Does VB6 allow for high-definition support?

[8IronBob]

Good morning. I was about ready to program a "media enhanced" game in VB6, using rich sound, high-quality pics for the backgrounds and targets etc..., use MP3 music in the background, etc... So, before I make any judgements about what media components to use in my game using VB6, since it has the multimedia plugin built into it. My question, on the side of caution, of course, what "modern, or future" media component formats will VB6 support? I know that it supports JPG for pictures/clipart/backgrounds, and WAV is always standard (assuming that it'll accept CD/DVD quality WAVs) However, would it go so far as to accept the newest formats, like for video, MPGs, or the Windows Media Player files, WMAs/WMVs, or would it accept MP3s to be used? Using some "state-of-the-art" techniques to develop a game that'll break the high-definition barrier, would VB6 allow for resolutions or qualities this high? I'm just asking to air on the side of caution in case something would go wrong.

[rsmedts]

Since you can make pretty much any external call in Visual Basic (And the ones you can't, you can just write a wrapper for in C++), the limitations you'll be dealing with will be those of the controls you choose to use, rather than the limitations of VB6.
I'm not saying Visual Basic is a great language to write games in, but you definitely can.
Also:
- Audio: http://www.fmod.org/
- DirectX: http://directx4vb.vbgamer.com/

[DudeMiester]

First of all, all this "High Definition" talk we're hearing in the media is total marking bullshit. "High Definition" really means something that is of high quality. Of course, anything can be high quality, and what's high quality now will probably not be tommorrow. So essentally your goal in this project is to make a game in VB6 that you percieve as pretty. So really it doesn't matter what resolution, or textures, or compression, or models, or techniques, etc you use. Anything can be pretty as long as you percieve it as such.

Now as for your game, www.gamedev.net (http://www.gamedev.net) has your answers. First find out how to make a game, and make it high quality and efficently. Understand the wide variety of tools, techniques and methods available to you, and take stock of the resources available to you. Then and only then, actually make a game. If you want to make a "high definition" game, you can just do it off the cuff, it takes a lot of planning and fore-thought.

[8IronBob]

That really brings up a good point. It may be just as easy as taking a WAV or MP3 file for music and/or sound effects, and trying to achieve a Dolby-style sound effect or background music track to allow for at least a 5.1 support. We got that to consider for the audio. As for the resolution of the graphics, HD, last I checked, is about 1280x768 resolution, 1024x768 being Enhanced Definition.

So, just like the resolution for the EDTV and HDTV, your computer games must achieve pictures or video with that resolution or better, which can be a RAM-guzzler in a hurry if you're not too careful. So, to prepare a game in just the right way, I guess I'll have to find out how to break that barrier without sacrificing any RAM or hard drive space, which can be a little tricky.

Also, to make a game with open architecture for the user to swap out media components for the game without needing the source code, that's another thing to consider, because you would need to back up and replace media components in order to make your own game off that engine. So, having a game built for the future would be something to consider with all of this.

[DudeMiester]

That's not what I mean, I could make a pong game that was black and white, but ran at 1080p, and it wouldn't be high quality at all. True, it will output a 1080p HDTV signal, but that doesn't mean it looks any better. Same with the audio. Furthermore, I could make a 800x600 game that looks 10x better then another game at 1080p. It's totally relative.

[Kristian Joensen]

Not if their only difference was the resolution of the graphics. You can't make comparisons without the assumption of ceteris paribus.

[8IronBob]

Well, I guess that it's all in the media that you use in VB, not necessarily what the VB code will allow for, or the VB plugins, like the Multimedia Control. However, what formats are not supported by that plugin? Can the MMC allow for MP3s or MPEG video? If so, what's the command for those? I know that there's WaveAudio for .WAVs, and AVIVideo for .AVIs. However, would MP3Audio or MPEGVideo work for the variable for letting VB6 allow for these to be used? Same thing for WMVs and WMAs, would these work? That's what I was really looking at when it comes to media programming. I know that MPEG videos can be used. However, with MP3s, WMAs, and WMVs being so new, and RealPlayer-based files being sort of "exclusive to Real Networks, " I really dunno if VB6's MMC would recognize those new media formats.

[DudeMiester]

sigh, you still don't get what I'm saying about "high definition". It's not what media you use, it has nothing even to do with your game. The only thing it is, is another marketing term you can pull out your ass to attempt dupe the masses into thinking your game is actually worth buying. Nothing more and nothing less. It doesn't matter what game you make or how good it is, it will never ever be "high definition", it'll just be a game. Sure you may be able to generate a HDTV signal, or THX certified sound, but that means nothing. It's not going to make your game better in any significant way. You can make any game do those things, it doesn't matter how shitty it is.

Anyways you can find all your answers here, it's an extremely good site, way better then asking here:

msdn.microsoft.com