Hey all, Ok, just getting started in all this, so far, I have purchased these 3 books to get me started, on top of that going to Beginners Pages here and printing all info out to include all the notes on the advanced user section. Something like 200 plus pages, LOL. These books I purchased are: `Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus `Windows® Game Programming For Dummies `Who''s Afraid of C++? I also recentl got the Borland C++ Builder/ Compiler 5.5 or something like that. Now, from everyones good experience, is this what I should have to learn with, what about physics and math skills? My math I am fairly good at, physic....well..I have the general basic concepts. Thanks all. Continued Success See you at the end of my BFG! Thee Anvil

Sounds good, any information is good information. Windows Game Programming for Dummies is going to be over your head (no offense) if you're just starting out. I'm just coming around to it utilizing some of the win32 programming examples it has (one of the first books I bought, too) and I've been teaching myself C++ for about a year now, on and off. I haven't read the other two books you bought, though.

Read my post below, actually the link to my post the post below points to, heh. It has some links and I make a semi-applicable comment regarding he pace I learned the basic C++ stuff.

As you start to work through the first tutorials and chapters of your books you will be doing a lot of similar looking stuff over again and likely seeing many alternative ways of doing similar techniques that don't seem to do anything particularly exciting. Do your best to stick with it and try to understand 'why' certain code is written the way it is and not simply what it accomplishes. Lastly, don't feel like you have to rush headlong into game programming. It is extremely useful to have a wide range of basic to intermediate code topics like linked lists, pointers, proper use of classes, function overloading, and maybe some STL under your belt before you tackle DirectX 8 or anything else that makes use of such techniques. At a minimum know the C++ language itself in and out; this and a knowledge of any commonly used standard functions (iostream, STL, string) will make learning the actual game related stuff ten times easier and much more enjoyable. Good luck! This was not meant to be intimidating, I didn't follow any of the above advice when I started and I'm still breathing :D just remember to have fun with whatever your doing.

Edited by - eotvos on August 30, 2001 6:48:16 PM

Before learning DirectX, it might help to know the Win32 API. Programming Windows by Charles Petzold or Windows 98 Programming from the Ground Up by Herbert Schildt are good choices. Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus does have an introduction on the basics of Win32, but it only teaches enough to get a DirectX app running. If you want to be able to write map editors and stuff, you should at least learn either the Win32 API or MFC.

it would help if you know c++. Every book you have thereteaches you windows programming, but assumes you know DOS based C++.

#include

int main()
{
cout<<"Hi my name is Sam.\n";
return 0;
}

if you dont know what thats does, youneed to read Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours. Or another begining C++ book.

"I''''ve sparred with creatures from the nine hells themselves... I barely plan on breaking a sweat here, today."~Drizzt Do''''Urden

Thanks guys,

I just went and also bought that book Teach Yourself C++ in 24 hours today.

Now that I have these four books, LOL, I think I should be able to learn C++ well.

After that, I will retarnish my question on what to learn next.

Thanks again all

If you ever need some help, email me:

bg_darkelf@hotmail.com

I cant do direct x, but I can do the rest. I am also not an expert but I am not a begginer, so I could help you.

I am free most of the time.

Good luck, and dont get head of yourself. Dont read one oo till you are done with the other. Also I suggest you get a notebook and take notes on anything that seems mportant. Then review them when your done. If you dont pass the tests in the C++ Book, (they give you them at the end of the chapter) then read the chapter over again.

"I''''ve sparred with creatures from the nine hells themselves... I barely plan on breaking a sweat here, today."~Drizzt Do''''Urden

Thanks man,

I belive I may just email you some time...LOL... I read the first chapter of the Learn in 24 last night and ran into a small problem. I use Windows 2000 Professional, and have a very confident box I built for gaming. DAMN compilers are dos based. LOL..and because Borland is seems so clumsy and not user freiendly from what I have seen, I went and just purchased Micorsofts Visual C++ 6.0. I understand that it is one of the better ones, espcially seeing how I want to work programs in Windows. However, I am not sure if its going to work with the book, learn c++ in 24 because I noticed the actual programs are not relevant to windows. I may not know how to program, but I can more or less determine what a program script is attempting to do without knowing programing.
Am I on the right track here??? LOL

Thanks all

TheeAnvil

You need to know how to program C++ in DOS before windows. Windows in complicating, you wont understand the initialization of it without knowing the DOS code. DOS code is alot cleaner than windows, so its easier to learn. After that you learn windows programming and then you go into direct x.

"I''''ve sparred with creatures from the nine hells themselves... I barely plan on breaking a sweat here, today."~Drizzt Do''''Urden

Do you suggest I use an older computer, or more or less one that uses Win 95 or something of that nature that allows the ability for Dos running applications?

Cause my Win 2000 definatly hates dos...LOL

Thanks,

TheeAnvil

No,
Just make a console application in MSVC++.

Hope that helps.