Hi, I want to make a TileMap editor for my upcomming game. The game will be coded with VisualC++, but the TileMap editor, since I dont have enough knowledge in Windows programming with VisualC++ and enough with VisualBasic, if it''s possible to make the tilemap editor with visualbasic and if it''s preferable using Directx7 for Visualbasic or not? Thanks

I''ve made a tile editor using DirectX7 and Visual Basic.
The interface is strictly graphical (no winapi) cuz I didn''t want to do a winapi bitblt editor.
Works quite alright.

If you know VB DirectX better than C++, you should go with that.

Daniel Netz, Sentinel Design

You can do basicly anything. Makes no difference how or what you use to make the data file. It''s all just a bunch of bits in the end.

Your tilemap editor could be written in Pascal or Assembly if you wanted it to be. And there''s no reason to use DX to make it. You could use GDI since it''s not performance critical. I wrote an editor a while back in VB that could do two kinds of maps - both of them could be used for first person shooters and one could be used for tile maps, although I primarily wrote it for the FPS stuff. It used straight API calls. The code that displayed the bitmaps for selection was actually C++ that I encapsulated in an ActiveX control, as was the file manager (simply because I hate manipulating files in VB). The area I used to edit the map was a grid drawn on a picturebox control. I included other options to view the map in a seperate window later on.

My point is, your tools can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. I tend to follow the KISS rule myself, since I''m the only one who uses any tools I write

Given the choice, I would much rather do my tools in VB. If it''s fairly complex I would use DirectX since GDI is a pain and SLOW.

Breakaway Games

Go to http://www.advantage.co.nz/ur/ and get the kick-ass tile engine.

Now it''s clear, I will buid the tilemap editor with VB and maybe just make a preview option with VB DirectX.

Thank you.