Proggraming Graphix

nehe.gamedev.net

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"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"

right on, so does that mean you would recommend using/learning OpenGL instead?

[edited by - cad52581 on May 13, 2004 6:06:42 PM]

i''d also recommend learning OpenGL, it isn''t that is it better than the DirectX route, but since you already had trouble learning DX you might find it easier to pick up at first.

the nehe site is a good start.

I''d agree, learn some of both popular PC 3D APIs (Direct3D and OpenGL) and then stick with whichever you felt most comfortable with until you''re more experienced - it may be that you find one easier than the other (neither is "better" overall, they''re just "different").

Both APIs/SDKs are free and have plenty of example source code available (assuming you have access to a reasonable internet connection or have the money to pay the shipping costs for an otherwise free CD).

Having said that, in terms of what does and doesn''t make sense - the vast majority of what you''ll do in graphics programming has nothing whatsoever to do with the API you use to interface with the graphics card (OpenGL or Direct3D). Graphics algorithms and mathematics are independent - the API is just the way you express those algorithms and maths to the hardware - the concepts are identical.

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Simon O''Connor
Game Programmer &
Microsoft DirectX MVP

If you''re only doing 2D graphics, there''s no reason to use either DirectX or OpenGL. Maybe you can use DirectDraw to get a hardware-accelerated surface, but just GDI should be decent if you''re not doing anything too performance-intensive.

Not planning on doing any 3D graphics in the near future, but what resources that have been provided have been EXCELLENT. Thank you all for your help in forwarding myself to the right direction. This tutorial on OpenGL is probably to the T in what I was looking for.

THX

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Original post by Matei
If you''re only doing 2D graphics, there''s no reason to use either DirectX or OpenGL. Maybe you can use DirectDraw to get a hardware-accelerated surface, but just GDI should be decent if you''re not doing anything too performance-intensive.

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Although I''m probably late, seeing as you seem content with OpenGL, I second this. You can get very good results with the Windows GDI, if a little limited.

If you can handle OpenGL and like the results, though, go for it. You''ll migrate eventually anyways.

Forget NeHe, learn it properly the first time around.

i can''t believe no one has recommended SDL yet! It''s a 2Dcross-platform library. You ought to be able to get graphics on the screen in less than an hour. You''ll learn fast with it. If it doesn''t float your boat, it''ll still be usefull as a windowing and event handling foundation for OpenGL when you want to learn that.

SDL webpage

Cone3D Tutorials

Am I the only person thinking NeHe is bad?

Why is NeHe so bad? It seems to lay it forward to me so far.

BTW - does anyone know how to change the comment color in Visual C++ .NET? from dark green to red or something.

[edited by - cad52581 on May 13, 2004 11:31:45 PM]

NeHe tutorials are useful for what they are. You can definitely learn the basics by reading them (I did). They''re usually short and to the point because each tutorial just does one thing, which makes them easy to understand. Also, the NeHe tuts have been conveniently ported to SDL.

However, they''re not shining examples of good programming style, efficient algorithms or really anything but "how to put stuff on screen with 30 lines of code". So once you get started you''ll need to go elsewhere, read books, just generally study to really get anywhere in graphics programming.

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Original post by alnite
Am I the only person thinking NeHe is bad?

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I learned the basics from NeHe and for that, it''s good. However, they spend a lot of time explaining useless stuff such as what a boolean is and leave out the stuff we actually WANT to know such as, say, what glBindTexture does or the overhead it involves.

Worse yet, it only shows you how to do things so they''d work, not how to do them right the first time around. I was a little stumped until I experimented with a landscape engine of my own. Then, I ended up finding out some ways to deal with having MANY polys onscreen at once. I''m still having problems with my textures and illumination, though (damnit, NeHe, you could at least show how to calculate a normal for surfaces that aren''t parallel to one of the three axes...)

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Original post by RuneLancer
... what glBindTexture does or the overhead it involves.

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Thats because no newbie cares about optimization. You begin to understand that it is important only after having your demo run at 1.5fps on the lates PC. >_<

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"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"

Ahm as has been mentioned here(by leiavoia) and I want to stress again. Ive used OpengGL as well as DirectX but considering that the OP only wants to disply bitmaps in 2d and has difficulty with the graphics part,
SDL is PERFECT for him.
Plus its cross platform.
Its very easy and its fast enough, so use SDL.
Youll easily find a tutorial on the net.

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Original post by CPPMaster Poppet
Thats because no newbie cares about optimization. You begin to understand that it is important only after having your demo run at 1.5fps on the lates PC. >_<

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Well, hey, I have a PIII 650 with an ATI RAGE 128. My landscape engine runs at ~15 FPS and displays 35,000 vertices. I guess it''s not all that bad, considering I''ve next to no optimizations in there.