Game Programming Dynasty: The Thoroughbred Game

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 12:18 PM

I've always wanted a good, comprehensive horse racing simulation. One that encompasses the breeding, training, and racing aspects of the sport. To this date, no such game exists, and the horse racing games that are available are sorely lacking.

I don't care for fancy graphics or any of that. I'm not interested in making the next "Gallop Racer." I just want a solid text-based horse racing management sim that allows me to buy, breed, train, and race a stable of horses. I can't buy a game like that, so I'm going to try to create it.

I have no programming experience. I took some C classes about ten years ago. That's about it. I have no idea where to start or how to proceed. I am likely doomed to failure, but I am hoping that accountability before the FOFC community will help keep me on task.

Of course, your input is welcome - in fact, it's probably critical. I am going to need feedback regarding the game design, logic, and even what programming language to learn and use. My understanding is that Visual C++ might be the way to go, in terms of providing a fast, lean game. Are these benefits outweighed by the ease of use of any other language? I have Visual Studio .NET at my disposal. Any suggestions or recommendations would be most appreciated.

rkmsuf · 04-27-2004, 12:24 PM

Do the exact opposite of Final Stretch and you'll be fine.

I can comment on the racing/game shape stuff but not programming.

primelord · 04-27-2004, 12:28 PM

C++ is probably the best way to go. VB would probably be easier to learn and it can certainly be done in VB, but it will run much faster if it is coded in C++.

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by primelord

C++ is probably the best way to go. VB would probably be easier to learn and it can certainly be done in VB, but it will run much faster if it is coded in C++.

What's the best way to learn the elements of C++ programming that I'll need to know to do this?

GoldenEagle · 04-27-2004, 12:49 PM

I would go with VB. With today's computers, it is not that big of a difference in speed anymore.

jfbbis · 04-27-2004, 12:50 PM

Unles you hope to distribute your game commercially someday, I would make a case for Perl. Speed is not an issue for a text game with modern computers and you'll code a lot faster than with C++ (can't speak for VB). You'll never hesitate to test an idea "because of he time it would take to code it", which can be crucial when you develop a game. And, once you have a running game, if it's so good that you want to sell it, it won't be a big issue to rewrite your code in C or in C++ (some people always do like that: they develop a model in Perl then, when it works to their satisfaction, do the final coding in C++. If they still bother..) And, last but not least, your game will work on any platform known to man or Sectoid

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 12:55 PM

Exactly how is Perl or VB any easier to learn (or quicker to program with) than C++?

GoldenEagle · 04-27-2004, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

Exactly how is Perl or VB any easier to learn (or quicker to program with) than C++?

I can not speak for Pearl, but VB is easier because you do not have have to worry about pointers, inheritance, etc. To get the most out of C++, you have to have a very good understanding of the language and how everything fits. With VB, you can sort of program on the fly.

It is also much easier to do a GUI (Graphical User interface) in VB. This is something you want, even if it will not be that fancy.

C++ is not hard to learn, but it will take time and lots of hands on practice with it. If you can get it down, then good. But I wouldn't worry about it.

Some games done in VB include FBCB and TPF. Something of the complexity you want can be reached using it. Either route you choose to go, I will be around to help as i am fluent in both C++ and VB.

Honolulu Blue · 04-27-2004, 01:05 PM

I'd design the game first - at least sketch an outline - then worry about the programming language later.

First, you have to think about how big of a universe you want. If you want to build the horse racing equivalent of Championship...er, Football Manager, there are hundreds of tracks, thousands of trainers, many thousands of jockeys, and tens of thousands of horses. I wouldn't recommend this. It's probably best to stick with just one subset - whether it's the best of the best, or the goings on at one course.

Then there are the ratings. I'll leave it up to you how many ratings for each group of players (jockey, trainer, horse, owner?), how accurate they would be, and whether some would be hidden.

And then you have to ask yourself how the races will be depicted, if any. Will you have little numbers running around in circles, 1979-style? Or will they just be quick simmed in some fashion?

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I can not speak for Pearl, but VB is easier because you do not have have to worry about pointers, inheritance, etc. To get the most out of C++, you have to have a very good understanding of the language and how everything fits. With VB, you can sort of program on the fly.

