Hello, I''m going to jump into game programming. I have a solid understanding of Java 2 and object oriented programming. I guess I''m intermediate-advanced with Java. I also know some assembly. I want to be able to make 2d or 3d games with C++. I''ve got a scaled down version of VC++ and could get the whole version (legitimately of course). But, is this a good compiler to use for game programming? I''m using Windows --2000 specifically. I would like to get a compiler that will work without having to learn a million parameters to get it to compile a hundred line program. What is practical/good compiler to start with? Also, where are some good places to find small pieces of example code that I could try/read that relate to game programming? What are some good excercises to start with to learn to program games? Is it possible to take a piece-at-a-time approach to learning game programming? I would really appreciate ANY help. Thanks, David

VC++ is a very good compiler with an excellent IDE, and it is essentially the industry standard for Windows game programming.

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Martee
Magnum Games.NET

have u tried looking at the sdk''s for various games, ie SoF, HL, q3 etc....

they might help to understand game logic

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VC is simplest IDE on Win32 platform. It just requires few clicks to have program compiled and run. Debugger is powerful and easy to use. MSDN is excellent help system. I don''t know anything comparable with this!

VC++ is terrible! The IDE is crap and the compiler is non-standard and generally not fun to use. My suggestions

1) Borland C++ Builder
A fantastic IDE and great debugger. The Pro edition of Borland is roughly equivalent to the Enterprise edition of VC++. You may encounter problems compiling code written for VC++ because that code is so very badly broken.

2) GNU Compiler Collection
*The* free compiler. No IDE but you can just get Xemacs or Kdevelop. GCC is available for windows but most people just use in Unix and setup a cross-compiler.

This is similar to another post a while back, which degenerated into a "my compiler is better than yours" discussion. I have the same thing to say now that I did then:

Go to www.gamasutra.com, look at all of the "Postmortem" articles. These are articles written by game designers, usually head designers, and usually top-10 or top-20 selling games (Deus Ex, HalfLife, etc.) 90% of these games use MS VC++. Some use Borland C++ Builder in addition, but not many, maybe 20%.

Most game professionals use MS VC++. If you learn MSVC, you will have extremely bankable skills, since most companies (in and out of the gaming industry) use it. It''s your best choice.

(Just be sure to install the service packs)

This is mainly about the postmortems on gamasutra. When they say multi-million dollar budget, what do they mean? $10 million? $100 million? Looks like practically every game that was ''dissected'' had a multimillion dollar budget (with no specific figures).

Hey DragonDown, you sound like a perfect candidate for "Tricks of the Windows Programming Gurus" by Andre LaMonthe.

It'll take you through everything you must know to make a 2D game for Windows using DirectX 5.

It's slightly dated but nearly everything still applies. Once you know how to use DirectDraw5, using DirectDraw7 isn't that hard. I used DD7, and replaced the appro. parts of the code from the book about DD5 to teach myself the directX basics. Paletted modes are heading to the wayside in favor of straight 32bpps modes, and straight 2D is fading in favor of 3D - even when you really want 2D, you use the 3D model to take advantage of hardware accelerated features (Dx8).

It comes with an evaluation version of MSVC6.

The biggest problem, that I see, with using Builder or Delphi is that you *must* use the VCL (or am I mistaken?). With MSVC you have the option to use the Win32 API natively, or use MFC...

Magmai Kai Holmlor
- The disgruntled & disillusioned


Edited by - Magmai Kai Holmlor on February 18, 2001 9:01:13 PM

quote:

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VC++ is terrible! The IDE is crap and the compiler is non-standard and generally not fun to use

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i like the VC IDE - its the best ive used (that includes borland builder). i agree about the compiler though - piece of crap by modern standards (but you can always configure VC++ to use another compiler).

quote:

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Original post by NuffSaid

This is mainly about the postmortems on gamasutra. When they say multi-million dollar budget, what do they mean? $10 million? $100 million? Looks like practically every game that was ''dissected'' had a multimillion dollar budget (with no specific figures).

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I think a typical AAA game would be in the several (i.e. 2-5) million range. Very few get into the 10s of millions; I think the most expensive one I''ve heard of was Final Fantasy IX, which was 30-something million.

Down with Tiberia!