Is there a resource like Torque for Dummies?

#1 I won all four books for Torque, 3D programming all in one, Adv. 3D programming all in one, The Game Programmers Guide to Torque, and Torque for Teens. The first three are currently not supported any longer by their authors and many questions go unanswered within those forums.

I have been pushing for a public forum for Torque for Teens, as it would help those using the book looking to find answers to questions, but so far Garage Games has done nothing. In my opinion all of the books have their positive and negatives. All except of Torque for Teens are out of date as far as the version of TGE they are using. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.

My recommendation is if you really want to know more about Torque and actually own a license, then try Torque School. If you don't own a TGE license, then try Torque for Teens as it is the most current book and uses the current TGE version.

Edit* ok, after I posted I checked your profile and you own TGE, so I'd definately suggest Torque School. I know the guys there and have taken a few of the classes myself and they are well worth the money to take.

#2 Hey Chris,

Thanks for your input. I've been in the IT field for almost 20 years; the last 15 at management or director levels. I understand that there is a learning curve for applications, but if I was evaluating Torque for use in an organization I would've already tossed it out due to the documentation or lack of. That being said and to GGs credit, they have a great foundation with the TGE/TGEA products and since this is a personal project I'll see what I can accomplish with the help of the Forums, TDN and Resources and possibly the Torque School.

As a side note I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with the use of the website as well; over the last 3 days it seems to be a hit or miss when I can log onto the site and check the forums or any other area of interest.

Bryan

#3 If you are getting a service error, then use the ip address (216.116.32.49) as a workaround.

#4 That is odd, I don't think I've ever had an issue with the website/forums. Perhaps its a local router or some such thing acting up.

When I first bought TGE I quickly purchased 3D programming all in one and Adv. 3D programming all in one. They have proved to be an invaluable reference despite being a little outdated. Beyond that I just dove right into the engine code and started learning. Torquescript is easy to pick up and there are plenty of posts regarding it. More than enough to get help when you need it.

What it all boils down to is, what do you want to use TGE for? Some things require very little changes to the engine and can be practically coded off examples found on the web (FPS for example, and Racing sims). Others can be supplemented with bought resources and/or some coding knowledge (Flight sims, RTS, MMO). Others are very challenging for all but the best programmers with all the right connections (Space sims, Sims requiring real time terrain modifcation and repeating).

Good luck with finding a solution and I hope it all works out for you. The engine might have its limitations, and the documentation might be lacking in many areas, but for a n00b like myself TGE has worked out quite well thus far.

#5 About 1-2% of our users are seeing it. Unfortunately, those 1-2% are seeing it constantly.

#6 David,

I'm unsure of the common denominator but whether I'm at work (in multiple locations), at home or at my girlfriends house I periodically cannot access certain functions of the website. At work I have a Verizon T1 at one location and a Broadview Networks T1 at a second location. At home and my girlfriends' house I utilize Optimum Online Cable. I'm east coast (NY) and obviously at some point along the route these three networks must merge at the router that is causing the issues.

Bryan

#7 FYI, it's happening again. It's almost like you guys changed your DNS records and they haven't completed propagation yet. I'm having issues with all prefixes other then WWW; also, during this time frame I'm unable to reach your MX records.

#8 I think it might be more than 1-2%.

I get it a lot but have not said anyting before as there is already a lot of traffic on it and GG says no need to holler as they are working on it.

#9 I see the problem with GarageGames now and then as well. Sometimes I will load a series of pages at once, and only one will fail, and is ok on reload. I imagine it's something about load balancing???

#10 Yeah, I'm having the issue again. This is what my pings return:

---

C:\>ping www.garagegames.com

Pinging e893.p.akamaiedge.net [96.6.179.193] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 96.6.179.193:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

---

C:\>ping garagegames.com

Pinging garagegames.com [216.116.32.49] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 216.116.32.49:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

---

So there is something up with the DNS lookups.

#11 Yup. As to which router/s is/are causing the problem, we don't know yet.