Comments on: “BlitzMax Is Not a Real Coding Language, Only C++ Is Fast Enough”

By: Monty

Monty — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:29:59 +0000

I wrote a program completely in X86 machine code using FASM, people always asume its the fastest possible, its not ! why would it be, Blitz Max generates X86 machine code too !, you hit ‘run’ it generates X86 source code and this is assembled with FASM, when you compile C+ it is also converted to X86, so all three examples are X86 so how can one be faster than the other…. ie to say Blitz Max is slower is simply to say Blitz Max generates poorer quality X86 !

By: Oisín

Oisín — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:42:22 +0000

That doesn’t make sense. By that logic, all compilers of all languages produce executable code that runs at exactly the same speed.
Of course, this is not true. If you implement the same algorithm in several different languages, the compiled C++ version will most likely be significantly faster than the BlitzMax version.

I say this and I am not a fan of C++.

That said, though, the performance difference between low-level languages like C and interpreted/JITted implementations of higher level languages like Lua and Javascript is getting smaller, and the noticeable impact on a modern computer is becoming very small indeed.

Given the pain involved in producing a complicated game world in C++ compared to a decent, expressive language with garbage collection, is it really so rational to endure that pain just to get an extra 10 or 20% FPS in the end?

By: Monty

Monty — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:45:42 +0000

No C++ cannot be faster than BlitzMax as they both produce X-86 machine code, once compiled you are running X-86 in both cases. I say this and im not a fan of Blitz Max.

By: lolwut

lolwut — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:43:08 +0000

IN 2010 ELECTRONIC ARTS WAS CODING A GAME ENGINE IN BLITZMAX!?!??!

Mind blown.

By: Bart Fernhout

Bart Fernhout — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:01:47 +0000

You know what…..
Last year i was at EA games. They where busy with a game. Can’t tell the name(Cause i did not remember it). But they testing a lot of things for the program. Using a lot of free programming tools and editing 3D tools.
Using Blender3D, Blitzmax,GNU C++ and Visual basic the free version. All of that to test the game. On my question of the use of that. The awnser was straith simple. The blender is a fast and easy program to make fast low poly 3D, Blitzmax was used for programming the game enigine. And because blitzmax is not system depended. So when they had an idea they test is on different machines. To see how it work. GNU C++ is used to bring the code from blitzmax. So other machine can programmed to.

The nce part is that is all is working fine and the code that is written is working perfectly they don’t change it. But compile it to make it a bin file.
If for some reason the test is good but timing is a problem then the more expencive stuff is comming. Good programmers tools.
And even than it can happend that is gives not the timing they want.

In a last resource they grab also back on Assemble programming. Cause ther they can make the code in a way they want it.

So to make the argument bigger. I know for sure that EA-Games also use the so called lesser tools.

The differend with the guys who are working there is easy. Like me i do programming in BlitzMAx and i like it. For me its the fasted way to get things done. For them its like writting a basic source code, only its C++. The knoulleged they have is bigger than we have.

And they have a acces to libs we are dreaming of. A lot of code is premade there because a lot of games can use the same gameengine.

To make a overall conclusion.
That what make you easy to work with you use. If that is C++ its yours. If you like to work in a basic programme its also yours.

A soon as the compiler done his work finaly the speed of the code is the same. only the way the compiler made it, is the speed of the game.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:38:22 +0000

Always depends on your project. BlitxMax is good for small 2D game projects. Using C++ for that purpose is overkill.

By: Roman Budzowski

Roman Budzowski — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:12:36 +0000

“in a real games company” :D

Which company is more real – the one that makes a game that is played by over 50 million customers or the one that is played by 10 millions? Angry Birds vs top selling console games.

There’s no such thing like “real games company”… we all create games, though for different audiences.

@Juuso: Funny to read it after over 6 months, but it looks like BFG is taking a step back from Facebook and social games (last Casual Connect Kiev presentation by Paul Thelen).

By: Annika

Annika — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:03:52 +0000

When the C++ Priests come with they mass libs and stuff, you can just answer that you can use all that libs with blitzmax aswell, so all c++ got left as difference to blitz is the very ugly syntax

By: Juuso

Juuso — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:21:01 +0000

@yeueye: that’s cool to hear. I’m one of those chaps who just cannot understand all the c++ pointer-whatnot fancy stuff. The stuff that real programmers use. Therefore I use blitzmax, which is blizing fun & cool and all… and gets the job done.

Cool that you like it.

By: yeueye

yeueye — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Just wanted to let you know I tried Blitz because of this post.

Long time C/C++ developer here. 22 years or so with C, 10 years assembly and pascal before that. I am just absolutely blown away by Blitz’s ease of use. My main reason for trying it was because of portability but it has all the features I need.