And when I say hype, I mean negative hype. I have seen some pretty decent MMORPG's created with Visual Basic 6. Production time is a lot less than say Java or C++, but then again it isn't as flexible and powerful as those 2 languages. So why do a lot of game programmers put down Visual Basic? I haven't used it before, but it seems decent enough for game development by its first impression on me.

It's that whole "I'm cooler than you"-thing. They don't think that Visual Basic is "hardcore" enough. I say just do what you're happy with.

-Bryan-

The "Basic" language is essentially considered a beginner's language, so many experienced programmers look down on it as a 'quick-fix' to programming. Such a view is entirely incorrect -- programming IS programming -- but such viewpoints do exist. :(

MP pretty much hit the nail on the head. If you like the language, it serves you well, and it can produce what you want, then by all means: use it! :)

Remember that you're programming to create something neat, not to appease other coders.

Heh, this is a perfect time for me to talk.

http://www.splamm.com/elysium

A 2D, open source MMORPG maker made in Visual Basic 6. Just a bit too perfect for the situation, eh?

My favorite screenshots:
http://www.splamm.com/elysium/pics/3.png
http://www.splamm.com/elysium/pics/5.png


Anyway, VB6 is a good place to start. I don't want the big fancy things right now, I want the things I'm able to code. I knew C++ and Java before I started with VB, but I couldn't do anything with them. VB is a bit easier, that's all.

It seems to me that VB's no more or less complicated than C++ is... I mean you still have to do all the math yourself, and once you build up a couple of base functions, it seems (at least to me) that development time and code complexity for any project you could think of would be pretty much the same, wouldn't it?

Im learning VB in school its ok.....

Visual Basic 6.0 download place please?

I havent found the rigt place where I can download that and not other files.

Heh, this is a perfect time for me to talk.

http://www.splamm.com/elysium

A 2D, open source MMORPG maker made in Visual Basic 6. Just a bit too perfect for the situation, eh?

My favorite screenshots:
http://www.splamm.com/elysium/pics/3.png
http://www.splamm.com/elysium/pics/5.png


Anyway, VB6 is a good place to start. I don't want the big fancy things right now, I want the things I'm able to code. I knew C++ and Java before I started with VB, but I couldn't do anything with them. VB is a bit easier, that's all.

Have you got the visual basic download link please and also... The elysium - is that a template? is it something you can learn how to script? What does it actually do?

VB is looked down upon mainly because of the primary development methods employed. VB is a UI centered SDK, it uses what they call forms and controls into which you add your logic code. VB also lets you design your UI visually, meaning it's a WYSIWYG editor for the UI elements of the programs. The problem is that all this makes accessing low level functions of the OS difficult, and slow. It also becomes very difficult to develop a large scale, multi-threaded network intensive program (aka a game server) using VB.

Also, to the person or persons asking for a download, Visual Basic is a commerical product sold by Microsoft. You can get it as a standard alone package, or as a part of Visual Studio. I am not aware of any free VB IDE/compilers.

Have you got the visual basic download link please

VB6 (the one you are referring to, not VB.NET) is no longer supported or sold by Microsoft. So that means your options are either finding it used or off another retailer, or to migrate to VB.NET instead. Microsoft is currently offering their free Visual Basic .NET Express 2005 (http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb/) IDE at the moment.

Holy free compiler batman!

I tried a time based beta of VS .Net Express awhile back, and then moved on to using the VC 2003 Toolkit, but I disliked creating Makefiles by hand, so i switched to MinGW and got familiar with a few IDEs for it. But wow VS .NET Express free permanently! I gotta DL that ASAP.

It seems to me that VB's no more or less complicated than C++ is... I mean you still have to do all the math yourself, and once you build up a couple of base functions, it seems (at least to me) that development time and code complexity for any project you could think of would be pretty much the same, wouldn't it?
Well I know this is a horrible way of explaining it, but VB is a bit more updated then C++, how ever in C++ you have a lot more unneeded control. In C++ it truely knows nothing and you must tell it everything, while in VB there are many parts where it does it automaticly. So really when I talk to those middle people (3-5 years programming) they say that VB is just easier then C++.

It's just that VB isn't origianlly meant to be used for creating games, which makes it lack certain tools that other programs have, which causes the negative hype, although VB is a very useful programming language.

You can make games with it, isnt that enough?

Well, VB is a lot easier than any other language I've tried. It does all the basics for you so you don't really need to do much at all.

Although not meant for games, it can be used for them. DirectX helps a bunch, but it does for all languages.

Learn C++ if you want to make a career out of it, Visual Basic 2005 if you want to be a hobbyist, wanna know why!?

first off, you NEED C++ to make games for consoles, end of story. C++ is the main language used because, its the fastest, datastructure is alot more organized, its cross-compatible, and there are just unlimited uses for it.

Visual Basic on the other hand, is more specialized, first off, it only works on windows, second of all, its slow, people might complain blahblah its almost as fast as C++, No.. its not, for small programs sure, you cant see a diffrence with these ultra fast computers nowadays, but when your program is huge and stores hundred of megs into system memory you will see the performance dither, not to mention 3D games

Why i say learn VB if your a hobbyist, is BECAUSE~! its good for 2D games, and if you want to make a 3D game, Blitz3D is pretty much Visual Basic, so all the easy languages are based around it! there slow mind you ;)

Thats pretty much it, take out all the explanation and you can be pretty sure its just that.

C++ if you want a career
VB if its just a hobby

(I learned Visual Basic first, decided I wanted to do this for a living and switched to C++, I got used to it and changed my mind, but I like the way C++ flows so I stuck with it)

Visual Basic on the other hand, is more specialized, first off, it only works on windows, second of all, its slow, people might complain blahblah its almost as fast as C++

Are we talking about VB6 or VB.NET? There's a world of difference between the two. :)

VB.NET is not Windows-only, it is crossplatform, running on whatever platforms .NET will run on. Currently that number is pretty high, taking a look at Mono and GNU.NET. As for slow, well, it is true that VB.NET is slower than C++, but the margin might not be as huge as you'd think.

But like Hayloe said, VB.NET is just peachy for just about any hobbyist game that you can concoct. :)

Visual Basic 6 programs need the runtime files to work. VB6 is really just scripting, seeing as how you have to install the run times to use the programs. Anything that needs a "runner" program is a lot less secure than machine coded programs.

so no1 haz a link to microsoft visual basic?

He just posted one...