hello, im a programming novice, i am ok with c++, i know classes, but i still dont get pointers... anyways i am trying to figure out how to add simple graphics to a game in visual studio C++6. i want to begin with small games, we made a checkers one in class, but we used a different compiler with a special header. it just displayed boxes and letters and the like. if anyone knows how to do something like that on vc6 please reply. Mythril

C++ does not come with graphics. You must use some library to do that. many exist and the most popular on these forums are OpenGL and DirectX because they also do 3D and sound. An alternative is simply to use the Windows raster functions. All of these can be quite hard to get into for new programmers.

I think you should take a look at Fastgraph
http://www.fastgraph.com/

you can probably find other ones too.

[edited by - felonius on May 23, 2002 4:15:05 PM]

thx for the info, ill check into it

well, i looked at it, and its kinda pricey, like 70 bucks minimum, i understand that directx and opengl do graphics, but i dont think im ready for that yet, and my small scale games dont really need 3D images. does anybody know of a free simple graphics library?

do you understand basic windows type programming (win32) and/or mfc? if you do, you can do basic graphics with gdi.

now, it ain''t particulary fast, and 3d is definitely out, but you can do simple tile-based games with it. it has the ability to do back buffered graphics (bitblt), so animation is fairly smooth. i would recommend you learn the graphics api''s though, opengl or directx.

here''s a link to gdi on msdn
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/gdi/bitmaps_5a5h.asp

Or you could use this and just do basic console graphics:
http://www.tvdsb.on.ca/saunders/courses/DSC4a/Cplusplus/msconsole.htm

I''m making a game using console right now. It''s the derived classes that confuse me not the graphics.

Gamer-Insight.com

May I suggest SDL, Allegro, or ClanLib? They''re all easy to use graphics ''wrapper libraries''.

thx for the libraries guys. ive heard of GDI somewhere on gamedev, and ill try to check it out. i am not really experiened with windows programming, because our computer science course was on macs using the code warrior compiler, i am trying to figure it out on windows tho. anyways, ill check these out, thx.

Mythril

SDL

"Don''t be afraid to dream, for out of such fragile things come miracles."

hey guys, would it be at all possible to copy the library that i previously used(on Code warrior software and on a mac) onto ms vc++6 and use that, since im already familiar with it?
this would really simplify my needs, as im not really concerned with graphics, more the learning aspect of game programming.

also, if i am able to do this, which files would i need to copy, and how would i insert them into a VC++ project?
thx everyone



Mythril