Posts by CoolGamer48

So, in C++ they made a WHOLE other, um, (I want to say structure, but that would be confusing), thing that's the exact same as a struct, which they could have kept, but they made a whole new one, just to make the default access level private?

Is there a difference between a class and a struct? At first I thought a struct could not have methods/constructors/destructors, but now I found out they can, so what is the difference?

Hey - thanks a bunch. I was using VC++ -8 so i used that redistributable package. It works now (I added one more DLL and then it worked). I currently just have the install file for the restributable files in the zip. Is there anyway to include the actual files in the zip, so that they don't have to install it? Or is there a way to just have one installer that does everything for you?

Allright, now it compiles, but I asked my friend to run it and now he gets this message:

applicatin failed to start because its side by side configuration is incorrect. please see the application event log for more detail

What does that mean?

The release version of your program requires a different set of .dlls to be present on the target system.
What linker errors are you receiving?

here's the log:

------ Build started: Project: Chess_2D, Configuration: Release Win32 ------
Linking...
dxgraphics.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _D3DXCreateTextureFromFileExA@56
dxgraphics.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _D3DXGetImageInfoFromFileA@8
dxgraphics.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _D3DXLoadSurfaceFromFileA@32
dxgraphics.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _Direct3DCreate9@4
dxinput.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _GUID_SysMouse
dxinput.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _c_dfDIMouse
dxinput.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _DirectInput8Create@20
dxinput.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _IID_IDirectInput8A
game.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _D3DXCreateSprite@8
game.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _D3DXCreateFontA@48
C:\Documents and Settings\Alec_2\Desktop\3D Chess Project\Chess_2D\Release\Chess_2D.exe : fatal error LNK1120: 10 unresolved externals
Build log was saved at "file://c:\Documents and Settings\Alec_2\Desktop\3D Chess Project\Chess_2D\Chess_2D\Release\BuildLog.htm"
Chess_2D - 11 error(s), 0 warning(s)
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========

Um, what exactly does compiling it as release change, because I get linker errors when I do that. (debug is fine)

How do you do that in VC++ 08? Does that solve the DLL problem, or is that still the fault of the computer? Does that mean that the computer is missing the DirectX SDK?

Hey - sorry if this is the wrong place for this.

I have this basic chess game I'm making, and I'm done with the first alpha build of it. It works fine when I compile it on my own computer, but when I bring the exe to a different computer, I get this error:

This application has failed to start becuase the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

Does anyone know how to fix this? I have the proper images in the same folder as the application. If anyone wants to try it for themselves: http://www.mediafire.com/?mgzmb3y94ty.

The program uses DirectX9. To my knowlege the computers I ran them on had DirectX, and even if they didn't, I'm under the impression that the program would at least run and give some sort of error once it gets to the DirectX code, not just refuse to run.

I really like MS Visual C++ Express Edition's code editor. You can easily check #defines, function parameter options, and other things just my moving your mouse over something. You also get a list of member functions when you type the . or -> after an object of a class (you might not know what most or any of that means yet - I find it helpful when using DirectX, where you have lots of functions and classes that you haven't written yourself and don't know the inner workings of). I don't particularly mind the rest of the compiler, but I'm sure other people do, if for no reason other than it's Microsoft. Another nice compiler is Dev-C++, or wxDev-C++.

Does anyone know how to make a surface tile when using DirectX? I tried to write the code for it myself, and I couldn't get it right. I had the right basic idea (I think), but I couldn't quite figure out how to organize the finer details. I'm wondering if there's a simple way to do it that I'm not seeing. Anyway, if anyone has done tiling surfaces before please share!

BTW, I'm using DirectX with C++ - not sure if that'll make a difference as far as the logistics of what needs to be done

For my experience (which I'll admit is relatively limited), books are often a better learning tool than online tutorials for complex programming languages like C++. If you've got the cash, I'd buy a book. I learned C++ from C++ for Dummies by Stephen Randy Davis. I really love Davis's writing. cplusplus.com and other sites like it are good for quick lookups of functions or syntax, but if you want to learn the language from the ground up, go with a book. :)

Thanks - that helped, but I'm still not really sure what's up.

ride.out opens okay (according to the test, still no output though), but ride.in is failing to open. I don't know why - ride.in is in the same directory as the project file and the .cpp file.

