some questions on game engine development
Author
hi all
at first sorry for my english , i'm 15 years old i live in middle easte . i tried to make games but i faced the problem of art , and i'm now learning c++ to make my own game engine , and i have some questions :
1) DirectX or OpenGL : i want to make my engine just for windows so i think i will use dx ??
2) is opening md2,md3 and bsp files hard , and how could i know how??
3) is adding a scripting language hard ?? i think its an advanced stuff
4) how could i make my game engine to support visual basic 6?
5) i'm now learning c++ from "sams: teach your self c++ in 21 days third edition" does i need more to start making my engine , i think i need to get more advanced in c++ , what do you think????
i will use some libraries to help me such as "TOKAMAK" for physics engine , and "FMOD" for sound engine.
i hope that you can help me ? and if i can find a guy who knows c++ and live in kuwait or jordan so we can work on the game engine together .
bye :)
1) DirectX or OpenGL - Both are good options if your developing solely for windows then it doesnt really matter. If you want to port to another OS then use OpenGL. If your new then OpenGL is (in my opinion) easier to learn and use.
2) md2, md3 and bsp arent too hard - especially if your not interested in knowing how it all works. There are plenty of tutorials and downloads on the internet (and probably gamedev) on how to load them.
3) Scripting - Well this depends on what your scripting. It can be as easy or as hard as you want. If you want you can use 3rd party scipting languages to make your life easier.
4) I don't know - not my expertise.
5) This all depends on how you want to buid your engine. Personally I've never finished a C++ book, I only use one for reference sometimes. I find that most of what you learn, you learn on the way. Just get C++ fluent and go from there.
All you really need to know:
C basics,
C++ classes,
templates,
reasonably good maths - it helps :)
how to use your 3rd party libs - Opengl/DirectX/Fmod etc
2) md2, md3 and bsp arent too hard - especially if your not interested in knowing how it all works. There are plenty of tutorials and downloads on the internet (and probably gamedev) on how to load them.
3) Scripting - Well this depends on what your scripting. It can be as easy or as hard as you want. If you want you can use 3rd party scipting languages to make your life easier.
4) I don't know - not my expertise.
5) This all depends on how you want to buid your engine. Personally I've never finished a C++ book, I only use one for reference sometimes. I find that most of what you learn, you learn on the way. Just get C++ fluent and go from there.
All you really need to know:
C basics,
C++ classes,
templates,
reasonably good maths - it helps :)
how to use your 3rd party libs - Opengl/DirectX/Fmod etc
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
1) DirectX or OpenGL : i want to make my engine just for windows so i think i will use dx ??
Well if its gonna be only win32, then yeah, dx might be the way, specially, notice now both APIs are very similar, so one couldnt really say one is harder over the other... In the other hand, theres Nehe for opengl...
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
2) is opening md2,md3 and bsp files hard , and how could i know how??
It aint hard at all opening md* files. About the bsp, they might be tricky a little bit, but theyre not that hard. However, notice md* uses vertex animation, instead of whats now "in" (aka skeletal animation), so I think you should look for another format maybe.
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
3) is adding a scripting language hard ?? i think its an advanced stuff
I couldnt say its really hard, but the question is ¿do you need it for the time being? maybe you could just wait to make a good part of your engine and then see how things go...
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
4) how could i make my game engine to support visual basic 6?
Can you do that??? lol, maybe if your engine is composed by dlls, and those are "standard", they could be called from visual basic,and so any vb programmer would benefit from your engine, if thats what you meant by that question
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
5) i'm now learning c++ from "sams: teach your self c++ in 21 days third edition" does i need more to start making my engine , i think i need to get more advanced in c++ , what do you think????
First, If youre a newbie, an engine could be a hard task, so my advice is to start making other programs until you have the required skills to do an engine. That said, Ive always thought the way Nehe's tutorials are divided is great for beginners, so, if you want to use dx, you could see that opengl tutorials, and take one at the time, trying to search in the web for a dx version or something like that (there is nexe, but Ive never liked that)
There are also good books on 3d engine programming available, though I dont recall names at the moment. Maybe using 3d engines like irrlicht or ogre (both good and open source), you can get a grasp of the guts of an engine, and then gain some experience
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
i will use some libraries to help me such as "TOKAMAK" for physics engine , and "FMOD" for sound engine.
Good, both are very nice
Quote:Original post by EVIL_EYES
i hope that you can help me ? and if i can find a guy who knows c++ and live in kuwait or jordan so we can work on the game engine together .
bye :)
Sorry, lol
>> 1) DirectX or OpenGL : i want to make my engine just for windows so i think i will use dx ??
Based on what you have already said. OpenGL. You can learn a lot from NeHe's tutorials
>> 2) is opening md2,md3 and bsp files hard , and how could i know how??