It is also much easier to do a GUI (Graphical User interface) in VB. This is something you want, even if it will not be that fancy.

C++ is not hard to learn, but it will take time and lots of hands on practice with it. If you can get it down, then good. But I wouldn't worry about it.

Some games done in VB include FBCB and TPF. Something of the complexity you want can be reached using it. Either route you choose to go, I will be around to help as i am fluent in both C++ and VB.

Good points. I've been partial to C++ because that's what FOF is programmed in, but FBCB is a pretty solid game, so that's a plus for VB - although I have noticed that it sims pretty slow on older PC's. Not a huge issue, but something to consider.

korme · 04-27-2004, 01:25 PM

FBCB does sim kind of slow though, compared to a game like OOTP. I guess because it uses vb? A day per sim takes a short amount of time, but yesterday I only simmed 16 seasons leaving my computer running for about 8 hours when I could sim probably 100 in OOTP with 5x as many games.

However, I don't think you're looking for a large scale quite yet and vb is easier.

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honolulu Blue

I'd design the game first - at least sketch an outline - then worry about the programming language later.

First, you have to think about how big of a universe you want. If you want to build the horse racing equivalent of Championship...er, Football Manager, there are hundreds of tracks, thousands of trainers, many thousands of jockeys, and tens of thousands of horses. I wouldn't recommend this. It's probably best to stick with just one subset - whether it's the best of the best, or the goings on at one course.

Then there are the ratings. I'll leave it up to you how many ratings for each group of players (jockey, trainer, horse, owner?), how accurate they would be, and whether some would be hidden.

And then you have to ask yourself how the races will be depicted, if any. Will you have little numbers running around in circles, 1979-style? Or will they just be quick simmed in some fashion?

I'm working on a document along those lines. I don't really think I'm going to have any visual depiction of the races... just quick-simming. And while I'm a pretty avid horse racing fan, I'm hardly an expert in handicapping, breeding, etc., so I'll probably have to do some research in those areas as well, in order to make the game more realistic.

As for the scope of the game, I would like to make it pretty large... perhaps not international, but I do want to cover a great deal of the American thoroughbred racing game... I would definately want to include everything from cheap claiming races all the way up to G1 stakes, and have at least most of the major racetracks represented. I figure the toughest part is going to be sorting out the AI logic. Theoretically, the player will compete with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of AI stables. The AI stables will have to act appropriately when it comes to buying, training, and racing horses....

jfbbis · 04-27-2004, 01:42 PM

"Exactly how is Perl or VB any easier to learn (or quicker to program with) than C++?"

Quickly : Perl is simple and powerful. Everyday day tasks like file management or text processing are done in a few lines but you can do ambitious things like servers or object programming with ease.
You have hundred of free modules for any task that you would dream of, from database handling to pdf generation.

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfbbis

"Exactly how is Perl or VB any easier to learn (or quicker to program with) than C++?"

Quickly : Perl is simple and powerful. Everyday day tasks like file management or text processing are done in a few lines but you can do ambitious things like servers or object programming with ease.
You have hundred of free modules for any task that you would dream of, from database handling to pdf generation.

What tools do you need to program in Perl?

jfbbis · 04-27-2004, 02:01 PM

Perl itself, that you can download for free at www.activestate.com.

Franklinnoble · 04-27-2004, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfbbis

Perl itself, that you can download for free at www.activestate.com.

Hmm... all the tools I see on there have 21 day trials, but cost money.

jfbbis · 04-27-2004, 02:21 PM

They sell software tools but Perl itself is free : http://activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/?_x=1

Junior 19 · 04-28-2004, 09:25 PM

I'll be keeping track of this. Even though I know zip about horseracing, I always like learning new stuff. Sims seem to be the best learning tools (Championship ...er Football Manager (

) basically taught me the game of soccer.. er football) So, in other words, Go For It!

Franklinnoble · 04-29-2004, 01:42 PM

I'm still sitting on the fence regarding the programming decision... I think I'd prefer Visual C++ .NET, but if it appears I'm too stupid to learn it and use it effectively, I might go VB... In the meantime, I'm working on some game design documentation... I need to sort some of the logic out on paper before I can think of putting it to code.

