Sorry to bring this back from the grave, but I had to add my tuppence. Which is, predictably, that I agree with One eyed jack.
I can see Kanati's point about not being able to explore the depths of C++ in a few months. When I was worried that B+ wasn't going to cut it, I tried a bit of C++. I know that I didn't give it 100%, but the reason for that is simple. I quickly realised that whatever constraints B+ placed on me, they were nothing compared to the constraints that C++ would place on me. The stress of learning something harder outweighed the benefits that I'd gain from it. I knew that I'd rather make something less ambitious, but enjoy making it. I made the decision to stick with Blitz before Max came out.
One of the major draws of C++ was the power of OpenGL. During my time dabbling there I saw just how great OGL was. Putting just what I want on the screen really requires it. I'm not going to get drawn into D3D/OGL comparisons. I don't know enough about the subject. What I do know is that D3D is based on OGL. And it's windows only. And I don't like Microsoft :) The real point is that I don't need anything that OGL doesn't supply.
When the news came out that Bmax would allow pure OGL programming, I knew I'd been sold it.
For months now I've been plootering in Bmax. With the release of the GUI, the Last Great Reason not to Code Seriously has gone. Having no other excuse, I've been getting into it properly, and it's just beautiful.
Last year, as I was coding the last version of the game that I'm now re-coding in Max, I'd look at BBPC code of my own that was just two or three years old and be stunned at the way I wrote. Using BB for three years had completely altered the way that I'd approach a problem. To the point that I could hardly believe I'd ever done it differently.
Over the last few days I've found myself looking at code written only a year ago, and shaking my head in disbelief at how obscure it looks in comparison to my Bmax code.
I remember posting something last year about growing to occupy the space that a language gives you, while being protected from the nastiest parts of making computers work. I feel pretty right about that feeling just now.
Add to all that love the extraordinary low price point. Add to THAT the highly honourable (from my point of view) marketing strategy. I'm a big fan of BRL.
I can see Kanati's point about not being able to explore the depths of C++ in a few months. When I was worried that B+ wasn't going to cut it, I tried a bit of C++. I know that I didn't give it 100%, but the reason for that is simple. I quickly realised that whatever constraints B+ placed on me, they were nothing compared to the constraints that C++ would place on me. The stress of learning something harder outweighed the benefits that I'd gain from it. I knew that I'd rather make something less ambitious, but enjoy making it. I made the decision to stick with Blitz before Max came out.
One of the major draws of C++ was the power of OpenGL. During my time dabbling there I saw just how great OGL was. Putting just what I want on the screen really requires it. I'm not going to get drawn into D3D/OGL comparisons. I don't know enough about the subject. What I do know is that D3D is based on OGL. And it's windows only. And I don't like Microsoft :) The real point is that I don't need anything that OGL doesn't supply.
When the news came out that Bmax would allow pure OGL programming, I knew I'd been sold it.
For months now I've been plootering in Bmax. With the release of the GUI, the Last Great Reason not to Code Seriously has gone. Having no other excuse, I've been getting into it properly, and it's just beautiful.
Last year, as I was coding the last version of the game that I'm now re-coding in Max, I'd look at BBPC code of my own that was just two or three years old and be stunned at the way I wrote. Using BB for three years had completely altered the way that I'd approach a problem. To the point that I could hardly believe I'd ever done it differently.
Over the last few days I've found myself looking at code written only a year ago, and shaking my head in disbelief at how obscure it looks in comparison to my Bmax code.
I remember posting something last year about growing to occupy the space that a language gives you, while being protected from the nastiest parts of making computers work. I feel pretty right about that feeling just now.
Add to all that love the extraordinary low price point. Add to THAT the highly honourable (from my point of view) marketing strategy. I'm a big fan of BRL.