Hi, can anyone recommend a free ide to use with directx games programming?
Thanks
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Hi, can anyone recommend a free ide to use with directx games programming?
Thanks
You can use Code::blocks, it is compatible as long as you have microsoft visual C++ compiler. It also has a template for a directx project which includes all the liink libraries and templates for a basic directx Project
http://forums.codeblocks.org/index.php?board=20.0
If you have to use an MS compiler anyway, wouldn't VC++ 2005 Express be easier?
Well you could use Dev-C++ and the following DevPak http://www.g-productions.net/files/d...ectX90c.DevPak. I've yet to try the DevPak myself since I managed to get the DirectX SDK working with MinGW and compile with command line. :D
Or you can as psycho said, save yourself a crapton of hassle and just get visual studio 2005 express, which is free aswell.
VSE as many people have said have problems such as memory leaks and slowdown. I'd rather use a program that is updated/supported more often than not, hence why I choose code-blocks. It's not without it's problems but I think it's a better IDE.
I haven't noticed much of this since SP1 was released. Or maybe I'm just too used to it now to notice :p.Quote:
Originally Posted by indigo0086
I have been using Visual Studio .NET 2005 Standard and have found very few problems. It has some tidiness issues with MFC and so forth but nothing that would kill the IDE. Visual Studio is an excellent IDE and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Express is a Lite version of Visual Studio but based on the same shell and I never had any problems with it.
Yes there are tons of bugs in Visual Studio but I doubt you will come across them in your endeavours. Most of them have been addressed and/or fixed with recent updates.
I have the .Net Studio as well but The main problem is the runtime debugger. I can't seem to uninstall or disable it fully. I go to the options and disable it but it always pops up when using other applications.
VC2005 has a problem with the context sensitive help and autocomplete features. The database for the system takes forever to build when adding large libraries (like DirectX and the platform SDK) which causes serious slowdowns.
This is done once per project because unlike previous versions VC2005 stores this database per project rather than centrally).
But when that generation is complete (best let it run overnight as it can take hours) it's quite fast.
Is visual studio 2008 okay to use?? I am using right now Visual C++ 2005 EE.
They have a thread at the msdn forums about it called How to Disable Intellisense. It was started back in 2005 and has recent posts with people still having problems. A major concern would be if you have projects on a network drive or usb drive. You can read more about it. The thread starter is http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/Sho...32651&SiteID=1 from 2005 and the posts starting from june of this year would be here http://forums.microsoft.com/msdn/sho...&tf=0&pageid=8
They expect a hot fix sometime in September. There is a link in the last post to a hotfix for users with network and USB drives.
Actually using DirectX with MinGW is surprisingly easy. Easier than most people think. I've attached some a pdf I made from some instructions GarageGames put up a while back. They're pretty simple. You first have to reimp the various library files of DirectX. Then it simply becomes a matter of specifying the headers and library files when you go to compile as with anything else. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakti
And this is easier than buying an IDE or downloading one from MS and just linking with the right libraries and including the correct headers?Quote:
You first have to reimp the various library files of DirectX.
If you had bothered to download the PDF you would have noticed that it includes source to a small script that does the work for you. If you're too lazy to run that script then you're probably too lazy to develop anything of any decent size.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubba
Or you could just use a compiler and IDE that fully support DirectX and nearly everything else that is Windows-based.
Why people constantly fight with their compilers to do A or B is beyond me.
I don't need the PDF because I'm not using MinGW or anything else like Code::Blocks or many of the other IDEs that are the endless source of 'I can't get this or that to work in my compiler' posts.
To the new people interested in doing Windows game projects, please do yourself a favor and use a well-supported well-documented compiler.
Usually because they want something Free (as in Stallmans GNU definition of Free)...but asking for a Free development environment that supports DirectX is a little weird, hence the guy is probably just after a non-cost IDE, thus should go with some Visual Studio version or other...Microsoft development suites are indeed good for Windows only stuff.Quote:
Why people constantly fight with their compilers to do A or B is beyond me.
But consider using OpenGL/OpenAL/SDL/etc instead. Port your games to more platforms, indie games can have it rough on the saturated Windows PC gaming market.
Release games for Mac and/or Linux and you can actually get people to play the game.
If you also want to get a little money, aim for the Mac since Mac users are more willing to pay for shareware software (but you'll need a pretty GUI =P ).
/f
No. They want something free (as in, not costing them anything), which is misinterpreted by the OSS zealots as wanting something that confirms to their world view.Quote:
Originally Posted by fractality
he he, that's usually no problem with programming IDEs since all major players in the non-Free market still release their stuff for free.
I find it more likely that the non "OSS zealots" want Free stuff for free (actually OSS is not necessarily Free in the GNU way...)
At least students and amateurs can get complete IDEs from Microsoft and Apple for free last time I looked...might have changed with later MS releases?
and from Borland/Codegear as well.
I don't know about "complete", that probably depends on the definition of "complete".
Most student editions lack things like deployment tools and don't allow commercial use (the two being linked of course) but are otherwise equivalent to midrange offerings of the same product.
They're also not usually fully free of cost, but offered at significant discounts (the actual price being dependent on the locale as always, but usually little more than a token fee to cover reproduction and transport cost).
The free amateur versions are often more limited but still functional enough for hobby users.
Think VC Express Edition and the free versions of Codegear's Turbo line.
And that's far more than we had a decade ago. There were no free versions of MSC and Turbo C++ 3.
...and to think how much money all of us sank into the old Borland products and we thought we were getting a great IDE and compiler.
Times certainly have changed.
I wholeheartedly applaud Microsoft's recent efforts to reach out to the hobby community. I think the VC Express idea is rather revolutionary for a company like Microsoft and is a step in the right direction.
Borland did have great products. Sadly their management got caught in the entire "Enterprise" craze and forgot that their core business is selling development tools to small shops and independents.