3ric · 04-29-2004, 02:52 PM

Once you have the logic down on paper, in broad strokes, work on getting the details sorted out like this: take one clearly defined function, like the aging process. Break it apart into smaller and smaller bits, until you've reached a level of detail that you feel comfortable doing in code.

GoldenEagle · 05-04-2004, 02:22 PM

This dynasty is the sole reason I watched the Kentucky Derby. I think the concept behind this could be really cool. What is the latest?

Franklinnoble · 05-04-2004, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

This dynasty is the sole reason I watched the Kentucky Derby. I think the concept behind this could be really cool. What is the latest?

Wow... that's cool.

I got hooked on horse racing a few years back when my wife (then my girlfriend at the time) had me watch the Derby with her. It's now my favorite sport to follow in the months between football season. The statistical history of the game is as rich as any, and it's just screaming for a good text sim.

I'm doing some more research on race times and such... and I'm working on some design documentation while debating the merits of sharing it publicly. I wouldn't mind making this an open-source project, but, then again, if it turns out any good, I wouldn't mind making some money off it, either...

I'm also still debating the VB vs. VC++ issue. I'm definately staying somewhere within VisualStudio .Net.

GoldenEagle · 05-04-2004, 02:53 PM

I am not familair with .NET - what languages can you program with in .NET?

primelord · 05-04-2004, 02:53 PM

The advantage of Perl over C++ is that it is more of a high level language. You don't have to worry about allocating memory etc. Plus it has hashes and hashes rule.

With that being said it isn't as efficent or powerful as C++ because you can't get at low level things like allocating memory etc. I am very big on Perl. It is really the only language I code things in. However I also don't write very large programs and it fits what I need 99% of the time. I think if you were going to write a text sim Perl isn't your best option. It will be much slower than an equivalent C++ program.

Not to mention gui's aren't all that fun. Although they are certainly possible.

With all that being said Jim told me once he had a version of the FOF engine written in Perl at one point. So it is obviously possible.

Franklinnoble · 05-04-2004, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I am not familair with .NET - what languages can you program with in .NET?

There's a pretty good summary here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/pr...s/default.aspx

Franklinnoble · 05-04-2004, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by primelord

The advantage of Perl over C++ is that it is more of a high level language. You don't have to worry about allocating memory etc. Plus it has hashes and hashes rule.

With that being said it isn't as efficent or powerful as C++ because you can't get at low level things like allocating memory etc. I am very big on Perl. It is really the only language I code things in. However I also don't write very large programs and it fits what I need 99% of the time. I think if you were going to write a text sim Perl isn't your best option. It will be much slower than an equivalent C++ program.

Not to mention gui's aren't all that fun. Although they are certainly possible.

With all that being said Jim told me once he had a version of the FOF engine written in Perl at one point. So it is obviously possible.

I can't argue with you, but my decision to stay within VisualStudio .Net is merely a practical one - I have the software already.

primelord · 05-04-2004, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

I can't argue with you, but my decision to stay within VisualStudio .Net is merely a practical one - I have the software already.

That's an excellent argument.

GoldenEagle · 05-05-2004, 01:03 AM

I have changed my opinion to C++. Be a man!

Raven · 05-05-2004, 01:56 AM

I've been following this too, Frank.

I'm a Comp Sci student, and have some experience in C and C++, so I'm watching to see how this turns out. If you decide to make any of the code public, I'd love to see it.

Tasan · 05-05-2004, 02:42 AM

I'm torn on this. As a student (again) and an aspiring programmer, I can see the merits of doing a project like this in either VB or C++. With VB, you have an easily made user interface and simple database access. With C++ though, you can have a lot more control over everything that happens in the background, but you'll have to do a lot more work on the interface side. I think its going to come down to a "pick your poison" type of decision for you though ;- )

Franklinnoble · 05-05-2004, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tasan

I'm torn on this. As a student (again) and an aspiring programmer, I can see the merits of doing a project like this in either VB or C++. With VB, you have an easily made user interface and simple database access. With C++ though, you can have a lot more control over everything that happens in the background, but you'll have to do a lot more work on the interface side. I think its going to come down to a "pick your poison" type of decision for you though ;- )

I think I may share some of my game design docs here, just to give those with more programming experience than I a better idea of what I need the code to do... I'll post them when I've got something a little more polished.

