Game programming starter kit 4.0...

Anyone ever heard of this or used it? I'm thinking of buying it. I know a bit of c++, im not a pro or anything. I also have this book called deitel and deitel. Would this game programming starter kit (macmillan software) be good for me? Do I have to be a c++ pro to use it? It says it comes with a BIG book on game programming, microsoft visual c++ (i have already), shadow real 3d something, genesis engine something, and direct x 7.0 SDK something. Does it sound any good? On the box it says "everything you need to program your own games". Im basically wondering if it sounds any good. and 2, if i need to be a c++ pro to use it. I'm a good thinker. I wrote a tic tac toe game where you can play the computer or play another human.

You realy don't need it. Directx 8 is avaliable for download and directx 9 is in beta testing so you will be behind in that. Also there are other 3d modlers besides genesis. So my advice is it is not worth it.

im thinking it will be good for me because it explains all the stuff. if i just downloaded all of the stuff, i wouldnt know where to start. its kind of like a big tutorial.

Is still not worth buying, I've seen that kit and there is nothing in it you could not get some where else. The informaion is outdated.

I'm not a game programmer and I don't intend to be a game programmer. However, I picked up a book on game programming about ~1 year ago just to get an overall basic idea on the subject. I like to do this for a variety of programming areas (but my heart has been set on another focus). With all that said, an expert game programmer may recommend some better advice; but I highly recommend this book: "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus" (~1000 pgs, ~50 $USD, ISBN: 0-672-31361-8). I think this book may be quite helpful in getting you started with game programming. I saw your earlier posts and you were confused about things like the Win32 API, DirectX, etc... Well this book teaches you the basics to that stuff, and all you need is VC++ 6.0. Of course those are just the toolz, the book also goes into more important things like the CONCEPTS (2d graphics algorithms dealing with scan-converting, clipping, transforming objects; important data structures used in games; ways of synchronizing threads when dealing with multi-threading; basic AI; basic Physics; etc....). It may take you like 6 months to fully-read but I think it's a nice start (if you have just some basic programming skills). Later you can seek specific books that go into more detail about each topic the latter book presents, i.e. Petzold's "Programming Windows" to learn more about the win32 api; Foley's/Dam's/Feiner's/Hughes's "Computer Graphics: Principles and Practices" 2nd Ed. to learn a lot more about graphics algorithms, etc... I guess what I'm trying to say is get the book, mentioned above, because it kind of throws a lot of topics at you (in an introductory way); then you will have a basic idea about everything and later you can back track all of those topics with more advanced books that go more into detail. I also hear that this book is only considered part-1 of a 2 book series, I think part-2 (which i'm not sure if it out yet or not) deals more with 3d graphics; however I think I learned all I've wanted to know about game programming.

bye.

genisis is free ware.

Another reason not to get it.

Regardless of the book you buy (which you may or may not need, given the following resources) I would go with Blender for 3D. Free, highly professional 3D modeling and scene rendering. http://www.blender.nl/index_community.php They have great tutorials at their site. Just follow the "Learning Path" here: http://www.blender.nl/support/learni...b85eceb7c55744

After you get use to the unusual (but efficient) interface, it is really easy to get cool things done. Blender use to be a pay 3D program, but recently changed its licensing.

As for programming, all you need is Allegro with the exception of networking. Allegro will compile with fast Direct X under Windows or even various Linux or BeOS options without changing a single line of code. It also will give you the tools you need for sound and music in an easy to use library. The kind of stuff you use to pay $2000 for.
It is "giftware". You don't even have to acknowledge you used it in your games. I recommend using it with Dev-C++ (free too) as your C++ visual environment. All the resources are linkable or downloadable from my site: http://www.envy.nu/springsoft/main.html (I made a graphical installer for Allegro with Dev-C++.) The documentation and examples that come with Allegro are excellent and should give at least a solid starting foundation.

If you'd rather use MSVC or whatever with Allegro, you can as well, by the way. See the links at my site to find the WIP (Work in Progress.) They are still porting all the functionality to other OS's, that's why it is a WIP. It is very stable with Windows and Linux.

Always have fun with it. There are a thousand ways to do anything out there, so don't let it get you bogged down. Pick a route and stick with it, because they are all pretty much the same in the end.

-Justin