Topic by EternalGamer 2007-10-25 12:42:44

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Hello,

I have some potentially interesting audio game ideas up my sleeve. But before I jump right in and get side-tracked by reinventing the wheel, I would like to ask those of you with development experience:
What do you think is the best free IDE for blind programmers to produce audio games in?

Here is a list of things I would like to be able to do:
1. Create minimalist GUI windows (e.g. menu bar, a list box and two buttons) without worrying too much about absolute positioning.
2. High-precision timer for game loop.
3. Locate sounds in 3d space; funky stuff like Doppler effect would be way cool, as well as audio environments (cathedral, outdoor court etc.)
4. Network communication (don't need anything more abstract than a socket).
5. SAPI.

Can anyone recommend a combination of language/ide that worked for him/her?

Sorry but I am currently unwilling to give away any details concerning the nature of my blueprints. I wouldn't want to be adding to the pile of unfulfilled game promises out there. What gets done, gets done. Thanks for your understanding.

Greetings,
EternalGamer

In the hands of a gamer, word becomes weapon, argument becomes shield, and life becomes a quest.

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-25 18:33:47

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I would imagine Direct Sound as part of DirectX and SAPI should be available to most IDEs and languages you choose, so I don't imagine that being much of a problem. Also similarly DirectPlay should work for network connections depending on what you're doing. This should hopefully fill the SAPI and 3d sound roles, not sure about doppler and effects though.

There may or may not be other better suited libraries available though for these things.

cx2
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Reply by Mike 2007-10-26 03:44:08

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I'd go with Visual Basic 6. That's what I use, I can use DirectSound, Sapi, and sockets, and gui creation isn't that bad since you can place the controls with the Ide. If you're looking for something more up to date, there's VB.net, which I don't use and don't know much about.

Regards,
Mike
Co-Founder, RS Games
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Mike's Website

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-26 11:43:47

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Slight trouble with VB6
He asked for a *free* IDE. Also I believe VB6 is no longer available, at least not new.

cx2
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Reply by EternalGamer 2007-10-26 12:58:54

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Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I think I shall be settling with Eclipse and MinGW. Also, SDL seems to provide exactly the APIs I need---except for networking, or I have just been too n00bish to find it. smile

Keep them coming, though!

Greetings,
EternalGamer

In the hands of a gamer, word becomes weapon, argument becomes shield, and life becomes a quest.

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Reply by ItsAConspiraZ 2007-10-26 19:17:53

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the sdl networking library is called sdl_net.  it can be found somewhere on libsdl.org.

James

ItsAConspiraZ's Website

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Reply by EternalGamer 2007-10-26 20:30:35

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Thanks, I missed that completely!

The next step, I would think, is engine development. I'll keep you updated. ;-)

In the hands of a gamer, word becomes weapon, argument becomes shield, and life becomes a quest.

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Reply by Mike 2007-10-26 21:10:01

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Hi, If you want VB all you have to do is get it from someone it's not that hard. You can't buy it anymore as far as I know.

Regards,
Mike
Co-Founder, RS Games
www.rsgames.org

Mike's Website

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-27 04:34:39

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Mike wrote:

Hi, If you want VB all you have to do is get it from someone it's not that hard. You can't buy it anymore as far as I know.

That amounts to piracy Mike.

Randy, hmm possible but my point was availibility is limited. It is something of a drawback.

cx2
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