Mark Sibly still working on Blitz products?

I just wanted to know as one of Mark biggest fans what Blitz Research are currently working on.

I may have missed something but after the rumors that Max3D may never see the light of day I am just curious as to whether anything Blitz related is being worked on at all as there have been no updates to Marks worklog and I have seen nothing mentioned in ages.

Again it may be just me and don`t get me wrong I am very happy with my Blitz purchases but it would be a shame to see this site losing its appeal as it no longer seems to be the fun place it was just a few years back when there were loads of cool things happening in the community. Several key members also seem to have vanished which is a shame.

Also I feel that lots of neat things are being missed now as there is no newsletter to bring our attention to them.

Really I just wanted to know if others feel the same way and if anyone out there knows what is happening behind the scenes.

Maybe someone could give us an official update and put our minds at rest?

Jason.

Wasn't there an easy network gaming module or some such planned for BlitzMax? (Some time between the release of the GUI module and eternity - the release of the 3D module).

Yay, A wild speculation thread!

Yeah I heard that there was going to be a Physics module and an AI module too. Obviously I can't provide links to where I heard this though.

I expect he's mostly working on Bmax still, and pulling hair out over the 3d renderer and how to make it easy to use and yet powerful enough to be worth the trouble.

*rolls eyes*

Alert! Alert! Dumb melodramatic statement intended to provoke a response by Blitz Research! Alert!

I'm 99.9% sure Mark is still working on a 3D module, not based on ANY facts mind you. But as Mr. Spock would say "Anything else is a waste of material".

Mark is working for me on a secret project. And he has signed a nondisclosure contract, so hes not allowed to tell you what Ive got him working on. So I would like it if you would kindly stop hasstleing him.

These threads never make it. :)

In fact, these threads are less tolerated than my Ganocide Kill the whole world threads I used to start. :)

I should try starting another one and see hoe it goes.

:)

Unlikely. Don't think anyone ever got banned for starting a thread like this one.

I dare you.

Alert! Alert! Chance for BRL to ignore it's customers once again! Alert!

Anyone here read the thread saying there was a new blitzmax editor on the way? That would give some indication what he is doing.

Well, just as long as BRL does something that'll actually comply with Vista's image, then I'll be okay with that. That'll be something, making Blitz work with Vista, yet still turn around and make something work with XP at the same time...

Wasn't there a message a couple of days ago mentioning a major update to the IDE which would probably be released in in a month or so?

I'm pretty sure I saw Mark Sibly stacking shelves down at a supermarket in Auckland.

I guess he's given up programming for the high profile career of shelf stacking.

Sorry Quicksilva.

hmm, I thought he was getting rid of the module synching. Not sure what the point of updating the IDE is when theres things like BLIDE out there that surpass it by a gigantic margin.

Thats funny Craig :P

@xlsior: He did mention about a month out, and it was approximately a week back.

@Evak: Some people will only use the IDE that comes with BlitzMax. I've read different posts in the forums about people stating this.

If you insist!

Didn't Mark mention something about a unified IDE for all the Blitz languages in one of his post's/worklog's? I've also got a feeling that subversion support may put in an appearance in some way.

Seriously guys, I just really want to know what is happening.

I`m not having a go at anyone, Mark does a great job, but I just feel that we always get left in the dark about any potential developments.

Blitz is, and always will be a great product but it would be nice to see BR a little more active on these forums. I`m sure they check them out so it would be nice to hear from them too.

Jason.

If you want a response from a BR employee, find a bug and report it.

Assuming Mark replied in this thread, everybody would post a bunch of their own questions and get upset when he didn't reply to them all.

Think of it this way, the quieter he is, the harder he's working.

