How hard is Blitzmax?

[worstplayer]

I'd like to switch from Game Maker to something less restricting, but i'm apparently too dumb for C++.
Is Blitzmax hard to learn? Are there any other "easy" languages good for games?

[Vexorg]

I don't have any experience with Blitz, but XNA Game Studio Express (which uses C# and the .NET Framework) should be less difficult to learn than DirectX/OpenGL programming. I haven't messed with it much, but it's worth taking a look at (assuming you're running in a Windows environment.) It's also free to download the stuff and use it for PC games (you only have to pay if you're looking to develop for the Xbox 360.)

[ReKleSS]

I suggest Python with Pygame. It should be capable of anything you need and the language is fairly straightforward. Also runs on most current platforms.

[Pixel_Outlaw]

Fairly easy. Game Maker is a very poor foundation for coding. It is Vista compatible as well as Linux and the Macintosh platform.

You will have to write your own functions though.

I've been using it for some time now. It was well worth the price. I do plan on getting back into C++ though.

[320x240]

I'd like to switch from Game Maker to something less restricting, but i'm apparently too dumb for C++.
Is Blitzmax hard to learn? Are there any other "easy" languages good for games?

I have decided to make the leap from Gamemaker to Blitzmax myself. Of course you can't expect to prototype a game as fast in Blitzmax as you did using Gamemaker because you have to build your own framework first. Alternatively you could buy one that someone else has made, like the Grey Alien Framework. I have some previous experience using Blitz3d and the Spritecandy extension and so far the leap doesn't seem to be that great. Judging from what you have created using Gamemaker I'm pretty sure you will have an easier time adjusting to Blitzmax than me.

Here's a link to a good tutorial I'm currently following:

http://www.2dgamecreators.com/tutorials ... index.html

Here's one for a vertical shmup. I haven't really looked into this one.

http://www.cold-incision.com/shmup.html

[worstplayer]

Here's a link to a good tutorial I'm currently following:

http://www.2dgamecreators.com/tutorials ... index.html

Here's one for a vertical shmup. I haven't really looked into this one.

http://www.cold-incision.com/shmup.html

I'm currently learning from that 2dgamecreators tutorial, but i didn't know about the shmup tutorial. Looks useful. Thanks a lot.

[Pixel_Outlaw]

Bah I don't need no stinking frameworks.

Shmups are among the easiest games to create thanks to a Zen like simplicity. You usually only need to check collisions between a few things after updating their positions.