This game encouraged me to learn programming.

[Spankhamma]

Hello all!

Just wanted to make a post to share my thanks to Tynan and ask a few questions.

First, thanks for making the game that finally convinced me to learn how to program. Truly. I've been trying to convince myself to start for years. Its great fun, and has caused me and my friends to have quite a few laughs. I don't expect to create my own Rimworld quite yet, but it's got me learning!

As for the questions, I'm sure these have been asked a billion times. Where did you guys start learning programming or game design? Where should I begin, what steps to take or to not take? I've been learning basic HTML, C#, playing with unity, and bits of python; pretty well soaking up whatever I can from the web and taking notes for each different language. As far as starting goes, what do you recommend I stay away from?

(More for Tynan here, if he even reads this) As far as Rimworld goes, what languages were used in its development? What were the more difficult aspects of its creation? If you could redo it, what would you do differently, or not at all? I saw on an older post that for the objects in the game, you chose to create an "engine inside an engine" with unity. What was that like? Why take that route instead of just using what unity natively includes?

For the community and Tynan, thanks for any advice you can offer!

[Kirby23590]

Cool!

By the way how did you learn to program? By modding with C# or with XML or both?

As for the questions, I'm sure these have been asked a billion times. Where did you guys start learning programming or game design?

I think tynan used to work with the guys in irrational games if you know or played Bioshock & System shock 2 & SWAT 4. If i'm correct Tynan worked in development of Bioshock Infinite which ran in the Unreal Engine 3 though i don't know what coding program in that game they used but unreal engine 3 said the game engine runs in C++ and now with UnrealScript in Java. Sorry i'm a newbie & a rookie in coding with rough-edges in coding but i'm very okay with XML but C# can be tough if i get errors.

But in Rimworld I think ludeon and tynan mostly used C# in unity which is the preferred programing language in unity i think. In fact i went to a school about programming and ran a course of game development and used Unity which i used C# for coding for the game though i'm still a newbie & a rookie though.

Happy to see someone become a programmer, i hope this message or replay was helpful!

[Snowcaller]

I hear you, man.
I'm working on my own game.
Inspired by this and other indie titles.
I'm trying to learn to art, too.

I hope in a few years that i got something.
I'm gonna go for c#.
I'm only looking for Star Control 2 meets Millenium 2.2/Deuteros.
All greats but i'm only going for a 16 bit level is what i am saying.
I'm trying to make the game that's in me.

Not for money (tho it'd be nice to have a sideline that earns me some play money) but as a hobby.
I'm building a library of concept sketches (really bad ones, i'm still developing my art skills and i'm over 40 so it's not coming as fast as it would to a younger guy). I'm pounding books atm.

Good fortune with your project.

Inspiration is awesome, hope your game turns out 'legendary'.
Be at that grindstone all the time.

Steven King wrote a book called 'On Writing'.
It has sage advice for any creative endeavor.

I'll keep an eye out for Spankhamma Games :3

Snowy

[Bolgfred]

As for the questions, I'm sure these have been asked a billion times. Where did you guys start learning programming or game design? Where should I begin, what steps to take or to not take? I've been learning basic HTML, C#, playing with unity, and bits of python; pretty well soaking up whatever I can from the web and taking notes for each different language. As far as starting goes, what do you recommend I stay away from?

Here my history as a reference:
I learned Assembly language in school. I had a teacher and a book. But most important: I had a project. A traffic light circuit with wifi, wheater report and customer service hotline.
In my first job as web designer I teached myself html/php from web references and WordPress-Tutorials. Here I learned the most about OOP and programming in common.
Afterwards I started a Project in raspberry pi, using c#. There was a difference between php and c# but there are good refences for best practice on google, which helped me a lot.
Today I work primary with java, making SOAP interfaces. But I never learned any java before.

First step in Programming is to decide what you want to do.
If you seriously want to go into programming, buy a book to get a realiable source of knowledge, so you can teach yourself whatever command is used in which way, and to get the basics of OOP and MVC. If you get at this point, will be able to find answers to all your questions by yourself, or know where to find them.
Anything else is softskill.

If you can write code in c#, you are able to read python/ruby/php/java and anything else.
If you want to programm in these languages, it's no big effort as they all work the same with similar (but not identical!) synatax.

If you don't seriously want to get into programming or youre not sure if you seriously want to, go into Rimworld modding. It might not be the best reference-project to learn, but it's not a bad one, as the code is readable and it's not too huge. Sadly there is no programmers documentation, but you cannot expect that.

I did find this tutorual quite helpful for c#-modding in Rimworld:
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=33219.0
(Don't know if this is obsolete now)

Furthermore there's a wiki page for modding:
https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Modding_Tutorials



In the very end, programming is much work and learn. You will never stop learning.