What equipment do I need and what next?

[kar0x]

Hallo
Im new in the game programming world with C++, really new! I want to make a 3D game.I installed today VS 2010 because I heard that there are unfixed errors(since 2005). I have a couple of books called " beginning C++ game programming" , "mastering Autodesk 3ds mask 2013"( probably I aint gonna be able to run a fresh program) and "introducing 3D game programming with directX". are these good or better suggestions? how can I learn most efficiently? I also heard that will need to have 3ds max and DirectX. how will I combine those with C++? and what file/project do I need? I tried using a new cpp file but couldn't found lIke compile and run.

[sfuo]

If you are new to game programming then you should start with a 2D game. There is a massive gap between 2D and 3D if you plan on writing any of your own code (physics or other engine elements).

[kar0x]

If you are new to game programming then you should start with a 2D game. There is a massive gap between 2D and 3D if you plan on writing any of your own code (physics or other engine elements).

Well, i have worked with 2D with game maker for already several years, but im no kinda bored with it. i dont care if its hard to make a 3d game but i except it. I prefer going in a deep swimming pool than in a little child pool(symbolic meant). but if its really bad starting with 3D I would go to 2D first. But can you help me a bit? 'Cause I started studying last week c++ language but I couldn't do anything with the errors of dev++. But in VS I cant find compile and execute. Also how can you make "sprites" for your game if you work with C++?

[sfuo]

Since you have just recently started learning C++ and I don't know what programming background you have. I would suggest that you learn the foundations of the language before moving on to graphics.

While you are learning the lanuage you should think of really basic "games" that you could complete in a console window (i.e. tic-tac-toe, blackjack, and other easy card games). These games will help you by making you use a many parts of the C++ language all together.

After you feel more comfortable with the language then you should really think about what IDE and graphics library you want to use. Alternativly you can use a game engine that will handle graphics, physics, sound, GUIs, and much more, but this depends on if you actually want to learn how to program or just make games that are bound by their engine. Personally I like to try to make my own "libraries" with the exception of a graphics library because that would be just crazy.

I use OpenGL and VS2012, however if you are just starting out I would suggest using SDL or another "simplified" graphics library. This way you are not spending lots of time learning the graphics library and instead you can focus on learning how to use the language and understand how a game works.

Here is the C++ tutorial website that I used to learn the language and I still use this website as a reference for the standard libraries.

Here is a link to the SDL website which I found helpful for learning graphics when first starting (I would never use it now but thats just me) and this is a link to the SDL tutorials that I used.

After SDL I moved onto GLUT and then OpenGL, although I would recommend using Microsoft's DirectX libraries (assuming you only want to develop on the Windows platform).

I hope this helps and I also hope that someone else with more knowledge adds to this.

[kar0x]

Thank you very much! Well you solved my question!! i thank you really for investing your time for me! I will do it lIke you just mentioned! Really thanks! :) Btw the book I have about "beginning C++ game programming". is that also good. because some of the simple you mentioned are in this book too. and how to work with VS(2010). because in dev++ you are able to compile&run, but I cant find it. also, when I start a new project what kind of project should I open? ir should I open new cpp file? If you can awnser these questions this will be marked solved!! Really thanks alot!!!

[sfuo]

If you want to make a console application (the black cmd window) you select the Win32 Console Application project type. If you do not want the console to show then you create a Win32 Project, if you are using SDL or GLUT then you can call some of their library functions to create a window and then you just pass in functions into a callback that they specify (if you follow a tutorial you will figure out what I'm talking about). If you do not use SDL or GLUT (or similar library bundles) then you will have to look into WinAPI and it is not fun because it is written in C and has all of Window's custom data types and functions.

I'm going to assume that you are starting with SDL. If you read Lazy Foo's first tutorial and select Window > Visual Studio 2010, he gives you a step by step of what you need to do to get started.

[kar0x]

Thank you my friend! you will be playing my games in the future!!!