This may be a separate problem, but this is the error that the competition site gives:
Run 1: Execution error: Your program (`ride') exited with signal
#11 (segmentation violation [maybe caused by accessing memory out
of bounds, array indexing out of bounds, using a bad pointer
(failed open(), failed malloc), or going over the maximum
specified memory limit]). The program ran for 0.022 CPU seconds
before the signal. It used 2844 KB of memory.

Even if this is a separate problem, if someone knows why its coming up, it would be nice - because while I'd like to know why this isn't working on my machine - I really only care if it works when I upload it.

[edit]commet and group buffers are too small. You didn't leave room the the null teriminator byte.

That was it - thanks. Still doesn't work on my own machine, but it uploaded fine on the site. Multas gratias!

Is there any reason why the code below won't work (I mean as far as writing output to file, not as far as writing the correct output to the file):

#include <cstdio>
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    ofstream fout ("ride.out");
    ifstream fin ("ride.in");

    char comet[6] = {0,0,0,0,0,0};
    char group[6] = {0,0,0,0,0,0};
    int comet_buffer = 1;
    int group_buffer = 1;

    fin >> comet;
    fin >> group;
    cout << comet << endl << group;

    for(int i = 0;i < 6;i++)
    {
        if(comet[i] != 0)
        {
            comet_buffer *= (int)(comet[i]-64);
        }
    }
    for(int n = 0;n < 6;n++)
    {
        if(group[n] != 0)
        {
            group_buffer *= (int)(group[n]-64);
        }
    }
    if(comet_buffer%47 == group_buffer%47)
    {
        fout << "GO\n";
    }
    else
    {
        fout << "STAY\n";
    }
    return 0;
}

I have a file called ride.in, and it contains the word COMETQ on one line, and HVNGAT on the second line. The program did not create a file called ride.out. I tried manually creating one and running it again, and the file was still empty after the program ran.

Also, this is for an online programming competition thing (this is practice, not the actual thing). They give an example of code on how to use fstream. I copied the code exactly into my compiler (they encourage you to for testing purposes, so I know the code is a complete program), I run it, and no file is created for output. i.e the program doesn't work. is there anything that might …

Hey,

So, my understanding of header files so far are that they're basically code that can be used by multiple .cpp files.

But if you have a prototype in a file.h that's declared in a file.cpp that includes file.h, and then FILE.cpp includes file.h, does FILE.cpp have access to the function defined in file.cpp?

The switch should work just fine. Make sure that your game loop is checking it appropriately and that you haven't defined the RUNNING and PAUSED constants to be the same value (by copy-paste oversight or whatever).

All of that's fine. If the switch statement is good, then I think the problem is with keystrokes. I'm not checking to see if P was just pressed, but just if it's down. I had the same problem with mouse buttons. I would have to have prevkeystate[] as an array or something to check if the key was just pressed.

I'm trying to make my game pause if the user presses the 'P' button, and then unpause again with the P button. The pausing works when it's only pausing:

game_state = PAUSED;

I've currently tried the following with pausing and unpausing - none have worked:

switch(game_state)
		{
			case RUNNING:
			{
				game_state = PAUSED;
				break;
			}
			case PAUSED:
			{
				game_state = RUNNING;
				break;
			}
			default:
			{
				game_state = PAUSED;
				break;
			}
		}

if(game_state == PAUSED)
			game_state = RUNNING;
		else if(game_state == RUNNING)
			game_state = PAUSED;

if(game_state == RUNNING)
			game_state = 500;
		else if(game_state == PAUSED)
			game_state = RUNNING;
		if(game_state == 500)
			game_state = PAUSED;

I've also tried other things similar to the ones above. Does anyone know a way for this to work?

