TGB Resources (books)
by Daniel Balmert · in Torque Game Builder · 08/07/2006 (5:44 pm) · 10 replies
Are there any good resources for the TGB engine (not the 3d one)? Last I checked, there were no books or anything official on the products page. I've been digging through the documentation and tutorials, but a lot of them are admittedly incomplete or incorrect (at least in the tdn section).
I'm an artist first and foremost, but I do have SOME programming knowledge. I can't seem to find a way to get any of the scripts to work from the Platformer tutorial. They reference files that I never created or functions that never existed. I can see someone is TRYING to fix it, but I want to know if there are any COMPLETE tutorials on how to do even the most basic collisions and controls for a 2d platformer. I've done tutorias that work on the extremely basic level, but none of them do a good job explaining why I'm dumping the parts of code that I am dumping.
I could do more code diving, but if there's a book out that would save me time, I'd like to buy it.
I'm an artist first and foremost, but I do have SOME programming knowledge. I can't seem to find a way to get any of the scripts to work from the Platformer tutorial. They reference files that I never created or functions that never existed. I can see someone is TRYING to fix it, but I want to know if there are any COMPLETE tutorials on how to do even the most basic collisions and controls for a 2d platformer. I've done tutorias that work on the extremely basic level, but none of them do a good job explaining why I'm dumping the parts of code that I am dumping.
I could do more code diving, but if there's a book out that would save me time, I'd like to buy it.
#2
As for the platforming tutorial being out of date, is there any way for me to write my own tutorial as I solve problems? Or more importantly, do you think it would be helpful? Do you think there are a lot of people wanting to make platformer games?
I recently solved my problem of accelerated movement for a 2d sprite. If I can get my animations and physics/collision to work, I would be interested in posting a tutorial for other people to use.
From my perspective, if there were a lot of people wanting to make platformer games, then there would be better tutorials. They seem to go hand in hand. If I'm pretty much alone on this, there'd be no reason to document my successes (spelling)
08/08/2006 (8:14 am)
Thanks for the reply. I will look into it (the book that is).As for the platforming tutorial being out of date, is there any way for me to write my own tutorial as I solve problems? Or more importantly, do you think it would be helpful? Do you think there are a lot of people wanting to make platformer games?
I recently solved my problem of accelerated movement for a 2d sprite. If I can get my animations and physics/collision to work, I would be interested in posting a tutorial for other people to use.
From my perspective, if there were a lot of people wanting to make platformer games, then there would be better tutorials. They seem to go hand in hand. If I'm pretty much alone on this, there'd be no reason to document my successes (spelling)
#3
Also make sure to use the TGB reference document found in the documents folder. Here you will find all of the TGB specific reference plus much of the core TGE references that cross over to TGB. It will also help you figure out where the two engines differ (some of the calls have been renamed and many of the calls found in TGE don't exist in TGB).
What the reference doesn't have is sample usage so sometimes you have to experiment, get online, look in the tutorials, or look in code to find examples of how a specific call is used.
If you are just getting going I do recommend the tutorials found in documents/tutorials as Apurva recommended as a starting point.
Lastly, when you can I would recommend purchasing TGE and TSE just to get access to the additional forums and documentation. Often I find answers for the project I am working on in one of the other forums. =)
-Unk
08/08/2006 (9:29 am)
@Bobby - I do recommend the book GPGT that Apurva suggested. Much of the core functionality is the same between TGE and TGB (minus 3D) so it is a great introduction to how the engine works as well as being an indispensable reference for looking stuff up.Also make sure to use the TGB reference document found in the documents folder. Here you will find all of the TGB specific reference plus much of the core TGE references that cross over to TGB. It will also help you figure out where the two engines differ (some of the calls have been renamed and many of the calls found in TGE don't exist in TGB).
What the reference doesn't have is sample usage so sometimes you have to experiment, get online, look in the tutorials, or look in code to find examples of how a specific call is used.
If you are just getting going I do recommend the tutorials found in documents/tutorials as Apurva recommended as a starting point.
Lastly, when you can I would recommend purchasing TGE and TSE just to get access to the additional forums and documentation. Often I find answers for the project I am working on in one of the other forums. =)
-Unk
#4
08/08/2006 (9:59 am)
@Bobby - The GG community is so successful because of the way people help each other, so if you have a tutorial (big or small), I'm sure people would find it useful. The best place to put it would be on the TDN. It's a wiki, so you can edit anything you think should be edited and, as long as it's constructive, I'm sure no one will mind.