Tekneek · 06-13-2004, 04:53 PM

Hmmm. So, what's happening now?

C++ gives you the most power, in all aspects. I don't know as much about it as I wished, and am going to get back into learning it more later this summer (with a project that I've had on the shelf for two years now).

Good luck.

Mr. Wednesday · 06-14-2004, 12:00 AM

VB's a very nice language (VB classic, that is... I have no experience with VB.NET). C++ is a very nice language. They have different capabilities, somewhat overlapping, and it may even be possible to do parts in one language and parts in another.

The basics of VB are fairly easy to learn. It works like any other procedural language, all you need to pick up is the syntax. It gets complicated when you start worrying about classes, inheritance, event-handling.

The basics of C++ are fairly easy to learn. It works like any other procedural language, and unlike C, there are enough language and library features that you should be able to insulate yourself from the nasty areas like pointers. It gets complicated when you start worrying about classes, templates, pointers, and doing a visual interface.

C++ will almost certainly give you the best performance. VB may be competitive, I'm not really familiar with the performance characteristics of VB.NET.

The design is important and may provide some direction for language choice.

FWIW, I'm currently employed doing software development in both VB classic and C++. I'm a Microsoft MVP for Visual C++, but I still do most of my personal software development in VB (as well as the quick one-off stuff at work).

Franklinnoble · 02-08-2005, 04:21 PM

Time to bring this back from the dead...

Any horseracing fans here? I'm worried less about programming right now, and more about design.

Specifically, I need to know as much as I can about how horse races play out, from a mathmatical standpoint - how fractions work, how to calculate speed figures (and, do I even need this feature?), etc.

Any books that anyone can recommend on the topic would be most welcome.

sabotai · 02-08-2005, 04:28 PM

A book I found awhile ago called New Thoroughbred Owner's Handbook, edited by Laura Proctor, gives a good idea of what goes into owner a thoroughbred. I'd highly recommend it.

Franklinnoble · 04-19-2006, 12:13 AM

Bump.... is this stuck in the archives?

JeeberD · 04-19-2006, 12:32 AM

Not anymore.

Franklinnoble · 04-19-2006, 01:59 AM

The Force is strong with this one...

Thanks, Jeebs!

Franklinnoble · 04-21-2006, 12:42 AM

So, I've decided to drag this thread out of mothballs, because I've made a few decisions:

1. I'm going to move forward with the game design, and see where it takes me. Maybe it's just the horse racing season, but I think it's more to do with the fact that I've cut my teeth on some VB, and I want to learn more.

2. I'm going to program it using Visual Basic .NET 2005. I have Visual Studio 2005, and, in fact, Microsoft is even giving away an express version if you want to check it out:
http://www.digitalstadium.org/smf/in...;topicseen#new

Icy · 04-21-2006, 05:31 AM

I was working on a game too as i told you a few days ago. The familly disaster i had made me think about dropping the idea at all, but now i have decided to go back to it to keep my mind busy.

My doubt was about using VB .NET or C# .NET but as i have a background as Java and PHP programmer i decided for C# as the syntax is almost the same than Java, C++ and PHP. Also C# is said to be the programming language choosen by Microsoft for the new Vista operating system so i thought it would be a good idea to learn it. I have downloaded Visual C# Express that is free at the Microsoft website and it has all that you could need. I have also bought a few books on Visual C# programing and games general AI programming.

I'm advancing fast, to start with i have been toying with an editor for the GDS game TCB and i'm able to edit data already from it's database. That way i'm learning all that i could need about working with Access databases.
Probably i'll release that editor soon.

FN i'll talk with you today about it if you want.

astrosfan64 · 04-21-2006, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

Good points. I've been partial to C++ because that's what FOF is programmed in, but FBCB is a pretty solid game, so that's a plus for VB - although I have noticed that it sims pretty slow on older PC's. Not a huge issue, but something to consider.

Franklin:

Greydog Games are all programmed in VB 6.0.

