Fresh Start a little advice please
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Here I am on my new pc and running vista. I finally have a pc worthy of game dev on. I have 2 choices. C# or C++ really atm. I know both languages well with obvioiusly alot more to learn on the C++ side. I am sure many of you will recommend C# so if we go with that assumption which is better using XNA or the TAO framework. On the C++ side how is vistas OpenGL support. I already know it has great DX support.
If you use C#, which I would recommend, you might as well use XNA. It's really nice. Ultimately, your choice of API isn't so important when you are learning the concepts from the ground up, but XNA already handles all of the most tedious stuff for you.
OpenGL support on Vista is just like DirectX support... its as good as the driver you have installed. Geometry shaders, I believe, require an OGL extension, whereas in DX10 they are standard.
OpenGL support on Vista is just like DirectX support... its as good as the driver you have installed. Geometry shaders, I believe, require an OGL extension, whereas in DX10 they are standard.
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My video drivers can do both dx10 and OGL 2.1. As for XNA isn't that limited to what the 360 can do? Is it possible to write your own model loaders in XNA for instance to get support for loading blender models.
Quote:Original post by blewisjrWhat can't the 360 do that you are wanting to do?
As for XNA isn't that limited to what the 360 can do?
Quote:Is it possible to write your own model loaders in XNA for instance to get support for loading blender models.You can run any managed code you want with XNA (unless they've changed that). If you are targeting the PC, you can even use unmanaged code.
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I guess what I am getting at is C++ and a native 3d api better then using C# and XNA? I mean cross platform would be nice but ultimatly no nececssary.
As Visual C# 2005 Express and XNA are both free and very widely used (and supported) I decided to use them both for my programming/learning foundation.
For a first book I strongly recommend O'Reilly Head First C#. It's really an excellnet read and teaches in a fairly fun and novel approach compared to other technical/programming books I've read.
Keep in mind that MS C# 2008 Express doesn't work with XNA, you need the 2005 C# package however you can have both versions installed. I have both installed side by side on the same PC with no issues.
If I decide later I can always pick C++ again, but I doubt I will need to.
For a first book I strongly recommend O'Reilly Head First C#. It's really an excellnet read and teaches in a fairly fun and novel approach compared to other technical/programming books I've read.
Keep in mind that MS C# 2008 Express doesn't work with XNA, you need the 2005 C# package however you can have both versions installed. I have both installed side by side on the same PC with no issues.
If I decide later I can always pick C++ again, but I doubt I will need to.
Quote:Original post by blewisjr
I guess what I am getting at is C++ and a native 3d api better then using C# and XNA? I mean cross platform would be nice but ultimatly no nececssary.
Not to give a vague, useless answer or anything, but it really depends on what you mean by "better". As it stands now, I'd say no. C# and XNA is very capable, easy to use, and gets you the added option of developing a 360 game.
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Quote:Original post by Diosces
As Visual C# 2005 Express and XNA are both free and very widely used (and supported) I decided to use them both for my programming/learning foundation.
For a first book I strongly recommend O'Reilly Head First C#. It's really an excellnet read and teaches in a fairly fun and novel approach compared to other technical/programming books I've read.
Keep in mind that MS C# 2008 Express doesn't work with XNA, you need the 2005 C# package however you can have both versions installed. I have both installed side by side on the same PC with no issues.
If I decide later I can always pick C++ again, but I doubt I will need to.
Thanks for the info everyone I will go out tonight and grab a xna book. However Dio no need for the C# book I have so many I can't count :P Been using C# since the day it came out.
I just got done with a little Java learning escapade I went on, and I am now happily returning to C# and XNA. When you start a new project in XNA, half the game is already done for you. And it's a great thing because you really don't have to deal with the Win32 API. The worst thing about C++/OpenGl or even DirectX is that you have this 100 lines of code that is basically just to make a window, and it just looks sloppy and takes up space. Really intrusive when you're just learning. And even after
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