Nobody needs .NET anyways. It makes for huge, bloated programs!
And besides, there are plenty of free IDEs out there. Eclipse + CDT plugin using the GCC compiler via cygwin, while sounding complicated to set up, works rather well. I only use MS VS 2003 cause I got it free from school.
Do you know much C++? VB and C++ can't really be integrated very well.
Also, note that my program has no GUI, since there isn't necessarily a need for one when there is no run-time interactivity.
Currently writing up generic classes so adding all the files can be done much more easily. Hopefully I can remember this stuff!
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RE: Tech Reqs
He was refering to entries in the data file, not necessarily levels of those reqs.
"It also loaded a components file where X number of Techs were required, but X+1 were listed. SE4 gave no errors."
That's exactly what he said would happen. The X+1 Tech Req is ignored.
Also, note that modders frequently put high level tech reqs to temporarily remove items, so such issues should be handled as warnings, rather than errors.