Anyone here have a job coding/programming?...

[MintyTheCat]

Programming is easier than people think especially with Google. Just look up what you want to do or post in a forum and someone will just do it for you.

In my experience no one will 'do it for you'. Anything beyond the basics and you are on your own - which is how it should be.

I cannot help but think that you work on some trivial projects to make a statement like that.

[the_last_shmupper]

Programming is easier than people think especially with Google. Just look up what you want to do or post in a forum and someone will just do it for you.

In my experience no one will 'do it for you'. Anything beyond the basics and you are on your own - which is how it should be.

I cannot help but think that you work on some trivial projects to make a statement like that.

Well no one will do big things for you, but if you ask thing by thing on a forum they will then you just assemble it. Go to any programming forum, ask a question and watch as someone gives you an example. I have a feeling if you have a large project, you can just ask question by question, bit by bit and make what you have to. I have yet to test the theory.

Yes I do work on *some* trivial projects, but other projects last months or years making custom software for larger companies. Each day starts with the trivial quick stuff to get it out of the way before the slog of the larger stuff. Personally, the software feels a lot easier to make than games. Nothing is complex with software. No physics.

Everything has been done before and someone has a tutorial on it.

[trap15]

You must work on really dumb and boring programs to say any of that.

[MintyTheCat]

Programming is easier than people think especially with Google. Just look up what you want to do or post in a forum and someone will just do it for you.

In my experience no one will 'do it for you'. Anything beyond the basics and you are on your own - which is how it should be.

I cannot help but think that you work on some trivial projects to make a statement like that.

Personally, the software feels a lot easier to make than games. Nothing is complex with software. No physics.

Everything has been done before and someone has a tutorial on it.

Ok, I think that you are working on more GUI oriented projects by the sounds of things.

Generally the most important aspect is to get the architecture and software design worked out BEFORE you make too many big changes and you cannot really accomplish that if you are asking for how to info all the way - you have to know then go with it, I find.

Step by step can work for fairly standard things such as understanding how the Java API, MFC or GUI are meant to be used but the really interesting software tends not to have the safety net available.

You may find some people working on heavy math work who discuss algos on how to improve performance but rarely will you be given a complete solution.

I have never personally found this need to conform to over regulated APIs such as Java and C# to be much fun either.

I work in the Embedded field and very rarely can the same solution be used over and over. The first question often is how to test a system and I have yet to see much in the way of forum driven solutions being adequate - there is a reason software design is an art form and why experience is most beneficial. If I walk onto a forum and ask for advice I have to be able to understand what is put forward as possible solutions and then determine how that would help me in findign a solution. If I am at the mercy of a forum I may get absolutely no where as I lack the understanding to be independent.

I liken this to using a calculator to do arithmetic but lacking an understanding of what arithmetic is.

Also, the jobs that tend to be in demand are the ones that require more Maths, Physics and often the ability to design efficient algorithms. I find that the here today and gone tomorrow GUI work always has many developers who pick it up but I have yet to see this for Math and Physics or low-level/system work.

Also, Game Software is software and I tend to think of Game software as being a specialised form of Application software, would you not agree?

[MintyTheCat]

You must work on really dumb and boring programs to say any of that.

Quite.

I find most of the interesting work tends to be still written in C and geared towards the performance end of things.

[Shepardus]

Sometimes I wish the answers I need were already out there...

[MR_Soren]

Yeah. Started in Elementary School doing BASIC on an Apple II. Learned some simple things like 10 PRINT "HELLO!". If we wanted to play a game, we had to write it by transcribing code from books full of game source code.

In Middle School, we were still doing BASIC on Apple IIe computers, but we were using loops and logic. The teacher would ask us to write programs that could solve a certain problem. Add up the numbers from 1 to X, for example. We also learned to program graphics and sounds. I was easily the top student in the class, the stuff came naturally to me.

In high school, every programming class I signed up for (typically C) was cancelled due to lack of interest. I was very disappointed. We had no computer at home, so my potential was not being nurtured.

The first class I signed up for in college was the intro programming course. It was in Pascal, and I did not enjoy it. I had an error I could not solve on my final project. Turned it in anyway and still received an A on the project and in the course. Feeling so lost on the final project turned me away from continuing in Computer Science, and I pursued an Associate's Degree in Information Technology instead.

While pursuing the IT degree, I had one class in Visual Basic. Didn't care for the language/environment, but I did extremely well in that course. Mega hot chicks were asking me for help with their projects too. Eventually, I took an HTML course from the Computer Science department because a girl I liked was taking it. That led to me going for a bachelor's degree in Computer Science after I got my Associate's in IT. I learned Java, C, C++, Javascript, PHP, Perl, and x86 Assembly to varying degrees, and I was a very strong student.

After graduating, I took a job doing Truss Design. Letting my programming skills flounder, but there weren't a lot of opportunities for Computer Science in my small town. Fortunately, I also did freelance web development on the side to keep my programming skills intact and that gave me a strong enough resume to get hired by Getzs.com - a local clothing retailer with an online store. I did that for four years, and I loved it. I learned a ton of new things, and worked on some great projects such as writing a POS system for the store which had been hand-writing receipts for the previous 110+ years.

Four years after that, I took at IT job at the university for the fat benefits package, but only maybe 3% of my job is programming and I miss it. I want to do a programming project at home, but it's tough to find time. I especially want to do something close to the hardware since I enjoyed my one course that involved assembly language. To scratch that itch, I have been thinking about making a Sega Genesis game.

