Questions about GameMaker

[Za_Destroyer]

No. The one that the Mac uses is version 7. Talk about super old.

Could I use GM V7 to make something as complex as Monokid?

 

[DaSpirit]

Could I use GM V7 to make something as complex as Monokid?

Monokid is not complex at all. Platform games are the most common games made in GameMaker. You can make one easily. But if you want physics, then you need GameMaker Studio.

 

[KingCharizard]

Thank you all for your support! XD I think I've come up with a basic idea for a game! Now all I need are some coders, some good spriters, some music composers, some...

So what are you gonna do?

To find a tool you want/need to use you need to ask yourself these question,

• What do I plan to make?
• Will it be pokemon? or your own game idea?
• Will it be 2D or 3D
• What features do i need?
• Can I code at all? If not you will need to learn.
• How devoted am I to see my idea become a reality?

Those are a few basic questions you should ask, there a whole world out there filled with tools to be able to see any game come to life you need to only find the right tool and have enough dedication to make it come to life. Here is a list of game engines Click here!.

 

[Lord Varion]

Monokid is not complex at all. Platform games are the most common games made in GameMaker. You can make one easily. But if you want physics, then you need GameMaker Studio.

You can make physics in Game Maker 8, Me and I'mCatman have done it many times.

 

[☆Rei☆]

You can make physics in Game Maker 8, Me and I'mCatman have done it many times.

I've done some simple Newton Physics before for a platformer using only GML (Only adding the gravity and obviously rotations but it did lag slightly) but regular old physics can be done in 5 minutes.

 

[DaSpirit]

You can make physics in Game Maker 8, Me and I'mCatman have done it many times.

Yes, using an external .dll. Otherwise, like hansiec said, a pure GML implementation in such an old version lags. GameMaker Studio has built in physics and GML is also faster (since they switched from their Delphi runner to their C++ one). They also upgraded from DirectX 8 to DirectX 9 (people still use XP) and even rewrote their whole audio engine so all old graphic and sound glitches are gone and vastly improved especially in performance respectively.

 

[Lord Varion]

The physics we made did not cause much lag, only the occasional slow down.
But it's bearable.

 

[☆Rei☆]

Yeah, but newton physics include the velocity, inertia, rotation, ect. If you've seen Extreme Physics You'll know what I mean by newton physics (because that is newton physics right there) besides I am using Game Maker 8.0 Pro (I have not yet upgraded because I am saving for up for Game Maker Studio Master Version (second best version) )

 

[DaSpirit]

The physics we made did not cause much lag, only the occasional slow down.
But it's bearable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF_gaohyMW0
This, in old versions of GameMaker, would cause a lot of slowdowns if you do not use any .dll. Either way, if you're on Mac, they don't support .dlls and I don't know if there are any .dylibs you could use yet (probably not, because Studio already supports physics, so why would anyone bother?).

 

[Fraot]

Game Maker is actually quite hard to handle. Sorry to turn you off, but you should install RPG Maker XP or VX or VX Ace and install Windows in your Mac (I'm asking too much). Game Maker is gonna be HARD if you're a "noob", as you said.

I'm making a game myself in Game Maker (a Megaman X one, btw) and it was a hell to learn how to program correctly, luckly, after years of practice, I dare to say I'm pretty good at it.

An RPG game would require A LOT of variables and complex stuff since it's not just about jumping n' shooting (which is a big part of Game Maker's strength: platform games).

I myself have a Mac and Windows installed on BootCamp and am programming this game of mine in Windows.
Currently I'm getting into Stencyl, which is kind of a Flash AS3 framework for noobs in Flash (like me), you can try it.

 

[DaSpirit]

An RPG game would require A LOT of variables and complex stuff since it's not just about jumping n' shooting (which is a big part of Game Maker's strength: platform games).

It would not take a lot of variables if you do it correctly. I think I can make my Pokemon game for GameMaker use less than Essentials uses. Furthermore, it's easier if you split it up into segments.

But code can become as complicated as in other languages. For example, the precious one line script I wrote today:

return (argument0 & ~(255 << (argument1 << 3))) ^ (argument2 << (argument1 << 3));

I'll give a cookie to anyone who knows what it does. HINT: It modifies an unsigned double.

But you are correct, it is difficult to handle. If you don't know how computers work, it's going to be twice as hard. It's one thing to make a game. It's another to make one correctly. I imagine it would take a person at least 2 years before they can make a Pokemon game if they start today in GameMaker.

 

[KingCharizard]

return (argument0 & ~(255 << (argument1 << 3))) ^ (argument2 << (argument1 << 3));

I dont know what argurment0,1,2 are so i cannot tell you the result but these are bitwise operators I'll break down the parts,
^ = XOR
~ = Not
<< = Shift Left
>> = Shift Right
& = And

Why did you write this code, I'm not certain what your trying to achieve but your shifting values and returning the result, im guessing to get a decimal number(Float or Double)...

It would not take a lot of variables if you do it correctly. I think I can make my Pokemon game for GameMaker use less than Essentials uses. Furthermore, it's easier if you split it up into segments.

But code can become as complicated as in other languages. For example, the precious one line script I wrote today:

Your talking OOP I assume, less variables isn't always better. I use variables alot, but I also throw in some literal numbers in my math.

 

[☆Rei☆]

@daSpirit

argument0 = how much to add
argument1 = power of 256 (2 = 256*256) THIS IS A WHOLE NUMBER!
argument3 = multiply 256*256 (argument1 times)


example:

0,1,1 will pass as 256
0,2,1 will pass as 65536
1,2,1 will pass as 65537

what it's actual purpose is I don't know.

