I''m relatively new to programming (the only langauges I know well are Batch (which is a low-level language) and java-script (that''s usually used for designing web apps though). I''m learning C++ and know just a tiny bit of Basic. I was wondering, which would be easier to start learning how to make 3D apps, OpenGL or DirectX?

You shouldn''t ask this question, seriously. Try a search of the forums. I don''t think you should be using either graphics API if you''re still learning C++ though, just put them off for a bit .

Yep. Stay away from both until you are VERY comfortable with ANSI C++. 2D is hard enough for a complete newbie, and 3D is pretty much out of the question until you know more.

I wonder if another OpenGL vs Direct3D post will erupt into a flamewar, or have people already burned themselves out yelling about this? I find it hard to believe that after all this time people can still keep arguing and arguing about it.

In any case, stay away from EVER asking this question, unless you want to see your thread closed after some increasingly hostile replies.


Things are not what they are.

I agree with the others.

Neither. Do not mess around with APIs until you are comfortable in the language and understand what good design entails. I would recommend making text based games for a couple of months.. maybe a year or two.. then work on furthering your skills. Take one of the text based games and turn it into a graphical game. Throw an interface around it. Make it prettier. That''s what I would do (and have done in the past.)

Sadly, I don''t have much that I''ve released to the public, because I have no confidence in myself.. but that''s something different

If you want to get into graphics and are decent with C++, you can look into one of the "other" graphic apis, which are just wrappers really. Some include Allegro (www.allegro.cc), ClanLib(www.clanlib.org), and SDL(www.libsdl.org). The advantage of using one of these libraries while your still studying C++ is that you can focus on your code more rather than worrying about all the API calls. Learning DirectX or OpenGL is a challenge itself. With these however, you can just play around with it and can easily understand it, since it hides most of the ugly stuff. This is great because it allows you to focus on your C++ code and book instead of reading a DirectX or OpenGL book. Anyway, that''s what I do. I read my C++ and apply my knowledge in small graphical apps.

Good luck.

I have an alternative. There is a programming language called DARKBASIC. It is Basic with the addition of Direct X capabilities.It is very cheap to buy or you may use only the demo version which you will find in www.darkbasic.com.Of course do not expect to do the things you will do with C++ but , hey it is an excellent place to start. It has both excellent for 2d and 3d games.

I agree with Khlon.

It depends on your goals, really. I did a lot of development for tools and such in the early 90''s. Now I''m not a full-time developer in the industry (I do production), so I no longer wanted to spend the time making the tools to make my games. I guess you could say that I''m now a hobbyist.

Well, I found Blitz Basic about 3 years back and it''s been a great language for me. Some folks prefer Dark Basic. Either has its merits, so it''s really just a case of which feature set you like more.

If you want to see a bunch of articles on Blitz to get a feel for it, jump to http://www.blitzcoder.com and look at the "articles" section. To get a demo, visit the home site at http://www.blitzbasic.com

All the best!

-Krylar

Blitz Basic Game Development Resources