[MintyTheCat]

That's a great account of your progress, MR_Soren

The first class I signed up for in college was the intro programming course. It was in Pascal

I had a similar dilemma myself back in the mid 90s and I ended up completely avoiding an entire study programme just to avoid Pascal.

I had learned BASIC then Assembly on the C64 and there was no way I was going to learn Pascal my 16 year old self proclaimed Back in those days they taught kids who had just left high school C and I have to say that changed every thing for me.

I especially want to do something close to the hardware since I enjoyed my one course that involved assembly language. To scratch that itch, I have been thinking about making a Sega Genesis game.

I am working on a Shmup for the MD and I have to say that you will have a lot of fun doing it. Yes, nothing beats assembly.

[the_last_shmupper]

Nah I don't do GUI stuff. That's kind of the last thought I have when programming.

I apologize for previous comments. I shouldn't belittle my own career or anyone else's.

[trap15]

It's not belittling, it's factually incorrect

Most real problems can't be solved with begging others to do your homework for you.

[MR_Soren]

I especially want to do something close to the hardware since I enjoyed my one course that involved assembly language. To scratch that itch, I have been thinking about making a Sega Genesis game.

I am working on a Shmup for the MD and I have to say that you will have a lot of fun doing it. Yes, nothing beats assembly.

Glad to hear it! My wife is out of town today and insisted that I spend some of my time getting this project started. My intent is to do a simple single-screen puzzle-ish game as a learning project. If I wish to do something more elaborate after that, I will need to find an artist and a musician.

I'll need to learn 68000 assembly (and Z80 for sound), but I do not doubt my ability to learn new languages. I like how there are no mysteries with Assembly. You know exactly what is happening inside the machine. I wish I had been able to grow up with a C64 or something like that. Could have really done a lot for me.

[MintyTheCat]

Glad to hear it! My wife is out of town today and insisted that I spend some of my time getting this project started. My intent is to do a simple single-screen puzzle-ish game as a learning project. If I wish to do something more elaborate after that, I will need to find an artist and a musician.

Yes, I would love to make a Rodlans/Snow Bros style platform puzzle game as these types of games never get old.

I also thought about a Mercs/Heavy-Barrel style game too.

I would choose one Assembler first of all before you settle into serious work as it can be a lot of work to convert all the code you rely on if you change Assembler later.
I started out using the ancient ASM68K but changed to GNU's AS as it is much more flexible.
There is also the popular VASM but I only used it for Amiga work myself.

I'll need to learn 68000 assembly (and Z80 for sound), but I do not doubt my ability to learn new languages. I like how there are no mysteries with Assembly. You know exactly what is happening inside the machine. I wish I had been able to grow up with a C64 or something like that. Could have really done a lot for me.

You can access the sound and I/O without needing to utilise the Z80.
I do not know much about the sound drivers that people have worked on.

Yes, exactly, with Assembly language there are no lies I actually found Assembly a lot easier than C for understanding Pointers for exactly, with C++ forget it and it makes it a lot harder to debug C++.

You can most certainly still work on C64 projects and the tools are adequate.

Depending on what you fancy doing you can choose to program the Megadrive in pure Assembly, C or mixed. Personally I opt for Assembly as I know exactly what is happening and I just find it easier to make decisions about the code and optimise more directly using Assembly.

I wrote all my own tools for handling the MD and I support output and conversion to be used in both Assembly, C, text and binary should I ever need data in one format such as MD graphics I have it.

I called it MD Util and plan on making it public eventually - I need to write a test-harness before I release it.

I also have a MD library that I wrote called AxLib that will be released to the public too.

My MD projects all require a place for me to put them and to provide support. We have been discussing setting up a Retro Development site to host some of our projects.

I would also say that it is a good think to work at the assembly level as you will be in a better position to understand commercial game code instead of guessing it all the time

I would start out using MD Emulators that have debug facilities built in and then work on the real Hardware as you progress. I wrote a command-monitor that allows me to get inside the MD as it is running and to peek, poke, dump data, etc it also supports XModem for transferring files between MD and PC.

I use UMDK for my development and some ports of Gens written by R57Shell and Dr Mefisto.
UMDK: https://hackaday.io/project/1507-usb-megadrive-devkit

Let me know if you need any support.

Minty.

[MR_Soren]

Heavy-Barrel style game

One of my favorites in the arcade! I never bothered with the home version because I figured it wouldn't be the same without the rotary joysticks. Regardless, I do enjoy that style of game. Also, Ikari Warriors and Time Soldiers.

You can access the sound and I/O without needing to utilise the Z80.
I do not know much about the sound drivers that people have worked on.

That should help me get on my feet more quickly, but I will eventually want to utilize the Z80. I don't know much about sound either.

I wrote all my own tools for handling the MD and I support output and conversion to be used in both Assembly, C, text and binary should I ever need data in one format such as MD graphics I have it.

I called it MD Util and plan on making it public eventually - I need to write a test-harness before I release it.

I also have a MD library that I wrote called AxLib that will be released to the public too.

My MD projects all require a place for me to put them and to provide support. We have been discussing setting up a Retro Development site to host some of our projects.

I would like to see these tools after you release them to the public. It sounds like you've created a lot of useful stuff.

A retro development website would probably be a great thing. Many people have their own personal sites detailing their projects and tools, but there isn't a strong single location for these resources. Let me know if you need a hand setting that up.

Let me know if you need any support.

Thanks for posting so much helpful information! I will let you know if I need any support.