how to make a Countdown Timer over the game on full screen?

How would i INPUT a countdown timer in a game? I would want it to be simple and easy. this would be actually the first program i would make. So i wanna know what should i do to start making this program? Whats the first step on making it? And how should i code the countdown timer?

I also want the timer to be shown for everyone thats playing in the game also. So if thats not possible, maybe Broadcast a shoutout saying that its over???

What... lemme see:
-This is your first program.
-You want to use graphics, apparently since it's "fullscreen".
-You want this to be a multiplayer game, i.e. networking.
-You want to know the first step to making this game.

Well, I'll help you out. If this is your first program, I suggest this as a first step:

Code:

#include <iostream>
int main()
{
     std::cout << "Hello world!";
     return 0;
}

You also want this simple and easy, and since this is your second program now:

Code:

#include <windows.h>
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
     std::cout << "5...\n";
     Sleep(1000);
     std::cout << "4...\n";
     Sleep(1000);
     std::cout << "3...\n";
     Sleep(1000);
     std::cout << "2...\n";
     Sleep(1000);
     std::cout << "1...\n";
     Sleep(1000);
     std::cout << "BLASTOFF!!!...\n";
     Sleep(1000);
     
     return 0;
}

Wow Nice Thats Alot! Thanks Alot For That Info...

But theres one problem...

this is what i really need to know. and that i get confused about. What should i use???

Can someone explains these for me please. Because its hard to understand this.

Check Out The Clips That im Talking About:

ScreenShot 1

ScreenShot 2


Thanks Alot To Everyone That Helped Me

If your starting a new game goto the projects tab and choose either Win32 Application or Win32 Console application depending on what you want. If this is your first project you will want a console application and I wouldn't recommend doing network play or graphics for your first project, stick with text based or use ASCII for "graphics".

EDIT: Also the example of a setting a timelimit that Hunter2 gave you wasn't a real answer but rather telling you that you should learn the basics first. A real timer isn't difficult though I thought CProgramming had a tutorial on it somewhere but I'm not positive.

Wow Nice Thats Alot! Thanks Alot For That Info...

Hope you were being sarcastic, because I sure was Well, since this is your first program, you should go with the Win32 Console Application, and make a console program first (i.e. learn the basics). Most of (if not all) the tutorials here on CProgramming should deal mostly with console programs, as they are much MUCH simpler than normal Windows applications.

Umm, once you've created the Windows Console Application, you create a new "C++ Source File" (screenshot 2) and insert it into the workspace. This is where all your code (at this point) goes. You'll know what I mean once you do a few tutorials