New Looking For Starting Point

So I suppose I was under the impression this was a GUI application. Not exactly a problem though. So I tried running orx.exe yes laugh it's ok I am.

I started reading the tutorial but I don't really understand it at all. I mean I kind of get a general idea how this is supposed to work but not really.

I need a video or something I just don't understand this. I don't know what files I need other than the windows download. And really I am thinking svn is probably a better choice. Can I get a link?

I don't understand how graphics are displayed. I mean they obviously get pulled by command as needed but from what exactly? Individual files or a sheet containing all of your sprites in order?

I am pretty confused at the moment. Anyone know a good place I can start?

Comments

  • edited February 2012
    Hiya Corpsecrank,

    Just curious if you've had a look at my tutorials yet? I know the standard ones from Iarwain confused the heck out of me for a while, which is why I wrote new ones that try to come at the whole 'introduce orx' from a completely different direction.

    My tutorials :)

    To more directly answer your questions however, - no, Orx isn't a GUI application, at least not in any sense that I understand the term 'GUI'. Orx is a '2D Game Engine': a set of libraries and tools for creating 2D games. You'll have to do some coding to get things to happen, but a LOT can be done with very little code.

    How graphics are displayed is up to you, in my tutorials I show loading a single file, with a single image in it, and later I show how to load several images from out of a sprite-sheet.

    I hope that gives you somewhere to start! :)
  • edited February 2012
    Grey wrote:
    Hiya Corpsecrank,

    Just curious if you've had a look at my tutorials yet? I know the standard ones from Iarwain confused the heck out of me for a while, which is why I wrote new ones that try to come at the whole 'introduce orx' from a completely different direction.

    My tutorials :)

    To more directly answer your questions however, - no, Orx isn't a GUI application, at least not in any sense that I understand the term 'GUI'. Orx is a '2D Game Engine': a set of libraries and tools for creating 2D games. You'll have to do some coding to get things to happen, but a LOT can be done with very little code.

    How graphics are displayed is up to you, in my tutorials I show loading a single file, with a single image in it, and later I show how to load several images from out of a sprite-sheet.

    I hope that gives you somewhere to start! :)

    Yeah that helps a lot actually. I don't mind the fact this is more coding really. I have been looking for a solid engine to work with and save time as I would have been coding the engine from scratch if no other option was out there.

    I had been trying to use object driven tools like MMF2 which by the way is awful and I got constructclassic also which looks better than MMF2 but still how cool can your game really be using an object driven piece of software to create it.

    To get real results and a game that feels polished and tight while playing it you really need to have access to code things and refine them. That is kind of why I started looking at this as a possibility.

    I am starting out by making a castlevania fan game only because the artwork is there for me to use without a lot of time spent creating it. Once I get that to function I can easily replace those graphics with my own.

    If anyone here is familiar with any of the DS castlevania games or sotn on the playstation that would be the kind of thing I want to do. I need the movement etc to feel like it does in those games and I can't get that from any of the object based tools. You get some sloppy pre-canned awful results from those in my experience.

    Anyone have any other good advise for starting out and learning to use this?
  • edited February 2012
    Hi Corpsecrank and welcome here!

    I saw your fight with MMF2 on your youtube channel, btw. :)

    As Grey say, we don't have any wysiwyg editor (nor any functional editor yet, actually) and code will be required in order to achieve what you want.
    That being said, orx uses an interesting config system that simplifies a lot this task and that can even help to automate some parts of the dev.

    The only requirement is being able to code in a language that interfaces with C. C and C++ being the most used here, of course, but some people wrote LUA bindings and develop their game without writing any C code.

    If your language of choice is C++ and you're familiar with game development, I'd recommend using Scroll which is a C++ thin layer on top of orx that makes some tasks less tedious.
    It can be found here as part of a small game I made in ~3 days for a compo 2 years ago called Mushroom Stew. If you feel too overwhelmed for now, I'd recommend sticking with orx at first and Grey's tutorials.

    When you feel more comfortable with how the engine works you can then check Mushroom Stew and Scroll if you feel like it.

    As for the svn, it can be found here.

    If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, usually people will answer pretty quickly and it's always a better alternative to getting stuck and frustrated. :)
  • edited February 2012
    Oh, and I forgot, I'm familiar with the Castlevania series on DS, it's something that can definitely be done with orx. The small compo game I mentioned earlier, Mushroom Stew, is actually a short sidescroller platform/action game.
    And Scroll comes with a level editor that helps a lot with the creation of such games.
  • edited February 2012
    Yeah I am the most familiar with objective C which I believe works with this as well correct?

    But objective C or C++ not much different really C is C with only minor differences between them. Well maybe minor sounds like an under statement but I think you get what I am saying anyhow.

    Yeah those tools that use no code are pretty rough. I expected as much really. Glad you saw the vid it really showed why I am not getting the results I am looking for. I have seen gys make games that work using MMF2 and Game Maker etc but those games NEVER have tight control or crisp response. That is exactly why I am looking for something like this.

    I will stick with this one even if it takes a while to get the hang of it. This is going to help further my code skills anyhow which I was also looking to do.

    Thanks for the help guys I am going to grab the svn at some point tonight and start digging in.
  • edited February 2012
    Yep Obj-C is fine though you might have some hard time using it on windows/linux targets due to the lack of good complementary libraries.

    As you're willing to go down the code route, I hope you'll enjoy your trip using orx. And again, don't hesitate to ask questions if you get stuck and the forum/wiki didn't provide you with a satisfactory solution.
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