Fullscreen VS Windowed

[SeiferTim]

I'm working on a game right now, which will be a PC RPG, using Flash and Visual Basic. I'm trying to decide which type of view I should use, and was hoping I could get other opinions on the subject. I'm not sure if I should make the game display in Fullscreen, or in Windowed Mode.
I've listed the benefits of each mode as I have thought of them, and hope you guys can offer your own opinions.
Fullscreen
Reminiscent of Console RPGS
Isolates Game from other applications the player might have open.
Reduces Strain on Graphics, since other programs aren't being displayed.
Gives an overall Authentic Feel to the Game.
Windowed
Allows for easy Multi-Tasking
Doesn't 'take over' player's screen
Makes it easy to have multiple windows in the game.


Please let me know if you think of any other arguments for either mode. Thanks! :te:

[Marz]

Depends on how big the game is going to be and how the graphics are going to look.. What resolution are you planning... And why are you blenind gVisual BASIC and Flash? WHy not just use VB alone It's alot more powerful than Flash is.

:)

[Johnny64]

Originally posted by Marz
Depends on how big the game is going to be and how the graphics are going to look.. What resolution are you planning... And why are you blenind gVisual BASIC and Flash? WHy not just use VB alone It's alot more powerful than Flash is.

:)

because flash is easy :P

even though i have had probs with that too.....flash with c++ server or all c++.

well for now its easy because i dont know c++ :P

oops back to subject.

Well if you are planning on making a big rpg then I would think fullscreen would be better becuse it make's it feel more like a real game but if it were in a window it would be more like "just an another internet game thing".

:)

[SeiferTim]

I want to use Flash, since (to me) it is a lot more fun to use, and isn't hard to implement into programs.
I was attempting to just use VB with DirectX, but it ended up taking way to much effort to try and make a very cheesy looking sample program. I didn't like the results. However, with Flash, I can pretty much leave the graphics engine alone, and then focus on the processes with Visual Basic. I've never seen anyone do it before, and (as of yet), I don't see any downsides to combining the two. With the tests I've run, it should lead to a very well-balanced relationship between them, as VisualBasic will pretty much leave Flash alone, and not have to worry about ANY of the graphical work (which VB is not very good at anyway), while Flash (which is great at graphics and animation, but not at heavy thinking), will not have to worry about all the heavy thinking, database accessing, and data storage. I could program it all in C++, but I like VB much better than C++... and i haven't used any C in about 3 years...

So far, I'm leaning towards FullScreen, though technically, I should still be focusing on the design doc, I tend to think of other things as I go...

[SeiferTim]

Oh - and if i do use Fullscreen, I plan on having it run at either 800 X 600, ot 1024 X 768 resolution... perhaps giving the player the choice...
So far I haven't done much with any of the in-game graphics, but I'm probably going to use either 32 X 32 or 64 X 64 pixel sprites...

[Marz]

First off.. I'll go through and explain to you guys some factors about Visual BASIC vs C++...

First off.. C++ is about ten times better than Visual BASIC.. You don't have to worry about a program not running on someone's system because they don't have the proper runtime library installed correctly like you do with VB.. C++ compiles every single little thing into all the .dll's and .exe that it can.. And this is GREAT!

Now.. Incorporating a VB and Flash MX interface is all good and everything... But Flash MX doesn't work at 800 x 600 very well at all.. And its graphical interface is about 1/20th the speed of DirectX..

Frankly.. It would be alot easier and better idea to do it all in Flash or all in Visual BASIC... They two together, from a paper or mind point of view may look great, but not in programming senses.. You should never incorporate two langauges together unless you have to... It's like Running ASP and PHP on the same page and transferring data between the two... it's a mess!

[SeiferTim]

Hmm... I guess I may want to consider switching my methods around, but I think my main problem here is that I need more help on this project... :-/ So far, it's basically myself, and the person drawing the characters... which means that I am pretty much doing all the story, concept, programming, and more... if anyone's interested in lending a hand, let me know... either PM, E-mail (mailto:seifert@bahamutsoft.com) or my Forum at http://seifertim.no-ip.com

[Marz]

Eh.. I'd help.. But I already have 20 million projects planned out for myself alone.. ;) Good luck with everything. Come here often if you have any questions :thumb:

[junahu]

I'd gladly help if I didn't suck so bad... but if there's anything I can ever do (unlikely)...

[SeiferTim]

If you're interested, goto my forum at: http://seifertim.no-ip.com - there's information available there.