 

[DaSpirit]

lol I love how you guys tried to figure it out.

It modifies a byte in a given variable. I did this because GameMaker uses doubles by default and you cannot declare any other variable types (the creators thought it would make the language easier, Python does the same but guess which variable type you want instead of automatically giving you a double).

Argument0 was the original variable, argument1 was the byte number you want to change and argument2 was the byte you want to insert. This way, I could partition my double instead of wasting 7 bytes for a single character. Likewise, I have a script that modifies the bits themselves so I don't waste 63 bits for a boolean (yup, GameMaker makes those doubles too >.<).

I want to get the most out of my variables. Moreover, it will be easier for me to add decryption and it will be faster because it is done in less CPU cycles (because I'll be using a lot less variables). Obviously, it would only be used for variables that are not frequently accessed. I am adding online play so decryption is helpful.

 

[KingCharizard]

Argument0 was the original variable, argument1 was the byte number you want to change and argument2 was the byte you want to insert. This way, I could partition my double instead of wasting 7 bytes for a single character. Likewise, I have a script that modifies the bits themselves so I don't waste 63 bits for a boolean (yup, GameMaker makes those doubles too >.<).

I see, I was close. Thats a very bad way of handling variables on GM's part..

 

[DaSpirit]

I agree. I posted a bunch of suggestions to the GameMaker forums for better GML but people just told me to just use C++. GameMaker will never beat anything for rapid development to me though. :p

The development team of GameMaker does not want to add many new features in terms of the IDE and GML though. They're too focused on improving current features (although I can't wait for them to add shaders to the 3D so I can finally add some nice lighting and for them to finally fix the old deprecated online engine they were using).

I once tried to build a GameMaker game in C++ (by building a .dll). Unfortunately, the calls to the library was slower than the calls that I can make within the GameMaker so it was a waste of my time.

 

[KingCharizard]

I agree. I posted a bunch of suggestions to the GameMaker forums for better GML but people just told me to just use C++. GameMaker will never beat anything for rapid development to me though. :p

The development team of GameMaker does not want to add many new features in terms of the IDE and GML though. They're too focused on improving current features (although I can't wait for them to add shaders to the 3D so I can finally add some nice lighting and for them to finally fix the old deprecated online engine they were using).

I once tried to build a GameMaker game in C++ (by building a .dll). Unfortunately, the calls to the library was slower than the calls that I can make within the GameMaker so it was a waste of my time.

Have you ever gave unity a shot? For rapid prototyping its a very good solution. I can make a solid working prototype in a few hours-days

 

[DaSpirit]

Nope. Unity Pro is too expensive for my taste. Even with the free version, if I wanted to create a commercial product, I would rather make it in C++ for the sake of the learning process (and I would rather have an engine that I can use in future works although I would still use FMOD and possibly RakNet which I would still need to pay for).

The only reason I am still using GameMaker is because a person asked me to partake in developing a Pokemon game in it. It's not a bad program though, especially for beginners. I remember being a child and using GameMaker 6.1. It's an ideal choice to get you started into programming. It was because of GameMaker that I decided I loved programming and I learned other languages. If it wasn't for GameMaker, I would not be as intelligent (the current knowledge, not true intelligence, I don't believe in pure intelligence). Programming requires lots of hard work, dedication and patience. It builds you as a person. Especially through joining a team and taking on a leader role. I used to be carefree, now I am serious about everything and it really shows in my school work. I will be proud when I release a Pokemon Kit for GameMaker so I can get others started on programming. It doesn't use some Ruby garbage or any event systems. Everything is built through classic OOP like structure and is neatly separated with resources and objects are neatly separated into initialization, game logic and graphics like any conventional engine would be like. It gives people a quick and easy direction for concepts of game development. I would never have been able to start game development in a programing language like C# or C++. There are all these walls you have to learn first and they were easily broken down by GameMaker to master these languages quickly and jump right into development with them.

 

[UnderMybrella]

For me, GameMaker never really appealed to me. As a 10/11 year old, I could see that it would be difficult to make the game I wanted in it, so I searched some more. RMXP broke down some of those walls for me. But every step of the way, especially when I got into Minecraft modding, I knew that Java was my final goal, the path I would take to finish the race of my game. And it works. My professional advice would be starting off with Pokemon Essentials and get the trial version of RMXP to see if it's worth the money for you. If not, try GameMaker again or something else. But starting at GameMaker could be a bit difficult as I haven't actually seen a kit for GM on these forums. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe it doesn't really exist yet. But RMXP could be your way to go for a Pokemon fan-game

 

[KingCharizard]

I used game maker like 7.0 or something like that i got the disc somewhere.

I would never have been able to start game development in a programing language like C# or C++. There are all these walls you have to learn first and they were easily broken down by GameMaker to master these languages quickly and jump right into development with them.

This is true, but its not impossible, you need to learn a few basics of the WinAPI and Direct X and/or Open GL. This is all assuming ur going to program for windows. The WinAPI isn't hard here is code to write a basic windows pop up box.

WinMain(HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, HINSTANCE hInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nShowCmd){
 MessageBoxA(NULL, "This is a pop up Box", "PopUp Box", MB_ICONEXCLAMATION | MB_OK);
}

I've learned what i needed to of the WinAPI now im in the process of using DirectX its not easy but if you want a career as a game programmer then i'd recommend learning how to build a game from the ground up.