Do people prefer Lua?

[puki]

I have finally been let loose in Lua.

 

I notice that there are more posts in that forum, so I wondered if more people are using it (ie is it the more popular way to now use LE), or are people just asking more questions in there?

[Mumbles]

People without loads of programming experience will probably prefer it - it has nicer syntax if you're not familiar with the language.

 

I remember Josh stated somewhere that he used to think it was a bit of a toy language until he tried it - then liked it so much, he integrated into the engine. I still think it's a bit of a gimmick, as so far I've just not needed it. I'm also not much of a scripter anyway - any scripting I want to do, I'll normally do it in bash or maybe perl, goes without saying that such scripting has nothing to do with my current top secret (a.k.a. ****) leadwerks project. Any scripting I need, I'll do with additional text files that go along side the media, and I'll make my program process those text files when the relevant resources are loaded. Sort of the same as .mat files.

 

So while most might prefer it, I personally don't... Since learning the basics of OOP in uni, cpp is basically the only way forward in my mind, I can't see me going any other way

[Rick]

It's just newer to LE folks so people have more questions. Plus Josh has it setup a little differently than just a normal Lua script so it is a little different than what people are used to.

[gordonramp]

Yep, I prefer it.

[AggrorJorn]

I find Lua a bit easier to understund then C++. But the overal commands are pretty much the same. It is mostly the more complicated commands and functions in C++ that stop me. I think Lua can be really powerful but that the engine is not using it yet to it's full potential. And although there are a some examples, good and proper documentation is lacking sometimes.

[Foolish]

Since my projects are small and I am a one man show with Blitzmax and the nice BlIDE IDE, I haven't jumped into it too much. It's good to have another tool in the toolshed though.

[Sooshi]

I still think it's a bit of a gimmick

 

Its not Lua that is a gimmick, its the people who are using it that may be gimmicks. Same goes for C++ B) .

 

Like I said before, C++ wont make you a game, only your dedication will.

 

Who cares if C++ is faster or may be industry standard....

 

As stated before I never claimed to be good at art just because I use 3,500.00$ 3dsMax. I claim to be good because I went and studied the theory behind art. And believe me, anyone who is uber awsome at using Lua who understand things such as metatables and metamethods, can breeze right through C++. I will bet you any amount of $ on that.

 

I mean think about it, whats the #1 question that people ask when they want to know about an engine...."Can I make a GTA style game in this engine?....Can I make an MMO in this engine?(lol)....Can this engine make my RPG?". Granted some engines may be better than others, but its NOT any particular engine that is lacking.....

 

Soooooo basically....Its not Lua or C++ thats the gimmick

 

Btw im not trying to offend anyone with this post, im actually just trying to help, I know I can come off strong sometimes, but sometimes thats what it takes for people to see reality. We all want to accomplish our dreams.

[Pixel Perfect]

If you’re writing a simple game engine use whatever language you want, it's probably not going to matter. If you’re a capable programmer and writing a complex game engine then the best advice I can offer is to write your game engine in C++ and your game play in Lua. It's tried and tested and taking an alternate route can end in tears a long way down the road which is not really where you want to find yourself after a year or more of development! Tools are important when programming, choose them carefully.

[Sooshi]

If you’re writing a simple game engine use whatever language you want, it's probably not going to matter. If you’re a capable programmer and writing a complex game engine then the best advice I can offer is to write your game engine in C++ and your game play in Lua. It's tried and tested and taking an alternate route can end in tears a long way down the road which is not really where you want to find yourself after a year or more of development! Tools are important when programming, choose them carefully.

 

You do have a point Pixel, when writing complex stuff such as game engines, C++ really is a must. But that does not make other languages a gimmick for writing games.

[Laurens]

Personally I would love LUA, hadn't it been for the fact the god-awful way they hacked "classes" in.

[ZeroByte]

I think Lua has it's place in LE, but, when i see a game engine with scripting only, i'm not interested.