Hey, i''ve been interested in creating a game I can call my own for a long time, and only now (finished school forever :D) have I decided that I actually have the time to do something about it (past attempts have failed I end up reading about the first few chapters of this mammoth of a book everytime then being faced with exams or something so I can basically write "Hello World" and a calculator program off the top of my head :D). I usually just contribute to these boards in terms of recommendations on beta releases or helping some projects make maps for 3D games. Anyway, I just have a few questions before I make a start. I''m planning to use the Dev-C++ IDE including the Mingw compiler as i''m not yet ready to fork out the cash on a commercial version. I goto the downloads page and this message is next to the download link: /!\ WARNING /!\ : Due to changes in the C++ ABI in GCC 3.2, currently available Dev-C++ Packages for the C++ language will not work. Put plainly, I have no idea what it means. Also i''m aware that some compilers only compile DOS programs and others compile for Windows? Does this have something to do with the various libraries that come with the compiler? Also some more concept questions: Say if I were to make a game that has components of DirectX in it, does using any part of DirectX whether it be D3D or DirectInput limit the game to the Windows OS? It''d be great if someone could answer these, and i''ll probably have more questions for y''all to answer by next time :D Cheers -epsilon42

"/!\ WARNING /!\ : Due to changes in the C++ ABI in GCC 3.2, currently available Dev-C++ Packages for the C++ language will not work."

No idea either, sounds like the libraries that come with it don''t work or something???

"Say if I were to make a game that has components of DirectX in it, does using any part of DirectX whether it be D3D or DirectInput limit the game to the Windows OS?"

Yes.

Okay, maybe it''s a bit early to decide what API I want to use, but say if I were to use DirectX, would I need to download the DirectX 8.1b SDK (174mb)? (on a 56k dialup ).

you can either buy a game programming book :/
or
have them mail you a disk (i think they still do that)
or
you can use one of the cross-platform APIs like SDL or Allegro(for 2D) or OpenGL(for 2D and 3D but mostly 3D).

(from what i heard allegro might be a little more robust SDL, but not by much)

--Alpha

I suggest buying a book that comes with the 8.1 SDK.

And if I were you, I''d save up enough for VC++ 6. I personally don''t like .NET''s idea of using the common Runtime... ''cause if VB now runs as fast as VC, then the reverse is true... and I''m writing for older machines for a reason...

But anyway, practically all books and tutorials use VC++ in their examples. The best place I''ve seen for Mingw/Bloodshed is www.gametutorials.com, my friend started out using those resources.

Btw, if it says "current version", then just download an older one.

VC++ .NET can compile unmanaged C++ code, and is apparently better at it than VC++ 6.0 (more standards compliant, though the next update - 7.1 - is supposed to add much more).

As for the SDK, it may be possible to download a smaller subset of the SDK; the whole download probably includes libraries for other languages, such as VB.

The DirectX SDK from microsoft''s site doesn''t work with mingw (mingw uses .a files and not .lib files) however you can download DX8.1 for mingw from the dev-cpp site.

Thanks for all your replies guys. I think www.gametutorials.com would be handy in the near future for me. Does anyone have any opinions about that site? Also, is it possible to just get VC++ .NET standalone if you only intend on using C++? What do you gurus recommend: .NET or 6.0? (Whats the deal with this next update 7.1?)

quote: Original post by epsilon42
Thanks for all your replies guys. I think www.gametutorials.com would be handy in the near future for me. Does anyone have any opinions about that site? Also, is it possible to just get VC++ .NET standalone if you only intend on using C++? What do you gurus recommend: .NET or 6.0? (Whats the deal with this next update 7.1?)

Well, VC++ .NET is VC++ 7.0, so it''s newer and thus presumably better. The only drawback I have heard of are these: The GUI may be a bit heavy for older computers, and the cheaper editions may lack some optimising features (also it doesn''t come with a profiler, but you can get one free). This is hearsay, though; I''ve never used VC++ .NET.

As for the VC++ 7.1 update, word has it that Microsoft is finally making an earnest effort to fix their previously lacking standards compliance: Microsoft claims that VC++ .NET is approximately 90% standards compliant, while the 7.1 update will bring the figure up to 98% (good enough to work with Boost, Loki, Blitz, and other nice libraries).

I realise that all of this is a bit vague, but I don''t really know much about it, so I''d rather be vague and give you a few tidbits to Google for and get more accurate information than I could give you.

I figure since this is entitled "Newbie Questions" I''d throw some of my own in here, so here goes...

Posted by Anon poster

"have them mail you a disk (i think they still do that)"

Do they? Do you think it would cost? I have 56k too and 157mb is not something I plan my day on.

Does anyone here have borland C++, b/c I need to know if you NEED to use the command line, or is there some type of IDE to use.

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