'll even post the code to Mario: The Last Castle so you can see what it takes to make a game like that.

This post has been edited by JS Lemming on May 31 2006, 04:56 PM

It's just the basic coding that takes time - else, its great!
I can do Super Mario Sunshine-fan games EXACTLY as the original version

Huh.
Maybe I'll look into it for redesigning my lone fangame so far (originally made in...ugh...TURING).

I paid 50.00 for Blitz Basic like, two years ago and uploaded it to Mike's server. The above guy is right, if you know BASIC it should be a nice, smooth ride if not, you might just laze it off and have the CD and booklets in the closet like I do.

just about any other programming language would prepare him for learning it

and why visual c++ as opposed to the regular kind?

I've never used Blitz Basic, but I've used some other BASIC dialects and if it's anything like those it should be pretty good. The thing about BASIC is that it gives you ease of use while simultaeneously allowing you to accomplish advanced stuff that you could never do in a click-type tool. You'd never see yourself making an RPG in TGF, it'd be way too difficult and tedious, and it's near impossible. If you wanted to try in RPGMaker, you'd be limited to a very Final Fantasy-like RPG.

If you get something like Blitz Basic, you can make just about anything you can figure out how to code. This means you could make an RPG in the style of say, Mario & Luigi rather than Final Fantasy, or you can make just a platformer, or something else even. There's virtually no limits.

Now, Blitz Basic came in two varieties the last time I checked: BlitzMax, and Blitz3d. BlitzMax can make only 2D games, while Blitz3D is centered more around 3D ones (though it still can make 2D games). BlitzMax actually has a one-up on Blitz3D though--It can make games for Linux and Mac, not just Windows, while Blitz3D is just for Windows.

As for learning the BASIC language, search for a BlitzMAX tutorial. There should be one around that'll give you a rundown of the Blitz dialect (every dialect of BASIC is a bit different).

Don't rule out other BASIC compilers though. There's also DarkBASIC. DarkBASIC Classic is mainly for 3D games, but can make 2D games with some hard work. It has a 3D object collision problem, but there's a DLL or two out there that fixes that. Then there's DarkBASIC Pro, which has a better GUI, better 3D collision and more advanced features, along with better 2D support than it's predecessor. It supports DirectX 9, where Classic only supports DX 7.

Then there's PlayBASIC, a BASIC language solely for making 2D games, but which is the easiest to use from all that I've heard. It has commands for advanced 2D stuff that you'd have to code yourself in other BASIC dialects, such as map scrolling. It also strains your computer much less than any of the others.

Some links:

DarkBASIC Pro
PlayBASIC
Blitz Basic

Check 'em all out and see which one is best for you.

This post has been edited by Banjzooie on Jun 1 2006, 02:52 PM