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QBasic Gazette e-vol. 2 no. 1
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QBasic Gazette e-vol. 2, no. 1
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Long time, no issue! I know it's been while, you probably thought that the 'gaz was dead. But it's not. It's alive and kicking. And with help from the infamous Pete himself. Thanks for the help Pete!
Nothing much to say here. You can find NeoZones at http://neozones.quickbasic.com. I resurrected my C site, which can be found off a link from the main NeoZones page, or by going to http://neozones.quickbasic.com/tekscext/.
So don't forget, NeoZones is at http://neozones.quickbasic.com/, and my email is tek@quickbasic.com.
By the way, when I use the ---->, it means that I (the editor) am putting an extra comment onto an article that is in here somewhere. Just thought I'd let ya know. =)
Hope ya enjoy the issue,
-Tek, Pete & Contributors
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Contents
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* Articles
- Majiko on trial!
- Fake OSes in QBasic
- Several programmers "leaving" the QBasic scene
- Reply to Tek's RPG Article
- Reply: Libraries: Good or Evil?
* Reviews, Links in the Spotlight
- NeoZones Insider (What's up at NeoZones)
- QBasic News sites aplenty
* News & Announcements
- CodeX Challenges News
- Enhanced Creations shutting down
- Get your entries in for Q2K!
- What? Two NeoZones'?
* Info/Contacting/Submitting
- Wanted: Writers/Reporters
- Submitting stuff
- Conclusion
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Articles
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* Majiko on trial! *
Yes, it seems that Majiko is on trial in #quickbasic for his crimes against the QuickBASIC commmunity. Although I have all the chat logs and such for the preliminary hearings, I'm just gonna have to see how this develops to report anything worthwhile.
* Fake OSes in QBasic * - Robin "godzilla" Rozendal
First of all : in QB it's NOT possible to make a OS like Windows, Linux, BeOS, or even DOS. For the simple reason that QB uses DOS. No programs like Rush, osdos, ES menu or any others like that can be called OS. It are Graphical User Interfaces (GUI for short). At the FS message board there's a big discussion going on ,for weeks now, about OS. That's a wrong discussion. Most people say that Qb-programmers have to stop making OS, but no one is making a OS, it are GUI. Well, then they would say: "Stop making GUI!". And then I say: "No!!!". I think it's good that people make these things in QB. Why? because it's useful for almost everything in QB. Because lots of GUI try to make a fake Windows, better image editors and image loaders will be written, that's also useful for games. Better encryption-programs will be written, and like this I can go on for a while. Another argument: " Use C or C++ for GUI/OS it works better". That's true of course, but we're using QB and QB is much easier. If you think C is better then move to the C-community, like most retired Qb-people. And by the way, there is a lot of GUIs in QB, some better then others, but a lot of people make them so a lot of people like them. Well to keep you updated here's a rating of a few GUI in QB:
- Rush: This is a good one, there will be written a library for it. All QB-programmers can help with this. It looks good and it's fast. Read more at: http://welcome.to/Rush
- Windowz: A typical Win-clone. If you're making a GUI you can learn a lot from this one. It looks good and people are still using it. doný know the e-mail address or webpage from TinneyCorp
- ES-Menu: (Made by me) Well beta 0.009 is out now, but it's still unfinished. Evil Seed (ES) has stopped QB, so I got no one to publish it. It will be cool, I think. I'm also busy with a DOS-browser for it. For more info or the beta mail me at: robinro@zonnet.nl
osdos: A program that lots of people hate, because it calls himself a OS. But I like it. Read more at: http://welcome.to/osdos
- Artechos: Again a program that calls itself OS. It's very good looking but still unfinished, will be very cool! Read more at: http://angelrift.cjb.net
- XDos: Oooooooooh this one stinks. This must be the reason why people hate GUI. It's a failed DOS-clone. DOS already sucks as a GUI, then don't make a clone. Don't read more.
