Quote: "Lua may be a scripting language but that doesn't mean you should ignore performance when writing in it."
I never said that. I said he should ignore your, mousa and all the other threads about performance, because they are high class and he want to start! It is better to learn to read and write code and then to focus on performance, isn´t it?
Quote: "it is easier to learn good coding habits early and apply them rather than having to re-write your scripts later trying to increase performance."
Good coding habits are always basic, I not talk about basics, I talk about performance optimization to the top.
Quote: "Also it is incorrect to say you don't need to learn looping, if you take a look at some of my scripts you'll find lots of looping."
He starts and loops can create some problems in GG if you're not fully understand them. That is the reason why I told him this. Basic scripts not really need loops. That is my opinion. A tutorial should make you a casual coder, not a pro!
Quote: "I always keep an eye on the AI slider, if it jumps up after adding an entity it is an indication that it has an inefficient script."
With writing "a badly optimised script you can kill the performance of your game and it is easier to learn good coding habits early and apply them rather than having to re-write your scripts later trying to increase performance."
I never experienced a big jump, but maybe I did not try to jump over some calculations with system time operations.
Quote: "I was able to double the FPS on the MMS map simply by making the Lua scripts it uses more efficient!"
Everybody tell this, nobody ever prove it. I know that a lot of standard scripts needs some optimization, but I never use one, because I build my games from ground up. So every piece has its own function and I know exactly what.
But to get rid of this discussion: He want to start and I showed him the same I showed the little brother of my girlfriend who want to start in Lua with GG. He can now script, not perfect, but it is really good for the first half year into programming/scripting. I also updated my post above, so he has some sources for experienced users.
My dream is to develope games, which makes fun when I create it and fun when other people play it.