Well, I'm a bit discouraged to continue my game engine using Pascal. I like a lot the language, also, the fact that the Free Pascal compiler is multi-platform and has a good widget library(TBitmap class is one of the most important factor) what makes me like it more. HOWEVER, the world follows through a different stream.

I'm thinking to get back to C++(I know C++) and start to learn OpenGL, this is the only way to keep going with my game engine without being affected by the prejudice. But it will cost time, a LOT of it.

Also, I will have to look for a good multi-platform IDE for C++, instead of Code::Blocks(seems abandoned).

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"Life finds a way." - Ian Malcolm
My WebBlog: PixelDeveloper
English is not my native language, so excuse me for any writing mistakes.

I think the world does not know what it follows, except 'others'. Yesterday it was Java, then C#, then Objective-C, then, who knows?
Much of this is driven by money of course, mobile apps is the new gorwth market.

I agree with you that Pascal is far from main stream, and will likely stay that way. The question is, is that a bad thing? I thought you had your own language, so users don't get exposed to the underlying Pascal language.
Strongly related to this question is the issue of "what do you want to achieve with your project". If you want to attract the masses, and make a few million, then yeah, I'd switch. The other extreme is that you just want to find out how such a thing works. Then you can use whatever you feel most comfortable with, as having users is not a goal.

OpenGL seems like a good long term decision to me. I am also considering switching to it, but are not ready for it yet :)

As for prejudice, do you think C++ has no prejudice? Please read viewtopic.php?p=143081#p143081 (again).
I think you will hit prejudice with every decision that you make. Some are mild, others are extreme (for inspiration, read some recent discussions about Game maker :p ).

Another related question to ponder, who do you think is your audience? Obviously, a user will only use it if it gives him something extra, some profit above not using it. So if "C++ programmers" is the answer to the question, what do they gain? Is that going to be big enough, objectively speaking? (a very hard one to judge, unfortunately). C++ is a hard language, so its users are experienced programmers (hopefully). That's a though audience to satisfy.
I would think a project like yours will be easier to "sell" to less experienced users or to users that want big building blocks fast.

Also, do YOU like C++ enough to spend a few years programming in it? If you hate the language, the project will not get finished at all.

Last but not least, assuming extending the frame work is the main problem, is it possible to write some code in C++, and attach it to your code? That way, users can use C++ and be happy, and you can write Pascal and be happy.

You develop at several platforms at the same time??

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I don't think that the task of translating your project to another platform will be as bad as you think. You've already solved most of the problems, you simply have to express your solutions in a new language. The only gotcha is if you've integrated the features of the old environment into your solution too much and you can't find the same features in the new target.

If you are going to look at OpenGL, please ensure you look at the newer stuff (v3.0+). This will help avoid picking up legacy GL practices which will be obsolete soon.

I used Bloodshed's Dev-C++ as my IDE for cross platform projects. However, it seems to be abandoned too.

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
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Yeah, but if people don't want to learn another language, they will not want to learn to a new script language.
But you gave me an idea. Insead of translate from my script language, I was thinking to give the option to make the IDE translate from a language identically(or almost) to C++... it is a way to get more people.


I did not thought of it that way before. My expectation is to make of this project a professional project, so maybe your last sentense makes sense to me.


Free Pascal is cross-platform, so I can compile the game engine for linux, mac and pc. Also, there are multi-platform IDEs for it.
I would like the same for C++, instead of Dev C++ and Code::Blocks... I'm seeing the day that they will formally close Code::Blocks.


9000 lines of code... I will take a long time to translate all this. Besides having to fix those errors that will eventually appear.


Thanks, I will take care to check out tutorials for the newer version!

Thank you guys, a word of encouragement is what I really needed.

_________________
"Life finds a way." - Ian Malcolm
My WebBlog: PixelDeveloper
English is not my native language, so excuse me for any writing mistakes.