hi there, after spending hours scouring the net and not getting the info im after ive decided to ask the experts. i want the c++ compiler which has the best features for ease of use in game creation, both for pc and my sony ericsson p900(via the sdk). i currently program in various languages and have dabbled with c in the past but have been away for a while and frankly, the array of new compilers is scary! what is with all this .NET malarkey? all i want is to make a game!... basically, what i want to know is: *which flavour (visual or borland, or other) offers the best environment from a games making point of view? *im on a budget(!). i have seen versions of both major flavours for around the £100 mark. do these contain enough to get me started? *am i free to sell my creations with these packages? *which package includes the best documentation? *which one integrates best with third party plugins (tokamak et al)? basically, if you can point me in the correct direction based on what ive outlined im looking to obtain ill be very grateful thanks in advance pugmartin

This a multidimensional question depending on your favours.
Lets start with free alternatives (low budjet)

- Dev-C++ which comes with Cygwin compiler and would get you through most difficulties even do you can experience some problems with it flipping out on you. It covers the more basic programming needs and need support by other open-source to operate in groups.

The payment alternatives are:

- Borland, which in my perspective is mostly for Rapid Application Development and application projects. I like the Borland approche with easy interagation of code and visual forms but for games I found it a bit awkward.

- Visual Studio .NET
This is the market leading (perhaps motivated mostly by Microsoft) in development for most types. I started out with Borland once upon a time but when I got to VS I got hooked. And the newer .NET enviroment is a great editor. Even do you get a lot of shit with it like (J#, C# and in some sence most people don't want the .NET part) but VS is a very good development suite and in many cases worth the investment.

For me these three are the real alternative in dev-suites and I recommend one of them. Librarys for gamedev can easy be integerated in all of them(OpenGL comes with all of the from start).

i use MinGW Studio, I think its pretty good, also comes with a resource editor.

.NET and VC++6 are the best for you!!!

I use the Gnu C Compiler (GCC), which can support C++ as well, via cygwin on windows:

http://www.cygwin.com/

With Eclipse 3.0 as the IDE using the "CDT" plugin (C Development Toolkit):

http://www.eclipse.org/
http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/

Or GCC alone, on linux

http://gcc.gnu.org/

With the K Desktop Environment (KDE)'s Advanced Text Editor (KATE) as my editor there:

http://kate.kde.org/

which allows multiple files plus a console to type make commands in.

thanks!

to be honest i could tell from a few descriptions ive seen that the microsoft doobrie was the way i should probably head.

one last question:
if, as pointed out above, the additional .NET stuff would probably be redundant to my needs, will i be better off just going for the basic vc pack or does .NET include other stuff i would find handy for games dev? or would it just get in the way of what im hoping to achieve?

also, what would the differences between the Personal, Professional etc versions mean to me?

more questions, i know, but i need to be sure!

thanks again for your time everyone youve already helped a great deal

i agree matey, but theres a version for vc AND borlandc... just wanna know which would be best overall

I suggest going with a used copy of Microsft Visual C++ 6.0. The standard editions can be had for less than $100 on the internet. It's a really nice compiler/environment, and you're allowed to spread your creations for free, of course (unlike the intro. edition).

-Gauvir_Mucca