Not that much in the way wrong with the Ide normaly you find the problems with the user ie having 6* 3000+ lines heavily commented Docks open and editing them all its a bit heavy.
And code folding who needs it its a lasy mans tool and can hide the most simple bugs for ever Like (god if been passing x+x when it should have been x+y) problem is it wont throw an error
Use include files build your own modules what more could you want mmmm it Ide to design your engine for you :)

I think Mark has given up on posting info because, in the past, some ppl have pounced on it and tried to interpret every single word he's said, with some 'interesting; results. Mayhem.

If updates weren't so enigmatic and rare there would be no mayhem.

Maybe, but there'd be nagging - lots of nagging. :)

Its not worth asking whats happening, havent had any real answers in the last 4 years. Info comes out when mark feels like talking, which is about 2-3 times a year at his own discretion.

To be honest I just get on with making games with what I have i.e. BMax. I've posted bugs before and they have got dealt with pretty quick and that's cool. So I'm happy to wait for Max3D as I probably won't even use it. In fact I'm under the impression that 3D games probably take a lot more time and money to make anyway. Sure it may be fun to use as a hobby but to make a pro 3D game is no mean feat.

Who knows what the great man is up to, but at a guess I would say he was researching and developing for future products. Two things immediately spring to mind....

1. Incorporating DirectX 10 into some Blitz Products
2. Prototyping for multi-core cpu's

The first one shouldn't be too much of a problem for someone of his calibre, However, the second one I fear may cause more than a few headaches. The one big problem for programming multi-core cpu's is synchronisation. Of course, he could just go with one core and this wouldn't have any significant effect on development but a huge amount of total cpu power would be redundant as a result.

I suspect that he is a very busy person right now even though we very rarely hear from him these days.

Ok OK, Ill tell you. Ive got him working on a PC remake of Gloom.

Gloom? LOL I like that one H&K :)

Personal thought, I hope he's working on the Max IDE!

Other than that, I'm easy! :)

Dabz

.....I am mark Sibly. I occasionally change into bradford6 (my alter-ego) in order to check up on you guys. I even post buggy, useless code and idiotic comments logged in as bradford6 just to keep people from discovering my true identity.

I am hard at work fixing bugs in BlitzMax, I am also working on a new, improved IDE using MaxGUI. As I discover bugs in MAXGui I am fixing them as well. I am also adding and cleanig up various small items on Blitzplus and Blitz3D.

as for Max3D, I am working on it. I want it to be fast, powerful and easy to use. I don't want to rush something out that I am not proud of. be patient and use Blitz3D or miniB3D in the meantime.

I am now changing back into bradford6.......

duh, howdy folks :) how ya doin!

Yes. Now shut up and go away! All of you!

I think he's ran away with the milkman!

Dabz

Bah, pfft, come on!! Give the guy a break. He has a new roadkill, er-- operating system to work with in Vista, and needs time to learn how to adapt Blitz to that, as well as DirectX 10...

I hear Marks been offer a position at Sony a few days ago. Apparently they're looking for a new CEO...

I heard that Mark's building computers at Pc Option.

I heard Mark has printed out this thread and pinned it to his darts board. A well informed sources are saying that his aim has improved considerably since he did it...

Hehe, trying to take over Kutaragi's job, most likely, Neuro?

Blitz Max is cross-platform, BLIDE isn't.

BLIde also uses 80-100mb of system resources, as well as requiring net2.0 to be installed. It also takes ages (20s+) to open large files.

If I need to do something quickly in Blitzmax I use the standard IDE because I can't be bothered waiting for BLIde to open.

on my laptop only the community IDE or the original maxide works fine, BLIde crashes out to desktop.

BLIde doesn't like Vista either. Won't run for more than a couple of minutes without inexplicably locking up.

I also.
Ivf Im just cut/pasteing some code from here then I do it in the IDE, or if Im knocking an example together for ..... well here.
If on the otherhand Im going to have a programming session, then I open BLIde. (But Normaly have the Standard IDE open as well).

