Blitz 3D

Help is always at hand, firstly there is the full-padded ring-bind manual that comes with Blitz 3D and special documentations help files built in Blitz and they cover all syntax and game structure in-depth and they deliver it well to the programmer. Also there is support from the website too. There is full source codes to help you get started, from demos to handy particle effects, all of which count for a game. If you still struggle with the package and are utterly-new to programming, don't despair, as Blitz have published a book, "Learn to Program 2D Games in Blitz Basic", this is aimed for Blitz 2D which is built-in the Blitz 3D engine.

The package is extremely reliable and robust up to a point and there is no serious bugs unlikt Dark BASIC Pro, in which they are still ironing bugs as you read this. But there's usually regular updates to the engine both 2D/3D also updated documentaion files (help files) are also delivered when a new patch is released.

The software is aimed at beginners and it is really that BASIC. You can physically write a program in minutes, from a simple "Hello World", or if your that adventurours you can dive into the deep-end and dip into the real fun stuff.

The syntax in Blitz seem more organised and easy to pick-up oberall and is simple to program. I was actually amazed myself to find so many games currently published my Blitz own Game publisher, KoolDog. You can check them out to see all the work achieved by Blitz. You can see the programmers work developed to the engines limit. There is no real limit except from your motivation and time. Programming in general is time-consuming but Blitz 3D makes this fun to coding 2D and 3D games.

1) You are not forced to declare variables before using them. This is a very bad idea. You can waste ages looking for bugs which are simply down to a simple spelling mistake which could be avoided if the compiler simply reported "variable not found".

2) You cannot write individual modules and then link them together. All your code is essentially one big module. You can get around this by using include files but this can cause problems of its own. A proper linker would be good. You could argue that this makes the process simpler for beginners, but it makes life a lot more complex when your game starts getting large.

3) It cannot really be described as object orientated. I understand plans are afoot to make a version of Blitz 3D that is (BlitzMax) but it isn't here yet. Again this might make it more difficult for beginners but would probably be worth the effort.

4) Small but important point. Sometimes the help files don't completely explain the commands. The help is very good, but it has a tendency to assume that everything works. For example, many commands and functions allocate memory. Often the help files don't explain what the function returns if the memory allocation failed. i.e. what happens when you run out of memory. Similarly, it is not 100% clear how much tidying up you have to do before the program ends. Does your program have to free all allocated memory, or does it happen automatically. I think the latter is the case, but I'm not sure.

In other respects it is a great product, and I would agree it is comparatively cheap. Buy it!

• Categories > Programming & Web Development > Programming Languages
• Categories > Hobbies & Pastimes

• Amazon.co.uk : Blitz 3D