The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a)

On Dec 8, 3:36 pm, Craig <craig.stic... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 30, 11:08 am, Jeff Lait <torespondisfut... RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
> > 1) I still believe the best newbie map representation is
> > char *map[MAP_HEIGHT] =
> > {
> > "#######"
> > "#.....#"
> > "#######"
>
> > };
>
> > It simplifies your screen drawing and also encourages the learner to
> > edit the map themselves. Using an integer indirection is something
> > that can be added as a refinement later.
>
> That does simplify the editing process, but in my experience I've
> found that people have a hard time understanding how C-style strings
> are stored and how to use that system. I felt it would be simpler to
> grasp the theory this way.

Hmm... That is a good point. Mind you, on the same vein, I know 2d
arrays in general get confusing with C. Like, how do you write a
function that takes one of your maps as a parameter? It might be too
confusing to start them off with map[y*WIDTH + x], however.

> > 3) Your concern for repainting the screen at a minimum distracts from
> > writing a cool video game. It is not necessary. I repaint the entire
> > map every step in POWDER and it runs on a Gameboy Advance. If flicker
> > is the concern, fix your graphics library to have a redraw() command
> > that posts all pending edits. Ie, no changes show up on screen until
> > one calls redraw(). This effects double buffering which has been how
> > we've solved the 60hz mismatch problem for the last few decades.
>
> I agree with you: double buffering is definately the best, if only,
> way to handle this flicker. And when given access to the memory map as
> the GBA platform lets you, I would use it in a heartbeat. But with
> Win32's propensity to abstract hardware resources the "ideal" page
> flip is not viable without going heavy into the OS'es theory and SDK's
> like DirectDraw. The software approach using a blit from RAM does work
> well (it's what I use for most of my projects), but I feel it's a
> little distracting and heavy for the first time programmer.
>
> So as I couldn't buffer away my problems, the thought was to do delta
> compression on the output. I do see why this is distracting, and can
> be a stumbling block for people as they move ahead - this is not the
> normal way things are done, especially as you get into more and more
> involved development.

The thing is that you have already made your
ExtendedWindowsConsole.h. I thus don't see any harm in extending that
file with any black magic needed for double buffering - the user of
the tutorial does not need to know what that file is doing, after all.

> This is off-topic, but because I did development on the GB classic:
> out of curiosity, do they still have the tile-based graphics system
> built into the hardware? I know they have the onboard Z80 co-processor
> to do legacy games, but does the ARM7-based system support that type
> of graphics intrisically as the classic hardware did?

Yes, it has a similar 2D engine built in. Four layers plus sprites,
along with the ability to rotate/zoom the sprites and layers. I
actually use the same abstraction in my SDL ports of POWDER - I just
rewrote the 2d core in software rather than change how the game
interfaces to it.

You wouldn't go too wrong in ditching the Extended Console with
something that just exposes a 2d array of characters for the user to
treat as the screen.
--
Jeff Lait
(POWDER:http://www.zincland.com/powder)
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a) 

On 2007-11-22 00:21:55, Craig <craig.stickel RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:

> Articles One and Two are complete and ready for critique. I apologize
> for the delay. Feel free to let me know what you think and please
> point out any gramatical errors or stuff that just doesn't make sense
> or rambles. With everything that has gone on, I'm actually finding it
> hard to think straight lately.
>
> Given it's nature, newbie/lurker opinions carry double weight. So
> stand up and be heard!
>
> Link:
> http://files-upload.com/files/633676/Release.zip
>
> Previous Post/Thread (background/preview of what's coming up):
> http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.games.roguelike.development/browse_t...ad/thre
> - Craig
>
> PS. If anybody knows a better @#^! home for the files, please let me
> know. I hate these free upload places, but I am rather useless when it
> comes to web stuff.
>
>
>

Very helpful tutorials Craig! It took some effort but I was able to compile and
run the tutorial in Visual C++ 2008. Everything works fine except for the last
article- I copied the main.cpp exactly and the error I am having is that the
text (Which direction?) appears as this:

????????????? f:ddvc

when trying to open or close a door. The command executes correctly but the text
is jibberish as you can see. The error seems to be occuring in
ExtendedWin32Console.h. I did not edit this file at all and rechecked it just in
case.

