*Dons abspestos suit* Allright, I know that I am horrifically and woefully unprepared for this; but I want to know where to go to find out what I need to know to make a game engine. I want to make a raptor-like game. All OpenGL rendered and that good stuff. My major problem would be is that I don''t know C++ and for some reason can''t seem to stomach more than 2.5 seconds of teaching myself the basics before I feel like vomiting and cutting off my own head with a saw I''d create by tearing out my femer and attatching my teeth to it. Bit of a predicament, eh? I''ve tinkered with OGL. What little of the code I could understand was easy. I can program rather proficeantly in Delphi and VB. Anyway, C++ is everywhere so I need to learn it. HOW THE HELL DO I STAY FOCUSED WHILE I AM LEARNING HOW TO MAKE POINTERS AND STUFF? I need to see real progress that I care about. Isn''t there some way to crash-course what I need to know so I can just get started making simple demos and work my way up to the raptor (and another, much larger, project I have in mind). In a nutshell? I just want a game programming crash-course. As long as I see results I can tinker and improve from there. Don''''t sweat the petty things, and don''''t pet the sweaty things.

Just use Delphi to write your game. There are directX bindings for it, and probably OpenGL also.

I should say keep the goal in mind. When you now why you're learning it that could be a huge motivation...

Edited by - Scheermesje on March 2, 2002 2:46:30 AM

Yeah, if learning it becomes too much after a while then just take a break and do something else for a while. That always helps

If you really feel THAT repelled while trying to learn C++ then my guess is either (A) you''re not the programmer "type" or (B) you are learning it from a bad source.

The best way I know of to learn programming (C++ or whatever) is by actually doing it.. And I wouldn''t start out trying to write an OpenGL 3D game, unless it was pretty simple. Definitely start off small. Write lots of little "test" programs that exercise different language or run-time features (using pointers, formatting printed output, file reading/writing..)

Learning pointers is probably the hardest thing for a C++ beginner to grasp, after that it''s much like other languages (Pascal, Java) - maybe the syntax is different, but they all have the same basic logic and constructs.. Assignment, for() loops, while() & do{}while() loops, defining and calling functions.

Pointers in C++ may seem confusing, but they are very simple. They are variables that, instead of "being" an element of a certain type (int, char, double, STRUCT, Class, etc), hold the memory address of such an element.

I would search the web for some C++ pointer writeups.
Just looking quickly now, I see a couple:

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~wjk/C++Intro/RobMillerL7.html
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~tgibson/tutorial/ptr.html
http://www.mathtools.net/C++/Pointers/ (requires free registration)
http://www.vmlinux.org/jakov/community.borland.com/15837.html (describes function pointers)

And I''m sure you can find more..

// CHRIS

Apparently I''ll have to get a book. Maybe this time I can force myself through the beginning. VB and Delphi were really easy for me to learn for 2 reasons: They are higher-end languages and I saw progress all kindsa fast like.

Hopefully this time C++ will hold my interest long enough for me to start to do something cool... I''d suppose we shall see.

Don''''t sweat the petty things, and don''''t pet the sweaty things.

Hey,

Look on the bright side, when you do learn how to make a game, you can make one about cutting off you own head with a saw you''d create by tearing out your femer and attatching your teeth to it.

The best way to learn is to think up a project that motivates you. I''ve barely done any coding since graduation because I''ve been too lazy to think of a good demo idea... I''ll pick up a C++ or OpenGL book to review some topic or another and put it down half an hour later because it bores the hell out of me. Yet when I start working on a graphics tool, character editor, game or whatever that I really want I can program for days without stopping. You might just need a project easy enough to learn in a few days, but tough enough to hold your interest.

Book? Ugh... gives me the shivers hehe. I''m too lazy to read a book. I learned C++ though by starting a Direct3D-based engine. C++ isn''t a hard language, but I guess you must be really motivated. Then again, I''ve been coding in Pascal/Delphi for ages

I''m adding OpenGL support right now, and I would REALLY recommend starting with it vs. D3D. (Don''t wanna start a flame war here, but I got OGL init code done in a matter of hours, while D3D took weeks, though I did abstain from the icky D3DX libs). I''m not saying OGL is better overall than D3D, but it''s easier to learn the basics with OGL.

To give you a tip, the way I like to learn is look at other people''s code. Go to nehe.gamedev.net and look at the tutorial code.

Good luck man.

------------------------
CRAZY_DUSIK* pCrazyDuSiK;
pCrazyDuSiK->EatMicroshaft(MS_MUNCH_BILL_GATES | MS_CHEW_BILL_GATES);

I''ve played with OpenGL and DirectX before. Its not that I am totally illiterate with it, I just don''t understand all of the code. If there were some tuts out there that pretty much explained everything (all assume that if you are attempting what they are explaining you understand more of the code than I do)

What would a decent OGL project be to start out on? Like I had said, eventually I''d like to make a raptor-like game. I also think that Star Control II''s Melee in 3D would be freakishly awesome. To put it bluntly: Where do I begin?

Don''''t sweat the petty things, and don''''t pet the sweaty things.