What to learn? Thread

Hey,
I would like to create a web based MMORTS like Ogame or Astro Empire but I don't how to script so what should I learn to be able to do this?
Dax2

Javascript - since it is 80% of all modern web development. Whenever something changes without going to a new page or reloading - it's Javascript
HTML/CSS to write and decorate pages so browsers can display them properly.
Those are what you need to make web pages work and they will give you some years to figure out how you want to do the server side.

C++ is very very useful as well. I would say though, it depends on the engine. If you for example want to use GameStudio (A8) you need C-Lite.

unless your a total noob then python

Thx a lot for the answer^^ And yes i'm a total noob so i'll go for python and start learning ^^'

I win!

Python is a very good starter language to learning programming. but in actual development it doesn't do much. Unless you want to make your won engine.

Drop python and go for LUA for RTS applications you will find it much more used in RTS engines like spring and sage 2 for starters.
This idea of MMORTS is very complex perhaps you should begin with merely RTS or MMO only until you get the hang of things.
Of course it is difficult to choose and well generally making RTS is slightly easier then MMO games but that's not to say you cannot do this.
You could technically decide to do flash based work and just action script the MMORTS idea however it would be more flat and slightly harder to setup.
I strongly suggest you pick a RTS game engine.

Have you ever successfully completed making a normal RTS before? If not, then you need to do that first since MMOs are very complex by comparison. I'd recommend taking a look at the spring engine ( Springrts.com ) for inspiration or maybe even the core of your project.

If you really want to make an MMORTS, I would advise not making it 'web based' as in a browser game but build a stand alone executable you distribute. The reason is that RTS games are performance hogs anyway and something like Javascript or Python will have performance issues. Also, if you are using a browser plugin you have reduced access to the 3D graphics capabilities on the host system. You should do what most online games do and have them download and install a client first.

That brings me to the biggest issue with your project: Do you have a strong background in client-server development? Writing a program that uses a client server model is very different than writing a program that does everything on one machine. You will have to develop 2 programs, a client program to distribute to your players and a server program to host the game on your server, and make sure they properly communicate with each other.

Honestly, it doesn't matter so much what language you pick as how good your client-server architecture is.

If you want it to run on web you basically have three main choices, note that you should know HTML and CSS with all of them:

Javascript
Probably the most used on making games, and moderately easy to learn. Downside is no OOP (object oriented programming) which is a huge plus.

Java
Don't get this confused with javascript, it is an OOP language that is used in many games, including Minecraft. You can write a java applet that runs in the web browser or as a stand-alone application.

Flash
This is what most games on websites such as miniclip are made with, obviously good for a small game, but for the one you are suggesting, probably not the best choice.

Edited by: codeNinja7

codeNinja7 wrote:
Java
Don't get this confused with javascript, it is an OOP language that is used in many games, including Minecraft. You can write a java applet that runs in the web browser or as a stand-alone application.

If you go with Java take a look at JME3 ( Hub.jmonkeyengine.org ) it has OpenGL graphics, OpenAL, sound, and they have a framework for netcode included in the engine.

Edited by: masternerdguy