Companion and Apprentice good for learning gml?

[Sen]

I've taken up learning game maker studio through the companion/apprentice books with gm 8.0. I know it's outdated, but will I get a good gist of gml? I've tried learning with heart beast's book, but it got extremley complicated and weird when I got to data structures.

 

[Aura]

Welcome to the GMC~♫

While I agree that those books are outdated and should not be used unless absolutely necessary, concepts such as data structures and string manipulation (hundreds of them) have not changed much since the pre-GMS days (not talking about internal workings) so if you like their teaching style then go ahead.

But I'd suggest you to use a book meant for GM:S. Some of them have been listed here:

https://forum.yoyogames.com/index.php?threads/popular-gamemaker-books.948

Also, *angelic voice* read the Manuuuuaaal:

http://docs.yoyogames.com

(You can use the offline version by pressing F1 in the GM IDE.)

 

[FrostyCat]

Explain what exactly is so complicated about data structures. 8 years ago the Manual had only a small fraction of the explanations available today, yet I learned them just fine back then as a novice without any other form of help.

Unless HeartBeast is really such a fish out of water when he isn't working with videos, the only way you'd find this stuff complicated is if you skip instructions and throw TLDR cards at him.

 

[Yal]

Do you actually do the exercises and stuff in the books? I personally find "learning by doing" a lot more efficient than just cramming text, so if you're just reading all the chapters sequentially passively, I can more or less promise big chunks of the knowledge won't stick.

 

[Roa]

There is very little in those 2 books that are outdated, and they even teach you some habits most people dont mention, such as instance changing as a form of state organization. The books are fine, though they are for very entry level users mostly. The books mostly focus on drag and drop.

 

[Mike]

I'd avoid and GM8.x or older books. A lot has changed.

And tip of the day.............. Learn by doing.

Pick a small game, make it. Don't skip or alter you methods just because you don't know how to do something, use every part as an opportunity to learn. If I'm trying to learn a new laguage, I always "make" something. Tutorials are all very well, but you'll remember much better if it's you code you've figured out - trust me.

And yes.... the manual is very good at helping you out, make sure to read it.

 

[chance]

If I'm trying to learn a new laguage, I always "make" something. Tutorials are all very well, but you'll remember much better if it's you code you've figured out - trust me.

And yes.... the manual is very good at helping you out, make sure to read it.

Works for me too. And for most people who already have programming experience. If you're comfortable with basic concepts common to all languages, then learning new languages isn't too difficult. Often, the manual is all you need.

But coming to GM (or any language) with no prior programming experience is more difficult. I still agree with "learning by doing". But a book or tutorial that teaches basic programming concepts can be lots of help -- even if it's not a book about GM necessarily.

 

[Sen]

So my best bet would be to just mess around with it? Do I just tinker with DND or just start out with code?

 

[Yal]

So my best bet would be to just mess around with it? Do I just tinker with DND or just start out with code?

Code is a lot easier to tinker with, even managing DND you're not meaning to change easily gets a massive job... not to mention it's more rigid so there's less room to change. The rigidness is good if you're not that used to thinking with code, though, since it also limits the "quicksand box" experience by limiting your options to an easily manageable amount instead of code's infinite possibilities.

 

[Sen]

I guess I'll read through the manuel again then tinker a bit. I still feel a bit uncomfortable about the code though. It's intimidating, as the only coding i know is html and css, and that's just basic stuff.