cout << "Hello World!\n";

[MagusOfMirrors]

Hello everyone, I am Cary and I am a high school freshman. I just finished and passed a C++ course at UCSC-Extension. I wanted to sharpen my game programming skills and my friend suggested that I join an open-source community rather than trying to work with schoolmates whom have trouble with for-loops. I am very excited to work with people who love AOE just as much as I do.

I am definitely not able to help program this game today, but I am willing to contribute the 10+ hours a week to study whatever kind of programming you guys need the most. I hope that I can find out what kind of programmer I should specialize as soon.

I look forward to meeting other people in this community and getting my first newbie instructions!

...

I'm soooo nooob:

I know this:

polymorphism

link lists

virtual functions*

data templates*

inheritance

pointers

OPERATOR OVERLOADING!!! (SUCH A SEXY TOPIC!!!)

why C++ > JAVA (my biased views)

other

*- I ain't so great implementing it

I hope I didn't lose you guys...

Edited December 6, 2011 by MagusOfMirrors

[Pureon]

Welcome to the forums MagusOfMirrors

Take a look at the Introduction to 0 A.D. programming if you haven't done so already.

What do you think of 0AD, have you played many games? Are there any changes or additions you would like to make to it? It's usually best to work on something that inspires you

[WhiteTreePaladin]

Welcome.

Java is a lot easier than c++ though.

[MagusOfMirrors]

Welcome to the forums MagusOfMirrors

Take a look at the Introduction to 0 A.D. programming if you haven't done so already.

What do you think of 0AD, have you played many games? Are there any changes or additions you would like to make to it? It's usually best to work on something that inspires you

Compared to other open source games, this game seems to be PERFECT for me to work on because there still is room for work and this game is RTS, my FAVORITE genre. I play Starcraft 1-2, AOE2 (orig. and exp.), and WCIII. I never played 0 A.D., but that is irrelevant until I find out what kind of programmer I want to be, learn a lot about that kind of programmer, and make meaningful code contributions to this community.

Although I never played 0 A.D., one suggestion for the game is to make it fast 'cuz AOE games take too long and the buildings HAVE TOO MANY FRICKING HIT POINTS. Unit diversity would also be excellent as AOE's races were almost identical except for tech trees and modifiers. Try to get that out after the initial release as that could improve the "learning value" of the game and provide richer game experience.

I just need to know what kind of programmers this project needs so I can decide what to learn and I can be... A VALUABLE ASSET!!

Welcome.

Java is a lot easier than c++ though.

It's just a steeper learning curve. They both have their uses. I never really learned Java, but I know that Java lacks crucial memory management stuff that empowers C++.

[Ykkrosh]

I just need to know what kind of programmers this project needs so I can decide what to learn

We need people who can do everything . That's partly because we have lots of little problems in lots of different areas, so it's most valuable to have people who can fix problems regardless of what area they're in; and partly because the big problems usually involve the interaction of multiple areas, so we need people who understand all those areas and can work out how to tie them together properly. It's probably best to start by learning whatever you find most interesting yourself, and then continue expanding into new areas whenever you have the opportunity

[historic_bruno]

Hello!

My advice would be to start out small, there's nobody who understands the entire game (engine, scripts, art, build system, etc.) even after years of experience, though some like Philip come close Probably the best thing to do is hang out in the #0ad-dev IRC chat room on Quakenet.org because there are some interesting lively chats there throughout the day and you can get quick feedback and questions answered (I think our most successful programmers do this and post on the forums). Maybe you can also read some of the ongoing discussions in the development forum. Trac is of course a good starting point, but beware of outdated documentation, if in doubt, ask.

It's hard to say what you should do if you're interested in C++ specifically, because many of the most interesting tasks require some combination of C++ and JS, and are interconnected with the rest of the engine, so you need some in depth knowledge about 0 A.D. For instance, in the extreme case, a new gameplay feature might require C++ component changes, input handling and UI modifications, a new scripted component, AI support, renderer modifications, and maybe even artwork. There are lots of simpler things but not all are documented, one good way of finding them is by playing the game and prying around

What I mean to say is: if you start making contributions to 0 A.D., you are likely to find yourself applying many of the skills in your original list and then some.