Re: A82: Hmm
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Re: A82: Hmm
> No, its "Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 Days" that shows you how to
> plot pixels. This book is also from SAMS publishing and the code that I
> gave you from it I probably shouldn't even have released since it is
> copyrighted material. Just go purchase the book and you will learn a whole
> lot more than just displaying pixels...like writing 3 games and making a
> whole ton more on your own!
>
This may be a good book to teach you game theory, but unless you are content
to write 16-bit games for DOS, the code may not be of much use to you. The
book is very simple and explains the many, many various concepts of game
programming and development. It covers basic mode 13H (320x200x256) graphics,
sprites, simple unfilled polygons, keyboard/mouse/joystick operation, and
basic sound blaster programming.
The sound blaster code did not work on any system I tested it on. It is based
on loading drivers, which, in my opinion, is not the best way to accomplish
playing VOCs. It does not cover music, such as MIDI. Much of the code is in
16-bit assembler which is Microsoft-only compatible. Trying to run it under
Borland is very difficult, and I never was able to get it to compile as a
newbie to C. Don't even think about running it under Watcom.
If you know nothing about how games are made, then I would recommend the book.
If you just want details, skip it. There are plenty of better books, and the
internet is full of docs about graphics programming.
How to start:
If you do decide to get the book and are serious about writing games, you also
need a good compiler. The best (and only, besides DJGPP) for game programming
is Watcom C/C++. The current version is 11.0, and it costs $299, or $99 if
you are a student (excellent deal). You can visit them at
http://www.powersoft.com. Next, you need a game library. Writing your own as
a newbie to C and game programming is very hard, especially using 32-bit
protected mode, which is what you should be (you must have Watcom for this!
Doom and every other game that uses DOS4GW was made with Watcom).
The best library I have found is the Stellar Game Development Kit. You can
get the Shareware version at http://www.stelsoft.com. I believe it costs $69.
It is available for both DOS and Win95 DirectX. It is an excellent library.
It has sprites, input routines, a sprite and map editor, ipx network routines,
com routines, and a marginal sound library (I have only used the DOS version.
The 95 one is probably as good as it could get). If you want a great sound
library, get Varmint's Audio Tools (VAT) from http://www.groundup.com. There
is a freeware demo version, and the real one costs $149. If you search the
net, you can find an older (but just as good, I think) freeware beta release
that is free and is not crippled.
Sorry for the long post, but I feel that not many people know how to start
with programming games. I would like to know what other people are using for
PC development.
David Phillips
Electrum Software
esdavid@aol.com
P.S. If anyone would like to write a game (PC) with me, I would be very
interested.
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