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more newbie questions, slightly less dumb |
arseovrteakettl
Hopeful
Joined: Jun 20, 2003
Posts: 17 |  Posted: 2003-06-26 10:19
So I'm able to play with the unreal tournament editors -- there's lots of great information and tutorials accessible from UTs website -- and have made simple rooms and now can see where that will go.
BUT still those editors make certain assumptions (like that you'll be carrying weapons around -- which maybe I could live with -- but atoms and molecules don't usually carrying weapons though of course nobody knows for sure and I am trying to make chemistry games) so I am beginning to think that maybe I do want also to learn how to use genesis3d.
1) I was a fortran programmer. I think c++ will be like learning fortran. Am I foolish?
2) I want to goof around with linux. What about linux and genesis3d?
It is so great to be able to ask questions in a forum with the caliber of posters this ones has 
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Ran13
Genesis God
Joined: Aug 22, 2000
Posts: 2896
From: Hamilton, OH, USA
| Posted: 2003-06-26 12:10
You need to look a little harder at the UnrealScript way of doing things. Yes, most of the characters in UT carry guns and such, but they are members of an object class called "Pawns". Everything in Unreal is derived from a base class called "Object". EVERYTHING!  That includes everything from level (map/world) objects to characters to weapons to vehicles to butterfiles. One class derived from "Object" is called an "Actor" class. This is the "parent" class of another sub-class called "Pawns". "Pawns" are the characters, and the basic Pawn class expects the character to have a weapon. However, if you derive your new "chemistry object" from the parent class "Actor", this class does not have the "I'm holding a gun" specific code. It can be just about anything. Read up on the Unreal way of using object-oriented class derivation to create new entities. Unreal has everything you need to do what you want to do! Honest!
http://udn.epicgames.com/pub/Technical/UnrealScriptReference/#Class_overview
There have been a couple of attempts to port G3D to Linux, but, to date, nothing complete has been released.
C++ similar to FORTRAN? I'm not a programmer (just a lowly mesh monkey...a 3D modeler/animator), but I highly doubt it. Most object-oriented programming (OOP) features & methods are possible with work-arounds with Fortran (like polymorphism & inheritance), but I think most people trained on Fortran in its early days are not familiar or even aware of such techniques using Fortran. Of course, someone like Lightning, who likes to code in straight ASM , would know more about the differences, and would be able to give you a more detailed answer about what to expect when learning OOP with C++.
Not to beat the subject into the ground, but if you have a passing knowledge of OOP with Java, UnrealScript should be a breeze. The 2 are very similar.
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[ This Message was edited by: Ran13 on 2003-06-26 12:42 ]
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arseovrteakettl
Hopeful
Joined: Jun 20, 2003
Posts: 17 | Posted: 2003-06-26 13:10
Ran -- can you give me the url where I can download your brain?
Duh - so script is not c++? Learning c++ is not learning script? script n.e. c++?
Okay so maybe then what I need to learn is script. How do I do that?
Is this off-topic int he genesis3d forum and if so where should I go?
Thanks so much, you lovely and handsome young men.
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lancingfury
Veteran
Joined: May 21, 2003
Posts: 155
From: Colorado USA
| Posted: 2003-06-26 14:40
see? ur not thinking in c++ yet. it isnt script n.e. c++, its script != c++
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Ran13
Genesis God
Joined: Aug 22, 2000
Posts: 2896
From: Hamilton, OH, USA
| Posted: 2003-06-26 17:08
Quote:
| Ran -- can you give me the url where I can download your brain? |
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You've got the URL. You just have to click on the the link above that says "Search"!
UnrealScript is similar to C/C++ in many ways, but it most resembles Java. I think it would be easier for you to find someone familiar with Java & specifically OOP in Java and the Java Virtual Machine, than to find someone well versed in C/C++, and 3D engines, AND has all the tools required.
The best place to start with UnrealScript would be to go to the Unreal Developer Network link I gave above. Download and print out that page in it's entirety. It's basically an overview of UnrealScript's features. Show it to some of your prospective helpers, and see what they have to say. Like I said, see if you can find someone with Java Exp., as they will most likely feel right at home with UnrealScript.
There are a couple big differences between C/C++ and dedicated scripting languages like UnrealScript ("US"...I'm tired of typing it ). The first is speed. Because US is compiled at runtime (like Java) and C/C++ is pre-compiled, the C code will run faster. That's a point in favor of a compiled language. A C/C++ coder,knowledgeable in 3D engines, is virtually required for any reasonable development schedule using Genesis3D. If your lucky enough to get one to sign on with you, C/C++ will offer much greater access to the capabilites of the engine, since the way the rendering engine itself acts can be changed or optimized to your specific purposes. The G3D engine source code is included in the SDK d/l. With US, you have access to alot of things, but if the engine itself throws up a brick wall, you really just have to figure out a work-around, or re-think your design becasue you don't have the Unreal engine source code.
US, being that it is the engine's "native language", does not need any external compilation tools to affect changes to the app. It is compiled and executed by the Unreal engine at run time. So you can script right within UnrealEd, execute the script and instantly see the result.
So, there's your choice:
Speed of the application vs. speed of development.
Your choice! 
As to where to go to learn, here's some useful links:
Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 Forum
Polycount forum - lots of good UT2K3 info and info on thoriginal UT engine as well if you search for it.
http://www.unrealtournament.com/editing/
http://unreal.epicgames.com
http://unreal.epicgames.com/Links.htm
http://www.leveldesigner.com/forums/
http://www.planetunreal.com/uedlab/tutorials.htm
http://www.unrealized.com/
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