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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    7

    [HELP] Beginner c++ programmer, what's next?

    Hello,

    I have been studying c++ for approximately 1 month now. I have read 2 books, and have created numerous custom console applications that basically just run in the console. I have also written my own text based console game and many file i/o applications. Now, I feel pretty confident in the fundamentals of c++ programming. How do I move away from the console?

    I started programming because I want to create games. What's the first step in getting out of the console box? I want to start simple with games like breakout, pong,and tic tac toe, etc. But i'm not 100% sure where to start. I search the web and I see people talk about game engines, which i'm not 100% sure what's the difference between that and Visual Studios c++. I see things like OpenGL, Direct X, Ogre3D, panda3D, Dark GDK, and many more. What are these? And which is the best to start with?

    Why would anyone use these "game engines" over say Unreal or far cry? Or Hero Engine? Or any commercial grade engine?

    Thank you in advance for any guidance.

    Best,

    SubZeroGaming

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 1999
    Posts
    27,449

    Re: [HELP] Beginner c++ programmer, what's next?

    Quote Originally Posted by SubZeroGaming View Post
    Hello,

    I have been studying c++ for approximately 1 month now. I have read 2 books, and have created numerous custom console applications that basically just run in the console. I have also written my own text based console game and many file i/o applications. Now, I feel pretty confident in the fundamentals of c++ programming.
    That is your opinion -- none of us really know how much of the fundamentals you actually know.

    Also, 1 month of C++ programming doesn't make one a fundamentally sound C++ programmer. Do you know what RAII is? How about proper usage of dynamically allocated memory? How about proper usage of the standard library and/or MFC? Do you know design patterns? How about multithreaded programming? Etc.. etc..
    How do I move away from the console?
    Please note that some of the most sophisticated programs are console programs. Many programs you run now are really console programs with a GUI wrapper around them.

    What I'm saying is that you cannot gauge how good a C++ programmer just because you're writing console programs as opposed to a game programmer. To be a good game programmer, console programmer, client/server programmer, whatever, in C++, it requires much more than 1 month of C++.

    Regards,

    Paul McKenzie

  3. #3
    2kaud's Avatar
    2kaud is offline Super Moderator Power Poster
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    England
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    7,822

    Re: [HELP] Beginner c++ programmer, what's next?

    If you want to move away from console-based progams and write windows-based programs there are basically two ways - using the 'native' non-class WIN32 APIs or using the MFC classes.

    For WIN32 programming I would suggest
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-...9761597&sr=1-4

    and for MFC
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-...ref=pd_sim_b_2

    For a games slant on c++ try
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Programmers-...1571641&sr=1-1

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction...1571985&sr=1-7
    Last edited by 2kaud; June 18th, 2013 at 11:14 AM.
    All advice is offered in good faith only. All my code is tested (unless stated explicitly otherwise) with the latest version of Microsoft Visual Studio (using the supported features of the latest standard) and is offered as examples only - not as production quality. I cannot offer advice regarding any other c/c++ compiler/IDE or incompatibilities with VS. You are ultimately responsible for the effects of your programs and the integrity of the machines they run on. Anything I post, code snippets, advice, etc is licensed as Public Domain https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ and can be used without reference or acknowledgement. Also note that I only provide advice and guidance via the forums - and not via private messages!

    C++23 Compiler: Microsoft VS2022 (17.6.5)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Voronezh, Russia
    Posts
    6,620

    Re: [HELP] Beginner c++ programmer, what's next?

    Quote Originally Posted by SubZeroGaming View Post
    I started programming because I want to create games. What's the first step in getting out of the console box? I want to start simple with games like breakout, pong,and tic tac toe, etc. But i'm not 100% sure where to start. I search the web and I see people talk about game engines, which i'm not 100% sure what's the difference between that and Visual Studios c++. I see things like OpenGL, Direct X, Ogre3D, panda3D, Dark GDK, and many more. What are these? And which is the best to start with?

    Why would anyone use these "game engines" over say Unreal or far cry? Or Hero Engine? Or any commercial grade engine?
    All those questions better be asked in game programming forums. This forum is definitely not one. People here talk about general Windows programming in Visual C++, which I'm even not sure that you, being persistent enough, will find yourself with in a year or two.
    Last edited by Igor Vartanov; June 18th, 2013 at 09:59 AM.
    Best regards,
    Igor

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