Yes. There are few people that can do it without using a tutorial. You will need to find a decent tutorial on how to do it. Take a look at GameTutorials' free tutorials for a few. You can also buy the better BSP map ones as well.
>> 3) is adding a scripting language hard ?? i think its an advanced stuff
Yes. You have a few chocies though. One example is AngelScript. You must figure out how you wish to use the scripting languages before you can just simply add it to your engine.
>> 4) how could i make my game engine to support visual basic 6?
You can't. It would take an unrealistic amount of time for someone with your experience. heck, I don't think I could even do it - you have to know VB pretty well in order to interface and port with C++. I'm not saying it's not possible, just for someone in your position, it is without further help.
>> 5) i'm now learning c++ from "sams: teach your self c++ in 21 days third edition" does i need more to start making my engine , i think i need to get more advanced in c++ , what do you think????
That is not enough for you to make anything game related. You need to learn C++ first, then start looking at all the various game tutorials on the web.
>> i will use some libraries to help me such as "TOKAMAK" for physics engine , and "FMOD" for sound engine.
Good choice, but did you know how much FMOD costs if you ever wanted to make a game to distribute? You may want to look into OpenAL instead...
Well best of luck, you are certainly undertaking quite a task [smile]. I'd say learn C++ first - which will take more than 21 days, then you cna start doing some basic game stuff. Take a look into SDL or Allegro as well to use to make your engine. Writing a game engine right away with your experiences will be near impossible. Check out and read the other topis in other forums as well, lot's of good info there.
- Drew
Based on what you have already said. OpenGL. You can learn a lot from NeHe's tutorials
>> 2) is opening md2,md3 and bsp files hard , and how could i know how??
Yes. There are few people that can do it without using a tutorial. You will need to find a decent tutorial on how to do it. Take a look at GameTutorials' free tutorials for a few. You can also buy the better BSP map ones as well.
>> 3) is adding a scripting language hard ?? i think its an advanced stuff
Yes. You have a few chocies though. One example is AngelScript. You must figure out how you wish to use the scripting languages before you can just simply add it to your engine.
>> 4) how could i make my game engine to support visual basic 6?
You can't. It would take an unrealistic amount of time for someone with your experience. heck, I don't think I could even do it - you have to know VB pretty well in order to interface and port with C++. I'm not saying it's not possible, just for someone in your position, it is without further help.
>> 5) i'm now learning c++ from "sams: teach your self c++ in 21 days third edition" does i need more to start making my engine , i think i need to get more advanced in c++ , what do you think????
That is not enough for you to make anything game related. You need to learn C++ first, then start looking at all the various game tutorials on the web.
>> i will use some libraries to help me such as "TOKAMAK" for physics engine , and "FMOD" for sound engine.
Good choice, but did you know how much FMOD costs if you ever wanted to make a game to distribute? You may want to look into OpenAL instead...
Well best of luck, you are certainly undertaking quite a task [smile]. I'd say learn C++ first - which will take more than 21 days, then you cna start doing some basic game stuff. Take a look into SDL or Allegro as well to use to make your engine. Writing a game engine right away with your experiences will be near impossible. Check out and read the other topis in other forums as well, lot's of good info there.
- Drew
1. The API doesn't really matter much. Both work in windows, and both can be learned.
2. The md2 and md3 files are easy, but you need to know the code to draw them for it to be any use.
3. I dn't think it would be as hard as the graphics part, or anywhere near as necesary.
4. I don't know what you want to do that for.
5. Learning C++ isn't all you need. You need to apply it to games as well.
My two cents...
Learn the C++, then make something small in a console app, tic-tac-toe or pong. Little by little learn a 3d/2d api, OGL or DX, doensn't matter much. You are taking too much on to be able to do anything. You need to start much smaller and work your way up. I have been programming for years and still haven't made a 3d engine. The most complex thing I made is Space Battle 3d. It is in the downloads section under 'S' on nehe.gamedev.net That game was kind of simple, but it is a step by step process to learn game programming.
2. The md2 and md3 files are easy, but you need to know the code to draw them for it to be any use.
3. I dn't think it would be as hard as the graphics part, or anywhere near as necesary.
4. I don't know what you want to do that for.
5. Learning C++ isn't all you need. You need to apply it to games as well.
My two cents...
Learn the C++, then make something small in a console app, tic-tac-toe or pong. Little by little learn a 3d/2d api, OGL or DX, doensn't matter much. You are taking too much on to be able to do anything. You need to start much smaller and work your way up. I have been programming for years and still haven't made a 3d engine. The most complex thing I made is Space Battle 3d. It is in the downloads section under 'S' on nehe.gamedev.net That game was kind of simple, but it is a step by step process to learn game programming.
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