Im currently reading the DM guide but I've also read 2 or 3 guides on random subjects.
Now problem is that its a lot easier for me to learn something by practice rather than theory, its easier to grasp for me.The DM Guide does provide multiple examples and do them of course, but some stuff is rushed through or the examples dont really show through without other pieces of coding,etc.Now the advantage of a step by step guide is that I see the code in action and it usually has enough space for me to experiment a bit downside is I can commonly encounter things Im not familiar with, effectively stopping the entire session(specially in cases were the guide is a bit outdated)
Now my question to you guys is, what would be the most ideal plan to learn DM.
1)Read the DM guide first, then Articles, then experiments.
2) Juggle them all at the same time.
3)Articles first, DM Guide later(or as referrence.
4) Other
Personally Im not quite sure which would be best.Currently Im sticking with 1, with the occasional browse of an article.
ID:181600
 Jan 31 2010, 4:50 pm (Edited on Jan 31 2010, 4:59 pm)
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I started using DM from reverse engineering the first version of Kunark's rpg demo. Pick some small demo and play around with it. Make a change here, what does that do? Make another and work your way up. I sort of always took a piece of it that I liked but wanted to do something different with it. When I didn't know what to do I checked the reference and the forums.
I'd like to go back and compare notes to see how different my style is now than from what it was back then. I know I don't use ":" anymore. | |
EGUY wrote:
I'd like to go back and compare notes to see how different my style is now than from what it was back then. I know I don't use ":" anymore. I never used : or goto. ;) Well, I used goto once, and was rightfully ripped a new one because of it. | |
"I can use ':' to jury-rig var and proc calls for an atom without having to properly define the handle's type doesn't work as well as it might look on paper."
It had some uses in my early equipment systems... back when I defined each weapon/armor without inheritance. X_X | |
Thanks for the advice, also I was looking at the articles and started doing Lummux's Skin Lessons, but as you may know its not completed, I was wondering if there was other articles could read up to explain all the features, currently Im roughing it out with that parameters guide but its kinda intimidating as it is.
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I would like to see more guides on skinning and macros right now lummox jrs skin tutorial is pretty good but I think a lot more could be put into it, to me there seems to be a lot of options left out, such as status bars, and doesn't really explain how you run a menuu as a verb so we end up with games using tons of info tabs instead of a neat interface. It also doesn't use some features to their fullest potential such as, a common want in most games, buttons where you toggle OOC or Say verbs.
So yeah, toggling verbs, more menu explination, and macros need more explaining. Also more starter guides for small games that people could create by themselves with a few little hints so that when people read the guide and reference they can use it to create something. That would also influence membership more because people would want to upload their creations for the world to see. I for one am going to get membership once I am able to create something for others worth seeing, and after coding my entire interface page =D. | |
Sasano wrote:
Thanks for the advice, also I was looking at the articles and started doing Lummux's Skin Lessons, but as you may know its not completed, I was wondering if there was other articles could read up to explain all the features, currently Im roughing it out with that parameters guide but its kinda intimidating as it is. Once you've got a grasp from Lummox's skin tutorials, the rest shouldn't be too difficult to get a handle on. It's all pretty much the same from there on out, it's just a matter of how different interface controls interact with the code, which is why we have the Skin Reference. You're lucky, back when I started with the interface, we had much, much less notes to work with, and spent most of it with trial and error. But that was kinda fun, couple of other developers and myself would try out new and interesting ideas and see who could get it all operational first... they won... | |
Don't just read the guide, use the guide. If you see a code example, write it in Dream Maker, compile it, run it to see how it works, then mess around and play with it.
The very first thing I ever put into Dream Maker was a say verb. I then modified that verb to make an emote verb. And I continued playing with it like that.
Experimentation is the key.