I would like to learn about the game !!

[FreddyEdge]

Hello. I would like to ask people/administrators/developers about the game.

I just like video games a lot. I want to learn to program games and to know exactly how they work.

I love 0.AD and I love pyrogenesis engine.

To the point :

I want to learn everything about the game. For instance : I want to know what each file does exactly.

( I mean all the files in my 0.AD folder, like the files in the binaries folder (aken.pdb, collada.dll, glooxwrapper_dbg.pdb.....etc). Everything in all folders.)

(I want to learn the code and to understand each piece of code in all the files and how they work. What each component does exactly, and how they work to produce the result : the game)

(I want to learn how the pyrogenesis game engine works, how it was/is build.)

(I need the code explained to me. Every line, at the start (what it does), until I can read it on my own)

So the above are the things I would like to learn/do. To indroduce myself now : I am 26 years old. I am from Greece, Thessaloniki. I am just working (I have an ordinary job(I am courier)). I haven't studied anything. I just love video games and I want to know how to build them. Sadly I cannot afford college lessons at this point, so I cannot pay for my education. I have all the passion to read and learn everything about games ( especially the RTS genre). Though I just need some guidance, someone to help me learn and explain to me stuff that are needed to understand all the above things I mentioned. I need someone to tell me what to read and how to continue and keep going with learning.

What I know : I have a basic knowledge of programming languages. I know for example, how a very basic program is build and works. I have no expererience in object oriented programming.

   I have experimented with ActionScript 3.0 and a little with PyGame. I have also learned the basics of Blender3D.

Now, I know that what I am asking is quite a lot and of course I should attend some college or find a job relative to game making. But as I mentioned, sadly I cannot afford such things.

So, the reason I am posting here is that maybe I could find people here, in the 0.AD community who could help me learn. People who could help me study the game in more depth.

(I have an email I use a lot, I have a facebook profile and I can subscribe in whatever other social media, or mean that is needed to communicate)

I would also like to provide whatever help I can to the community and the game.

Thank you for your time for now and I hope I will indeed find people to help me, or at least guide me.

[Lion.Kanzen]

@stanislas69 @elexis

Edited October 27, 2018 by Lion.Kanzen

[Guest]

Actually, a 3d game/engine is programming at one of its most complex form. It's not just about knowing what the code does. It's also about knowing a lot of theoretical things. Just to name one, an entity is constructed using components in 0AD following a concept called the entity-component system.

Now on to the point, you would first need to get a good grasp of coding and its concepts. YouTube, codecademy and Google are full of tutorials. And the complexity of one language differs from another. Python is a far more simple language compared to c++ for example. 

Now to answer your questions, all the file types you mentioned are Windows specific files. A DLL can be considered as a library which have useful code that you can use. A pdb is useful for debugging. The next two answers would come naturally when you get more acquainted to programming. You dont need to understand everything at the start. You can follow the trail and understand it when the need arise.

My main point here being that this may not be the best route to take. First you would need to watch some tutorials and get a solid understanding of these things and then slowly get involved with increasingly complex stuff. 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Guest

[FreddyEdge]

Thank you very much for your reply. 

So I will begin learning C++ then and I will follow your instruction and learn bit by bit the more complex stuff.

[thankforpie]

it will be easier for you to learn unity or unreal as theres tons of tutorials free

[sarcoma]

google something like
https://codecombat.com/
https://code.org/learn
https://unity3d.com/learn

[sarcoma]

.

Edited October 29, 2018 by sarcoma

[GunChleoc]

From what you have written, I'm assuming that you know the basic constructs of programming, like variable declaration and assignment, data types, conditional statements and loops. If you don't, read up on those concepts.

The 2 main programming languages used in 0AD are C++ and JavaScript. JavaScript is easier to learn, so maybe you should start with that one and use tutorials to build small web programs. Once you are comfortable with the language maybe there are some easier tickets you can pick up here to start contributing.

C++ is harder - find a good tutorial/course and do the exercises.