I would welcome an improvement in nearly any part of BMAX, but bloating the IDE wouldnt be one of them, unless it was to bloat to... well at least as good as BLIde and JePbe, (JePbe is really good, and I think influenced the new standard PB IDE)

Anyway, acedemic, hes working for me, AND IF ALL YOUR HASSTLEING interupts his job for me, then I will sack him, and he wont have the money to support his "folly", and BRL will closedown

mr. Mark is busy with few hot chicks I deliver for him from Thailand..

http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=68482

This should answers your question... about IDE rewrite.

Works fine here. I use it all the time with no problems at all for my projects. I do still use the standard IDE for small tests and quick little bits of coding.

It would be interesting to see what the new standard IDE has to offer. If it's got intellisense and sorted lists, I may be persuaded to move back to it ... if it's quicker on large files.

Good news! :)

Dabz

I heard some of these chicks aren't really female.......uh oh...

yeah, thats truth, but no worries, I check delivery for Mr. Mark, so i guarantee its not fake :)

did you ever have a chick you didn't pay for naughty alien ? :D

Same.

..naahhhh....I dont have to pay for that...I'm living long enough to know how to get it properly :)

I doubt it will have intellisense.

> I'm living long enough to know how to get it properly :)

Mr Righty Hand.

Any IDE for an OOP language, without intellisense, is madness, IMO.

So do I - using a Microsoft trademark is probably going to get his backside sued. It might have code completion tho'. As long as it has some basic refactoring tools like method extraction and project wide renaming - I'm pretty happy.

Last I heard Mark was working on making a Linux based Console, to wipe the floor with the phantom. I told him he should probably try aiming higher, but he never listens. Well not to me anyway.

Please tell me you're joking.

Which is funny, because that's exactly what I said (albeit with more profanity). :o> Anyway he isn't really working on it, so much as playing with the idea, but I do think he was fairly serious (although it's hard to tell when you're that hammered). Actually thinking back on it I think he might have convinced me to invest $10.000 NZD in the project, but it was about a year or so ago, and I'm sure he's forgotten by now.

In either case he'd still need to work on BlitzMAX (so he has a development platform for his console I assume) so there's no reason to fret.

So tell me. Am I joking?

I believe you. Just seems like an exercise in futility, to me. The salient point about the Phantom (according to wikipedia) is that it was never released. :)

Sure. But what's his name still managed to raise more than $80 million USD in capital for the project.

Besides which BRL needs something else to do after Max3D, right? :o>

After Max3D? <insert sarcastic comment here>

:P

Exactly. :o>

FlameDuck: Bit confused. Your profile says you live in Denmark, yet you've met Mark. You re-located to New Zealand, or something? Just being nosey, here. :)

He likes playing pretend too by the looks of it.

It's not madness, madness is when you run round shouting things and drool when sitting down.

I don't think a good OOP IDE absolutely must have intellisense. A good programmer doesn't need a program to help him write his code.

I personally don't like auto-completion of any kind, good example is those things you get in mobiles where it autocompletes your word for you which is almost always wrong, making it harder to write a word instead of easier. Very off-putting feature imo.

Yeah. I went to Simons housewarming party.

Nah. I interned at Auckland based ISV Cyberglue last year - soyeah I did kinda relocate to New Zealand for a while. Wouldn't like to do it permanently tho' their Internet connectivity is horrid - and I used to think Denmark had horrible ISPs!

Doesn't everyone?

While that's true, good programmers also write self-documenting code - and code completion makes writing self-documenting code much easier.

No actually that's a bad example. Unlike well written source code, well written prose does not have a well defined interface.

Right, but how i can be a good programmer if i dont know commands? Yes, i must know it. For this, i need help by IDE.

Mark joined a monastic order of monks and is creating a new programming language made up entirely of monkly chants designed around making games with latin fun again! Blitz is dead. Long live OooooohmBasic!

Chuck in any reference to Blood and I'm there.

'Nah. I interned at Auckland based ISV Cyberglue last year'

You mean you were only 100km away? Oh the horror! ;-)

(and you're not wrong about the internet service in this )country.