My Turn
by Shakey · in Torque Game Engine · 01/04/2007 (6:52 pm) · 6 replies
Well Hello All,
I am here to say that, I to, am enjoying the book. Here is my speil. I bought TGE about two years ago after buying the 3DGPAI1 first edition book, because I wanted to get into game programming. After reading the first couple of chapters and finding all the flaws, I put the book and the TGE down for while and went to visit Conitec, and bought the A6 Engine (standard). Now they had real easy to follow tutorials and every program I wrote from the tutorials ran well, from a coding standpoint. I really felt like I was doing something, but in the back of mind I really liked the challenge that I was getting from trying to figure out what was going wrong with the code from the torque programs from Ken's book. So I picked up the book again and began really getting involved with the engine, still getting aggrevated but more promising results. Then this book came out, so I bought it, began reading it and quickly put it down and went with the tutorials from the TGE package I bought. It went well but I wanted more than just a blue guy running around picking up torque logos. So I went out and bought Ken's other books 3DGPAI1 second edition and Advanced 3DGPAI1,still the same problems, not knowing what everything means, wanting to add my own stuff. So here I am now, reading this book and going over each chapter one by one hoping that it will click. I think just from reading the first four chapters it will help me understand the process of building a game from the ground up. What do you think?
Shakey
I am here to say that, I to, am enjoying the book. Here is my speil. I bought TGE about two years ago after buying the 3DGPAI1 first edition book, because I wanted to get into game programming. After reading the first couple of chapters and finding all the flaws, I put the book and the TGE down for while and went to visit Conitec, and bought the A6 Engine (standard). Now they had real easy to follow tutorials and every program I wrote from the tutorials ran well, from a coding standpoint. I really felt like I was doing something, but in the back of mind I really liked the challenge that I was getting from trying to figure out what was going wrong with the code from the torque programs from Ken's book. So I picked up the book again and began really getting involved with the engine, still getting aggrevated but more promising results. Then this book came out, so I bought it, began reading it and quickly put it down and went with the tutorials from the TGE package I bought. It went well but I wanted more than just a blue guy running around picking up torque logos. So I went out and bought Ken's other books 3DGPAI1 second edition and Advanced 3DGPAI1,still the same problems, not knowing what everything means, wanting to add my own stuff. So here I am now, reading this book and going over each chapter one by one hoping that it will click. I think just from reading the first four chapters it will help me understand the process of building a game from the ground up. What do you think?
Shakey
#2
01/29/2007 (6:51 am)
I had gone thru GPGT and it had helped me in all. I did not find any difficulties. but I had done DX before so this book was like a charming experience. And TorqueScript really is quite powerfull and easy. 
#3
Hello. My wife was in a head-on collision Saturday (27th) so I've been unable to attend to business as usual this week. I will begin answering queries and e-mails tomorrow. I apologize for the delay.
-Ed M.
02/01/2007 (8:22 pm)
@All,Hello. My wife was in a head-on collision Saturday (27th) so I've been unable to attend to business as usual this week. I will begin answering queries and e-mails tomorrow. I apologize for the delay.
-Ed M.
#5
@Edward: Sorry to here about your wife. Hope she is okay.
02/09/2007 (4:16 pm)
@Shakey: I have all four books that was put out for Torque. I use all of them, plus the TDN, forums,resources and several content packs. What I found out the best way to do things, is to start out small and keep a backup copy of a standard TGE. Modify one thing at a time, check your log file for errors. Use Torsion or CodeWeaver for debugging. Study the code... some have notes on what they are doing. Use the books, TDN, and the forums to read and understand what you just did. I found that just restricting myself to Torquescript helps me understand more. Once you get a code to work, save a backup. Then try out testing different things in the same code to see what happens. I found that Ed's and Ken's books teach you two different ways to do things. The content packs will show you more ways as well. Study each of them and mess with them to see how things work. The main thing is to keep it small and try things. Do not try to understand everything at once. Also, go to the book's website for corrections and updates. Remember the books use different versions of TGE. Hope that helps!@Edward: Sorry to here about your wife. Hope she is okay.
#6
So I gave up on it, and just went to pure art for a while (since that was what I was majoring in), but game design isn't something you can just give up on. You may think you can, but there will always come a time when you want--no, you need--to go back to it.
So I went to the bookstore and bought 3DGPAi1. I was working through it, but had a pain of a time trying to get everything to work (which can probably be traced to the fact that I wasn't trying too hard since I HATE using just a demo of programs...it all feels too ephemeral). But then I started looking seriously at Torque, and after a short deliberation, bought 1.4.2. Then I stopped again for quite a while, but after moving back to California, I felt the urge to start again (I think it's just that California has that sense of inspiration that Arizona doesn't, lol).
So I bought the upgrade, and the EA for TSE. And GPGT. I haven't gotten any real games done yet, but I'm progressing in leaps and bounds.
So what's the moral of this very long-winded story? Don't move to Arizona. Wait, no, it's if you're going to get Torque, and don't have any experience with TorqueScript, get The Game Programmer's Guide to Torque. Much of the information covered is online SOMEWHERE, but nowhere else is it presented in such a centralized place and so easy to understand. If you only get one resource on Torque, I would highly recommend it be this.
@Edward: Well wishes for you and your wife.
02/10/2007 (11:17 am)
@Shakey: I did pretty much the same thing as you, except in a slightly different order. I started with 3DGS, and even just working with the demos, I was able to get stuff done. But there was always the fact lingering over my head that I was going to hit the ceiling with 3DGS, looking at the features, I wasn't too impressed (limited graphics capabilities, network pain in the *** to implement, etc.). This was the A5 edition, but still...So I gave up on it, and just went to pure art for a while (since that was what I was majoring in), but game design isn't something you can just give up on. You may think you can, but there will always come a time when you want--no, you need--to go back to it.
So I went to the bookstore and bought 3DGPAi1. I was working through it, but had a pain of a time trying to get everything to work (which can probably be traced to the fact that I wasn't trying too hard since I HATE using just a demo of programs...it all feels too ephemeral). But then I started looking seriously at Torque, and after a short deliberation, bought 1.4.2. Then I stopped again for quite a while, but after moving back to California, I felt the urge to start again (I think it's just that California has that sense of inspiration that Arizona doesn't, lol).
So I bought the upgrade, and the EA for TSE. And GPGT. I haven't gotten any real games done yet, but I'm progressing in leaps and bounds.
So what's the moral of this very long-winded story? Don't move to Arizona. Wait, no, it's if you're going to get Torque, and don't have any experience with TorqueScript, get The Game Programmer's Guide to Torque. Much of the information covered is online SOMEWHERE, but nowhere else is it presented in such a centralized place and so easy to understand. If you only get one resource on Torque, I would highly recommend it be this.
@Edward: Well wishes for you and your wife.
Torque Owner Joe Melton
Fails At Making Games