I've noticed recently that there have been a lot of newbies with attitudes who don't really know what there doing/talking about. IMHO, these are perfectly reasonable people who just need a little straightening out. Therefore i've decided to give some Common Sense Advice for Newbies. This isn't meant as an attack on newbies, but instead just a bit of a reality check (and ego check!). So without further ado, here are some tips. Most of these are geared towards programmers, although many of them can be taken in general, as well. Tip #1: Don't jump in over your head. I mean, for goodness sakes, learn the fundamentals before you try to out-code carmack! I've seen people try to write 3D engines when they don't even understand C++ very well at all. There is a reason why people get paid for game developement: it's hard, and it's not something you can just pick up in a couple of days. Tip #2: Dont post entire programs on the message board I often see people post entire programs onto the message board. I generally will not answer these for this reason: if the person hasn't taken the time to at least figure out what (general) part of their code the problem is coming from, then they obviously haven't put enough effort into trying to solve the problem themselves. I'm not giving up MY time if they're not willing to give up some of THEIRS. Tip #3: learn your language first. This is similiar to the last tip. Simply put: don't try to learn DirectX if you don't know what a pointer is, and don't expect to be able to code a game if your still puzzling over what for loops do. Tip #4: No, your design probably *isn't* that great. And having a great idea still doesn't mean too much. I see so many people post (especially in the help wanted forum) that they have a super-incredible-fantastic game idea which will revolutionize the game industry. Yeah, you and everyone else. Most of these ideas aren't even that great, and the ones which are still aren't that valuable. Ideas come a dime a dozen, the hard part is implementing it. *This* is where most games either succeed or fail. Tip #5: Make coherent posts This isn't directed at people learning english, as I understand their predicament and don't mind a few grammer mistakes. I'm talking to native english speakers here: use at least a _bit_ of proper grammer in your posts. A few mistakes are OK, but make sure that it's at least readable! Honestly, I see way too many posts where people obviously wrote it in 30 seconds and didn't bother to read over it even once. There are so many gramatically terrible posts it's not even funny. I'm not trying to sound like an english teacher here, but really, at least make sure your posts are readable, okay? BTW, if you see a mistake after you post, you can use the edit post icon to change it (seems like quite a few people don't know about it). Tip #6: Only ask a questions after you've taken a bit of time to search for the answer. Really, I've seen too many posts with questions that could have been answered with 5 minutes worth of research on the posters part, which leads me to my next tip: Tip #7: RTFM ...Which stands for: Read the freakin manual. Don't ask questions when you can easily look it up. Well, thats all for now. Generally, most newbies are pretty good about these things, but if you find yourself violating one of the tips above then smack yourself on the side of the head with a large trout for me . Anyway, post any other tips you think I left out, or if you think I'm an idiot, tell me so (but do it in a civilized way! ) --TheGoop Edited by - TheGoop on 5/18/00 8:53:02 PM

Frustration brings out the worst in us newbies.

*Applause*

Your a Saint for a good reason, TheGoop! I woulda said that, but i can''t seem to write smooth, flowing, ranting paragraphs.

But you''re right. 100%.

I agree totally with you.
I also get annoyed by bad english, or people who ask me to help them with their code, and it turns out their code is non-documented and full of linguistical errors. Nothing is as annoying to see a post full of typo''s and terrible english. Not that I''m saying I don''t make these grammatical (t)errors, but if I see the english of some people whose primary language is english, and compare it to mine....

But that doesn''t neccesarily (<- and this is a word I have trouble with) have to apply to ''just'' newbies. I have seen respected programmers make even worse errors. I hope someone will say this to them, because... well... they are respected programmers. so...

A lot of people underestimate how complex it is to built a game. One of my best friends- he''s a cool guy. I told him that I was learning C++ to ultimately create my game. Anyhow, after about a week of learning the language, he comes over and asks to see the game and how good the 3d was... *shakes head* that sort of thing just pisses me off! I see a lot of newbies being discouraged because they find out that programming games doesn''t take code like this:
====
// newbie code for my game

insert (good_graphics);
make_game(3D / GOOD_LOOKING / FUN);
make_game(HAVE_COOL_GUNS / LOTS_OF_BLOOD);
generate_sound_fx(GOOD_ONES / SOUND_LOUD);

//input part
when_player(shoots), make a good_looking_fire graphic come out of == Player_Gun

That''s honestly another friend of mine''s code... he thinks that a game could be made in such a short time. I was talking with him one day, and I was like, "That''d be cool to make a 3D Flight Simulator... it would take a lot of time and hard work!". He replies with, "Yah I know! You might blow an entire afternoon working on that!".

The ignornace that some newbies have is sometimes acceptable- but in my case, they deserve to be tied up to a tree by their eye-lids, and then beaten in the balls with a big wooden stick until they blink.

Anyways, that was my rant. My final words to go into any newbie who reads this is:
1) Take TheGoop''s advice. He''s a wiseman and will do you nothing but good!
2) Again, as Goop said, research what you''re looking for! There is always a post on these boards that asks where they should go to begin learning C/C++. If you had taken about 15 seconds and looked around *on this very site*, you would have found a tremendous amount of resources and that very subject.

Wanted to get that off my chest...


'I'm sorry Dave. I'm Afraid I can't let you do that...'

quote: Original post by Fredric
The ignornace that some newbies have is sometimes acceptable- but in my case, they deserve to be tied up to a tree by their eye-lids, and then beaten in the balls with a big wooden stick until they blink.

Holy crap..

Note to self: Do not make Fredric angry.

Jesse Chounard

''Comon guys every one was a newbie at one point in time.
Even you.

Being newbie scum myself I have to say that I agree with everything said here. We may be are new to the field of programming, so we are intitled to ask questions because sometimes the books don''t have all the answers. But we don''t needed to be annoying or ask questions that ARE in the books.

quote: Original post by foxtrot

'Comon guys every one was a newbie at one point in time.
Even you.

Yes, it's true. But this post isn't against newbies. Most newbies are really cool and don't bother more experimented coders with stupid questions.

This post is just against newbies who post stupid questions about problems they could resolve by typing F1 under VC++.

Before asking a question, try to find the solution by yourself : you won't learn anything if somebody makes all the hard work for you.

And at last, here is my advice : BUY BOOKS! It seems obvious, but some newbies just think they can make kick-ass games intinctively. Books are great, they are your best friends!



Edited by - Prosper/LOADED on May 19, 2000 10:42:45 AM

I agree on pretty much everything, I still consider myself a newbie, but theres one rule I sort of broke...

I headed into DX once I''d finished learning C++ itself from 2 books... but I actually think its okay, as even though the 2 books left a couple of gaps uncovered, I got Herb Schildts C++ The Complete Reference, and that will fix any ANSI C++ problems I ever may have...

What I''m trying to get at is that seeking perfection before moving on is, when you get down to it, pointless... you can''t, theres a point when you just have to move on... this is also one thing taking a university course helps in... it''ll fill in all those stupid gaps you missed when learning, and generally if its a good course teaches you in the right order.

J2xC

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About time I put something funny here? I think so too...