After my previous post i decided to learn game programming with sfml. Before, i was learning directx but got to complicated. So a few of u said i should learn sfml. Do u think i have made the right decision?

SFML and directX are very different, you cannot compare the two. It really depends on what you're trying to accomplish here also. So... what ARE you trying to do?

What were getting at is that you should learn SFML FIRST to get the hang of graphics programming, then once you feel like you're good enough with it move on to OpenGL or DirectX.

Not really sure about that, anything worth knowing is encapsulated by sfml. Always see people trying to modify vertices on CPU to do scaling and translations and the like when it's much more effectively done through matrices which is handled on the gpu.

@Fredbill30
Speak for yourself and not others as that is completely wrong to why they said SFML. The reason they they probably recommended SFML, or could have recommended SDL and Allegro is because they normally use DirectX or OpenGL for their backends and have their libraries written so it does the dirty work without you knowing it.

For example, with those libraries, when you call the functions to set up a window the library detects your OS and usually has defines set so that on windows it uses DirectX and other OSes it uses OpenGL to create the windows and draw things to the screen.

Well that too. :(
But I thought SDL was coded differently on every os it just used the same functions.

@Fredbill30
That would be a pain to maintain and would probably require different groups, one for each OS that they support. That would be way more work and end up having it so support for one OS would be erratic if non-existent at all due to other devs dropping out of the OS.

I think I'm going to have to look at the source code of it then.

Not really sure about that, anything worth knowing is encapsulated by sfml.

Would've agreed before, but the things provided by SFML 2.0 gives you a bit more flexibility/lower-level support. Changing sf::Image to sf::Texture was a nice indicator of that. Still is pretty high-level, though.

Speak for yourself and not others as that is completely wrong to why they said SFML.

Work on your phrasing "that is completely wrong" is not only offensive but also makes it very easy to be incorrect, which is the case here. Working high-level and then moving down to lower-level code is a very common method of learning, and so it is definitely one of the reasons why they recommend SFML. The other reason is what you mentioned, which was the OpenGL/Direct3D backend for performance, but that definitely wasn't the only reason and Fredbill wasn't "completely wrong".

But I thought SDL was coded differently on every os it just used the same functions.

This is pretty much true. The window/input code tends to be entirely separate for every OS, while other pieces of code may/may not be shared. This is generally how cross-platform development always goes, not entirely sure of where BHXSpecter got their idea from. You can have one person know how to do things on multiple platforms, or you can maintain multiple versions for the same platform; a lot of the code is shared, but there definitely are various components that must be rewritten for each OS. Having multiple implementations of the same interface isn't uncommon and, while it may be a burden, it doesn't tend to be as significant as BHXSpecter makes it out to be. Although, I will admit that BHXSpecter went back a bit on what he said, so I don't know if I interpreted them correctly.

I don't understand why OS creators wont get together to make code that is cross-platform.

I guarantee many users would by that OS.

I want to make good 2d games for myself.

I guess you'd have to practice to learn C++, if you do you'll then have to get familiar with a 3rd party library.

Work on your phrasing "that is completely wrong" is not only offensive but also makes it very easy to be incorrect, which is the case here

What in my past postings make you think I care if I come across offensive or not? I post things from my point of view, and some points of view can be offensive.

@Fredbill30

Most of them are just too greedy, and want their OS to be the only one.
Plus, they like it the way it is, and don't want to change anything!


@sam dhillon

SFML is great, however it isn't that cross-platform, and SDL is more expansive.
Plus SFML raises the file size a lot, and the sound lib requires a DLL (on Windows)!

Also, SDL (recommended) is a little smaller, easier to port, and more expansive (lots of addons)!

Though, it is your choice. Do whatever you like.

I personally like OpenGL + OpenAL, it's VERY cross-platform, and FAST (Plus it works 2D & 3D)!
A large amount of "Graphic libraries" simply use OpenGL behind the scenes anyways.


WHATEVER YOU DO, don't use DirectX, it's going down hill, FAST.
M$ had been making a LOT of stupid choices recently, and DirectX is Microsoft ONLY!

Not only is OpenGL faster (proven), but it's better supported, more documented,
has an open licence, works on EVERYTHING, and isn't written by greedy M$!

When M$ dies (which it is, from Win8 to Xbox one), DirectX will fall with it anyways.

Mitch wrote:
SFML is great, however it isn't that cross-platform, and SDL is more expansive.

Where are you getting your information? SFML is cross platform and is very expansive, in fact more than SDL by default.

