New to Torque. Using TGB
by Jamaal Ephriam · in General Discussion · 09/29/2006 (1:12 pm) · 9 replies
Hi all,
Well I'm finally taking my first steps in learning some Torque via TGB. I really just want to make 2D games considering that I dont have a modeler at my disposal ect ect lol. But anywayz, I come from the Game Maker community and was just wondering, how difficult will it be to learn all this stuff? I got through the first example in the documentation just fine though it did seem a bit techy (no code editor?!?!). Though hopefully as I go on, I'll get a better grasp of the syntax and how all the functions are used ect ect. I'm not new to programming, and I barely remember any C++ considering I haven't had a class in like two semesters. I'll be taking Visual Basic soon though, but from what I hear it's not hard at all. Any tips at all or other references? I know I saw something about more docs being on TGN or something?
Well I'm finally taking my first steps in learning some Torque via TGB. I really just want to make 2D games considering that I dont have a modeler at my disposal ect ect lol. But anywayz, I come from the Game Maker community and was just wondering, how difficult will it be to learn all this stuff? I got through the first example in the documentation just fine though it did seem a bit techy (no code editor?!?!). Though hopefully as I go on, I'll get a better grasp of the syntax and how all the functions are used ect ect. I'm not new to programming, and I barely remember any C++ considering I haven't had a class in like two semesters. I'll be taking Visual Basic soon though, but from what I hear it's not hard at all. Any tips at all or other references? I know I saw something about more docs being on TGN or something?
About the author
Born and bred into the entertainment field, Jamaal has extensive training in various aspects of the industry including recording, production & composition. He is an accomplished pianist, and experienced voice actor.
#2
09/29/2006 (1:29 pm)
If you do all the tutorials, you should be well on your way to understanding the fundamentals of the engine. Once you have that stuff down, I'd recommend extending some of them to make sure you understand it and then start building larger and larger things. As long you you start small, you'll be fine and have lots of fun experimenting.
#3
09/29/2006 (1:34 pm)
Simple games like Pong or something and then mabe Pak Man? Though I wonder how difficult it will be to do Pak Man considering the gosts have to find there way back to the center...
#4
Pacman would be a great way to learn about the tile system too. Those would be great games to start with. Anyway, getting the ghosts back to the center sounds like a fun problem.
09/29/2006 (1:37 pm)
Well, if that ends up being too hard, you could just make them wander around and then when they're killed they just appear back at the start. Pong would be a great start - it'll get you used to starting and writing your own scripts after doing the tutorials, where they just tell you what to do.Pacman would be a great way to learn about the tile system too. Those would be great games to start with. Anyway, getting the ghosts back to the center sounds like a fun problem.
#5
09/29/2006 (1:39 pm)
Simple games like Pong or something and then mabe Pak Man? Though I wonder how difficult it will be to do Pak Man considering the gosts have to find there way back to the center... 
#6
So I've got a concept for a 2D physics based puzzle game. I'm digging TGB so far and will likely buy a license. I'm not completely foreign to TorqueScript but I'm no wiz at it either (although I am a software developer for over 12 years now).
I have worked through some of the Tuts that come with TGB and I can't seem to find an event or function that gets called for every frame. For example, if I've got some AI functions that I want to call or I want to reposition my character based on physics (rather than by a keypress), what functions should I call or what event methods should I overload?
Thanks
--RB
10/05/2006 (4:00 pm)
Hey all...been a TGE/TSE owner for a while now, but I think I want to scale back my ideas into something that a one-man-team can manage. :)So I've got a concept for a 2D physics based puzzle game. I'm digging TGB so far and will likely buy a license. I'm not completely foreign to TorqueScript but I'm no wiz at it either (although I am a software developer for over 12 years now).
I have worked through some of the Tuts that come with TGB and I can't seem to find an event or function that gets called for every frame. For example, if I've got some AI functions that I want to call or I want to reposition my character based on physics (rather than by a keypress), what functions should I call or what event methods should I overload?
Thanks
--RB
#7
However, this is frame rate based, and not a good idea for something like AI. Instead, you should create an AI Manager (can be very basic), and simply schedule a callback for it (::think() is a common name) to be called at whatever interval you like. ::think() should reschedule itself when it's finished it's work for that update period, and there you go--your very own AI polling loop.
10/05/2006 (10:47 pm)
@Ron: your question should probably be asked in the Torque Game Builder Demo forums, but the short answer for your specific question is ::onUpdateScene().However, this is frame rate based, and not a good idea for something like AI. Instead, you should create an AI Manager (can be very basic), and simply schedule a callback for it (::think() is a common name) to be called at whatever interval you like. ::think() should reschedule itself when it's finished it's work for that update period, and there you go--your very own AI polling loop.
#8
10/06/2006 (11:54 am)
We have an onTimer callback in TGB that is safer than onUpdateScene and doesn't bog things down as much as using schedules. I use it for physics integration in all my work.
#9
Much appreciated.
--RB
10/09/2006 (4:59 am)
Thanks for the responses folks...especially the AI centric info. :)Much appreciated.
--RB
Torque Owner Paul /*Wedge*/ DElia