Blitz programming – Blue Bit Entertainment

Image Buttons with MaxGUI

This time a little tutorial on how to use images as buttons in BlitzMax with MaxGUI module. For beginners the most important thing is to understand the event loop. The image buttons are made with panels that have background graphics. The source below clarifies the rest. In order to try the code, download the followingContinue reading “Image Buttons with MaxGUI”

Using C and DLLs in BlitzMax

BlitzMax apps can be made faster by using C. Also using DLLs in BlitzMax is possible, but that isn’t documented in BlitzMax’s documentation at all. First, an example of using C code in BlitzMax. As an example we generate the Mandlebrot set using C code to determine does the point belong to the set (seeContinue reading “Using C and DLLs in BlitzMax”

What if BlitzMax full screen application freezes on exit

With Windows 7 BlitzMax full screen applications worked just fine on my system, but after upgrading to Windows 10 I ran into problems: The app started normally, execution of the app was ok, but sometimes when exiting the app, the application freezed. This problem is probably system related problem; on some systems this problem mayContinue reading “What if BlitzMax full screen application freezes on exit”

Nostalgia: Missile Attack

Again, some nostalgia. I remember, that it was late 80s, when I had a game called “Missile Attack” for Amiga. It was shareware game priced at $5. Many years ago I made just for fun my own implementation of this classic game in Blitz3D. For curiosity, if my memory serves me right, in Terminator IIContinue reading “Nostalgia: Missile Attack”

How to capture a screenshot from BlitzMax 2D fullscreen game

It’s of course possible to capture a screenshot from BlitzMax fullscreen game with video capture programs such Fraps. It can be also done with the in the BlitzMax code of the game. Here’s my little code to do it: SuperStrict HideMouse Const JPEG_QUALITY:Int = 90 Graphics 640,480,32,1 Local screenpixmap:TPixmap = CreatePixmap(640,480,PF_RGBA8888) While Not KeyHit(KEY_ESCAPE) ClsContinue reading “How to capture a screenshot from BlitzMax 2D fullscreen game”

Hex 2 Dec

In many programming languages there is built-in command or function to convert a decimal value to a hex value. But at least in BlitzMax there isn’t a command or function to convert a hex value to a dec value. In this post I present my little function to convert a hex value to dec valueContinue reading “Hex 2 Dec”

How to retrieve the %AppData% folder

AppData folder is used to store data like hiscores, config, etc. of a game (or app). The AppData folder is a special folder that’s location is related to Windows version one is using. This is why AppData folder must be retrieved with the aid of the system. In Blitz3D retrieving the AppData folder is asContinue reading “How to retrieve the %AppData% folder”