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Oops, my bad...
Author
This response that I am finishing here was generated in response to #define vs const, altough many post have led up this revalation. I decided to cut it short and finish my thought here.
What I was suggesting is that one should read the freakin'' manual, help pages, etc. and start learning why certain things work rather than reading a book that promises learning C++ in 5 minutes and/or taking code snipets here and there and just using things because it seemed to work before in a completely different situation. There are only a handfull of keywords in the C/C++ language and little nuances such as the placement of a keyword on a single statement changes the meaning in a dramatic way. ( By the way, get "Brain Surgery in 24 Hours" or "Brain Surgery for Dummies", the pay is much better starting out )
This isn''t a lash out at you, anyone in this thread, or anyone that frequents this site. Simply put, C++ only takes a day or so of study to learn, but it takes lifetime to master. ( If you know basic programming skills already )That''s something you won''t read in these "Be a Game Programmer Overnight" books. Cozy up to this fact if you don''t know it. Embrace the fact that in the overall scheme of things your aren''t going to know squat until you have paid your dues. You may wow your friends who only play games etc, but bringing it here serves no purpose to anybody.
If you are stuck, you have done your research/homework, and you absolutely cannot find a means to your answer: then by all means, post a question if you must. When someone responds, to just nit-pick the response away to show your "superior intellect" or whatever you are trying to accomplish serves no purpose but to muddy this issue of the thread and give into a mob mentality of trying to get your $0.02 in worth. And to validate this statement, I am as guilty as the next person having done this.
Insanity is the process of doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Therefore, I am tired of being sick and have decided to heal myself.
I am off to learn my fundamentals again. After 15+ years of doing this I obviously missed that because I seem to constantly be reminded of that fact by people who on the surface of it don''t seem to understand the very tools they are trying to exploit. I guess they found a shortcut I wasn''t smart enough to find on my own.
My apologies to the "true" programmers for here for wasting bandwidth and time. Even more, my apologies for the inexperienced with delusions of grandeur, for responding to some questions have done more harm than good.
--Another tired bit-pusher
err
wannabe that is
Wow, there have been more and more of these "wake-up and smell the bite-code" posts poping up. Must be something in the water. Now that all newbies hopes have been shattered, anyone have anything motivational to share?
Dare To Think Outside The Box
_____________________________
|____________________________|
http://www.inversestudios.com
Dare To Think Outside The Box
_____________________________
|____________________________|
http://www.inversestudios.com
Dearest deadlinegrunt,
Preach on bruddha!! I agree completely.
Most sincerely,
DarthSpanky
Preach on bruddha!! I agree completely.Most sincerely,
DarthSpanky
Today''s motivational quote:
"There''s nothing better to keep you going than to see someone playing and enjoying or talking about a game you had a hand in creating!"
Breakaway Games
"There''s nothing better to keep you going than to see someone playing and enjoying or talking about a game you had a hand in creating!"
Breakaway Games
Sure, how about this for motivation.
Even YOU could program the next Quake.
just going against the stream. hehe.
It is funny when we get emails consisting of the
following lines :
"How do I program games?"
"How do I make [insert game here]?"
"My code gets this error, could you debug it for me?"
Other topics that are amusing are those which
clearly show a lack of any sort of research on their
part.
ie.
"How do I set the graphics mode to 16-bit in DirectX?"
"Could you recommend some books on game development?"
"Could you recommend a good site concerning game
development?" <-- This one made my draw drop..
---
Michael Tanczos
Edited by - Michael Tanczos on 2/2/00 11:52:46 PM
Even YOU could program the next Quake.
just going against the stream. hehe.
It is funny when we get emails consisting of the
following lines :
"How do I program games?"
"How do I make [insert game here]?"
"My code gets this error, could you debug it for me?"
Other topics that are amusing are those which
clearly show a lack of any sort of research on their
part.
ie.
"How do I set the graphics mode to 16-bit in DirectX?"
"Could you recommend some books on game development?"
"Could you recommend a good site concerning game
development?" <-- This one made my draw drop..
---
Michael Tanczos
Edited by - Michael Tanczos on 2/2/00 11:52:46 PM
deadlinegrunt,
You must excuse people for being eager.
Imagine what it would be like to have a great game idea but you don''t have the programming skills to implement it. I think I will quote you here:
"by people who on the surface of it don''t seem to understand the very tools they are trying to exploit"
I am sure these are people who just want to be able to see their ideas brought to life. They have little programming skills - but they have a game in their head and they have to contend with Windows, DirectX, C++, Maths, Physics etc.., of course they want to get results in a very short period of time - it is because of their excitement.
I guess I saw this post and it struck a nerve - I am just not the type of person to discourage (or lash out at people), especially not 14-year-olds who by the time they are my age will probably kick my butt at programming. I don''t care if they do ask the same questions over and over, or fail to read an FAQ or do something else to piss all you "experts" off. There is this little thing called tolerance.
Paulcoz.
You must excuse people for being eager.
Imagine what it would be like to have a great game idea but you don''t have the programming skills to implement it. I think I will quote you here:
"by people who on the surface of it don''t seem to understand the very tools they are trying to exploit"
I am sure these are people who just want to be able to see their ideas brought to life. They have little programming skills - but they have a game in their head and they have to contend with Windows, DirectX, C++, Maths, Physics etc.., of course they want to get results in a very short period of time - it is because of their excitement.
I guess I saw this post and it struck a nerve - I am just not the type of person to discourage (or lash out at people), especially not 14-year-olds who by the time they are my age will probably kick my butt at programming. I don''t care if they do ask the same questions over and over, or fail to read an FAQ or do something else to piss all you "experts" off. There is this little thing called tolerance.
