You are right to question the direction, particularly at this initial stage.
I'm gonna advise you go with BMax.
TGB can be restrictive and frustrating from what I have heard from a fellow coder who - like us all - likes to keep abreast of the best technologies out there for us to utilise.
The process of going from paper into code should be as simple as possible, but there are always going to be some moments when you think "Why on earth did I think that the best method/way was that??!!!"
With TGB or similar - to some extent you are bound by someone elses approach to the problems you will face as a coder. This can be frustrating and very slow, especially when you are used to hand coding every aspect of a game. I have yet to see a game builder which isn't strangely contrived and rarely one that is simple to use, and has every feature I could ever want to dream of including. What's nice about having to code everything yourself is three fold.
(1) You are only restricted to your own effort and brain power capability, not a game builder restriction or omission.
(2) When there is a problem, if it's in YOUR routine, you will have a much better chance of finding it. When a problem exists in a project, in someone else's code or a game builder you have no control over the quality or ability to alter it, this is definately not the best approach for efficiency. Anything gained by using built in tools, usually (depending upon the scale of the project) is countered by unforeseen issues and restrictions.
(3) When it is done - its ALL your own work! A nice feeling, that!
The community here on Blitz forums is very strong too, I don't know how many times someone has given me the wisedom of their advice and saved me from despair, but its numerous.
Finally, with very complex things like physics well, if you don't understand them its not worth risking the project's success on a 'maybe I can make it work', but, for example, you can buy in Physics wrappers for BMax using Physx or ODE afaik, both are very reputable, cheap and easy to use.
Which ever way you choose, good luck and keep us posted.
IPete2.
I'm gonna advise you go with BMax.
TGB can be restrictive and frustrating from what I have heard from a fellow coder who - like us all - likes to keep abreast of the best technologies out there for us to utilise.
The process of going from paper into code should be as simple as possible, but there are always going to be some moments when you think "Why on earth did I think that the best method/way was that??!!!"
With TGB or similar - to some extent you are bound by someone elses approach to the problems you will face as a coder. This can be frustrating and very slow, especially when you are used to hand coding every aspect of a game. I have yet to see a game builder which isn't strangely contrived and rarely one that is simple to use, and has every feature I could ever want to dream of including. What's nice about having to code everything yourself is three fold.
(1) You are only restricted to your own effort and brain power capability, not a game builder restriction or omission.
(2) When there is a problem, if it's in YOUR routine, you will have a much better chance of finding it. When a problem exists in a project, in someone else's code or a game builder you have no control over the quality or ability to alter it, this is definately not the best approach for efficiency. Anything gained by using built in tools, usually (depending upon the scale of the project) is countered by unforeseen issues and restrictions.
(3) When it is done - its ALL your own work! A nice feeling, that!
The community here on Blitz forums is very strong too, I don't know how many times someone has given me the wisedom of their advice and saved me from despair, but its numerous.
Finally, with very complex things like physics well, if you don't understand them its not worth risking the project's success on a 'maybe I can make it work', but, for example, you can buy in Physics wrappers for BMax using Physx or ODE afaik, both are very reputable, cheap and easy to use.
Which ever way you choose, good luck and keep us posted.
IPete2.