I think it might have something to do with the way I have the project setup
perhaps or the fact I'm using Visual C++ 2008.

Can anyone recommend a good C++ compiler for windows? I like how Visual C++ 2008
works but it had a few settings I had to tweak just to get the tutorial to run.

Thanks in advance for the help!
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a) 

On 2008-03-22 04:23:40, raydarken <dungeonsounds.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:

> Everything works fine except for the last
> article- I copied the main.cpp exactly and the error I am having is that the
> text (Which direction?) appears as this:
>
> ????????????? f:ddvc
>
> when trying to open or close a door. The command executes correctly but the text
> is jibberish as you can see. The error seems to be occuring in
> ExtendedWin32Console.h. I did not edit this file at all and rechecked it just in
> case.
>
> I think it might have something to do with the way I have the project setup
> perhaps or the fact I'm using Visual C++ 2008.

raydarken , what settings did you tweak? I only needed to change one:

I copied both source files into a new empty Win32 Console project and compiled.
On compile, I got only one error; C2664: 'SetConsoleTitleW' : cannot convert
parameter 1 from 'const char [19]' to 'LPCWSTR'

This error is because the default project settings in VC++ 2008 use the Unicode
character set, while main.cpp is calling SetConsoleTitle( "Article Three Demo" )
with a plain old single byte string. My fix was to change the Character Set from
"Unicode"to "Multi-Byte Character Set".

> Can anyone recommend a good C++ compiler for windows? I like how Visual C++ 2008
> works but it had a few settings I had to tweak just to get the tutorial to run.


You shouldn't need to change compilers just because of this tutorial... It would
actually make more sense if the tutorial was reworked to use VC++ 2008 Express.
To be honest I'm confused as to why the author chose to use an outdated
commercial compiler rather than the freely available VC++ Express compiler (at
the time of the tutorial's writing it was VC++ 2005 Express).

-e
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a) 

In article <fs2dmj$1p02$1@news.vol.cz>, disruption999.RemoveThis@hotmail.com
says...

> You shouldn't need to change compilers just because of this tutorial... It would
> actually make more sense if the tutorial was reworked to use VC++ 2008 Express.
> To be honest I'm confused as to why the author chose to use an outdated
> commercial compiler rather than the freely available VC++ Express compiler (at
> the time of the tutorial's writing it was VC++ 2005 Express).

Presumably because the freeware compiler is incomplete.

- Gerry Quinn
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a) 

> raydarken , what settings did you tweak? I only needed to change one:
>
> I copied both source files into a new empty Win32 Console project and compiled.
> On compile, I got only one error; C2664: 'SetConsoleTitleW' : cannot convert
> parameter 1 from 'const char [19]' to 'LPCWSTR'
>
> This error is because the default project settings in VC++ 2008 use the Unicode
> character set, while main.cpp is calling SetConsoleTitle( "Article Three Demo" )
> with a plain old single byte string. My fix was to change the Character Set from
> "Unicode"to "Multi-Byte Character Set".

Alright, I began a new project from scratch to retrace my steps. I started by
creating a new>Win32Consoleapplication. This defaults to having precompiled
headers on, but I was having trouble with that before so I turned precompiled
headers off. Every other option was left unchanged. At this point I created a
new ExtendedWin32Console.h copying the code word for word. I also renamed the
default .cpp the program generates for you automatically to main.cpp and pasted
the code from article four into it. Then I built the program and it ran fine,
with the aforementioned error.

Thanks for the help so far, I'm somewhat new to programming in C++. I understand
how it works, but I don't have alot of experience.