As it looks; you're doing one test for the mouse click ( testing MouseButton(0); ) - this means the function 'miss' will only be true if the user clicks the mouse at the exact moment that the code is running. I would set up an event to wait for the mouseclick or do a time-locked loop to poll the mouse until a click occurs; and THEN test to see whether or not it's a hit.

I think I found the problem - and I'm not really sure if it was what you were talking about.

I was checking to see if the button was down, not if it was just clicked. So whenever you clicked on the ball, it would move, leaving the mouse button down over space that is now empty.

I wrote some new functions to take into account the previous state of the mouse button, so that the function checked for a press, not just that the button was down. It now works,

I've been trying to code a catch me game (for anyone who doesn't know: a game with a ball that randomly jumps around the screen - the goal is to click the ball before it moves, and not to miss it). I've got the clicks part down. You can click on the ball and you get points. When I try to add punishment for missing - it won't work. Either every click is a miss - no matter what - or no click is a miss. I'm using this code:

A member of the object class

int miss(cursor* mycursor)
	{
		if((mycursor->X() < x || mycursor->X() > x+width || mycursor->Y() < y || mycursor->Y() > y+height) && MouseButton(0))
		{
			return 1;
		}
		else
		{
			return 0;
		}
	}

part of the code in a GameRun() function (target is an object of class cursor):

if(myball.click(&target))
		{
			hits++;
			jump_delay--;
			jump_timer = GetTickCount();
			myball.RandomJump(0,0,SCREEN_WIDTH,SCREEN_HEIGHT);
		}
		if(myball.miss(&target))
		{
			MessageBox(hwnd,"GAME OVER","CatchMe",MB_OK);
			PostMessage(hwnd,WM_DESTROY,0,0);
		}

Does the code look okay? I've gone over it tons of times - and I can't find anything wrong.

Take a modular approach to your challenges. Start with a basic map of just some cubes to represent the world. Build your collision system. Once your character manages to stop walking through walls, add buildings it can walk into. Then work on a "trigger" system, as in setting up specific areas where your character can trigger an event, such as NPC interaction. Unfortunately, when I tried to google for rpg tutorials, I found mostly tutorials about the RPG language (which is used on those old as/400 beasts). I'm starting to see your problem finding resources on the matter as a new developer, sorta makes me want to create an RPG now and document the process. So will you be creating this in 3D or 2D? Starting with easier games is a good idea, and simple spaces shooters is always fun to make. Good luck with whatever you end up deciding.

Thanks for the advice.

I was going to start with simple 4-dir movement, but i stopped when I couldn't realy find any sprites of people (I'm not much of a spriter). I should prob try again using like a circle or something as a sprite (I was planning a 2D game). I actually started working on a text-based RPG to create working classes for the player, monsters, items, etc. I might work on that on one hand, and then separately work on just getting movement down, and then merging the two into a working project, but it's worth a …

Hey,

I've been trying to create an RPG, and I really have trouble moving with it. I really can't find any decent tutorials (or even books). The only book I've heard of (Making RPGs with DirectX, or something, by Jim Adams) got pretty bad reviews. The part I can't really wrap my mind around isn't the behind the scenes math, but more of how to present it. I've been brainstorming code to have a simple test where you just walk around into different rooms, and while I think I could get that code up and running pretty well, if I start implementing more objects or other complex features, I feel like the system is going to crash (crash as in not work well). I want to get a solid system for moving around, colliding, and navigating between rooms. I also start to get dizzy at the thought of developing a combat engine (turn-based or real time). I'm starting to think I'm better off writing simpler games, maybe even trying a 3D shooter (I realize that's not all that simple, but I have a decent book on 3D games with DirectX, and I don't have one on RPG's), than going into a 2D RPG project.

Long story short: does anyone have/know of any good tutorials or books for role playing game development. It would be great if anyone could refer me to a solid place to learn how to make RPGs. Thanks.

nvm

nvm - this topic can be closed

sorry for wasting space

yup -- that means UNICODE. Set it to "Not set"

Wait, Use Multi-Byte Character Set means unicode?

In that case, what does Use Unicode Character Set mean?

