Is anyone sad about slick2d?

General Discussions
#1

I don’t mean any harm, but I just want to know. As most know, slick2d used to be great, a port for all n00bs of java game programming. I would have quit java had I not found it. Tons of people use it still! But now it seems it has been completely abandon. Come the day when the current code does not work, where will we get more supporters of java games, which is dwindling due to bias go? I just think that kevglass should consider working more on it, for the n00bs to learn! Anyone else?

EDIT: I am by no means saying that slick is better that libgdx. It is a better n00b friendly library to learn from, but once you are done with the basics, I say LEAVE NOW!!!

#2

Eh…no.
Find a legitimate reason why slick is better than libgdx.
And to put this in perspective, kevglass uses libgdx now. :wink:

#3

It was abandoned for a reason. Let it go. Kevglass uses libgdx instead, and so should you.

#4

I think it is easy enough for newbies to learn to use LibGDx over Slick. Also, it uses modern OpenGl techniques and comes with a bunch of utility classes. I feel that slick has been dead for years and that people should stop trying to hold onto it. Just let it die!

#5

Easier or not, if you think libgdx is better, why aren’t you using it? There may be some parts of slick you like better than libgdx, but if you still think libgdx is better overall why wouldn’t you use it?

#6

Easier is not always better. One thing I always tell myself when I’m coding is that nothing in life is worth doing that’s not hard. You may be able to find some exceptions, but for the most part that’s the truth. When I was teaching myself pure LWJGL, I hated it. I never understood it, things just didn’t work. But I kept reminding myself of that motto and I eventually got over the learning curve hump and now feel like I can program at least decently in OpenGL. Slick2D may be easier, but it’s old and outdated, so it’s worthless to learn in the long run. Stop trying to take the easy path and just learn LibGDX or even straight up LWJGL.

#7

I never use slick2d before, but I’m mad a little Java games loses one of its finest library.

1 Like
#8

Also, who said slick is only for noobs? Everyone used to use it…

#9

Yes, but what I’m saying is that its pointless to learn in the first place. If its no longer being developed and is using extremely old code, your game will turn out slow and possibly buggy. What I’m saying is that back when it was being developed, it was a great tool. Now its not. I do not recommend any new programmers learn it.

Also, I used to love Slick2D. So I’m not hating on it.

#10

[quote=“wesley.laferriere,post:1,topic:42555”]
When someone makes freely available something they’ve been working on in their spare time, there are never any guarantees. kevglass has no obligation to anyone regarding Slick. He did a good deed, kept it up for quite a while, and now he’s moved on. So should you. For anyone to get “mad” about it is just silly.

#11

Either that or take over and maintain the code yourself :o

Better - make something you think libGDX is missing, call it slickGDX and you’ll be fine. I would start with a simple tutorial how to set up a desktop-only project without using libGDXs project GUI, since it seems to be the biggest hurdle for noobs to handle multiplatform development and they do not notice, that they just can use libGDX like any other library in Eclipse/Netbeans/IntelliJ as long as they target desktop only…

#12

I still love Slick, despite doing game dev for over a year now but sometimes if you really just want to get a quick, mini-game done, I reckon slick is much easier to setup and use.

Just personal opinion… :stuck_out_tongue: One of my main projects still use slick, I don’t find it to be too bad. If it has to die then it might be a bit of a loss for the Java community because there’s one less option to choose from.

#13

How could you be mad about something given to you for free?

Kevglass has done a great but thankless job. No one can and should force him to do something he does not want.

#14

No reason to be mad about Slick2D, its still available and open source. IMO as an API the project is pretty much feature complete and doesn’t really need any new major features for 2d desktop games. Plus open source projects don’t die, they just become inactive until someone decides to run with them again (in the case of Slick2D the community has been maintaining it for a while, last pull request merge was 2 weeks ago).

The Slick code is still some of the most well written java code i’ve seen and very easy to reuse in your own projects as its just a collection of a few small utility classes (sound, fonts, images, etc) and classes that wrap the LWJGL API into a higher level one. The project is still very useful for quick prototyping and basic game making.

Its greatest advantage over LibGDX is that its api mirrors that of Java2D (which in itself is a really nice API) and hence easy to pick up for most Java programmers (as they are usually familiar with Java2D).

Many still find the project very useful and continue to use it, so whats the problem?

#15

Right. Slick is easier than libgdx and I used it after Java2D and before Libgdx.
So if you are a beginner and just want to learn, yeah go check it out.
You dont need support or updates - it works for simple stuff.
When you run into bugs or problems you are probably at a point where you might as well move on to libgdx.

#16

Turning it into OSS can give advantage. People can contribute and Kev just hit “accept” :stuck_out_tongue:

#17

It already is open source. There still have to be pull requests actually worth hitting “accept” on, and that doesn’t magically happen by itself.

#18

Mate I’ve seen some of your other posts, I know that you are 13, stop acting like you know everything about programming, what people used to use and what people use now. Yes people used to use slick, yes some people still do, yes it may have been easier, but easier things are generally not as good, things that are harder normally are better, great motto as a few have said. Slick is dead, move on…

#19

He perfectly got his answer, why going on showing him up?

#20

Because no one had raised some the points that I did?