I need to create a scoring evaluation routine. In VB6, I would have used a Case Statement to construct the routine. Does MMF2 have a direct equivalent? If so, where can I find info on how to use it? Thanks.
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I need to create a scoring evaluation routine. In VB6, I would have used a Case Statement to construct the routine. Does MMF2 have a direct equivalent? If so, where can I find info on how to use it? Thanks.
You could have a group of events deactivated, and when you needed to use them activate that group of events and let the events "Val == 1" "Val == 2" "Val == 3" etc. run. The equivalent of a Break would be deactivating the group of events.
Calling a fastloop 1 time would work too but stopping a fastloop still triggers all the rest of the On Loop conditions.
It'd be cool if you stopped the loop twice in a row it would end immediately. Also Ending the application twice in a row should skip the fade animation
Thanks. You two enjoy chatting. I'm giving up MMF2 as not ready for prime time. I've come to admire Jeff Vance as an employee ClickTeam doesn't deserve. This forum is a love letter to true believers in this badly flawed program/concept. The history of programs "to replace programming" is full of good intentions and sad results. MMF2 suffers the same delusional results and slavish inability to face reality; There is no such thing as programming without programming. As MMF2 slogs ever deeper into "matrixes of check boxes are way cooler than code", followers lose track of the fact that they're needing to write or adapt "one more extention" or glue together one more kludge-driven crypto fix. I'll miss the generous members of this forum, but I won't miss MMF2.
I have the respectfully disagree with LeGauche. I believe that what Clickteam has done is amazing. I do agree with LeGauche that the control statements need to be redone to make them easier to use. I would also like to see the ability to have modules of being better able to organize the code.
Now with that said, I also what to say that there may be more experienced MMF programmers than me.
But to say LeGauche that MMF is a "badly flawed program/concept" is not fair or true. I understand your comments. But I have seen the program greatly improve over the years.
Yes, I also agree that at times it does seem a group-think is taking place. But then a new version comes out and I am blown away by what Clickteam has done.
Have you met Eagle, by any chance? MMF2 is not a program that does all the work for you.
MMF2 greatly speeds up the development process. Surely you cannot expect it to be flawless? Surely you don't expect it to mimic other programming languages?
MMF2 may not be as powerful as some coding languages such as C++ but is definitely an easier but still powerful alternative.
Read and study the responses to my post, and you see the same wistful need to believe. I'm not angry at MMF2 - far from it. The promise of "programming without programming" is seductive as hell. I know from experience. In the 1980's I founded CodeWriter Corporation to do the same thing. In the ensuing 6 years, we built a base of hundreds and hundreds of true believers who were as deluded as I was. There was always "one more fix" needed to program without code. I finally woke up in 1986 and closed the doors. I've been seduced several more times since, and began my study of MMF2 8 months ago. It's a siren without mercy.
The most maddening aspect of MMF2 and ClickTeam is that a solution is staring us in the face; The underlying code already in MMF2 could be the basis for a EXTREMELY GOOD procedural language! Let's call it GDL for Game Design Language. The C++ beneath MMF2 can be the basis for a first-class high level interpreter. Because GDL "knows" it exists for creating games, not everything, learning would much easier than the painful, low-level C++ . An "intellisense" feature would expose all the existing objects so that using them would be straight forward and creating (instancing) new objects would be possible.
C'mon all you ClickTeam supporters, you know in your heart of hearts that a maze of check boxes is not an alternative to programming - but a mis-guided flight from programming. I have 30 years of experience to absolutely guarantee that creating games with GDL would be MUCH EASIER than banging on MMF2.
Can't we gently and kindly approach Yves?
MMF2 events are already compiled to bytecode.
There are the .NET, Python, and XLua extensions if you want scripting.
There is no "maze of check boxes" - you seem not to understand how events work...
You're whistling in the wind, LB. If I'd invested as much time as you, I'd be as reluctant as you to stop pretending...
You're whistling in the wind, LB. If I'd invested as much time as you, I'd be as reluctant as you to stop pretending...
You seem to have double posted 10 minutes apart.
If you would rather spend long hours writing code than spending a few minutes getting a working prototype in MMF2, then go ahead. My only point is that MMF2 does not lack what you think it lacks. If you find something better you be sure to point us to it so Clickteam knows what to do correctly for MMF3. ;)
Gently and kindly telling Clickteam that they don't even deserve one of their sales guys is contradictive. It's like saying "No offense, but I hate everything about you." You are going to offend. Once you spend time learning MMF2, it becomes far more useful that a scripting based system. MMF2 is not without programming. It has just as much programming in it as any other tool. What it is without, however, is text-based programming. Look at the countless influx of iOS games that have been released in less than two weeks to see how appealing this product is. How many statements have there been like yours? Two. Since I've been here, in any case. You claim that you know in your heart that we agree with you. I know that I and many others do not.