#5
Once I have a more specific problem, I won't hesitate to ask on the forums. Thanks again.
Perhaps my small team and I can come up with some good source material for people interested in 2d platforming code.
08/08/2006 (11:25 am)
@ Unk - TGE and TSE won't help me with TGB directly, though. I'm using 2d only. How would the TGE/TSE Documentation help me?Once I have a more specific problem, I won't hesitate to ask on the forums. Thanks again.
Perhaps my small team and I can come up with some good source material for people interested in 2d platforming code.
#6
I have found that knowing how the Torque engine works and having access to Torque resources is very helpful in getting me up to speed with TGB and finding the info I need. The added bonus of owning the engines is that I can move from 2d to 3d whenever I want. I can even integrate 2D and 3D since TGE and TGB uses the same codebase. =)
Until someone writes a book specific to TGB, the GPGT book is the easiest way to give you a full picture of how the Torque engines work as a whole.
-Unk
08/08/2006 (11:45 am)
@Bobby - The TGB source is based off of the torque engine. It shares the Torque 1.4 codebase. For example, the GUI and Object tools/systems are almost identical. What differs is mostly the 2d vs. 3d specific code.I have found that knowing how the Torque engine works and having access to Torque resources is very helpful in getting me up to speed with TGB and finding the info I need. The added bonus of owning the engines is that I can move from 2d to 3d whenever I want. I can even integrate 2D and 3D since TGE and TGB uses the same codebase. =)
Until someone writes a book specific to TGB, the GPGT book is the easiest way to give you a full picture of how the Torque engines work as a whole.
-Unk
#7
08/08/2006 (11:57 am)
@Bobby: Just to let you know, in the near future we will be releases a very beneficial Platformer resource that gives you a very good framework for a Platform game in TGB :) Just wanted to let you know in case you might want to wait for that rather than having to do all the work yourself.
#8
I enjoy doing the work too. There's a lot of satisfaction in getting your ideas to work effectively and efficiently. I can think of 5 different ways to solve my collision problem (started a thread there if anyone has any more input on the specific matter :)), but all of them are ugly and tax the system, or worse yet break down the physics to being unplayable.
@Unk - I don't think I'll be using 3d for a while now. I'm an animator by trade (old drawing/scanning like disney) and I don't know that worrying about 3d will help the project along at all. I understand the advantage, but I doubt it would help me in this specific project. What I was trying to get at is: you don't get any NEW script calls or any new functionality in the TGB when you purchase TGE do you? I didn't think it worked that way. From what I understood, they were seperate products and hardly interacted.
08/08/2006 (8:21 pm)
That makes me excited. I want to see that Platformer resource! /edit/ How soon is near future? I uderstand you don't want to commit to a date, i need to know how relatively "soon" it's expected. If "soon" is 1 year, i might want to solve it on my own. If soon is 4 days, I shouldn't even waste my time thinking about it. /edit/I enjoy doing the work too. There's a lot of satisfaction in getting your ideas to work effectively and efficiently. I can think of 5 different ways to solve my collision problem (started a thread there if anyone has any more input on the specific matter :)), but all of them are ugly and tax the system, or worse yet break down the physics to being unplayable.
@Unk - I don't think I'll be using 3d for a while now. I'm an animator by trade (old drawing/scanning like disney) and I don't know that worrying about 3d will help the project along at all. I understand the advantage, but I doubt it would help me in this specific project. What I was trying to get at is: you don't get any NEW script calls or any new functionality in the TGB when you purchase TGE do you? I didn't think it worked that way. From what I understood, they were seperate products and hardly interacted.
#9
-Unk
08/09/2006 (10:04 am)
@Bobby: No, buying TGE doesn't give you new script calls. TGE and TGB share script calls. TGE has simply been in development for a long time and and thus has more documentation available than TGB. Since the two engines share the same code base, having TGE references, documentation, and forum access is beneficial in addition to the current TGB offerings. (For instance, I use the GPGT book daily as a reference for my TGB projects.)-Unk
Torque Owner Apurva Amin
The best thing to do, at the moment, is either see if that book is what you want. If not, then you'll have to go through other tutorials (such as the shooter, fish and checkers). They are complete, working and are a very good introduction to programming with torque. Of course, if you come across a problem, or there's some piece of code you don't understand, you can post here on the forums and I'm sure a lot of people will try their best to help you.
hth :)