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does anyone know of a free flight sim creator. preferably no programming involved and easy interface. i need something to keep me busy until i get the c++ book. i wanted to make a flight sim where you can just fly around, or so combat, maybe even play against your friends online...... ;D

Well Joey, it seems like your a bit like me,... You just want to create all sort of games, you want to learn every programming language and... all at once.
It's good you want to learn everything, you'll be a very good programmer one day,... but maybe you should just fool around with some easy language and make little games... Just try to make another tetris clone or something,... Sokoban, Mastermind, yathzee... easy (-to-make) strategy games. It's lots of fun to make them and you'll learn a lot doing that...

I don't want to say, you can't do what you want to do, not at all, but it seems to me that you're planning to make 'this game in that language', 'another game in another language'... and that like... nothing is going to happen :-\

Anyway, I don't know about a (free) flight sim creator, it would be cool though...

I hope you'll make some fun stuff as soon as you get your C-book

Yeah, what about your AGI game

However, if you want some 3-D toolkits to dink around with, including some stuff to make 3-D games, check out www.gamehippo.com. They have Game Dev and Game Utilities pages that should be helpful.

In fact, I discovered the AGI tools and community indirectly through GameHippo, so...

As for the specific query, I'm afraid I don't know of any Flight Sim tools of the kind you are looking for. But that's not why I'm posting.

I have to agree with Jelle here, especially since, as I've said before, C++ is not really a good choice for one's first programming language. I still would recommend trying Python first before diving into C++ (some other interpreted languages, like Smalltalk and Scheme are also good choices, but Python is the closest of them to C++ and there are some excellent tutorials and online books available for it. Perl, which is a lot like C++ in some ways, is a bit too complex for a beginner IMO). You'll have to learn a scripting language like Python or Perl eventually anyway, so why not get it out of the way first?

Or you could try reading one of the two books I've repeatedly suggested (How to Design Programs and Assembly Language Step by Step). It couldn't hurt, could it?

Unfortunately, I don't know of any book that is as good as these that covers C++, which I don't think is a coincidence. The best C++ book I know, Thinking in C++, assumes that you already have an intermediate level of experience in general programming, because that is really what you need to be able to really understand C++ effectively.

While I cannot speak for the one you are buying, it is my experience that most books which purport to teach C++ to someone with no programming experience are crocks. First off, the language is simply is too overwhelming; most people who try to learn it as a first programming language will only become frustrated, no matter how good they are or the book they are learning form is. Also, such books are notorious for both missing information and misinformation about the language. Finally, many such books are little more than shills for a particular compiler or IDE or library add-on, and you quickly find that you've only really learned their system, not C++ as it is generally used (this is my beef with The Art of Assembly Language, BTW; HLA, while a lot easier than conventional assembly syntax, is really a language unto itself, and really doesn't help much with programming using a conventional assembler).

Taking this sort of shortcut will come back to bite you later. Given the existence of better texts, there isn't any justification for it. Taking more time on it, while frustrating, will do you better in the long run.

well i plan on only learning c++. (for now that is) i am going to start working on it, when i get that book. like i said, and for now, im just looking for easy things to make some games with. once i understand c++, im going to use that to make MOST of my games. and definately all my apps. i will still use agi probably, but anyway, c++ is a few days after christmas (dec 25).

im not going to learn all these different languages yet. like i said, c++. i will use that for all my programming needs most likely.

oh also, how long would it take to learn python before i can make games? ;D i may do what you said schol r lea.

Hey Joey, it seems that we are in a very similiar place as far as C++ goes. I want to program NOW! C++ is a little tricky though, I have about three C++ books gathering dust on my bookshelves right now. I must say Schol-R-LEA is right about one thing, that Assembly Language Step by Step is a pretty amazing book. I haven't finished it but, for such a thick book I have made a bit of progress in it (school causes VERY S..L..O..W... reads).

I have an idea though, perhaps others can give input on this idea. By the time you finish with the basics of C++ I don't see why you couldn't write a simple text adventure. I only got about half way through Teach Yourself C++ in 21 days and I can. So, here is my recommendation to both of us:

(complete each task before moving on to the next)

Level 1. Write a text adventure
(have it take place somewhere simple)

Level 2. Add images to your text adventure
(when you are standing in front of a house
display a picture of a house)

Level 3. Make the image more interactive, display the text on
the screen, clickable areas(?)

Level 4. move a character on the screen

etc.

Now, of course you would want to do a lot of tricks with the basic text adventure part. Really know how to handle variables, conditionals, and the other basics. Also learn how to play with memory, that is my failing point with programming languages, when someone says pointers...I run. I think this is a good idea because over the last 20 years this is how the REAL veterans have done it. Text, images, 2D sprites, and finally 3D rendering.

Oh, yeah, one more thing, the programming track at the college I go to starts you off in assembly, then you can take C++. I imagine that is a way to weed people out, but, still, it kind of tells you how important assembly is in learning how to program.

Good luck,
-junc

k thanks junc. im gonna fool around with python for a bit and see if i like that language tonight. ill get back to everyone tommorrow.

Python?
Perl?
Agi?
Sgi?
Php?
Cgi?
Pascal?
Basic?
Fortran?
ALGOL?
LISP?
COBOL?
APL?
PL/I?
ISWIM?
Prolog?
SIMULA?
Scheme?
OPS5?
CSP?
FP?
dBASE II?
Smalltalk-80?
Ada?
Parlog?
Standard ML?
CLP?
Eiffel?
CLOS?
Mathematica?
Oberon?
Haskell?
C?
C++?
Assembler?

Hey,

Looks like your a bit ahead of yourself mate. It isn't THAT easy to learn C++. And even when you do, Game Programming is a whole new Ball Game compared to Business Apps.

You aren't gonna learn it overnight, trust me, Game Programming is very hard, But if you do want to make games, i recommend you use Allegro (www.allegro.cc) it is very simple for beginners. And i also Recommend you use VC++, assuming that you use Windows.

Cya.

Oh, forgot these:

dBASE?
D?
BCPL?
CPL?

SmartEiffel, K, *nix shell script, Java?

ok so wait. once i finish that book, im going to have to get one on game making? im very confused now. after i finish learn c++ today, will or will I not be able to make some games. i know not ID Software type good games, but will I be able to? and if I want to make real good games, what should I learn or what book should I use?

Joey have you tried DarkBasic http://www.darkbasic.com
That's a great program for creating games. Even for flight ones.



-Eigen

i have heard/seen it before. you have to buy it though right? ill look for a trial or something.