2d game with libgdx where to start?

[davedes]

so how would you guys go about doing this? cause im probably just going to look for a working project and just start modifying it to make it work the way i want.
all this copying and pasting code has been nothing but problems  

You need to understand how to program. Start by writing some Java programs that aren't related to graphics/games. Learn what Object Oriented programming is. Read some books about programming paradigms and design patterns. Take some courses, either at school or online.

Copy-pasting random code is like copy-pasting random English language sentences and hoping it forms a coherent essay.

[Nate]

Try this fast paced online book:
http://math.hws.edu/javanotes/
Other books are much longer and have lots of words.

@heisenbergman, read the CHANGES file in git for API breaking changes. You can also read the blog or even the git commit messages, though this is not necessary.

[ReBirth]

For nightly build you may want to see CHANGES file on the repository. I use stable build and wait for blog post for clearer explanation.

Games published by our own members! Check 'em out!

[heisenbergman]

^ Okay, thanks Nate & RB!

[hellrazer21]

its not that i dont know how to program (and im not say im an expert) but some of this stuff isn't in an intro to java book resize and setscreen is libgdx stuff

if someone can help me out with this project i'd be more then happy to share the profits

[Jimmt]

You don't really need to know that create() and render() are libgdx-related to debug it. Always follow the stack trace.

[heisenbergman]

its not that i dont know how to program (and im not say im an expert) but some of this stuff isn't in an intro to java book resize and setscreen is libgdx stuff

if someone can help me out with this project i'd be more then happy to share the profits

I'll help, although I'm not interested in the profits. I'm just coming at this because I like a good bit of problem/puzzle-solving.

How many classes do you have already? Are the three classes from the previous page all you have so far? Meaning hellrazer -> Splash -> MainMenu?

Because I'll try running it when I get home and figure out for myself what's going on.

[hellrazer21]

its only those three classes and its only test images and code. i was just trying to get setup, going from splash to mainmenu to game
the menu dosen't go anywhere right now, i didnt want to spend time on a serious menu if i couldn't get a basic screen change working, thanks for the help man i really appreciate it

heres the whole project http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?vcwd1qpddpw8ulz

[heisenbergman]

^ Ayt. I'll post back here if I find something out.

[hellrazer21]

ok im guna be working on the sprites

Games published by our own members! Check 'em out!

[heisenbergman]

Hey hellrazer21, I figured it out...

Based on the Screen API, the Screen interface has no create() method. What it has is show()... so what I did is take everything you had inside create() and I put it inside show(). It just displays a white screen, but at least you won't get any errors now.

That's why you were getting a NullPointerException --- because create() is never called meaning screen is indeed null when resize() is done.

[hellrazer21]

what if i dispose everything from splash to get a clean start with the menu?

[heisenbergman]

hmmmmm... well... you can try it and tell us how it goes just to see if you can get the menu working that way

[Jimmt]

hellrazer, please use google, and please post new threads for your problems instead of one giant thread.

[hellrazer21]

ok 

[Vermeer]

This may help, depends how you like to learn, but I found it helpful

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP5qA_kgV6Y


Not just the first video , but the whole series.

[seifpic]

I'm a bit late here, but my recommendation is to learn basic Java first and get the hang of how it works and how to debug. Then start by learning Java2D, although you can do without it I recommend it to get a feel for basic UI and OOP programming. Once you're good with that then learn other APIs like Libgdx. To learn Libgdx, you should learn how OpenGL basically works, don't go too deep though. Then watch Dustin Riley's tutorials and maybe get into GLSL later. It's a long process but it will help big time. I can't say I'm a Java expert (heck I still prefer null layouts ) but I think this should get you fluently programming in Libgdx. Don't forget to refer to the wiki and also refer to https://github.com/mattdesl/lwjgl-basics/wiki (all of it, not just the Libgdx section). As I said, I'm no expert so feel free to correct me in anything I say.
Hope this helps.