MMF2 is not a perfect tool. Clickteam is more than happy to take in suggestions that make the product better. I've had over ten features implemented in MMF2 because they were genuinely useful. Any semblance of lack-of-support only ever happens when users do not understand what they are asking or even if it is possible. In this case, we the users are more than happy to explain and help the newbies out. Before you pop in with a quip about how I made a suggestion even in this thread, and thus I must be complaining, I do not consider my needs or wants to be of any more gravity than what Clickteam is currently working on. They have better things to work on. They are one of the most user-friendly and helpful companies I have ever done business with, but they are still a business. At the end of the day it matters not how many users they've helped in making games they won't finish, but how much revenue Clickteam can bring in to assist in making MMF a more functional machine. As I said before, MMF2 is not perfect. It was released in 2006 by two programmers. The team for MMF3 is now over 5, and all have more skill than the first two did over 5 years ago. The people on the team now are well known members of the community (users that applied for a job) and thus the community's voice will be well heard.
I strongly urge you to stay in the community. MMF will only get better, and you can learn a lot. I considered myself to be a great programmer before I joined the forums. That was when I realised I had a lot to learn and soon became a regular user here. I have come to appreciate the people here as more of a family than strangers online. Give MMF a chance. If you try the SWF exporter, you can make more than the cost back easily :)
Jacob -
You sound like a pompous windbag! Don't bother yourself with the tedium of explaining anything. Your response to "Eagle" says a lot more about you and the rest of your deluded ilk, than it says about Eagle. You don't like your boat rocked - I get it.
Of course, MMF2 doesn't "do all the work" as you allege I required.
It just makes it tougher than it needs to be.
Jacob -
I owe you an apology. My "windbag" comment was in response to your first reply about Eagle. Your second answer, while I disagree and find the logic absurd, was much more measured and thoughtful. I'm sorry.
Picking on very specific situations doesn't seem very nice. Most of the time MMF2 makes things drastically easier. have you tried making a game for Windows, Java, Flash, iOS, AND Python?Quote:
Originally Posted by LeGauche
The product is by no means perfect, but we use it because it's really good at speeding up development and making our lives easier. You don't have to use something useful if you don't have a use for it, but you definitely shouldn't complain about it not being useful to you in specific. ;)
Normally I don't argue with people online. Normally I don't argue with people who have already made up in their mind that they are right and that there's nobody that can change their mind.
But for me, it's late at night and I'm slightly delusional at the moment, so I'll disregard those two rules. I think even if I don't convince you, I can speak to other readers of the thread.
You're comparing MMF2 to programming languages. It's not a language, it's a machine. A GUI. A tool. Compare it to it's competition, not it's cooperation.
Also, I don't like the attitude. If you don't like MMF2 anymore, that's your problem. But don't call people pompous windbags and as awesome as Jeff is, don't tell Clickteam they don't deserve him.
Now:
I can't believe you're attempting to do a case statement in MMF2. I don't see why it is at all necessary. You should have the ability to make this without even attempting to use a case statement.
Back on your rant against MMF2:
I think perhaps you should think again about giving up hope. Perhaps your company gave up, but Clickteam is unrelenting. It has a legacy to uphold. I think Clickteam will be around for years to come. There's still hope that a perfect, non-scripting programming engine will be out there, perhaps as soon as MMF3 is released. Until then, we have the exceptional tool of MMF2. It's not perfect. It never will be. It has a few design flaws here and there, and there's a few things that aren't native to it that may be in MMF3.
Also, I'd like you to notice how your posts against CT have not been deleted, and the thread has not been locked. Like Eagle's thread, the Admins and Mods let the users say mostly what they like. Even if you don't respect Clickteam and their products, they respect your free speech.
With that said, they will end this thread if it gets too heated. It's unhealthy to have flame wars or internet arguments.
Yes. I am slightly a hypocrite for arguing.
If you find the eventing system difficult compared to scripted programming, then write scripts - albeit that's a bit strange and odd, as the eventing system is much more intuitive. It sounds like you feel like typing rather than clicking. As you see above, the company is Clickteam, not Typeteam.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeGauche
Also, if you find it harder, then you're doing it wrong. I can whip a game engine together in an hour. I can make a useful program in about 30 minutes. On the other hand, it takes me a much longer time to write the same game in AS3 or Java, and to design that interface in AS3 or Java.
