Re: New to C

["Mike" <Lvn4Js@prodigy.net>]

Having been a new programmer in your same spot before, I think I can at
offer some advice-good or not.  First of all, if your wanting to make games
(or almost any other kind of comercial quality software) I think that you
should try Windows programming. To start, try using like the MFC libraries
and creating a 2-dimensional game.  A good first try would be like Tetris or
something because it has all the components of a commercial game.  From
there, assuming you wanted to get into 3D graphics and design, you should
try OpenGl.  This is just an opinion but I feel it's a whole lot easier to
use and it makes development so much easier.  Still, you can use DirectX for
a lot of things (but you should try OpenGL for graphics).

    As for the graphics library-"graphics.h", it's something that you really
don't need because there'e like the MFC libraries for graphics (among other
things), OpenGL, Direct3D and a few others.  If you want to try to make a
Windows application (not that DOS one that comes every time you compile your
program) try creating a new project with AppWizard (you did say you had a
Microsoft Visual C++ complier?).

    Enough with the rambling though, if you know the language syntax for C
or C++ your doing well.  I'd suggest using one or the other because it may
be easier.  Also, and many might disagree with me, I think that you should
use C++ because it is also often more powerful and you can easily convert C
to C++ but not very easy from C++ to C.

      For a few books and websites that I think you may want to check out:

-Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days        Sams Publishing
    a good book on the basics but you may apt to skip it if you already know
it             well.
-OpenGL SuperBible                        Waite Group Press
    this is a book that you should easily be able to pick up and go on if
you have         even a little knowledge of algebra and of course the syntax
down.

-Teach yourself Visual C++ Now       Microsoft Press
    this book can be somewhat of an introduction to Windows programming and
        AppWizard which can help speed up development.

-Introduction to Window Programming       (I forgot who made it)
    another thing that helps with Windows programming.

WebSites:
-http://www.gameprogrammer.com/        (OF COURSE!!!)

-http://www.gamedev.net/            This is an awesome site with about
everything

-http://www.informit.com/itlibrary/        This is an online library for
free!

-http://www.opengl.org/                    The OpenGL homepage

-http://cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/~ki/engines.html        This is really just a 3D
engine list
with like 200+ engines and a lot of
them have tutorials

And there's a lot more.  Just keep at it and it will become second nature
after only a few short months.

If this letter didn't make a whole lot of sense just e-mail me with the
parts that didn't make any (but put it under a diferent subject name because
otherwise it might be a few days before I look at it).

 By the way, which major console company do you work for
(Sega,Sony,Nintendo?).  No that doesn't really matter



----- Original Message -----
From: depeche <depechem@home.com>
To: <gameprogrammer@gameprogrammer.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 9:56 PM
Subject: New to C


> Hi! I'm wondering if anyone could offer some suggestions and help if you
> have a few seconds to spare. I'm desperate here. I'm pretty new to
> programming, but I do love writting code a lot! So far, all I've studdied
is
> C and some C++. I do like C a lot more, but C++ isn't all that bad either.
I
> just feel more comfortable with C. My question is basically what to do
next.
> I don't know what would be the next smart thing to get into and I don't
want
> to go the wrong way and waste a lot of time.
>
> Little Background:
> I am trying to get into game programming. I currently work for one of the
> giant console gaming companies and have for about 7 years. I'm a product
> tester now (test games, find bugs, etc.). I plan on going to DigiPen this
> coming fall. I knew I wanted to for so before I started I decided to learn
> something so that I wasn't lost on day one. Well, of course I got hooked
and
> now have well over a dozen C/C++ books. I have a decent grounding in C.
And
> I would like to continue learning more and more. I know that DigiPen will
> give me an extremely good education on this stuff, but I don't have the
> patience to wait until the Fall to start. Oh, I use VC++6 also.
>
> Now here's my problems/confusion. I really don't know what to do next. I
> don't know if I should get into Windows programming first. I've done a
> little with this and it's pretty interesting. Should I go and get into
> Direct X after that, or OpenGL? Should I stay doing DOS stuff? At this
> point, I haven't really made any graphical stuff at all. All the games
that
> I've made are typical text things in DOS. Mainly because I can't figure
out
> how to do much else. This damn MS compiler doesn't support any of the
> graphics functions that I've read in books (usually from a header called
> graphics.h). It doesn't support BIOS calls, and from what I gather, that's
> what much of the graphical functions use. Should I get a different
compiler
> (CodeWarrior)? I have an old book called Gardens of Imagination... it's on
> game programming. Can someone suggest a book other than this that might be
> better for where I'm at.
>
> I guess my problem all boils down to this. I've just finished learning the
> basics. Well, any books you see out there are on beginning programming or
> expert topics. There's nothing I can find (especially on games) that takes
> you from intermediate to advanced. I just have no clue as to where to go
> from here and I'm getting sick and tired of doing the same old thing and
not
> learning a darn thing.
>
> Any suggestions are extremely welcomed!!!
>
> Thank you for the help and your time!
> -d
>
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>
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