> You shouldn't need to change compilers just because of this tutorial... It would
> actually make more sense if the tutorial was reworked to use VC++ 2008 Express.
> To be honest I'm confused as to why the author chose to use an outdated
> commercial compiler rather than the freely available VC++ Express compiler (at
> the time of the tutorial's writing it was VC++ 2005 Express).

That's true. I thought perhaps that there might be a 'better' compiler than VC++
2008 express. But I'm fairly certain that the problem is with my lack of
experience rather than a failure on the compilers part. =/ Ah well, nothing
worth having comes easy I guess! =) There's many tutorials on the web, I'm sure
I'll get better over time!

-Ray Darken
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a) 

Edwin Wrote:
> To be honest I'm confused as to why the author chose
> to use an outdated commercial compiler rather than
> the freely available VC++ Express compiler (at the
> time of the tutorial's writing it was VC++ 2005 Express).

And Gerry Quinn Wrote:
> Presumably because the freeware compiler is incomplete.

Ha ha, were it for that reason. I never went beyond the '98 version.
Depending who I talk to, it is either a relic from the stone ages or
the best of a bad lot. VC++ 6 is my preferred development platform, I
learned the language with it, I know every nuance of the compiler/
linker and the work that do doesn't need anything more feature laden.
As well, I was under the belief that VC++ 6.0 is still quite popular
and the source can directly be exported to Bloodshed DevC++. I have no
idea what the majority of those who use C++ in the RL dev scene code
with.

Truthfully, the newer Visual Studio stuff I've never had need of. I'm
a firmware developer/electrical engineer professionally, and I'm more
comfortable manipulating bits than trying to use OOP-encapsulated data
types, .NET's intermediate machine code, database interfacing or MFC.
I use RL development as a way to keep sharp on the x86 platform, OOP
and coding on CISC architectures.

Edwin wrote:
> You shouldn't need to change compilers just because
> of this tutorial...

Damn right you shouldn't.

Edwin continued:
> It would actually make more sense if the tutorial was
> reworked to use VC++ 2008 Express.

Honestly, that's an awesome idea. It seems unfair to newbies to have
to make them port source from an outdated compiler they've never
worked with to a platform they're still learning. However, I cannot
afford the time to learn a new dev environment as well as write
tutorials, do 9-5 contract work and maintain my sanity all at once.
Heck, I have a hard enough time getting these guides out the door in
any reasonable timeframe.

Since this is just a matter of some quick porting by guys who know
what the hell they're doing, if any body has customized source for
different dev platforms they want to share, send them to me and I'll
include them in the guide with my profuse and heartfelt thanks and
recognition for your work.
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a) 

In article <2fdc2f99-dd4e-4b74-a8bd-
9aa17dc6606b RemoveThis @i7g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, craig.stickel RemoveThis @gmail.com
says...
> Edwin Wrote:
> > To be honest I'm confused as to why the author chose
> > to use an outdated commercial compiler rather than
> > the freely available VC++ Express compiler (at the
> > time of the tutorial's writing it was VC++ 2005 Express).
>
> And Gerry Quinn Wrote:
> > Presumably because the freeware compiler is incomplete.
>
> Ha ha, were it for that reason. I never went beyond the '98 version.
> Depending who I talk to, it is either a relic from the stone ages or
> the best of a bad lot. VC++ 6 is my preferred development platform, I
> learned the language with it, I know every nuance of the compiler/
> linker and the work that do doesn't need anything more feature laden.
> As well, I was under the belief that VC++ 6.0 is still quite popular
> and the source can directly be exported to Bloodshed DevC++. I have no
> idea what the majority of those who use C++ in the RL dev scene code
> with.

Well, I would miss the MFC libraries that come with the professional
edition. And there are things like profilers which you can live without
(I very rarely use them) but are handy to have when you want them.

VC6 works for me too. If it ain't broke don't fix it, I say... and
while it may be broken here and there I am used to its quirks, and don;t
need to learn those of the latest version.

- Gerry Quinn
 >> Stay informed about: The Beginners Guide to Roguelikes (v 0.0.0.0.0.0.1a)