Homebrew Homebrew games/apps and whatnot

[Jothri]

I have ideas for games and stories and such. I want to create one with my own style of art. I want to know where I can learn coding and such and how to understand each thing.
I have very little experience with coding. I learned a couple things for xhtml and a little bit for actionscript. How similar would coding for ds games and such.

I have found something before, a download. I deleted it because it had viruses. I forget what it was. I think at first I downloaded devkitpro but that is what had the virus. What do I need to know?

I want to know of free programing and coding and stuff.

Also, how would I be able to make a game like quake with 3d images, also multiplayer/wifi stuff.

 

[monkat]

Well, first off, as of right now, the only compiled languages with a proper libraries to run on the ds are C/C++ with libNDS or PALib. Although the basic concepts are the same in actionscript, it will be a big change. If you really want to learn how to program, and get on the DS quickly, go with the interpreted language MicroLuaDS (which takes Lua scripts...programmed in...well, Lua). Devkitpro does not have a virus. Also, you should know that you won't have the drawing screen like you do in flash - everything is done in code. It takes a lot of time and effort to learn how to do this stuff, and much more to put it into practice...if I were you, I would pick up programming now (general programming, start small) and just wait for the next handheld to be 'broken'.

 

[Jothri]

Where are some good sites that teach all these? Ive heard of c++ but have no clue what it is, other than some sort of computer thing. Where is a safe site for downloading devkitpro? What exactly is it?

 

[Jothri]

also what is libNDS and PALib, and for how you said there is no canvas, like in flash, do you make seperate picture files?

 

[B12Core]

also what is libNDS and PALib, and for how you said there is no canvas, like in flash, do you make seperate picture files?

devkitPro is the vendor for multiple libraries involving homebrew development including libnds.

libnds is the actual library used for basic input/output on the DS.

PALib is a "wrapper", so to speak, for libnds which provides a framework for the developer to use, if libnds is too complex for them.

libnds uses GRIT, an image parser which will convert images into a smaller mesh format in which the DS will load when run. They are either included with the program when compiled to loaded from an external FAT system, embedded or not.

PALib uses PAGfx, a similar image parser like GRIT.

Do not expect anything like Flash when programming for the DS -- if you're used to ActionScript, Lua may be the right choice for you.

MicroLuaDS, as mentioned before, does not require a lot of files to start developing with. It is based off of uLibrary, which is also based off of libnds, like PALib.

 

[Jothri]

So what are some good websites for learning these?

 

[Jothri]

What are some good websites that teach the coding and every thing, also download sites?

 

[WioWao]

Google the programming language you would like to learn and add the word tutorial behind?
Or "learn" in front of the programming language?

Learn lua gives excellent results on google

http://www.google.dk/search?rlz=1C1GGLS_da...amp;q=learn+lua

So does "learn c++"
http://www.google.dk/search?rlz=1C1GGLS_da...q=learn+c%2B%2B

So does "lua tutorial"
http://www.google.dk/search?hl=da&rlz=...mp;aq=f&oq=

So does "c++ tutorial"
http://www.google.dk/search?hl=da&rlz=...mp;aq=f&oq=

 

[Jothri]

woah... now whats lua?

 

[DanTheManMS]

Hate to say it, but if you don't even understand the concept of what a programming language is, you'd really be better off staying away from DS development for a bit. Learning C++ is difficult enough without having the added complexities of an embedded system to work around.

Start from the ground up. Learn C++ by making programs for Windows or another OS, where you've got much better debugging utilities. Once you get a firm grasp on that, then try your hand at DS development.

PALib is really just a set of libraries that help simplify some of the more complex parts of DS coding. You still have to code entirely in C++, and you'll still be compiling with DevKitARM underneath it all since PALib runs on top of it.

LUA is a scripting language, meaning that it's interpreted line by line and isn't compiled like C++ is. You would write the script, run a specific DS program (that's already made for you) and run the script, and let it go. LUA is much higher-level (meaning much easier to understand) but because of this you won't get the fine-grained control over the DS system that you may way. If you absolutely must get into DS development however, I would highly suggest looking into LUA rather than C++.

 

[Keeley]

Yeah, I don't know a thing about Lua so I'll just give you tips for C++.

You should check out cplusplus.com for sure, but if you hate reading stuff like that you could go the 3Dbuzz.com and watch VTMs ( Video Training Modules ) instead, I find 3Dbuzz tutorials a lot better just because its funnier and gets the point across, at least for me...

Good luck and don't give up, learning C++ on your own is hard ( at least it was for me

) if you have any questions you could always PM me too

 

[Jothri]

Hate to say it, but if you don't even understand the concept of what a programming language is, you'd really be better off staying away from DS development for a bit. Learning C++ is difficult enough without having the added complexities of an embedded system to work around.

Start from the ground up. Learn C++ by making programs for Windows or another OS, where you've got much better debugging utilities. Once you get a firm grasp on that, then try your hand at DS development.

PALib is really just a set of libraries that help simplify some of the more complex parts of DS coding. You still have to code entirely in C++, and you'll still be compiling with DevKitARM underneath it all since PALib runs on top of it.

LUA is a scripting language, meaning that it's interpreted line by line and isn't compiled like C++ is. You would write the script, run a specific DS program (that's already made for you) and run the script, and let it go. LUA is much higher-level (meaning much easier to understand) but because of this you won't get the fine-grained control over the DS system that you may way. If you absolutely must get into DS development however, I would highly suggest looking into LUA rather than C++.

I know what actionscript and xhtml are I just wasnt sure of c++, but thanks for the tips everyone.

Also I think Ill try both c++ & lua, one of a time of course, and since you said lua Ill start off with that