i got books and im learning slowly but steadily how to program in c++....also I have a chance to pickup 3d studio max which i heard was the shizznit!LOL!but seriously is that all i need for programming and animation/3d graphic design???somebody told me to pickup adobe''s photoshop 7.0 and illustraighter(which i know i cant spell) 9 or 10...so what else do i need or am i set to learn?

Read through the articles and resources at the top of the page.

You''re set to learn C++ without any of those expensive tools.

There are free online books available (google for "thinking in C++" and "C++ in action"), and the Dev-C++ compiler setup is free.

Learn to walk before you learn to run - start small.

Helpful links:
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way | Google can help with your question | Search MSDN for help with standard C or Windows functions

After some reviewing, I thought that my reply was a little vague.

In the references section on this website are a lot of tutorials and such on a lot of aspects of Windows programming and game programming. Check out this series of articles that were designed for newbies and intermediates alike.

Game Programming - General

Look for the series of articles starting with Part 1. Part 9 is mixed in the middle of these articles so make sure you don't skip ahead.

Game Programming Genesis Part I : Beginning Windows Programming

Oh yeah, almost forgot! For some newbie information on programming in general, check out this area of the site:
General Programming

[edited by - Like2Byte on September 9, 2002 2:58:59 PM]

''Programming on a budget''

Compiler/language: There''s free C++ compilers and IDE''s (just up there) or the Java SDK and numerous IDE''s are also free (i recommend JCreator) Theres free Delphi compilers as well to the best of my knowledge.

Learning: Plenty of tutorial links already given, but gamedev is always a good starting point

2D Graphics: Paint Shop Pro is reasonably priced, pick up the eval version and see if you like it. The Gimp (google it ) is also free last time i checked. And theres always MS paint..

3D Graphics: OpenGL/DirectX is free when you''re up to that standard. For modeling either use the free md2''s etc. that you find on the ''net or create your models though code

Blender (google it) used to be dirt cheap last time i looked, or you could use something like QuArK which is also free (and d*mn powerful i might add).

I have yet to find any good free tools for sound/music creation. I''d be interested if anyone has any good links on the subject...