Well, I was around the DirectX forum trying to get an idea of DX compatibility issues, and a good number of people said (not to me personally, but in their posts) that the comparative learning curve between the two is ridiculously different. I am all for Allegro, but the thing is, the reason I stopped using 3D Game Studio and wanted to get into a more deep and profound language was so I could imbue my creations with a little more beauty (here it should be stated that 3DGS is not ugly; it is simply like a girl you find attractive more for her personality than her looks). So what I was wondering is, if I were to use Allegro (including the AllegroGL devpack), what would I be capable of doing? I am a designer first and programmer second, and I would like to be able to embrace both of these facets equally, but if I am going to be spending all of my time on one (directX programming, for instance), then I'll never get anywhere. I guess basically what I'm asking is, how much icing can I put on an Allegro cake? It doesn't need advanced pixel raytracing or neomonolithic shader super plus, but if at all possible, dynamic shadows would make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I know that those kinds of functions are more about how you create than the utility itself, but is AllegroGL capable of that kind of thing? Anyway, enough wasting your time. I know, here it should be said (again) that I really need to concentrate more on the basics, but I'm asking simply because, I need to know which way I'm going to want to be leaning when I hit that fork in the road.

DirectX or OpenGL will be more worth your time to look into then allegro. For the simple fact that allegro isn't used as often as the other two so you would thus make yourself more versatile.

Plus, with DirectX and OpenGL you can do anything; you can do quite alot with allegro as well, however you will have less control.

I belive sticking with the industrial standard based tools tends to be the best way to go; that is in the long run.

I was also thinking in terms of difficulty. DirectX is obviously a peak to climb, but how is the relative learning difficulty. Would you say the Allegro:DirectX ratio is like 1:2, or 1:5, or 1:63 and a half? Or more? Not that I mind learning...a challenge is always welcome if it means I feel like I have achieved something...

Not to mention the great *.x format for DirectX...

If you want to do both game design and programming then you should stick with a 3d engine like 3d game studio, or work in 2d. A really pretty engine written in Opengl will take up all your time and some extra team members, too. If you want to work in 2d then Allegro will get the job done a lot faster so you can concentrate on game design. That would be the best since the last thing the world needs is another fps or rpg.

I have used both allegro and directx. Learning an API is learning an API its all about the quality of documentation. Which is very good for both of them. Compared to learning either API, learning and applying 3d math and concepts is infinitly more challenging.