   On the path to an MMO
  Hey guys, to start off, let me introduce myself, the name is Tenacious, just call me DJ.I am not a complete noob when it comes to mmo's, well i'm noob in all departments except for bieng ready. You don't have to tell me that an MMO is out of my league at the moment, you don't have to tell me how hard it is and how much work, believe me i know those things, however what i would like to know, is just a few basic things that i'm sure some experienced people could answer for me.Now, the thing is for an MMO you need to have high motivation, well right at this very moment, my motivation is almost nill, however don't let that deter you, as you may know the more a person learns the more motivation they have, i don't have full motivation right now because i know next to nothing, which means as of right now at this moment i can't do anything remotley good whether it be a chat system or a hud system or even just a character saving system. But as i said, when i know those, my motivation will increase because i will be able to start working on my goal.Now, enough of my speech, i would like to ask you for some help.For starters, could someone tell me, for an mmo, what is the very first thing i should learn (In a programing sense)and from what i should learn, how should i go about learning it?Just for additional information, i want to learn to program 3d engines or if not that, flash mmorpgs (See Adventure Quest for a reference) if that is any help to you to answer my questionDJ   
Quote:Original post by TenaciousFor starters, could someone tell me, for an mmo, what is the very first thing i should learn (In a programing sense)and from what i should learnLearn to program?  Pick a language and stay with it.  Later on down the road you'll end up learning multiple languages, so don't worry too much about learning the same language the MMO will be in.  I suggest starting in C#, but that's just me.Quote:Original post by Tenacioushow should i go about learning it?Go through lots of tutorials and books and make a lot of small, simple games.  Work your way up to an MMO.Quote:Original post by TenaciousJust for additional information, i want to learn to program 3d enginesIf you really wan to make a 3D game engine, first make a game.  Actually, make lots of games.  Try to build your engine as you go, and don't be afraid to completely rewrite it and redesign it as you learn new things.  But of course, you can make games or you can make game engines.  Doing both is possible, but takes a really, really long time and a lot of work.Anyway, welcome to GameDev!   ;  Alright, well thanks for the quick response, you said that you would suggest C# if i remember correctly that is a language before C++ isn't it? Or quite similar? i can't remember. Do you know of any free C# compilers, say like Bloodshed C++?EDIT: Thanks for the welcome there, Mike!   ;  C++ came way, way before C#.  C# has had its syntax and some things influenced by C++, but they aren't quite the same.  It's pretty easy to go from one to the other because the syntax is pretty similar and some concepts carry over.Anyway, take a look at Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express (the product list is here).  They've got several editions that allow you to work in various languages (C/C++, C#, Visual Basic, etc.).  They're completely free and the debugger kicks the crap out of any other program in the universe.And just for the record, don't use Bloodshed Dev-C++.  Don't even touch it.  It's old, out dated, and has been retired from development.  Visual Studio Express is a much, much better replacement.  Heck, even Code::Blocks is a lot better than Dev-C++.  I wish Dev-C++ could be purged from the internet so people wouldn't stumble upon it and use it.   ;  No, C# is much more modern than C++. It's a recent (the 2000s, I think) Microsoft development in a style similar to Java. There sure are free compilers for C#, and they are *far* better than Bloodshed Dev-C++. Microsoft's own Visual Studios C# 2008 Express Edition is both free and fantastic. You can find it on Google.   ;  Hi! [smile]Quote:Original post by TenaciousDo you know of any free C# compilers, say like Bloodshed C++?Why you shouldn't use (Bloodshed) Dev-C++.  If you decide to try C++ instead of C# I'd highly recommend ditching Dev-C++ and using Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition or Code::Blocks, both of which are also free.But putting that aside, Microsoft also provide an excellent free compiler and development environment for C#: Visual C# 2008 Express Edition.To briefly answer your question about the language itself, C# is a newer language than C++.  You could read about it on wikipedia if you want to learn a bit more about the history and features (although as a beginning programmer you may not yet understand what all of these are).  I agree with MikeTacular's suggestion of C# as a good language to get started with.Quote:For starters, could someone tell me, for an mmo, what is the very first thing i should learn (In a programing sense)and from what i should learn, how should i go about learning it?First you need to learn programming itself, and to do that you'll need to learn a programming language.  You'll probably want to find a good book to help you learn your chosen language, and you can supplement that with online articles and tutorials.  Write lots of small programs to practice what you're learning.Once you've started to get a good handle on the language itself you'll probably want to eithera) Start learning the networking part by writing text based programs with networking support.  You can then learn and add graphics at a later stage. orb) Start learning to make graphical games.  You'd then need to learn and add networking support at a later stage.But for now, concentrate on learning to program.   ;  Thanks, you guys have been extremely helpful, expecially in the Bloodshed department, i downloaded bloodshed a while ago to see if i could make an mmorpg (before i learned that it took lots of work and practice) so i will ditch that now and download the visual program. thanks for that. Also the response in this place is brilliant, fast and effective, good on you!For another quick question, let's say i learned quite alot about C# (Quite a ways a way, i know) what would someone build first, would it be a database, engine or somehting along those lines?   ;  No, you'd make a game. Databases are typically products you obtain from elsewhere and an engine is the collected parts of your game that you can extract out and use again in future games.   ;  Oh right, thanks alot. well once VB is installed (if it's not to late) i'll get cracking on learning ey. thanks for your help guys, i'm sure i'll need it in the future, but thanks once again   ;Quote:Original post by KylotanNo, you'd make a game. Databases are typically products you obtain from elsewhere and an engine is the collected parts of your game that you can extract out and use again in future games.DBs are important parts of it, and building and working on them can be fun and distraction as well as a great challenge. I guess it makes sense to start working with it early in the project.   