What compiler are you using? VC++ 2005 or VC++ 2008 ? Those two compilers enable UNICODE by default. UNICODE is a standardized way to use non-English languages is programs and requires some changes to standard C or C++ character arrays. If you don't care about foreign languages then you should just turn UNCODE off, as you have already apparently done.

Beyond that, sorry but I can't help you.

I'm using 2008. They enable unicode by default? When I initially looked at the project properties the character set was on "Use Multi-Byte Character Set".

Don't know if anyone here will be able to help me - but here I go.

I'm reading Beginning Game Design by Jonathon S. Harbour. In a chapter on DirectSound, the author says to go the DirectX SDK, and then go to \samples\c++\common to get four files (dsutil.h, dxutil.h, dsutil.cpp, and dxutil.cpp), and add them as source/header files in the project. The thing is, the edition of the book I have is old, and is using an older SDK (still version 9, though). In the SDK I have (August 2007), there is no \common directory within \samples\c++. I started a thread on the author's personal forum (jharbour.com/forum), asking what the "new" versions of there four files were. Mr. Harbour responded saying that the files could be downloaded from his site. So I download them, decompress the .rar, and get the files I need. I type the rest of the code, try to compile, but it won't work because one of the four files I got from the .rar requires another file, dxstdafx.h. I find the source for that file on krugle.org, and then find out that dxstdafx.h needs other files: DXUT.h, and other header files that start with DXUT. All of these files were in my version of the SDK, so I added that directory to my complier's include directories, compile a third time, and now I get some message saying that the character encoding needs to be in unicode (no idea what that means), …

Hey,

Is there anyway to control a volatile number of objects (don't know if I'm using the right term here... I mean when you don't know how many of an object you're going to have at any one time), like bullets in a shooter. If you have a bullet class, and you want to create a new object every time someone shoots, how would you go about it?

The only way I thought of was to figure out the maximum number of bullets there could be at once, then create an array with this many elements, and then fill it up and empty it out when a bullet is created or goes off screen. Is this the right way of going about it? Thanks.

Sorry for reviving a dead topic, but...

I still don't have nearly enough programming knowledge to know what everyone was talking about here, but I think I almost sort of get pointers.

I couldn't help but think of a database and UID's. IF you had a database of customers and their orders, it would be crazy to store all of the information on the customer who placed the order in the actual field. Instead, we use a UID, a value that "points" to a record in the customers table where we can get whatever we want.

The UID of a variable would be it's location, so, in a sense, pointers are like UID's in a database. Am i getting thsi right?

Does anyone have some good logic (not necessarily code, but if you happen to have to urge to give C++ code snippets, be my guest) for collision checking? I know about the IntersectRect function from DirectX, but using that isn't enough. I was planning on moving the player back to a previous position if there was a collision with an enemy, but that wouldn't really work, because it is possible for a moving object (like an enemy) to have a collision with the player, in which case the enemy should move back, not the player. And I haven't though about non-moving objects. This may be simpler than I think it is, since I'm kind of tired right now, but if anyone can pitch in with their idea for this, it would be nice.

I think I found the problem. I forgot that I was working in a world where y increases as it goes down, not up. So the values were actually what I expected them to be, those values just didn't produce the result I wanted.

Okay, the problem wasn't what I mentioned above. For some reason the expression that tank.movey equals is always the negative of what it should be. I can multiply the expression by -1 to make it work, but I don't like randomly multiplying things in my code just because I found that they work. I want to find what's causing the problem. Does anyone have any ideas?

does it only start acting like that once it hits 45 degree's, or is it acting like that the entire time? if its acting like that the entire time, just subtract 90 degree's from it.

Simply subtracting 90 doesn't work. This makes the movement when 0 is the direction weird, while it's fine when I don't subtract 90. Besides, I wouldn't want to just subtract 90 without knowing why I'm doing it.

