Thread: Pong...from scratch

Windows.

Which brings me to my question too:

I know how to program things. Just I don't understand ANY of the functions of making and controlling windows. I've just been programming DOS so far, but that's just because it's the default. I obviously want to make my own window. I have some idea as to some of the classes and such. Here's my globals planning for my code. But when I start a program in Dev-C++ it provides me with the window thing. Will that do? I still need to manipulate it do I not? When I fire the window up it's just grey. How do I actually put stuff in it?

Code:

/////////////GLOBALS/////////////

#include <iostream>

class ball {
     public:
     float Ball
     //color (white)
     //speed (rate, velocity (can be implemented by vectors))
     //collision data
     //model space ratio to world space 
}

class player {
     //float paddle ????, (size)
     //color (white for first implementation)
     //collision
     //model space ratio to world space
     //restrict to Y-Axis
}

Of course they're just comments, but hey they're a start.

My first implementation i've planned is to make a correct window and not some stupid DOS command prompt window. Next, I'll draw the ping pong ball in it. Then I'll implement the physics (no idea as to the code, but I heard vectors might work well). Next, one paddle bouncing the ball (from the left side of the screen).

I have ideas, but ideas are nothing without properly executed code.

P.S. I have Bloodshed Dev-C++ 4.9.9.2.

Controlling windows is almost as simple as DOS. You can use DirectInput, SDL or WindowsAPI for catching the input and same for rendering the objects to your screen. I'd recomment SDL for a pong game, I use it myself, fast, simple and cross-platform. Oh and I finally found a way of catching arrow keys (and other special keys) in dev-c++. You should getch() and check if it's a 224, if it is, you getch() the second time and get the value of your arrow key

Okay, I don't want to use APIs. I really want to write it myself. Where can I learn the commands? If I learn the commands, I know what's going on in the API and learning any API would be a cinch. (Oh and my video card is DirectX 7...so it can't use all the latest APIs so learning them right now with this PC would be a waste of time.

Basically I want to build up to making 3D games and my goal is to make a 3D game looking like the original Quake. A lot of work, and if I'm gonna do it, I need to understand everything about it.

what devcpp is giving you is a standard code for beginning a win32 application.. almost every windows program starts out by initializing and registering a window class... so devcpp provides it for you... although it's starting to become somewhat outdated (does not initially make provisions for unicode for example)

For Pong, how do you think I would do a demo of first drawing the ball (.bmp), then using code to make that ball bounce like a pong ball would, except it would be like those screen savers that just bounce (as in there wouldn't be a paddle...yet). First...the ball class:

Code:

class ball {
     public:
     float Ball
     //color (white)
     //speed (rate, velocity (can be implemented by vectors))
     //collision data
     //model space ratio to world space 
}

Although I've posted this already...would I just present the compiler with the data types inside the class, and since they're public, affect them later? Where inside the code should I?

EDIT: Maybe something like this...?

Code:

class Ball {
int state;
int attr; //attributes of the ball
int color; //white
float position;
//collision data, physics, and model space I have no clue of
}

Does that seem okay? And how do I implement the collision and physics and the space the model takes? the space would be affected by how big the .bmp is right? Hmm.

Also I learned from a tutorial (link given above by me) how to make a bitmap transparent and only make the actual ball visible. How do I change that collision (i don't know how to implememt the initial collision, i'm just saying) so that it doesn't include the old extra "flab" if you will.

Uhh another thing...about the window size...I found this code to make a window on the tutorial that I'm doing:

Code:

#include <windows.h>

const char g_szClassName[] = "myWindowClass";

// Step 4: the Window Procedure
LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(HWND hwnd, UINT msg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
    switch(msg)
    {
        case WM_CLOSE:
            DestroyWindow(hwnd);
        break;
        case WM_DESTROY:
            PostQuitMessage(0);
        break;
        default:
            return DefWindowProc(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam);
    }
    return 0;
}

int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
    LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
{
    WNDCLASSEX wc;
    HWND hwnd;
    MSG Msg;

    //Step 1: Registering the Window Class
    wc.cbSize        = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);
    wc.style         = 0;
    wc.lpfnWndProc   = WndProc;
    wc.cbClsExtra    = 0;
    wc.cbWndExtra    = 0;
    wc.hInstance     = hInstance;
    wc.hIcon         = LoadIcon(NULL, IDI_APPLICATION);
    wc.hCursor       = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
    wc.hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)(COLOR_WINDOW+1);
    wc.lpszMenuName  = NULL;
    wc.lpszClassName = g_szClassName;
    wc.hIconSm       = LoadIcon(NULL, IDI_APPLICATION);

    if(!RegisterClassEx(&wc))
    {
        MessageBox(NULL, "Window Registration Failed!", "Error!",
            MB_ICONEXCLAMATION | MB_OK);
        return 0;
    }

    // Step 2: Creating the Window
    hwnd = CreateWindowEx(
        WS_EX_CLIENTEDGE,
        g_szClassName,
        "The title of my window",
        WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW,
        CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, 240, 120,
        NULL, NULL, hInstance, NULL);

    if(hwnd == NULL)
    {
        MessageBox(NULL, "Window Creation Failed!", "Error!",
            MB_ICONEXCLAMATION | MB_OK);
        return 0;
    }

    ShowWindow(hwnd, nCmdShow);
    UpdateWindow(hwnd);

    // Step 3: The Message Loop
    while(GetMessage(&Msg, NULL, 0, 0) > 0)
    {
        TranslateMessage(&Msg);
        DispatchMessage(&Msg);
    }
    return Msg.wParam;
}

How bout that for a window? Is that okay? Do I need to memorize all this stuff?
Is there any way to code all this stuff in C++ so I don't confuse the heck outta myself?