I'm not tied down to MMF2. I've coded AS3, Java, C++, HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XHTML, jQuery... the list goes on. Each has their benefits. But they're languages. If I want to make an AS3 game, I go to MMF2. I can have the same game made in MMF2 in half the time. I say half only because graphics are my weak point and take a while. The engine itself will take 10x the time in AS3.
You've only used MMF2 for eight months and you already sound like you're giving up. You sound like you're going from a programming language to MMF2. If you want a programming language, look elsewhere. MMF2 is more than that. You won't find a "case" equivalent, or a "while" loop, or even a "if" statement. They're not needed. There's conditions, expressions, and actions. That's all you need.
Now my laptop is out of power, so I guess we'll pick this up tomorrow?
In response to the original question:
There isn't a case statement in MMF, you just use multiple conditions and a group.
Think of the deactivate as your "break". Remember that the events run in order from top to bottom, the same way lines of code do. If you don't need a "default", it's even simpler - just list out the possible values of X, you don't even need to use a group.Code:Group "blah"
-> X == 1
- Do something
- Deactivate "blah"
-> X == 2
- Do something
- Deactivate "blah"
-> Always
- Do something as default
- Deactivate "blah"
In response to the rest of the thread:
If you feel the product range is too limited for you, by all means move on to something else. We don't mind, and there's no reason to post about it here unless you're looking for an argument with the forum regulars.
It's true that developing in MMF2 requires thinking in a different way to conventional programming languages, but the continued success of MMF developed software and games suggests we must be doing something right.
Clickteam is a small company, and you can't expect us to cover everything at once. The focus has been on exporters for various platforms, and now MMF3 is in development with long awaited improvements to the product itself.
After creating a fairly big program for financial calculations I see how comments from "all" sides are true. I have found however that if you put your wish list out on the forum that Clickteam generally will come up with a solution. For example, there was times that I wanted a script language but when Lua extension was released it solved my problems.
My wish: I would like to see MMF come out with their own webserver with MMF integrated with it and integration with http so you would not have to learn php for web programming and database integration. Perhaps an embeddable web server solution.
In most cases, like in my project, I found I used the normal MMF programming methods alot. It was fast, quick, and easy. There were times that I could see where a scriping language would help and make certain functions of routines easier to read and understand. But I was still able to work it out with MMF2 in general. The biggest area I ran into problems was with the activex for the spreadsheet control. Activex was very limited and almost became a stopping point in my program development. There just was no solution in MMF. So yes I see the need for providing a more flexible interface for MMF. The question is what interfaces should MMF support? .net, java, c++, lua, activex etc.... I do very little game programming. Most of my applications would be more in the area of multimedia or business or training applications. More interfacing with external devices like bar code reader, IP camera, printers etc...would be awesome.
Is there group-think going on? Yes I believe that is fair but that happens in all product development. Games are a BIG focus. I am sure as time goes on Clickteam will improved the product for everyone even more by listening to feedback from several individuals.
One problem I see with the idea of programming is that we still write programs like we write a book. In the old days programming was with 0's and 1's, then in assemblier language, then in C, Cobol, now we see Java and .Net. This is like building a house with just a hammer, saw, and wood. We need tools like MMF to advance the state of art and more on. Keep at it Clickteam.
There is lacewing webserver :)
I'll have to check that out. Thanks.
I guess what I am seeing is MMF2 coming out with a webserver product that includes content management and the ability to easily include mmf web applications. I would like to see a built in database system for easy database development to use with the web applications and the ability to use mmf lacewing. Then this would be a server that could be embedded or used as a standard webserver. It would be nice if it supported .net, java, php and used a gui to keep things simple for developers. Then any application would be easy to develop. I like the idea of using Lua as a scripting language for speed, and using LUA Server Pages or MMF Server Pages.
I know I asking for a lot but it would move MMF towards the web. It would be nice if you could design screen forms integrated with the database to quickly design web based database applications in addition to the games themselves.
Being embeddable would allow the whole system to run on a number of different devices.
This is not what MMF2 is about...you can do all that without MMF2 and just put MMF2-made content on it.
I'm not sure why you would say that LB. Take a look at www.pixiehollow.com. A very popular and profitable website for kids. This makes use of web, browsers, and local computer. I believe MMF needs to make it far easier to develop these types of applications. Sure you can do it if you want to learn several different languages. PHP, Lua, Java, .net etc...