Mitch wrote:
M$

Based on this, I have come to the conclusion that nothing you write is worth reading.


EDIT:

Also if anyone is considering SDL, do not use SDL 1.x as it is extremely archaic and slow on modern hardware. If you must use SDL, use SDL 2.x or don't use it at all.

What in my past postings make you think I care if I come across offensive or not? I post things from my point of view, and some points of view can be offensive.

Without a doubt, you could have phrased things differently and still gotten your point of view across. If you want to actually have a conversation, try not to seem arrogant/offensive/whatever. It will taint how others view your ideas, and you do care about that. Not because they're yours, but because ideas shouldn't be judged by the performance of the person conveying them. We're all human, and if you want people to consider you (and, consequently, your thoughts) in any way other than anxiety or irritation then it's necessary to treat someone like a person, not just a thought receptacle absolutely devoid of emotions. Words have meaning beyond thought.

Most of them are just too greedy, and want their OS to be the only one. Plus, they like it the way it is, and don't want to change anything!

I don't think it's out of greed, I'd say it's more because everyone has their own way of doing certain things and not everyone can agree. There's also NIH syndrome and its benefits, and I also agree with your point of not wanting to change their existing code.

WHATEVER YOU DO, don't use DirectX, it's going down hill, FAST. M$ had been making a LOT of stupid choices recently, and DirectX is Microsoft ONLY!

Microsoft isn't going away, and neither are their products/market share. They've got a ton of money to keep them afloat and a bunch of departments other than Windows OS/gaming, giving them enough time to rebound in those markets. Don't avoid DirectX for not being cross-platform, either. I don't have much experience with DirectX personally, but from what I've been reading it has a lot more tooling support than OpenGL and makes development much easier. Whether or not it's worth the trade-off is up to you.

Not only is OpenGL faster (proven), but it's better supported, more documented, has an open licence, works on EVERYTHING, and isn't written by greedy M$!

Not sure how it's "proven". As for documentation, I disagree. Microsoft does a pretty good job with the documentation on MSDN, and it's much more in-depth/detailed than anything that's been provided by the OpenGL community. Cross-platform compatibility is definitely a plus, and OpenGL beats the crap out of DirectX there.

When M$ dies (which it is, from Win8 to Xbox one), DirectX will fall with it anyways.

Hell, I hope not. Have you ever tried debugging an OpenGL application? 4 ambiguous error codes (which don't even tell you where the problem happened) make for debugging hell.

It will taint how others view your ideas, and you do care about that.

Nice assumption, wrong, but nice. I'm 32 years old, I only care what my wife and son think of me or my ideas. It has already been proven on this forum alone, that people are quick to judge you by your first post (I've lost track of how many times I've seen someone say a person was spoonlicker just because of a naive post or question or anti-oop sentiment) and then spend numerous posts proving they aren't spoon. Hell Fredbill30 and devonrevenge went through being accused of being him for several posts. I am guilty of accusing someone of being spoonlicker (turned out I was right on several of them), but my accusations were during the month long spam-a-thon he did a while back and I was on edge over it.

I speak my mind and I'm not going to sugar coat it or worry about how I come across to others. Minus the typos, how I type it on here (offensive or not) is exactly the same way I would say it if I was face to face with them. Only difference is on here you can interpret the text completely wrong from what the writer meant. For example, someone on here could do something and one person could say "You're so crazy!" while laughing at whatever it was. Yet a person can read it and depending on their interpretation of it may think they are insulting them or accusing them of being literally crazy for what they did instead of how it was meant. You said I came across offensive, that is how you interpreted it (as offensive), others may have interpreted it that way too while others may be sitting there thinking "What is so offensive?". Me? If you say it is offensive, that is your interpretation of it, not going to sit here and worry about changing my posts every time wondering who might interpret it as offensive.

You said I came across offensive, that is how you interpreted it (as offensive), others may have interpreted it that way too while others may be sitting there thinking "What is so offensive?".

Since we're on the subject, my thoughts were:

"Count on BHXSpectre to reply to the resident pre-teen troll and not only get it wrong but commit the same sin he advised Fredbill not to. I wonder if they'll ever contribute content of substance."

And.. still wondering.

Mitch wrote:
When M$ dies

Yeah, I can't wait for all of those multi-million/billion pound companies with offices, retail outlets or whatever to stop using Windows operating systems and Office suites because they can't play their home console games offline.

That seriously may have just been the stupidest thing I've witnessed on these forums.