Die hard newb

#1 The engine is quiet large and complex. And I would say it maybe best if you had skills in the area of programming first, so you can have some idea of what things are doing and then you maybe able to start off with some MODing of the FPS which is in there and then move on with that. But it will take time I believe. And so you have to decide weather you think you can really do it all, look at some of the code snipits and some will have full files of say a vehicle file which is in the spirting language and see will you can make sense of it.

#2 Trust me, this isn't an engine you can just figure out by looking at it. ;) Lots of it is cryptic and I know some good programmers that are boggled by parts of it. Learn a programming language first, or play around with modding Realm Wars.

edit: beat me to it... this has been happening a lot to me lately, heh

#3 If I got a book on C++ language.... could I just refer to that and use it to program the engine?

#4 Thanks for the advice guys but what are realm mod wars?

#5 Your going to need more than just a C++ book to write code for the engine. Its far from easy and will quickly overwhelm a beginner to C++.

#6 It can quickly overwhelm even an intermediate C++ developer.

#7 You're going to need to start just with scripts and even that will probably be overwelming. For someone who has never done programing before this will be a very harsh introduction to it.

If you can, try taking some courses in programing at a local community college because things like variable scope will totally not make sense otherwise. This is not something that can be sat down and figured out in a few days, weeks, months. With no programing experience it will take you, probably, a year at least to even begin to digest the engine code in C++. Experienced programers take months to become familiar with Torque and start knowing where things are and where to look for stuff.

I don't want to turn you off at all, but I do want to try to give you as much of an idea of how much work it is as you can understand. There are a few stages of programing knowledge. There's "This shouldn't be too hard,"/"How hard can it be," and, "Oh God." What happens is you alternate between the stages. You'll look at a project and go, "Well that shouldn't be to hard," then you get into it and say, "OhGod." When you can look at a project and know what it will take to complete it, and complete it...well that takes experience, and if you sacrifice a small animal it probably doesn't hurt. ;)

#8 I got a degree in Comp Sci and I'm pretty overwhelmed. However, anything is possible if you want it bad enough cindy. If you really wanna try this out...start learning some programming. First make sure you can print "Hello World"..then you'll be all set. (C: I'd advise concentrating on programming first, then try getting the engine and get down n dirty with it. Good luck...

#9 If you aren't strong with programming, you might consider visiting www.milkshape3d.com and dynamic.gamespy.com/~quark/, to check out the world of 3D art - Programmers aren't the only people who make games.

#10 They aren't ***GASP*** ?!?! JUst kidding! :)

Nobody mentioned that there are lots of game programming books for begginers... That could also be a good way to start (along with the C++ book, of course)...

Just my two cents...

#11 I would first ask, "What is your end goal?" In other words, why do you want to learn Torque?

If your goal is to create a game and you're not eager to learn programming from scratch, you might want to look at it from a designer's point of view. Instead of programming the game yourself, put your ideas together and organize them in a methodical and complete way. Once that is complete, see about attracting people with programming experience who might be interested in helping you fulfill your plan.

This is just a suggestion of course.

-W.
www.imperiumonline.com

#12 Programmers are what you would call "Low Density, High Demand Assets". Everyone and their mother has a great idea that they want to make into a game, and there aren't enough programmers to go around. I'm running into this problem myself. I can't seem to find the right people for my project. I atleast have some programming experience, but I too have come to the realization that I probably won't approach game development from the programmer's side in the future. If you take the advice from above, make sure you sell it right. Doesn't matter how great an idea might be, if you say the wrong word, or sell it wrong, you'll never attract the talent. I'd advise still getting some experience be it programming, modeling or whatever. That way, you'll feel you have something to contribute to the end product instead of just leadership and management, and more people will be willing to work for you as a result.

#13 Cindy,

IMHO, based on the questions you are asking and the tone of your posts, the Torque is probably too advanced for your needs. As some have suggested, you can learn a lot by "modding" Realm Wars. If you are successful at that, then moving up to the full Torque may be a good idea.

I hate to turn down sales, but we don't want people to throw away money either.

Jeff Tunnell GG

#14 In response to Mr. Tilton, I agree that ideas for games are commonplace. However, what is far less common are people who take their ideas and build on them in a structured and professional way. If you lack the programming and/or artistic skills to make your idea into a reality, then you better at least show that you are willing to put a lot of effort into the game (from a planning standpoint). As I see it, a person has no hope of attracting talent to his or her project if it appears uncoordinated or unprofessional. And, even if you do attract the talent, the game will still fail if it lacks the proper organization.

-W.

#15 Point very well made, and I totally agree, but sometimes, just the way you word things may or may not attract people. You could have someone who has no organizational skills, but is a good salesman so he attracts the talent...and someone who's got a great plan and organization, but terrible salesman skills wont. The key is to be good at both. I'm only good at one )C: I couldn't sell a lifevest to a drowning man... )C:

#16 Thank you for all the help! I never thought I'd see the day that an employee of a company would tell me not to buy their product and give me advice. Im going to keep visiting this great site everyday. Hopefully I'll be ready to join you all if I work hard by next year.

#17 Just out of curiosity, what is your age? You in High School or College, or what? Not that it has too much to do with anything, but the younger the better, because you'll have a much wider opportunity available to you.

#18 Cindy: For getting started, I would reccomend this:

3DGameStudio

You can build an entire game from script if you want, and the experience you'll get from it is invaluable.

To top that off, once you've mastered their WDL script, you'll find that you have inadvertantly grasped C. ;-)

#19 I got into Torque through modding all the games I've owned, including Tribes2. Modding Tribes2 lets you know a LOT about how the engine works, especially if you go real in-depth.