Here's the conclusion:
Faking Windows, BeOS, Linux or something like that can be very cool and usefull, for QB, but faking DOS isn't worth the time, and isn't useful for QB.
For any info, comment, other arguments or if you want the GUI mail me at: robinro@zonnet.nl
* Several programmers "leaving" the QBasic scene * - Tek
Lately, on the message forums around the QBasic scene, several programmers (following Enhanced Creations suit, perhaps) have publicly announced that they are turning their backs on the slow, primitive QBasic language. well, for whatever reasons these programmers choose to move on to bigger and better things, I'd just like to share some of my insight.
I know that QBasic isn't exactly the language of choice for making a Quake engine, or an MP3 player, or something along those lines, but let's not forget the language that got many of us hooked on programming. Sure, QBasic might be slow in many regards, and without the addition of fancy assembly libraries to boost things up, the abilities of QBasic to make a descent game are even more limited, but isn't that the fun in programming with QBasic? I think it's fun to program in QBasic because I know that I have limitations imposed by the interpreter, but seeing what you *can* do is also part of the fun. (Like MacGuyver making a nuclear warhead from a paper clip, an old dish rag, and a jug of laundry detergent).
What I guess I'm saying is this: Just because you feel that programming in QBasic isn't going to "take you anywhere," you don't need to just abandon ship... I mean, look at me (I've been there)... I tinker with everything I can get my hands on, including QBasic, C, C++, JavaScript, Perl, mIRC scripting, and more. In the end, it's your choice how you approach this matter, but to misquote Wafn on the QBoard, "Seeing all this is depressing." =P
* Reply to Tek's RPG Article * - Rico
I'm writing to reply to Tek's nice little RPG article in the 'gaz.
I would like to agree that I've filtered through RPGs to put up on my site and about 95% of them are basically demos where you walk around a town. No items or battle sequences, a storyline or even a title have been made, and that's it. That's OK as it is, as it's just a beta - but then they are left like that and dropped. I think that RPG producers out there should concentrate on storylines first and get things planned out, and once that's done it's just a graphics job.
I would also like to say that RPGs are one of the genres where working as a team DOES work, as members can chat on mIRC or something about the storyline, and some people can be allocated to doing graphics etc.
So, RPG developers - don't give up! Also, if you feel there's too much competition, do something original! There are not many Zelda-style RPGs out there, and there should be. I myself will be making an RPG and it will be a different experience to all the others out there.
BTW Your site is excellent Tek and I go there for all my programming needs purr purr :-)
----> Thanks for the comments, I think that many people share your thoughts on RPGs in the QBasic scene.
* Reply: Libraries: Good or Evil? * - Rems
I believe that a programmer should use libraries in their programs.
However, there are a few conditions that should be followed.
1) The person who is using the lib, should be the person who wrote the lib.
2) If in any case, a programmer is not using a lib that he/she created on his/her own, then the original author of the lib should be thanked EXPLICITLY for the use of the library. No hiding their names in text files, or in the commented code of an executable.
3) You should know the lib is doing and be able to understand how it works before putting it to use. Or in other words, you should probably be at the knowledge level of the programmer who made the lib before you use it. That last one is sort of difficult to explain, but you should know a little more than what to type to make it work. You should know HOW it works... and understand that. You understand what I'm saying. =)
----> Can't we all just get along? =)
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Reviews, Links in the Spotlight
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* NeoZones Insider *
Not much has been happening at NeoZones, other than making sure that all of the many CGI scripts are behaving as they should, and trying to get everything organized. Writing this newsletter is a bit of an undertaking itself, nonetheless, here it is. =) There should be some QCity updates in the not too distant future, as well as some general maintenance stuff.
Lost your password for the People script? In the coming week I'll be making a password retrieval program that will send the password to your email address.
