But, in that same thread, there was also discussion of BlitzMax2, which sounded like it might mitigate some of the issues that Basilisk Games had with BlitzMax in the first place.
So, all I'm wondering is - what are Basilisk Games' current plans for a gaming programming language, post-Eschalon series?
Is BlitzMax2 actually a viable programming language choice for your future games?
Or will it be a switch to C++ afterall?
This is just a (mostly) non-programmer who's curious about such things.
BlitzMax had the advantage of doing the work of porting the game to Windows. Mac, and Linux. It made the job easier since it was code once and deal with a few bugs for the different platforms.
C++ has the advantage since other coders write in it there are already libraries of graphics and game engines available. The downside is that the code has to be compiled for each platform and some have peculiarities that make extra work. I know that older Spiderweb games for the Mac don't work on Steam because of the way they were compiled.
You can somewhat mitigate the problem with C++ and multi-platform using #define for OS-specific function calls, but for that you need to have it in mind when you start coding (else it's a pain to replace all calls with your generic call).
For a mainstream language, probably C# ... C++ is widely considered outdated/archaic, though it still seems to be used specifically in the field of game development, probably because so many tools and engines still exist in C++.
Also considering using Unity as a game framework, though there are several other options that might work better for what we do.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:C++ is widely considered outdated/archaic
What does it say about me that I still code in C?
AFAIK, C/C++ are still very popular. I still use it for my games, because I can use it on nearly any platform and, like they say, there are tons of libraries/tools for it. In my other job, we have to support both Windows and Solaris, so everything we do is C/C++. I have friends who work in the defense industry, and they use it almost exclusively. And the code for most open source libraries I've seen is C/C++.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:Jeez, is that thing radioactive?
No more than anything else here near the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. Unfortunately, I did finally throw away all the 8" floppy disks for that word processor. I'm trying to find a scrap dealer who'll give me something for the metals in the machine itself.
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