Hey, I'm trying to use trig to create a rotating tank (you rotate the tank by pressing left and right, and move forward and back by using up and down). I'm using this formula (C++):

tank.movex = cos(tank.direction*0.0174532925)*tank.move;
tank.movey = sin(tank.direction*0.0174532925)*tank.move;
tank.x += tank.movex;
tank.y += tank.movey;

tank.move is 5 if the up arrow is pressed and it's -5 if the down arrow is pressed. tank.direction tank.direction increases by 3 when your press the left arrow, and it decreases by 3 when you press the right arrow (i have a function make sure that it's within the range 0-359 inclusive)

should this work? because when the angle gets to 45 degrees it starts acting like it's at 135.

Hmm.... ya, you're right. The example started with tile 1, though not 0, so that was a problem, and there was no mention of using floor() (the book uses C).

Guess that might be part of the reason that version of the book is discontinued...

Hey, sorry if I'm in the wrong forum, but I need some help with getting the left and top values for a tile from a tile set. A book I have gives these two formulae:

left = (current frame % number of columns) * sprite width
top = (current frame / number of columns) * sprite height

Now, I'm no expert, but these seem completely wrong.

For the left value, I came up with:

left = ((current frame-1) % number of columns) * width

This seems to work based on my testing

For top, I came up with:

top=((current frame/cols) - 1) * height

but after testing found that it only works for tiles on the right side of the set.

Does anyone know a formula I can use for the top value/check if the one I have for left value make sense/check if the original two in my book were fine and I'm just crazy. Thanks. :)

Ya, I saw that article, I was just checking to see if I understood it correctly.

Quick question: what is OpenGL? Is it an equivalent to DirectX?

What is an experience score (don't have Vista)? Is it like a performance rating?

Ya, I was kind of leaning towards getting Vista anyway, since it is the newest one, and they might fix little problems with it later, while if I get XP, I'll feel like I am kind of stuck in the past.

While the things thompa listed are definitely annoying, they're smaller things, and I don't think they'll sway me away from the OS. Right now I feel like I'm just going to try Vista out, hope it's not that bad, and if it is, learn how to partition and how to use Linux :)

Hey,

Right now I'm using XP, and I was thinking of getting a laptop. Now, I've heard a lot of bad stuff about Vista, but most of the things I heard are "It sucks." Or "don't get it" or "it's extremely slow". Now, except for the last one those are pretty vauge. Can anyone tell me the actual problems with Vista/your opinion on it.

Also - as far as the speed - if you get a lot of RAM (like 2,3, or even 4 gigs), will it become less of an issue?

That did it. Thanks again!

Using Visual C++ 2008, I went to Tools->Options, expanded projects and solutions, went to VC++ directories, changed the drop-down to library files, and added C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (August 2007)\Lib\x86\d3d9.lib as a new entry. Would that do it?

Hey,

I'm trying to learn DirectX from this book (Beginning Game Design by John S. Harbour, if anyone knows the book). I keep getting a LNK2019 error because Direct3DCreate9(D3D_SDK_VERSION) is an "unresolved external symbol". Based on my slightly limited knowledge on libraries and include files and a little of my research, I'm assuming this means that C++ doesn't know what Direct3DCreate9() is (or that there's some difference between the definition of the function and it's use here). Does anyone know how to fix this. I've set d3d9.lib as a library file and C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (August 2007)\Include as an include. The code that's not working is:

int Game_Init(HWND hWnd)
{
	MessageBox(hWnd,"Program is about to start","Game_Init",MB_OK);

	d3d = Direct3DCreate9(D3D_SDK_VERSION);
	if(d3d == NULL)

line 5 above. If anyone can help I'd be very thankful. Learning by doing can get annoying at times like this...

In simple terms, yes, it is a float. If you don't include the f I believe, technically, it is considered a double.

Even if the variable's datatype is a float? like if i were to do float fNumber = 5; , it would think that 5 is a double?

Hey, just wondering - I've seen numbers like 1.0f in examples and in books, but what does the 'f' mean? Does it just mean that the number is a floating point number? And does including/excluding it change anything?