* QBasic News sites aplenty *
Yes, there are quite many sites around the 'net where one can get recent news headlines from around the scene. Among these, I happen to like how "QBasic News" is looking. At http://qnn.cjb.net/ one can find regulary updated news in a clean layout. Good work!
Among the other noteworthy news sites is "Qbasic / Quickbasic News", which can be found at http://gameprog.ampleworks.com/qbasic/. This news is also regulary updated (or so it seems) and offers a clean layout. Good job.
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News & Announcements
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* CodeX Challenges News *
The winners of the December CodeX were named and awarded their "Q-Seal's of Excellency" (Pasco took home 1st and 3rd place). In case you didn't know, the object of the December CodeX was to make a 4 line game. You can check out all the entries at NeoZones, in the CodeX section. The CodeX for January is on (sort of related to Gorilla, the old QBasic game), check it out!
* Enhanced Creations shutting down *
Yes, that's right: Angelo Mottola and Petter Holmberg of Enhanced Creations (creators of Wetspot, DirectQB, SoundLab, EDraw, Project RT, a JPEG loader, Absolute Assembly, and more), are closing up shop on QBasic. Of course, you can read their full fairwell on http://ec.neozones.com/.
Angelo, Petter: NeoZones will miss your contributions to the QBasic scene, particularly Wetspot, which demonstrates that fun and professional looking games can be created in QBasic.
* Get your entries in for Q2K! *
The deadline for the Qlympics 2000 competition is February 1st, 2000. This gives you scarcely a week to wrap up your entries for the competition! Just a reminder, the main categories in the competition are as follows (and divided separately for use of libraries and such):
Games: Action, RPG, Strategy
Graphics: Editors, Demos, Libraries
Extras: Misc, Originality, Funnest
For all the Q2K info you could possibly want, and then some, refer to NeoZones, and find the Qlympics 2000 link on the main page or the site map. Find the link to q2k.txt or use this link: http://neozones.quickbasic.com/docs/q2k.txt
* What? Two NeoZones'? *
Yes, some of you may have noticed. There is a NeoZones (my site) located at http://neozones.quickbasic.com/, and one located at http://www.neozones.com/. So which is the real one? Both, actually...
To make a long story short, I run the "genuine" NeoZones at the quickbasic.com URL. Marcade and a staff of merry elves all work on the "open site" at the neozones.com domain. "Neo-zones" is constantly updated, modified, improved, or changed. We would just like to take this moment to inform everyone that the two NeoZones' are on good terms, but aren't affiliated with each other at all.
(So now you goons in #quickbasic can stop harassing Marcade... psst... go get'em boys... =)
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Info/Contacting/Submitting
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* Wanted: Writers/Reporters *
Would you like to get your name in the ink once a month when the Gazette is emailed to it's over 400 subscribers? If you're interested in submitting articles to be published in this mailing, just send them to me, and I'll plug them in. If you want to be a regular writer/reporter, then just email me and we'll get everything squared away.
Writing a column/feature in a newsletter can be a rewarding experience. Since numerous people see your name in the publishing, if they share similar opinions or have suggestions/comments to make to you, you've already spoken to a wide audience to get that kind of feedback.
* Submitting stuff *
If you'd like to submit anything to the 'gaz, you can simply email it to me (Tek), at tek@quickbasic.com. Thanks!
The opinions expressed by the staff writers aren't necessarily the opinions of the members of the QBasic Gazette collectively.
* Conclusion *
I hope that this issue meets your expectations, or exceeds them. If you'd like to send me a digital pat on the back, suggestion, complaint, death threat, or whatever, you can send it to tek@quickbasic.com and I'll try and get back to you in a timely fashion.
Would some of your comrades enjoy this newsletter? Tell them about it! They can sign up thru the NeoZones website, or go straight to http://qbasicgazette.listbot.com/ and sign up there!
Until next time.
-Tek, Pete & Contributors
tek@quickbasic.com
http://neozones.quickbasic.com/
