I didn't really notice anyone complaining too much about the new features, just the docs, sample code and tutorials.
I have a grasp of the basics of old blitz and how it relates to Bmax, but mostly through doing old blitz tutorials in Bmax.
the sample code seems to be full of coders trying to show off new features like Methods, extensd or something and doing all kinds of crazy things thats really confusing to someone thats trying to learn the basics of types, arrays and functions.
Too much stuff thrown in my face at once and no point of reference or basic instruction to build up from makes the whole learning process very difficult indeed.
The doc's in the IDE help mean very little to me as they stand, since they don't seem to show examples about how you go about using them, and the samples have no progression from beginner through to advanced.
If I want to learn the basics and shoot bullets from a ship all I find is methods, extends, all intertwined in a fashion that probably makes sence to a programmer with some experience.
So far I have gotten by by cutting out and isolating areas that I am having trouble with, but don't know how to proceed from that point on.
If you ever gave your grandad a computer and tried to teach him how to use windows with a mouse (he having never used a computer before) When it comes to Bmax, it's kind of like being your grandad, only I havent got a manual thats in plain english, but something that assumes you've used a computer before and just need a quick refresher course as to whats changes. Which essentially what the Bmax docs and samples are.
At least the other languages have a couple of years of user docs, articles and techniques to learn from, so with a lot of time and effort and experimentation you can get through it.
I think Bmax itself is excellent, and just through comparing B+ and B3D code in tutorials to what canbe done in Bmax, I can see how much better it is than previous languages.
Like Sybixsussays
Seems to sum it up pretty well. I think it was definately $80 well spent though :).
I have a grasp of the basics of old blitz and how it relates to Bmax, but mostly through doing old blitz tutorials in Bmax.
the sample code seems to be full of coders trying to show off new features like Methods, extensd or something and doing all kinds of crazy things thats really confusing to someone thats trying to learn the basics of types, arrays and functions.
Too much stuff thrown in my face at once and no point of reference or basic instruction to build up from makes the whole learning process very difficult indeed.
The doc's in the IDE help mean very little to me as they stand, since they don't seem to show examples about how you go about using them, and the samples have no progression from beginner through to advanced.
If I want to learn the basics and shoot bullets from a ship all I find is methods, extends, all intertwined in a fashion that probably makes sence to a programmer with some experience.
So far I have gotten by by cutting out and isolating areas that I am having trouble with, but don't know how to proceed from that point on.
If you ever gave your grandad a computer and tried to teach him how to use windows with a mouse (he having never used a computer before) When it comes to Bmax, it's kind of like being your grandad, only I havent got a manual thats in plain english, but something that assumes you've used a computer before and just need a quick refresher course as to whats changes. Which essentially what the Bmax docs and samples are.
At least the other languages have a couple of years of user docs, articles and techniques to learn from, so with a lot of time and effort and experimentation you can get through it.
I think Bmax itself is excellent, and just through comparing B+ and B3D code in tutorials to what canbe done in Bmax, I can see how much better it is than previous languages.
Like Sybixsussays
The documentation is barely adequate for a beta
Seems to sum it up pretty well. I think it was definately $80 well spent though :).