#138555 - JJGamer123456 - Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:16 pm
I took a step from programming because I had so many problems and I use many different tools. How much C programming do you need to know? Also what some of the best tools to get started with. I tryed using DevkitAdv because that was the first tool I used, but I went to other tutorials and it uses DevkitPro and everything became a big mess for me. I basically want to know how you make gba projects so I can use it. I really want to know how to program with the GBA with as less hassle as possible.
#138556 - gauauu - Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:32 pm
My recommendation: delete all your other gba stuff (DevkitAdv, etc) so you have a clean slate, to keep things from getting confusing.
Install devkitARM, libgba, and libnds using devkitPro Updater. Try to get the examples working. If you have all your path stuff set correctly, running make to get everything to compile should "just work". If you have trouble getting it to run, you can ask specific questions here.
Use tools and examples from Tonc. The examples are up-to-date and correct with devkitPro, and the tools are great.
Not that there aren't other great tools (possibly better ones), but these work well. Usenti or Wingrit in particular have a nice gui for exporting graphics....there's a lot of stuff there, but you can easily control and see what you are exporting, instead of trying to guess what format your other tools just spat out. And once you figure out what you're doing, you can automate the process easily with the command-line version (grit.exe)
To keep life simple, I'd avoid getting other lots of other tools and other tutorials to start with. There's enough stuff out there to get yourself into a confusing mess, like you said.
As far as how much C to know, the answer is: enough to make a game. Have you made PC games before? Tepples likes to recommend people to play with curses or allegro to get started. I haven't used either of those, but that might be a good way. Or I'd recommend reading up on the SDL documentation. If you can put together a playable game using one of those 3 libraries for PC, then you generally know enough C to get going in gba.
#138564 - JJGamer123456 - Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:37 pm
I like your suggestions, gauauu.
#138586 - dantheman - Sun Aug 26, 2007 3:09 am
There's also DragonBASIC if you're interested in quickly slamming together some very simple programs for the GBA.