TCB and BB have pretty fast simmulation speeds. I work in development "not game developement" but I understand the differences in languages.

For what you want to do I would recommend vb.net 2005 or C#. If you are so inclined to make a mac version, you might want to attempt to use Java. Java based games will play both on Mac and Windows with no porting of the code.

http://www.learnvisualstudio.net/vid..._Beginners.htm

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/

You can get free copies of all the .net programming languages from microsoft. If you want to branch out and eventually use other languages such as C++, take a look at C#.

If you just want to make text sims the fastest route for you to take is straight Visual Basic.

Good Luck

Franklinnoble · 04-21-2006, 11:21 AM

Thanks for the input.

That's interesting information on C#... I didn't know all that.

I think I've pretty much decided on VB .Net 2005. It seems to be the path of least resistance for a total novice.

I hadn't considered the Mac ramifications. Do you think there's any chance that VB code will eventually run on the new Macs, now that they're Intel-based? Or am I smoking something?

Godzilla Blitz · 04-21-2006, 01:06 PM

Great! I'll be reading with interest.

I just finished a busy period in my life, and am looking to get back to my gladiator programming adventure as well. Be great to have two going at the same time, although I'll likely stick to VB 6.0 for the time being.

Franklinnoble · 04-21-2006, 04:42 PM

You can get VB.Net 2005 Express for free... might wanna check it out...

TonyR · 04-21-2006, 07:05 PM

I enjoyed your horse racing thread FN, so I will be keeping up with this one as well.

Franklinnoble · 04-21-2006, 11:00 PM

Thanks... I'm way overdue for an update on my dynasty threads... I've been a little busy beta testing PureSim2006 (which I'm blogging over at http://www.sportsdigs.com/ if you're interested).

04-27-2004, 12:24 PM	#2
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	Do the exact opposite of Final Stretch and you'll be fine. I can comment on the racing/game shape stuff but not programming. __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

04-27-2004, 12:50 PM	#6
jfbbis n00b Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lyon, France	Unles you hope to distribute your game commercially someday, I would make a case for Perl. Speed is not an issue for a text game with modern computers and you'll code a lot faster than with C++ (can't speak for VB). You'll never hesitate to test an idea "because of he time it would take to code it", which can be crucial when you develop a game. And, once you have a running game, if it's so good that you want to sell it, it won't be a big issue to rewrite your code in C or in C++ (some people always do like that: they develop a model in Perl then, when it works to their satisfaction, do the final coding in C++. If they still bother..) And, last but not least, your game will work on any platform known to man or Sectoid Last edited by jfbbis : 04-27-2004 at 12:52 PM. Reason: can't spell

04-27-2004, 01:42 PM	#13
jfbbis n00b Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lyon, France	"Exactly how is Perl or VB any easier to learn (or quicker to program with) than C++?" Quickly : Perl is simple and powerful. Everyday day tasks like file management or text processing are done in a few lines but you can do ambitious things like servers or object programming with ease. You have hundred of free modules for any task that you would dream of, from database handling to pdf generation. Last edited by jfbbis : 04-27-2004 at 01:43 PM. Reason: can't spell

04-29-2004, 02:52 PM	#20
3ric College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Sweden	Once you have the logic down on paper, in broad strokes, work on getting the details sorted out like this: take one clearly defined function, like the aging process. Break it apart into smaller and smaller bits, until you've reached a level of detail that you feel comfortable doing in code. __________________ San Diego Chargers (HFL) - Lappland Reindeers (WOOF) - Gothenburg Giants (IHOF) Indiana: A TCY VC - year 2044 - the longest running dynasty ever on FOFC!

05-05-2004, 02:42 AM	#30
Tasan College Starter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Houston, or there about	I'm torn on this. As a student (again) and an aspiring programmer, I can see the merits of doing a project like this in either VB or C++. With VB, you have an easily made user interface and simple database access. With C++ though, you can have a lot more control over everything that happens in the background, but you'll have to do a lot more work on the interface side. I think its going to come down to a "pick your poison" type of decision for you though ;- ) __________________ 2011 Golden Scribes winner for best Interactive Dynasty

04-27-2004, 12:28 PM	#3
primelord Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000	C++ is probably the best way to go. VB would probably be easier to learn and it can certainly be done in VB, but it will run much faster if it is coded in C++.

