Mirage Source

Well i have been looking into game devlopment for a very long time now and I think I can benefit from this community. I really want to learn how to program and start devloping a engine or game. Heres are my few questions that i need answered.

1. What does mirage need right now? A good game? Or a new engine?
2. Where can I learn vb6 fast so i can start programming my project
3. Is it too late to learn vb6? Should I learn another language?

1. Mirage has spawned plenty of half ass engines. Personally, I'd like to see you develop a game from it.

2. Check out the resources. This is a link I posted via Stickied Thread in the Resources Section: http://www.m10.ir/books.html
You can find some beginner's guides to VB6 in that large list.

3. Yes, eventually should probably pick up a different language. Visual Basic is a good starting language in my opinion. It's quick and easy to pick up the basics and move on to more challenging aspects of programming. Once you're good (mediocre even) at VB, you'll find that it'll be very easy to pick up another language later on.

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1. What does mirage need right now? A good game? Or a new engine?
Mirage doesn't really need anything, but we can't get enough of talented programmers. People outside Mirage might want a engine, but most of the members here are trying to do their own things but I guess there are some here who would love a good engine. But I say make a game, it's much more fun.

2. Where can I learn vb6 fast so i can start programming my project
Just dig into the source. Go through form after form, and then go through the module. For example you can go into frmMainMenu, press the login button. Follow the packet as it travels to the server and back. Basicly read the source, because if your using mirage. You need to know all the subs and functions that exists.

3. Is it too late to learn vb6? Should I learn another language?
As long as windows doesn't make a new OS that doesn't support vb it's not to late. And even if they did, a lot of people would still use xp and vista and then they can play your game. VB is fun to learn, you will enjoy it a lot more the first year compared to if you start learning C# or any other language. There aren't many game programming communities. But you found one, and I suggest you use it and learn how programming works. Before you move forward.

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Great News! Vb6 Is Now Installed! The Work Shall Begin!

MS needs a game that inspires people around THIS forum, as well as attracts people to their game and eventually to THIS forum. There's never been anything truely "great" made from Mirage.

How to learn VB6 fast? People are all about instant gratification. If you want to learn VB fast, pick up a "Learn VB in 24 hours!" book (I admit I have one...). If you want to actually learn VB, just jump in. You'll learn more from solving problems yourself than you'll ever learn from copying code from a book. VB6 is great in the way it gives you things, you can have a form up quickly and easily (and create it visually), and then follow the event-oriented architecture to make the entire program quick and easy. This is the kind of programming VB6 was made for, not necessarily games

Even if VB is old and being phased out, it is still a quick and dirty way to make programs. The code is easy, almost plain English, and programs fall together quickly. Once you understand the basics (made easier by using vBasic... lol) it makes learning an "advanced" language TONS easier.

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Why not try my app, ColorEye, on your Android devlce?
Do you like social gaming? Fight it out in Battle Juice!

I am a professional software developer in Salt Lake City, UT.

Well i tryed looking at the mirage code, i am just so confused its so very confusing. I have absoltely no programming experience and my head freaken hurts.

There's a lot there

It might help to just follow the program. In VB if you right click on something that's a sub or function call, and hit "Define" it will take you straight to it. Then Choose "Last position" to go back

The game starts in Sub Main client side, might just want to step it through and get a feel. Otherwise add a few of the tutorials here to learn where things go

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Why not try my app, ColorEye, on your Android devlce?
Do you like social gaming? Fight it out in Battle Juice!

I am a professional software developer in Salt Lake City, UT.

Well im starting to understand what the variables are. What does the command do? The code has lost me for a few mintues im dazed once again. I think my first atempt to minipulate this code will be intitled "The Cola Engine" (everyone loves cola ehh am i right am i right?). I might just come out with a half-ass engine to call my own . As we speak i am atempting to add a new morale called "Cola!".

Call is a keyword that is somewhat optional. If you use Call the syntax is different than it is if you don't use Call. There is functionally no difference. Call can only be used on Subs, not functions...

Call CopyMemory(start, end, len)
CopyMemory start, end, len

just different syntax

What's actually happening is it passes the start, end, and len variable into the Sub. If you think of it as a function from algebra class, it's very similar (even looks similar?)

The difference between subs and functions:
Subs do something, but do not return a value
Functions do something, and can/does return a value.

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Why not try my app, ColorEye, on your Android devlce?
Do you like social gaming? Fight it out in Battle Juice!

I am a professional software developer in Salt Lake City, UT.

Mirage needs more people like me.

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