beginning game programming

hi
though i have prior knowledge of xna & c#, i like to write games in directx using c++, coz i believe using directx is more platform friendly and c++ is far better than c# (in performance wise, although c# is more user-friendly), so i hv moved to directx completely, is it possible to move my (future) project to xbox without using xna... (though many books say only xna code is portable to xbox console)

Uhh... no. And by definition, XNA is more "platform friendly" as it works on windows, xbox, and widows phone. DirectX only works on windows...

I wouldn't say better or worse here, it depends on what you are trying to do. Using XNA is going to be the only way you are going to be able to develop games for the XBox 360. Why? Because you are not going to be able to get the license for the XDK (yes XDK) to develop on the XBox, unless you have a proven track record and a hell of a lot of money to drop. I am not sure why you think DirectX is more platform friendly considering it is a Microsoft API, just like C# is a Microsoft language. If you want something platform friendly go with OpenGL and C++.

actually i was impressed of shaders in crysis and many other games which is written for newer and far better graphics cards than the ones which were used few years back.. and to take max advantage of present graphics card capability, and to try something(if not the entire AAA game effects) i would like to go for directx .. and im still unsure all those things i can try that in XNA alone...

actually i was impressed of shaders in crysis and many other games which is written for newer and far better graphics cards than the ones which were used few years back.. and to take max advantage of present graphics card capability, and to try something(if not the entire AAA game effects) i would like to go for directx .. and im still unsure all those things i can try that in XNA alone...

If you are interested in shaders, a quick google for HLSL will get you going on your way. It's nicely integrated in XNA and you can use it to achieve great effects