Andy Owen

========================================================= VB versus C++ - It's impact on VB games. ========================================================= Peter said I could go off topic, and off topic I will go :) Well, not too off topic, but anyhow, what has been in my mind for the past few units of time (probably weeks), is the big rivalry between C++ and VB. I see at lots of places, VB being looked down on and so on. A person will ask a question, and as soon as someone sees the word VB in it, they instantly tell them (why does the Word grammar checker recommend I change that last "them" to a "him or her"? Honestly... why do people need a computer to correct their own grammar... it isn’t something you just forget... spelling is understandable but.... grrrrrrr..... back to topic (as off topic as it may be (oooh triple nested brackets... fantastic))) that they should switch to C++. I'm not sure what the person does, but what it shows is that VB is not taken seriously. Anyhow, when you think of the best VB games, how many of them get to actually be seen by people, I know DDCK:MoC is getting a fair bit of exposure, but in my experience, not many VB games have been seen by people, not even in the development circles. I don’t really have a point though, it is just an observation :)... maybe if people make more of a fuss about games when they are done, or maybe if the VBists start to "infiltrate" the mainly C++ boards, we can start to set the scores right, because at the independent level, it is possibly more likely that you will finish a VB game than a C++ game because of the time it takes which is reduced for VB games. And with VB.NET around the corner, it won’t be possible to accuse VB of being slow, since it will be so closely linked to C++. Actually, looking back, this hasn't been too off topic, I could talk about stupid grammar checker again, but I've disabled it, so I don’t have anything to complain about. Except for when you type in something like _this which_ it doesn't like. It loves to put commas after the word "this" if you follow it with "which"... anyway, when I run my own multinational monopoly I’ll set about to fix it. All it will do, is replace swear words with family friendly alternates... fruitcake, spandex and so on.. it’ll possibly irritate people even more than it does now... but I'm the monopoly so I do as I please. That off topic enough? Because surely you were board reading the same old opinions on the same old topic... unless you read this article first... if so, then read it again at the end for a refreshing change :)

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Andy Owen is:
	The developer of Slayfest and Traffic Jam and a regular on Lucky's VB Gaming and Voodoo VB forums. Andy is also a programmer on the Darkness Rising team.