Blitz Basic FAQ

Blitz Basic is a version of the popular BASIC programming language. Blitz Basic started life on the Amiga many years ago, and is now being souped-up for the PC. Blitz Basic is oriented mainly towards writing games, but can be used to write many types of multimedia application in general.

· What's so great about Blitz Basic?

Blitz Basic is easy to use -- and it's fast! Blitz is written by a total games-freak (me!) who knows all the ins-and-outs of making games. Blitz fully utilizes the grunt of DirectX so your programs will automatically make use of graphics and sound hardware acceleration. Blitz Basic is also a compiler. This means your programs are converted into ultra fast machine code before running. However, Blitz is also very easy to use, featuring simple and logical commands that making writing programs for the PC easier than ever!

· Where does Blitz Basic come from?

Blitz Basic is being programmed by Mark Sibly, and published by Guildhall Leisure Services.

· When and how can I buy it?

There will be 2 versions of Blitz Basic: the first, simply named Blitz Basic, will be available for £29.99 around the end of October. You will be able to buy it direct from Guildhall, in the (UK) high street, etc. If you don't want the extras on the CD, Guildhall may be able to organise digital delivery of some form.

To quote the amazing George from Guildhall:

"For your money you get: Blitz Basic on a CD - the CD will include graphics for use in your own games: tiles, backdrops, spaceships, etc; the Blitz compiler that you will be able to create standalone executables with (.exe) and a Blitz manual. You will also be able to upgrade to Blitz Basic Professional at a discounted price when it is released [NB. registered users only, so fill in those forms! -- JB]..."

And (oh, joy!) the Blitz Basic manual will not be the awful ring-bound type that came with the Amiga version of Blitz Basic and promptly fell to pieces! It will be provided in both paper and HTML forms.

Then, early next year (current estimate: March 2001), Blitz Basic Professional will storm onto the scene. Sales details are not yet available for the Professional version.

· What's the difference between Blitz Basic and Blitz Basic Professional?

The most obvious difference will be the lack of 3D support in Blitz Basic. I have all sorts of weird and wonderful things planned for Blitz Pro's 3D, and want to take the time to do this properly. At the same time, I understand 3D is not everyone's cup-of-tea so the 2D-only Blitz Basic will be made available earlier. Blitz Pro will also feature the ability to extend the Blitz Basic command set with libraries written in Blitz or C/C++!

· Will there be a demo version?

Yes, a demo download will be available in September. This will be a cut-down version, but still capable of creating complete games!

· How much will BlitzPC resemble Amiga Blitz?

Blitz Basic on PC will be similar to Amiga Blitz - but not identical. There are 2 issues at work here: firstly, the PC is a very different beast from the Amiga, so commands that made sense on the Amiga are pretty much useless on the PC. Secondly, as great as Amiga Blitz was, there's always room for improvement! I have taken this opportunity to fix up some of the things about the original Blitz that I was not totally happy with. In particular, there are some minor differences in the language - but nothing that should throw any Amiga Blitz coders out there.

· What about "Blitzlibs"?

If you've used Blitz Basic on the Amiga, you're probably aware of the infamous Blitzlibs. Blitzlibs allowed people to add their own commands to Blitz and, much to my surprise, were highly successful and popular! However, there was a lot wrong with the Blitzlibs system in Amiga Blitz (which I won't go into here). Blitz Pro will feature a hugely improved Blitzlibs system which should correct all the problems with Amiga Blitzlibs. You'll be able to write commands in many languages (and the shocking 'libnums' problem will be totally nuked!).

· What will the 3D be capable of?

Without giving too much away, here's some idea of what you'll be in for: multiple lights, multiple cameras, multi-texturing, cool 'glowy' effects, custom meshes, dynamic LOD heightmaps, 3D sprites...

· Someone said Blitz was to have no Goto or Gosub! Surely they were mistaken!

Well, yes and no. I tentatively put the suggestion out a while back that we drop Goto/Gosub, but the idea was received with a less than warm response. So, Blitz will have GOTO and GOSUB!

· Where can I find out more?

Check out the Blitz PC discussion group. Or hassle me (Mark Sibly) directly - but prepare to be ignored depending on workload/mood, etc!