Hi Philip, Yes, in deed. I've noticed a big difference in over all performance and stability since rewriting Mysteries of the Ancients in C++, and despite the current bugs the C++ version is ultimately going to be much faster and more stable in the long run. Without a doubt C++ is over all the best language for game development even if it isn't the easiest or quickest solution. I can't honestly see myself going back to Python, C# .Net, or Visual Basic .Net for game development as those languages just have too much over head to make an effectively stable and high end game such as I'm looking at creating. Your BGT toolkit is really the right solution for everyone. It has all of the inate power of C++ and Microsoft DirectX without all the work involved in learning and writing a complete C++ application from scratch. One other thing I can already see as a huge bonus is that you've designed this thing using common core Windows components that are already available on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. That gives it a long term support cycle without need for major upgrades for the next few years. Other game developers haven't adopted your design strategy, used a language such as Visual Basic 6, etc and now are facing uncertainty of how long their software will continue to be supported on new Windows versions. For example, the GMA Engine, which was state-of-the-art a few years ago is really showing its age, and you now need to manually install the Visual Basic 6 runtime and missing DirectX components to even get it to work on Windows 7. No one knows how long those libraries will continue to be supported by Windows, and at what point every game and program written using Visual Basic 6 will no longer function. So the GMA Engine has an uncertain future and those games may have to have a major upgrade to VB .Net or something in the future. However, your BGT toolkit is written in C++ using common core components. It is true DirectX 8 is now only provided on Windows 7 as legacy support, but if Microsoft should remove those libraries in a ffuture release of Windows I'm sure your toolkit is designed in such a way you could switch it over to the XNA C++ libraries and keep on moving along. That's the advantage C++ has over Visual Basic or any of these other languages. If a certainc component becomes deprecated, is removed from an operating system, you can just rewrite that part of the code, recompile your games, and be back in business.
Cheers! On 2/12/10, Philip Bennefall <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Thomas, > > My reasoning is this. Yes, C++ is the best language in which to develop > games in my opinion but it's not necessarily the fastest. With this approach > one effectively combines the speed of C++ with the flexibility of a modern > scripting language as all the CPU intensive stuff is actually done in the > engine, or most of it anyway. Thus, I'll be developing my own games using > this engine as well once it reaches a stable enough stage. > > Kind regards, > > Philip Bennefall --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