Paulcoz.
Well, here is my rant, along with a 3 step guide to a newbies success (With bonus insperational message at end of post!)
I think the thing that is causing all of this uproar is not a group of "experts" tired of answering the questions posed by all of the "newbies". I think it is instead people being tired of other people looking for, and expecting the "quick fix" and not really willing to put forth the effort necessary to reach their final goal. This is not really the fault of the people asking the questions but is instead a fact of our modern, instant gratification based society.
I think that the common fiber in all of these posts is that those of us who have been programming for a while, and have some knowledge to share, and are willing to give a hand, just want those that are just getting started to follow a couple of simple steps first.
#1 Take the time to try and find the resources you need on your own. If you have tried to find resources, but just can''t, then go ahead and ask about it.
#2 After you get the resources, then try to apply the information you find for yourself.
#3 If you have problems after that, then formulate a clear, concise question and post it.
We will help if at all possible.
Remember, any "monkey" can imitate a human, but it is the "human" who does things on his own that excels.
The thing that those just starting need to know is that they are starting on a long walk, a journey that is 50,000 miles long, with the final destination being the next Quake or StarCraft and your name in lights. The journey is not impossible, but it has to be taken one step at a time. Some times it will feel like you are crawling, other times it will feel like you are outpacing a formula 1 race car.
You just have to keep taking the steps, one at a time. No one can take them for you, and you shouldn’t expect that someone else will. The farther you walk the path, the more satisfying the next step will be.
(Wow, after reading this post I feel like a preacher on Sunday morning )
Good luck to everyone, "newbie" and "expert" alike keep taking that next step!
I think the thing that is causing all of this uproar is not a group of "experts" tired of answering the questions posed by all of the "newbies". I think it is instead people being tired of other people looking for, and expecting the "quick fix" and not really willing to put forth the effort necessary to reach their final goal. This is not really the fault of the people asking the questions but is instead a fact of our modern, instant gratification based society.
I think that the common fiber in all of these posts is that those of us who have been programming for a while, and have some knowledge to share, and are willing to give a hand, just want those that are just getting started to follow a couple of simple steps first.
#1 Take the time to try and find the resources you need on your own. If you have tried to find resources, but just can''t, then go ahead and ask about it.
#2 After you get the resources, then try to apply the information you find for yourself.
#3 If you have problems after that, then formulate a clear, concise question and post it.
We will help if at all possible.
Remember, any "monkey" can imitate a human, but it is the "human" who does things on his own that excels.
The thing that those just starting need to know is that they are starting on a long walk, a journey that is 50,000 miles long, with the final destination being the next Quake or StarCraft and your name in lights. The journey is not impossible, but it has to be taken one step at a time. Some times it will feel like you are crawling, other times it will feel like you are outpacing a formula 1 race car.
You just have to keep taking the steps, one at a time. No one can take them for you, and you shouldn’t expect that someone else will. The farther you walk the path, the more satisfying the next step will be.
(Wow, after reading this post I feel like a preacher on Sunday morning
)Good luck to everyone, "newbie" and "expert" alike keep taking that next step!
well, where to begin?
i understand where both people are coming from
i havent been programming for very long, and i have an extremly long way to go
sometimes people who know next to nothing posting on this website can seem a touch anoying, but really, all of the "experts" here started at the same place -- no one was born with a copy of a c++ compiler in one hand and their fist fps in the other
ive been learning alot of patience lately, because ive been teaching a friend of mine to program, so i have to live with newbie questions everyday, but its worth it -- knowing that you helped someone is a great feeling
if you take great offense to newbie posts, then dont read them!
the message boards are here to post, not to take up space
also, anyone who feels they know everything should just flip through the c++ programming language by stroustrup -- when you know how to do everything in his book, and when and when not to do various things, you can call yourself an "expert"
i understand where both people are coming from
i havent been programming for very long, and i have an extremly long way to go
sometimes people who know next to nothing posting on this website can seem a touch anoying, but really, all of the "experts" here started at the same place -- no one was born with a copy of a c++ compiler in one hand and their fist fps in the other
ive been learning alot of patience lately, because ive been teaching a friend of mine to program, so i have to live with newbie questions everyday, but its worth it -- knowing that you helped someone is a great feeling
if you take great offense to newbie posts, then dont read them!
the message boards are here to post, not to take up space
also, anyone who feels they know everything should just flip through the c++ programming language by stroustrup -- when you know how to do everything in his book, and when and when not to do various things, you can call yourself an "expert"
Author
quote: Original post by PoesRaven
also, anyone who feels they know everything should just flip through the c++ programming language by stroustrup -- when you know how to do everything in his book, and when and when not to do various things, you can call yourself an "expert"
Hmm, seems like this was mentioned this before pretty much along the same lines.
Click here
Also, this same book you refer to mentions the use of #defines vs const etc, which the very beginning of the thread refers too.
As far has helping other people and tolerance, well check this out:
There is a drop down menu on the top of the page, change it from last 5 days to last year before you post. Chances are your question has been posted and you''ll also see where myself along with others have helped people of all different skillsets, OVER AND OVER AND OVER...
Also, I apologize if I seem to come across as an ass. To all the people trying to get where they are going: I am not trying to discourge you. My intention was not to cheeze anyone off or smash any dreams.
Resource management and effective execution on them is just as important as everything else. HINT: I''m not refering to a program with this statement.
This topic is closed to new replies.
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