How much faster is c# at making games than c++?

That really has more to do with your proficiency with the language than the language itself. If you are twice as good at programming in C++ then you are in C#, then I don't think it will be any faster. However, if you are just as good at doing C#, there are certain benefits to the language that may help you get up and running in a smaller time frame.

If you're looking for faster code however, stick to C++. It might take you a little longer to develop, but the code itself will most definitely be faster to run.

Yes it's true that to be 'fast' with any language you need to master it first. However, C# is not a bad language to have learned to be prepared for what's coming. So it's a good investment anyway.

Quote:

Original post by Morpheus011 If you're looking for faster code however, stick to C++. It might take you a little longer to develop, but the code itself will most definitely be faster to run.

This has been debated over and over and still hasn't been proven.

At any rate, as you said, the best language is the one you are most comfortable with.

I say stick with C++ and if you need to rapidly develop anything, pick a game engine that may be used with C++ for graphics, audio, or whatever you need.

:)

Short answer:
2D games: the same
3D games: the same
Unreal 3, Quake 4, Xbox 360 or PS3 games: C++ (notice you don't have the skill, expertise, or even know-how to even approach a game on such a scale, ergo, don't bother trying to make one)

Sorry misread question.

Depends at what state you are in both languages. In my opinion, C# will be fastest if you are realivly new/inexperienced in both. With C# all of the 'core' stuff is done for you, works out of the box etc. However, with C++ while yes, you get the standrad library many people don't know about it or use, and then there's boost etc. I'd also say because C# handles a lot of the low level stuff, and is more syntacilly restrictive that C# is faster than C++ in terms of development. One of the only reasons the big teams are sticking to C++ is because they have massive reusable code bases.

Are there any clear cut benefits to switching if you already use C++? I don't think so because everything you can do in C# can and probably has been done in C++. It's like replacing your car when the one you have works perfectly fine, it's actually pretty wasteful.

From the start though? I don't know, I'm entrenched in C++...

If you're developing applications, C# has a big advantage of C++ in terms of rapidness in development (just drag-n'-drop the controls and add event handlers: no messy WinProc and subclassing stuff) however, in terms of game development... there's no real advantage... other that .net handling the garbage collection and other nitty-gritties (like strings and arrays) for you, which could be solvable by STL or your own home-brewed library.

it's not too bad to learn C# to, it may help you in creating level editors and stuff.

C# has a far larger library than C++, and the language has some other features that are very useful, but unless you need to switch, you probably shouldn't.

Although, I switched from C++/OpenGL to C#/MDX, and i'm glad I did.

for an good experienced developer the only benifit WRT developement time is C# doesnt need to be compiled this is offset somewhat by it having a slower startup time

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Original post by zedzeek for an good experienced developer the only benifit WRT developement time is C# doesnt need to be compiled this is offset somewhat by it having a slower startup time

C# does need to be compiled...

does it? sorry my mistake i misremembered a reply by someone else from a post i made
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=317431

Quote:

- Near instant compile time (and on-the-fly background compilation). No more waiting for a build to finish!

scrub my point then, then theres no development time advantage in a game for an experienced programmeur to use java/c#

I'm curious: of those who are claiming C# has no advantages in terms of dev time for experienced programmers, how many of you are actually truly experienced programmers? [smile]


C# is a far better choice. You have good access to low-level hardware capabilities via Managed DirectX, which is a very sweet library. Garbage collection is infinitely superior to manual memory management for all but a very few niche development situations; I know many experienced programmers (myself included) who are still prone to get manual memory management wrong. C# has a horde of high-level constructs like delegates that can produce much more concise, expressive code over C++. C# also has superior GUI implementation capabilities, even over the best C++ GUI tools (C++ Builder and VC++/MFC come to mind).

In addition to being a more expressive (and clean) language, C# has a far more robust library, which has the advantage of being entirely developed at once rather than being cobbled together over time (ala C++SL/STL/Boost). This means it is generally easier to achieve interoperability between different elements of the library and your own code.

C# also has the amazing advantage of not being tied to a hideously broken compilation model; things like side-by-side assemblies can make code reuse far more efficient over time. You also escape the temptation to do a lot of disgusting macro hackery, which, sad to say, even good experienced C++ programmers are prone to do every now and then.

.Net has other powerful abilities, like easy cross-language development. Write high-level code in IronPython or F# or whatever, and low-level stuff in C# or even C++/CLI. Use other .Net languages for runtime scripting. Do automatic plugin discovery with reflection. It's an incredibly potent platform, and C++ will never catch up.


As if all that weren't enough, C# is built on the .Net runtime, which has one huge powerful advantage: JIT compilation. Instead of having to build one binary and hoping it performs well on a huge array of processors and system builds, you can ship CLR code which is then JIT compiled and can actually become faster over time. Each person's individual system gets a machine binary that is as efficient as possible for their hardware configuration. As hardware continues to diverge, and as JIT technology continues to improve, the days of C++ being the king of performance will disappear very quickly.

In any case, it's a good idea to get away from C++ sooner rather than later. As multiprocessing continues to become more commonplace, and with increasing core-count processors on the horizon, C++ will quickly become obsolete. C++ has absolute crap support for synchronization and multiprocessing, and while efforts like OpenMP are trying hard to counteract that, it is inevitable that a better language will take over. That language probably won't be C# per se, but it's still a good idea to have more languages under your belt than C++. Being a one-trick-pony is not a good situation in the technology sector [smile]



So there you go. Use C#, or IronPython, or F#, or whatever you want. C++ is not the best choice. In fact, there's a good chance it isn't even a good choice.

As for this comment: "As multiprocessing continues to become more commonplace, and with increasing core-count processors on the horizon, C++ will quickly become obsolete."

It's a good thing that the architect for C# is also the chairman of the C++ comittee. Here's the future of both C++ and .Net in terms of concurrency:
http://microsoft.sitestream.com/PDC05/TLN/TLN309_files/Default.htm#nopreload=1&autostart=1

Also, if you're a game programmer, particularly a console programmer, you probably don't have access to the .Net framework on your platform.

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Original post by RDragon1 Also, if you're a game programmer, particularly a console programmer, you probably don't have access to the .Net framework on your platform.

Don't be too sure... [wink]

Besides, I doubt many console programmers are worrying about what language to write code in at the moment.


I couldn't get your link to load, but it sounds interesting. Any alternate places I could look to find out what you're referring to?

Who, me?

No. I work here.

Why is it always C# against C++

Why not consider Managed C++ if you are already a C++ programmer.
C# is by design a new language
Managed C++ is by design for those you already know C++.
So if you choose managed over unmanaged, there is no reason to consider C#. After all this is what the .Net framework is all about, single library and multiple languages (COMMON language runtime)

I switched from C++/GL to C#/MDX half a year ago and im never going back.
As mentioned earlier, C#/.NET is built all at once and not layer upon layer.
You really feel that this a carefully designed system from the ground up.
And as i prioritize short dev time with clean code, theres really no arguing about what my preference is.