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Tools you can't go without
AmrazekDoes the title ring a bell for anyone? I sure love using a program called TerraGen... Makes those logo shots a snap [:)] http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/ [Example: See attach (I'm proud of this one!)] Download Attachment: [url="http://vbgamer.strategon.com/msgboard/uploaded/Amrazek/20032160523_AJLogo1.jpg"][img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img]AJLogo1.jpg[/url]
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Eric Colemanthe water looks amazing.. I can't wait till hardware can do stuff like that in real time
Rag on a StickIf AutoComplete is a tool, then I can't live without it :), same as "Definition"... and Comment Block and its cousin Uncomment Block :) For stuff outside VB... Paint is pretty nifty :), as are a bunch of my own tools that I'm using which would have almost zero use outside my game :)
AmrazekWhen hardware becomes that good, nobody will ever know what the sun looks like [:)]
Itay SaguiMy best friend is NotePad.... Nothing like it...
BrykovianI *really* like Inno Setup ([url]http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php[/url]) to package my install files. Nice compression and single-EXE compiling. And when you use the IStool (look in the "Third-Party Files" area) it writes the complie script for you. Quite a nice free tool. -Bryk
Eric ColemanThat Inno Setup program is really nice. I've been using the (yeah, go ahead and laugh) package and deployment wizard that ships with visual studio. I've also looked into using the setup program from [url="http://www.nullsoft.com/"]nullsoft[/url], but its really complicated, and I haven't had time to learn the cryptic scripting language. This Inno Setup program is shibby, very shibby.
PeterYes, custom tools are good, albeit a pain in the ass to program ;) The Alpha 7 weapons editor alone is nearing 1000 lines of code and that is only 1 out of 5 big tools + around 4 misc tools to make production easier.
ExcaliberI like clickteams install maker, and their patch maker. The only gripe is the plug for their company at the end (for the free version anyways). Oh well.
Almar JolingPaint Shop Pro is also very handy as well for me :). Loads quick, and has a lots of features, and I still have to learn half of them. "related documents" (of VB) in combination with notepad :)
cbxI was just browsing the fourms and came upon this "Tools you can't go without" topic, and thought I would take the oportunity to pimp my own tools. I am currently working on 3 projects actively. As well as an infinite number of others that I have either dropped or put on hold. Active projects 1: DX9Tools. I am currently working on DX9Tools Release 4. 2: CommonCBX.NET. I am currently working on CommonCBX.NET Release 3. 3: GameTools.NET I am currently working on GameTools.NET Release 2. All three libraries are written in vb.net. For more info on these projects goto my web site at [url]http://www.createdbyx.com/[/url] and select the development section.
  • The DX9Tools helper library is not meant to be another SDK that sits on top of DirectX 9. It is designed to function similarly to the D3DX classes, and provide a more robust and more easier/faster way to work with DirectX 9. Basically DX9Tools aims to simplify DirectX 9 where simplification is necessary. Also you will start to see parts of the library being exposed out to COM so that older languages like VB 5 & 6 can reference and use them.
  • The GameTools helper library is meant to assist the developer in performing a set of tasks that are common to most games.
  • The CommonCBX helper library is meant to assist the developer in providing a common set of tasks and functionality that the .NET Framework does not provide.
It is my hope that after these libraries are a little bit further advanced, creating software like games will be a non issue. I am already starting to see the possibilities and payoffs of these libraries. Also if anyone asks I am always willing to provide current code snapshots of any the code that I am currently writing. For example even though DX9Tools release 4 is not officially released yet I will and have provided it to people who have asked for it. And yes I know the website for these libraries is lame.