Ok I know everyone asks: "What should I do?", "Where should I go?", "Who has what information and is it the best?" .... blah blah blah. Well let me give you my opinion now. First find a C++ book (ANSI standard if possible). ANY BOOK! Then refer to one of these websites. To progress with your reading and learning: http://www.cplusplus.com or http://www.cpp.com . Yes there's more and lots of people of have different suggestions but I'm giving you a jumpstart, point of reference if you will. Then after you've gone over that. Go to this website: http://www.gametutorials.com . They have actual working code with very good explanations and comments. This way you have a visual concrete idea and understanding of how the code is set up and used. Now in 2 to 3 months you should have a fair understanding of C and C++. The two really aren't that different main (make that most outstanding) differences (that i believe you will initially notice) are: cin vs. scanf, cout vs. printf, C uses structs and C++ uses classes. If you can't code (correctly) or understand pointers, addresses, and functions. Don't go any further. STOP WHERE YOU ARE! GO BACK TO THE FUNCTION SECTION AND READ & PRACTICE EVERYTHING UP UNTIL THE END!!! Then when you are done with that. Head over to the forums section and follow Teej's interactive tutorial STEP BY STEP. The address is: http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/forum.asp?forum_id=33 . Now in 10 to 12 months you will have learned (very well hopefully) C/C++ and made a game (not tetris, i mean like mario or involved shooter) or games. Note: 10 to 12 if you are an average learner who is serious about programming and is willing to put in 2 to 4 hours a day (at least 4/5 days a week) to learn this, if not bump up the time from 10 - 12 to 18 - 24 months. Edit: the months i put here does not imply it will take you a year to learn C or C++. i give this timeframe to suggest that this maybe a sufficient amount of time to learn masterfully, not expertly in my opinion, C / C++ OK!! Thank you, Alpha_ProgDes from: NewbieNexus and Instinctz.net Knowledge is what you learn, wisdom is how you apply it. [edited by - Alpha_ProgDes on September 11, 2002 1:08:10 PM]

3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week for 10-12 months ???

That seems a little excessive for learning C++ and making one game. It didn't take me nearly that long to learn enough C++ to make a small game, and I couldn't have spent more than 10 hours a week on average. Hell, I went through my first C++ book in about a week. Then I read it again (slowly) so I could actually understand the last quarter of it


[edited by - micepick on September 5, 2002 5:53:13 PM]

quote: Original post by Alpha_ProgDes
First find a C++ book (ANSI standard if possible). ANY BOOK!

No, not just *any* book. Choose a good book: one that suits your style of learning *and* is technically accurate. Check out the book reviews at the ACCU website to find out which books are good.

quote:
Now in 2 to 3 months you should have a fair understanding of C and C++. The two really aren''t that different main (make that most outstanding) differences are: cin vs. scanf, cout vs. printf, C uses structs and C++ uses classes.

If you''re going to write a post with the tone of the one I''m responding to, then please don''t perpetuate this myth. C and C++ share a common base, but the "best" way to program in each language varies massively. Choosing a good book will help here.

quote:
If you can''t code (correctly) or understand pointers, addresses, and functions. Don''t go any further.

It is better to learn enough to be able to do something interesting. Learning to program should not be boring, and should not be a chore. It is possible to do many interesting things with C++ without using pointers. A lot of confusion is caused by learning mechanisms without understanding why they might be useful, hence the many "what do I use pointers for?" questions. If things are done that way around, people fall into a mechanistic approach; they choose a particular mechanism as the solution to a problem they haven''t yet fully understood, and end up bending the problem to fit the solution. The result is often rather messy.

quote:
Note: 10 to 12 if you are an average learner who is serious about programming and is willing to put in 3 to 4 hours a day (at least5 days a week) to learn this, if not bump up the time from 10 - 12 to 18 - 24 months.

Rubbish! This is a surefire way to put people off learning to program. A newbie should spend just as much time as they think is right and not so much time that it becomes boring. There''s no magic formula, each person has to find what is right for them, and its important to have an objective when setting out to learn. You don''t learn to program as an end in itself, you learn to program so that you can make programs that do interesting things.

Obviously everyone has a different learning curve.
So learning C++ (or even C) will be difficult for some and easy for others.
Also I didn''t say it would take you 2 to 3 months to learn C++.
What I am saying is that if you are spending sufficient time practicing programming then in the time stated above you should be able to understand the concepts and goings-on of what is happening in the code.
Also notice, I said average learner, not everyone.
People read "C++ in 21 days", in 21 days.
And do the programs and think "hey i got this. i know what i''m doing".
And they don''t have a clue.

Concerning the "myth", C++ allows you to do the same modular programming C does. But yes C++ is meant for object oriented programming. At this time, it doesn''t matter too much because alot (not all) of the game programming tutorial come in the C format/programming style.

And please don''t sit here and flame. The point of this post was to get people started and situated. Everyone is different. But NO ONE
learns/masters C++, or C for that matter, in a week or a month. It takes time and practice like everything else.


Knowledge is what you learn, wisdom is how you apply it.

Just wanted to see what newbie and experienced people thought.


Knowledge is what you learn, wisdom is how you apply it.

What about after C++?
where should I go after I feel confident with my C++?
Win 32 API?

well if you read the first topic i suggested you go to Teej''s Interactive Hands On Game Development in the forums section.

If you can go through that, then feel free to explore DirectDraw further, Direct 3D, OpenGL and/or SDL.... just to name a few.

Knowledge is what you learn, wisdom is how you apply it.

read all then post opinion. thanks.

Knowledge is what you learn, wisdom is how you apply it.

bump

Knowledge is what you learn, wisdom is how you apply it.

Did I miss the part where Alpha became God?