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ManaTroph
Monkey-Butler
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
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 Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject: text based (ascii) versus fully graphical (win32) |
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My current project is entirely text based with little use of ascii graphics. I am thinking about making the project into win32 and going fully graphical. Since this project's aim was to familiarize me with all of the techniques and algorithms nessesary to code this type of game logic in c++, i thought it might be good to convert the code to a win32 environment soon and look at going graphics based with it. With the simple nature of this game it would be a good place to start graphics programming in c++.
Anyone have any input that may help?
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Mattias Gustavsson
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DeveloperX
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Hajo
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Joined: 30 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 7:57 am Post subject: |
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On a lower level, but with a big community, there are libs like SDL and Allegro which can help to get simple graphics onscreen quickly. I've been using SDL with two of my former projects and was quite pleased with the interface and performance.
Pixie might be easier to start with, though.
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valderman
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:45 am Post subject: |
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Seconding SDL. It's cross platform, easy to use and powerful enough that it's used in AAA titles such as Civilization III and Neverwinter Nights.
Also, if you want to move on to OpenGL later, SDL and OpenGL play very well together.
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ManaTroph
Monkey-Butler
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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Ok awesome :) i've been thinking of learning to use some kind of graphics librarie. From what i've seen on the net SDL seems to be the best place to start. Keeping in mind of course that use of grapihics will be rather simple since it is a classic turn style rpg. So i don't need anything overly powerful. Just good enough to get the job done. I'm not looking at any fancy effects or anything, and will only be using very simple animations. btw does anyone still use direct draw (from back in my vb days) or is it phased out? Cause i haven't heard any mention of it in a few years.
I meant to do this before but here is the project page link to give you guys an idea what i'm working on:
http://rpgdx.net/showgame.php?project_id=385
EDIT:
Also i will be needing a basic sound lib as well. Any sugestions?
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RedSlash
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:00 am Post subject: |
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I 3rd the use of SDL. I use SDL for my projects and found it very easy to use.
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DeveloperX
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Joined: 04 May 2003
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Location: Decatur, IL, USA
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:02 am Post subject: |
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| ManaTroph wrote: | Ok awesome :) i've been thinking of learning to use some kind of graphics librarie. From what i've seen on the net SDL seems to be the best place to start. Keeping in mind of course that use of grapihics will be rather simple since it is a classic turn style rpg. So i don't need anything overly powerful. Just good enough to get the job done. I'm not looking at any fancy effects or anything, and will only be using very simple animations. btw does anyone still use direct draw (from back in my vb days) or is it phased out? Cause i haven't heard any mention of it in a few years.
I meant to do this before but here is the project page link to give you guys an idea what i'm working on:
http://rpgdx.net/showgame.php?project_id=385
EDIT:
Also i will be needing a basic sound lib as well. Any sugestions? |
I really dislike SDL, but thats just a personal thing. However, using the many extensions, you can get something very nice worked up in under a week.
I'm pretty sure there is an audio extension for SDL iirc.
DirectDraw is no more.
As of DirectX version 8.0, DirectDraw was merged into a new package called DirectX Graphics, which is really just Direct3D with a few DirectDraw API additions. DirectDraw can still be used by programmers, but they must use older DirectX interfaces (DirectX 7 and below).
No one in their right mind would consider using directdraw anymore. If you're going to use DirectX then use Direct3D to render your graphics as textures on polygons.
If cross-platform is something you're looking for, either Allegro or SDL is the way to go.
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Mattias Gustavsson
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:13 am Post subject: |
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| DeveloperX wrote: | | No one in their right mind would consider using directdraw anymore. If you're going to use DirectX then use Direct3D to render your graphics as textures on polygons. |
I still use DirectDraw (but I won't argue that I'm in my right mind :D). If simplicity and compatibility are priorities, I think it's crazy to use D3D for something where DD will suffice. There's no DD since DX7, but as DevX said, that doesn't mean you can't still use the DD version from DX7, even with the latest DX SDK. It just means they haven't changed it since DX7
If you really want to learn all the D3D stuff, then making a 2D something with it might be a good idea, but if you just want something graphical up and running quickly, it would just be overkill.
I agree with DevX, I also don't like SDL. I find it to be bloated and overcomplicated, but it does get the job done, so will certainly work :)
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Rainer Deyke
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Joined: 05 Jun 2002
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:03 am Post subject: |
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Wait, you're praising DirectDraw for its simplicity while complaining that SDL is too complicated? That seems backwards.
Personally, I really like SDL, and I'm quite picky about the third party libraries I use.
Last edited by Rainer Deyke on Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Hajo
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:42 am Post subject: |
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I've built an UI and drawing library on top of SDL. I used that in my H-World project. It's available under the GPL. The library should be fairly generic and reusable.
So if you use C++ and want to work yourself into the API, check out the "hjmlib" module from the H-World CVS:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/h-world/
The game itself gives an idea of what the UI library can do.
The header files still tell about the copyright before I released the code open source, I couldn't be bothered to change all headers, since I had a quite bad personal crisis back then.
PS: SDL itself can play sounds, for a more convenient API look for SDL_mixer
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valderman
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:44 am Post subject: |
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[quote="Mattias Gustavsson"] | DeveloperX wrote: | | I agree with DevX, I also don't like SDL. I find it to be bloated and overcomplicated, but it does get the job done, so will certainly work :) |
What part of SDL is bloated and overcomplicated, especially when compared to DirectX Graphics, Allegro or Win32 API? Are we really talking about the same SDL here?
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Mattias Gustavsson
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="valderman"] | Mattias Gustavsson wrote: | | DeveloperX wrote: | | I agree with DevX, I also don't like SDL. I find it to be bloated and overcomplicated, but it does get the job done, so will certainly work :) |
What part of SDL is bloated and overcomplicated, especially when compared to DirectX Graphics, Allegro or Win32 API? Are we really talking about the same SDL here? |
Oh, sorry, I didn't mean in comparison to DX, Allegro or other APIs, I just meant overcomplicated in regards to what a 2D API actually needs to do, in my opinion. All a matter of personal preference of course :-)
Also, it's released under GPL, which I have a strong dislike for, but that's another discussion :P
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valderman
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| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:30 am Post subject: |
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| Mattias Gustavsson wrote: | | Also, it's released under GPL, which I have a strong dislike for, but that's another discussion :P |
Uh, no, it's licensed under the LGPL, which makes a world of difference for libraries.
Also, exactly what part of it is overcomplicated? Keep in mind that it isn't a 2D graphics library, but an extremely lightweight cross-platform media library.
It handles windowing code, setting video modes, drawing pixels, blitting bitmaps, playing sounds (without any mixing or other fancy-pants features,) collecting input and synchronizing threads. It does all this by simply providing the lowest common denominator, leaving everything else up to the developer. What part of it is not needed, in your opinion?
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Mattias Gustavsson
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| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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Again, it's down to personal preference in the end.
Though I've only really used SDL for one game (this one, if anyone is interested) so I'm not in any way an expert. Maybe it's a matter of getting used to it...
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