>> I also tried including the C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (August 2007)\Lib\x64 and x86 directories (where d3dx9.lib is located),

Where did you add those paths? They should be in the "Library Files" tab, as shown in this thumbnail

Yay! Thank you - it worked now (I was putting the library directories in the includes tab). I don't know why all this stuff wasn't done automatically - but I don't really care as long as it works. Thanks a bunch!! :)

>>When you install the August 2007 DirectX SDK, doesn't it make you put the files somewhere?
Only if you select "Save" from the download link., If you do then it doesn't matter where you save it.

I am not talking about the dxsdk_aug2007.exe file. When I ran that file, I (for some reason) saved all the files that were in C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (August 2007) to another folder on my desktop as well. When I ran the dxsdk_aug2007.exe again just now, it (once again) brought me to a prompt asking me where I would like to unzip to. I selected a folder on my desktop, and all the files that I just realized were in C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (August 2007) were also put in the folder I put on my desktop.

Now, the problem isn't that the compiler can't find a file - it can't open d3dx9.lib. This is exactly what the compiler says:
------ Rebuild All started: Project: GameTest1, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
Deleting intermediate and output files for project 'GameTest1', configuration 'Debug|Win32'
Compiling...
Main.cpp
Linking...
LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'd3dx9.lib'
Build log was saved at "file://c:\Documents and Settings\******\My Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\GameTest1\GameTest1\Debug\BuildLog.htm"
GameTest1 - 1 error(s), 0 warning(s)
========== Rebuild All: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 skipped ==========

Now - I have no idea why this error comes up. Apparently the include was automatically setup for you, but not for me, …

It doesn't matter where you save the downloaded file from the Dark GDK download link -- you don't even have to save it but just run it when prompted to run or save.

I meant the DirectX SDK files. When you install the August 2007 DirectX SDK, doesn't it make you put the files somewhere?

That will save a file names "Dark GDK - 161107.exe". You have to execute that program, which will decompress all the files and install them in "\Program Files\The Game Creators\Dark GDK". My guess is that you did not run that program. After that is done your compiler should be set up to go. Just open the example program located at "\Program Files\The Game Creators\Dark GDK\Samples\Visual Studio 9" and see if you can compile one of them ok.

I did run that program (or some other magical force put the files in \Program Files\The Game Creators\Dark GDK).

Now - wouldn't whatever compiler I'm using need to know where the DirectX SDK August 2007 files are for them to be any use? So either the DarkGDK installer would set that up ( and I don't know how it would do that since it doesn't know where you saved the DirectX SDK files), or the DirectX SDK installer would set that up, or you would have to do it manually, right?

I included the directory, but now it says that d3dx9.lib can't be opened, so I think I'm just going to try reinstalling - since something might have gone wrong anyway.

EDIT: If I do need to reinstall, how should I go about it? Would simply running the install file again work, or should I remove the DarkGDK folder and then reinstall (would doing that screw up any settings)?

Also, where did you save the DirectX SDK files when you installed them?

Hey,

I download DarkGDK for Visual C++ 2008 Express (also downloading the correct version of the Direct X SDK). I just saved the SDK in some random directory, so when I try to execute the test code, i get an error telling me d3dx9.h can't be found. So, where do I put the SDK files so that Visual C++ can use them as include files?

Yes, I know how to do it. Read this. to get started.

Um, alright - that wasn't exactly what i was looking for but it was definitely more helpful than what I was looking for. I installed the DirectX SDK and DarkGDK, but when I tried to make a new project my OS crashed because of some problem with a driver. This is what the Microsoft error page told me:

Technical Information
How to Troubleshoot Hardware and Software Driver Problems in Windows XP (Q322205)

Problem caused by Device Driver

You received this message because a device driver installed on your computer caused the Windows operating system to stop unexpectedly. This type of error is referred to as a "stop error." A stop error requires you to restart your computer.
More information
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem report summary

Problem type
Windows stop error (a message appears on a blue screen with error code information)

Solution available?
No

What does this problem mean?
Windows has encountered a problem it cannot recover from and it needs to be restarted

Cause
Unknown

Computer symptoms
A message appears on a blue screen with error code information (for example: 0x0000001E, KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED)

Additional steps for you to take
Please continue to send problem reports so analysts at Microsoft can study and try to correct the problem as quickly as possible

Was this just a random …