04-27-2004, 12:49 PM	#5
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	I would go with VB. With today's computers, it is not that big of a difference in speed anymore.

04-27-2004, 12:55 PM	#7
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Exactly how is Perl or VB any easier to learn (or quicker to program with) than C++?

04-27-2004, 01:05 PM	#9
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	I'd design the game first - at least sketch an outline - then worry about the programming language later. First, you have to think about how big of a universe you want. If you want to build the horse racing equivalent of Championship...er, Football Manager, there are hundreds of tracks, thousands of trainers, many thousands of jockeys, and tens of thousands of horses. I wouldn't recommend this. It's probably best to stick with just one subset - whether it's the best of the best, or the goings on at one course. Then there are the ratings. I'll leave it up to you how many ratings for each group of players (jockey, trainer, horse, owner?), how accurate they would be, and whether some would be hidden. And then you have to ask yourself how the races will be depicted, if any. Will you have little numbers running around in circles, 1979-style? Or will they just be quick simmed in some fashion?

04-27-2004, 01:25 PM	#11
korme Go Reds Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio	FBCB does sim kind of slow though, compared to a game like OOTP. I guess because it uses vb? A day per sim takes a short amount of time, but yesterday I only simmed 16 seasons leaving my computer running for about 8 hours when I could sim probably 100 in OOTP with 5x as many games. However, I don't think you're looking for a large scale quite yet and vb is easier.

04-27-2004, 02:01 PM	#15
jfbbis n00b Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lyon, France	Perl itself, that you can download for free at www.activestate.com.

04-27-2004, 02:21 PM	#17
jfbbis n00b Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lyon, France	They sell software tools but Perl itself is free : http://activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/?_x=1

04-28-2004, 09:25 PM	#18
Junior 19 n00b Join Date: Jan 2004	I'll be keeping track of this. Even though I know zip about horseracing, I always like learning new stuff. Sims seem to be the best learning tools (Championship ...er Football Manager ( ) basically taught me the game of soccer.. er football) So, in other words, Go For It!

04-29-2004, 01:42 PM	#19
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	I'm still sitting on the fence regarding the programming decision... I think I'd prefer Visual C++ .NET, but if it appears I'm too stupid to learn it and use it effectively, I might go VB... In the meantime, I'm working on some game design documentation... I need to sort some of the logic out on paper before I can think of putting it to code.

05-04-2004, 02:22 PM	#21
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	This dynasty is the sole reason I watched the Kentucky Derby. I think the concept behind this could be really cool. What is the latest?

05-04-2004, 02:53 PM	#23
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	I am not familair with .NET - what languages can you program with in .NET?

05-05-2004, 01:03 AM	#28
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	I have changed my opinion to C++. Be a man!

05-05-2004, 01:56 AM	#29
Raven College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Baltimore, MD	I've been following this too, Frank. I'm a Comp Sci student, and have some experience in C and C++, so I'm watching to see how this turns out. If you decide to make any of the code public, I'd love to see it.

06-13-2004, 04:53 PM	#32
Tekneek Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: USA	Hmmm. So, what's happening now? C++ gives you the most power, in all aspects. I don't know as much about it as I wished, and am going to get back into learning it more later this summer (with a project that I've had on the shelf for two years now). Good luck.

06-14-2004, 12:00 AM	#33
Mr. Wednesday Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: South Bend, IN	VB's a very nice language (VB classic, that is... I have no experience with VB.NET). C++ is a very nice language. They have different capabilities, somewhat overlapping, and it may even be possible to do parts in one language and parts in another. The basics of VB are fairly easy to learn. It works like any other procedural language, all you need to pick up is the syntax. It gets complicated when you start worrying about classes, inheritance, event-handling. The basics of C++ are fairly easy to learn. It works like any other procedural language, and unlike C, there are enough language and library features that you should be able to insulate yourself from the nasty areas like pointers. It gets complicated when you start worrying about classes, templates, pointers, and doing a visual interface. C++ will almost certainly give you the best performance. VB may be competitive, I'm not really familiar with the performance characteristics of VB.NET. The design is important and may provide some direction for language choice. FWIW, I'm currently employed doing software development in both VB classic and C++. I'm a Microsoft MVP for Visual C++, but I still do most of my personal software development in VB (as well as the quick one-off stuff at work).

