From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,d32116f6f91c319f X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit From: Jeff Houck User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 0.8 (Windows/20040913) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Ada suitablity as a game dev language References: <41a152c2$1@x-privat.org> <41a3de4d$1@x-privat.org> <87zn172glt.fsf@insalien.org> In-Reply-To: <87zn172glt.fsf@insalien.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: $$6dqnji9xhb3w96.x-privat.org Message-ID: <41a4e7b6@x-privat.org> Date: 24 Nov 2004 20:57:42 +0100 Organization: X-Privat NNTP Server - http://www.x-privat.org X-Authenticated-User: $$nw-8xwi-75o4tl-blo2 X-Complaints-To: abuse@x-privat.org Path: g2news1.google.com!news2.google.com!proxad.net!gatel-ffm!gatel-ffm!194.25.134.126.MISMATCH!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!nntp.infostrada.it!area.cu.mi.it!x-privat.org!not-for-mail Xref: g2news1.google.com comp.lang.ada:6432 Date: 2004-11-24T20:57:42+01:00 List-Id: Ludovic Brenta wrote: > > I didn't have a chance to reply earlier but there is a project on > SourceForge called the Generic GNU Game Core: > > http://sourceforge.net/projects/g3c/ Thanks for the info! I'll check it out. > I think that this is the crux of the problem: > > - what is your definition of "getting too deep"? > I'm a professional Freelance programmer and I make my living off of coding projects. Before I commit myself to a project of this potential magnatude, I want to be sure I can follow through. I've seen many good C/C++ game engines get started and then not completed. I don't want to join those ranks... 8^) > - is this a commercial endeavour? i.e. does the investment need to be > recouped by sales? > Not initially. My interest is to learn Ada and as I've always wanted to code up a game engine, I believe I can accomplish both goals simulteneously. If, at a later time, the engine looks commercial grade, perhaps. There are a number of licensing issues and such to get through first. > You will probably find that Ada, as a language, has everything you > need for game development. Now, you need to evaluate the surroundings > of the language and see if they meet your requirements: > > - availability of an Ada compiler for your target platforms > > - availability of libraries or bindings > > - ease of distribution of your work. Ada programs require an Ada > runtime library, plus any other libraries you used. > > If you are a hobbyist using and targetting free software, you are in > luck. The Ada compiler is available (GNAT) and included in most > GNU/Linux distributions and in FreeBSD. There are several free > libraries available (AdaSDL, AdaOpenGL, Generic GNU Game Core, > GtkAda). The distribution maintainers will package any libraries you > require, making distribution easy. Ada is indeed an awesome language from what I've seen and read so far. That's what prompted me to look into it as a game dev language. With so many great features, I couldn't understand why it's not more accepted for game dev. > > If you plan to write free software, you may also want to look for > other developers to join you. This might be difficult because few > game developers are willing to learn Ada. OTOH, with Ada you would > need less time and fewer people to develop a game than you would in C. > Thanks again for the insights. I would certainly like to enlist the aid of others who have a like interest. However, I wouldn't want to ask anyone to join in unless I was sure of my own committment first. 8^) j -- X-Privat "FREE Usenet" - http://www.newsserver.it