How good is Blitz Basic ?

[nasty]

Well since there is'nt alot of games being made for the classic amiga, I thought I would try and make my own using Blitz Basic v2.1. So I just purchased the set on ebay and was wondering how easy it to use and follow the manual for a newbie?

edit:

Also is there any good tutorial sites or handy links?

[jj]

If you have any programming experience then yes very easy to get into.  

If you havent, then basic is very easy to get to grips with.  There is massive amountss of online help , tuts and code examples.  Aminet is a good start, and there is a site dedicated to blitz for the amiga, just cant for the life of me think what it is

[motorollin]

Blitz is a good language, but if you're learning a new language, you might as well make it C. That way your games will be portable, and it's a more flexible language.

--
moto

[TheMagicM]

has anyone tried PureBASIC ?

[SamuraiCrow]

@nasty

There is a newer version of Blitz based on the source codes called AmiBlitz.  You should probably use it instead since it contains lots of bug-fixes.

For handy links see this forum (the board is German but this particular forum is for English speakers), and for the free download of the older Blitz Basic 2.1 and manual on a CD-ROM ISO see Back to the Roots and look in the CD-ROM directory.

[Velcro_SP]

There was this one game written in AmiBlitz, AsteroidsTR, that I was really impressed with for smoothness and professional appearance and play value. It also seems to work on the modern Amiga-style platforms, at least it works on MorphOS, so that is a good thing.

Of the old Amiga BASIC-variants I think AmiBlitz/Blitz is the most active these days. AMOS is less active but also has a mailing list and websites etc. If you want to get out of classic mode you can try Hollywood though. That is a currently-developed and sold Amiga language that is a much more recent vintage than Blitz or AMOS. But you can probably do all you need to do with AmiBlitz too.  

[mr_man]

Hi nasty,

I used Blitz 2.1 back in the early ninties for a variety of purposes. I developed a sport ranking system and a few graphical demos. I have no experience of AmiBlitz, but I can say Blitz 2.1 is a very capable language, and IMHO much better than AMOS. Good luck.

Regards,
mr_man

[uncharted]

motorollin wrote:
Blitz is a good language, but if you're learning a new language, you might as well make it C. That way your games will be portable, and it's a more flexible language.

--
moto

  If he was looking to write Apps, then yes C is the best choice. But, for what he wants to do Blitz is a much better choice.

(Plus he's already bought it ;-))

[nasty]

Thanks guys. I do have hollywood, i bought them both last year. Just never really looked into what it could do as i wanted it to create large slideshows.

[therail]

worms was made using blitz basic! you dont need anymore evidence than that!

[Flashlab]

And Skidmarks and Blitz Bombers!

[AeroMan]

I never liked C... I have to work with it, but it's like paying taxes, and using Windows: you have to do it.

I never tried Blitz, but I really like Basic. I used to do my Amiga stuff using a mix of Hi Speed Pascal and Assembly.