02-08-2005, 04:21 PM	#34
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Time to bring this back from the dead... Any horseracing fans here? I'm worried less about programming right now, and more about design. Specifically, I need to know as much as I can about how horse races play out, from a mathmatical standpoint - how fractions work, how to calculate speed figures (and, do I even need this feature?), etc. Any books that anyone can recommend on the topic would be most welcome.

02-08-2005, 04:28 PM	#35
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	A book I found awhile ago called New Thoroughbred Owner's Handbook, edited by Laura Proctor, gives a good idea of what goes into owner a thoroughbred. I'd highly recommend it. Last edited by sabotai : 02-08-2005 at 04:28 PM.

04-19-2006, 12:13 AM	#36
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Bump.... is this stuck in the archives?

04-19-2006, 12:32 AM	#37
JeeberD General Manager Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Town of Flower Mound	Not anymore. __________________ UTEP Miners!!! I solemnly swear to never cheer for TO

04-19-2006, 01:59 AM	#38
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	The Force is strong with this one... Thanks, Jeebs!

04-21-2006, 12:42 AM	#39
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	So, I've decided to drag this thread out of mothballs, because I've made a few decisions: 1. I'm going to move forward with the game design, and see where it takes me. Maybe it's just the horse racing season, but I think it's more to do with the fact that I've cut my teeth on some VB, and I want to learn more. 2. I'm going to program it using Visual Basic .NET 2005. I have Visual Studio 2005, and, in fact, Microsoft is even giving away an express version if you want to check it out: http://www.digitalstadium.org/smf/in...;topicseen#new

04-21-2006, 05:31 AM	#40
Icy Pro Starter Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Toledo - Spain	I was working on a game too as i told you a few days ago. The familly disaster i had made me think about dropping the idea at all, but now i have decided to go back to it to keep my mind busy. My doubt was about using VB .NET or C# .NET but as i have a background as Java and PHP programmer i decided for C# as the syntax is almost the same than Java, C++ and PHP. Also C# is said to be the programming language choosen by Microsoft for the new Vista operating system so i thought it would be a good idea to learn it. I have downloaded Visual C# Express that is free at the Microsoft website and it has all that you could need. I have also bought a few books on Visual C# programing and games general AI programming. I'm advancing fast, to start with i have been toying with an editor for the GDS game TCB and i'm able to edit data already from it's database. That way i'm learning all that i could need about working with Access databases. Probably i'll release that editor soon. FN i'll talk with you today about it if you want. __________________ Last edited by Icy : 04-21-2006 at 05:31 AM.

04-21-2006, 11:21 AM	#42
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Thanks for the input. That's interesting information on C#... I didn't know all that. I think I've pretty much decided on VB .Net 2005. It seems to be the path of least resistance for a total novice. I hadn't considered the Mac ramifications. Do you think there's any chance that VB code will eventually run on the new Macs, now that they're Intel-based? Or am I smoking something?

04-21-2006, 01:06 PM	#43
Godzilla Blitz College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000	Great! I'll be reading with interest. I just finished a busy period in my life, and am looking to get back to my gladiator programming adventure as well. Be great to have two going at the same time, although I'll likely stick to VB 6.0 for the time being.

04-21-2006, 04:42 PM	#44
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	You can get VB.Net 2005 Express for free... might wanna check it out...

04-21-2006, 07:05 PM	#45
TonyR High School Varsity Join Date: May 2003 Location: Texas	I enjoyed your horse racing thread FN, so I will be keeping up with this one as well. __________________ XBox360 GamerTag - Tonyr76 Former HTer Last edited by TonyR : 04-21-2006 at 07:06 PM.

04-21-2006, 11:00 PM	#46
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Thanks... I'm way overdue for an update on my dynasty threads... I've been a little busy beta testing PureSim2006 (which I'm blogging over at http://www.sportsdigs.com/ if you're interested).

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