Library for games?

[z0My6Up4]

Hi, I am going to be working on a simple games project to help me learn C++. I am looking for recommendations on a good games library that works with C++ Code. My only restriction is that I do not want to use SFML.(It's a long story but I found the SFML forum people really rude and now don't want to use it.)

I have been looking at SDL and can see that a version 2 .0.1 is available for download and this is supported by lazy foo's game tutorial. I have no idea at this stage how difficult SDL might turn out to be, but I am willing and able to learn.

Apart from SDL can anyone recommend a working games library that i might use, that is well supported with community forums & mailing lists? Also, if anyone out there has experience of using SDL I would be interested to hear how you got on with it.

[Little Bobby Tables]

i dont know if c++ has any games libraries or frameworks per se, but it does support a plethora of libraries for making guis. sdl is great and easy to setup, but sfml (imo) gives you more control. i know that you said you dont like it (i remember seeing a post a long time back about the sfml community being rude and obnoxious) but we are more than willing to help, and everyone here is very nice. also i would recommend looking into openGL.

[MrHutch]

A couple of others come to mind, but I'm not sure how updated/useful they are.

There's Allegro. Never used it but seen a couple of forums posts about it.

Cocos-2D-X is a cross platform framework for C++ with native platform code for whatever system you build for.

There's also Haaf's Game Engine, but I'm not sure if it's up to date.

You could make your own basic OpenGL or DirectX based engine, but it would take some time and you'd need at least something (even lightweight, like GLFW) to handle contexts and inputs. That's a different project all together, in my opinion, though it's handy to know the concepts of rendering.

[Avilius]

SDL is a low-level wrapper over native graphics/input/sound/networking APIs.

sdl is great and easy to setup, but sfml (imo) gives you more control.

What? I don't understand how that even makes any sense.

SDL 2.0 is very simple, I'd say about as simple as SFML. I'd recommend you learn it.

[Little Bobby Tables]

i never said dont learn it. i said sfml gives more control, in my opinion

[Avilius]

I don't even understand how that could be an opinion. I never said that you said don't learn it.

[metulburr]

A little bit about SFML forum from a newbie percpective:

I stopped using SFML soley because of the community. Not that I have a problem with SFML, but the community is horrible. SFMl forum's response to everything is a link to the tutorial along with a rude comment. I mean that is what a forum is for ...help". If they didnt want to answer questions, they could of just put of a wiki / tutorial and leave out the forum. But what do you expect in a forum...seriously? This is how rediculous it is:

I once got a response for my question that was only a link to another forum thread. So i checked that thread. That thread the only response was another link to a third thread. By this time the question was no where near what i was asking.

At this point i got no where fast. All i got was more frustrated. However I tried SDL as well. On their forum, it took a little bit longer to get a response, but the first response was direct, answered my question, and no snobby rude comments. Every one of my questions on the SDL forums mimics this every time. At this point i got my question answered and understood a lot faster on the SDL forums than dicking around on the SFML forums.

So the end result being: I dont care if its a little bit more work to write SDL. The SDL forum community is nicer and more leanient to beginners. The questions get answered. You dont play run-around-the-web-site for answers. And thats why i targeted SDL as my gaming library for c++

[HellfireXP]

I recommend Allegro 5 only because I started with 0 knowledge of it and was able to produce a pretty decent game engine for myself. Here is the link where I learned most what I know about it... easy to follow video tutorials...

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6B459AAE1642C8B4&feature=plcp

I haven't used other libraries, so I can't speak on comparisons, but what I can say is from a standpoint of "ease of learning" and "information availability", the tutorials above made it easy and stress free for me.

[Avilius]

I recommend Allegro 5 only because I started with 0 knowledge of it and was able to produce a pretty decent game engine for myself.

Pretty much everyone who is a SDL/SFML regular could say the same with their library of choice.

[Little Bobby Tables]

are you actually going to be helpful here or just troll and disagree with everyother statement? http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/general/123736/#msg673175

[HellfireXP]

Avilius, interesting that you focused on a part of my post that wasn't really the point.

Bottom line - I was able to find everything I needed from a SINGLE location and the instruction was SIMPLE enough to follow and understand with a basic understanding of C++. I did not have to spend hours searching sites, deciphering conflicting code , bad forums, or posters like yourself who aren't really helpful.

As I pointed out in my last statement...

but what I can say is from a standpoint of "ease of learning" and "information availability", the tutorials above made it easy and stress free for me.

[naraku9333]

@flint and metulburr
Would either of you be able to provide some links to the rudeness you claim? I've never seen it on the SFML forums, but to be fair I don't go there often.

@metulburr
I'm assuming this is you http://en.sfml-dev.org/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=4865 and I've looked through the threads you posted in and don't see anyone being anything but helpful.

[Avilius]

Little Bobby Tables wrote:

are you actually going to be helpful here or just troll and disagree with everyother statement?

I don't understand at all how that helps your statement?

I was being a smart-alack there because of the OP's failure to give more information.

Simply because I disagree with what someone is saying does not automatically make me a troll. I could go on about you, however the information I'd discuss would be best put in a PM so others couldn't see.

--------------------

HellfireXP wrote:

Avilius, interesting that you focused on a part of my post that wasn't really the point.

The purpose of posting on this thread is to recommend certain libraries for game programming to the OP. You suggested Allegro. I disagreed, trying to promote the two libraries I told the OP to go for (SFML or SDL).

I'm trying to get the consumer to buy the product in simplest terms.

Bottom line - I was able to find everything I needed from a SINGLE location and the instruction was SIMPLE enough to follow and understand with a basic understanding of C++. I did not have to spend hours searching sites, deciphering conflicting code , bad forums, or posters

No one really has time for that. And again I'm stating this because I'm a "salesman". I don't want the OP to not choose my recommendation because someone implied something that wasn't necessarily true.

like yourself who aren't really helpful.

No need to get hostile. All of my posts (aside from the one mentioned by Little Bobby Tales, so 95 of them) were posted with the intention of helping beginners. I did not once yet ask a question, I did not ever post a reply that I did not feel was helpful. Go on, enter my name in the searches. Can you say the same about yourself?

You should not base your thoughts of someone on a single post.

[HellfireXP]

I'm a "salesman".

Got it! That tells me everything I need to know about you ;) I'll stick with Allegro, thanks.

[Avilius]

You realize that that was a metaphor and I'm not actually a salesman, correct? (Hence the quotes)

[metulburr]

@ naraku9333
Now that i am trying to find those comments, i cant find them. Its not just my threads, if you hang out there and participate in that forum, you end up seeing it in reponses to others questions as well. Not anything drastic, just things to make you think, "well that was quite rude".

Go figure, all the ones ive just now checked make me look like a liar.

[BHX]

My only restriction is that I do not want to use SFML.(It's a long story but I found the SFML forum people really rude and now don't want to use it.)

Instead of worrying about changing libraries, I'd recommend getting a thicker skin. In the real world you are going to run into rude people, it is just a fact, but you can't jump ship just because of it. You can leave communities, but there are others that can help you with your problem other than the official community.

I'd recommend sticking to SFML and learning it. Then learn SDL and finally Allegro. Then progress to OpenGL and DirectX. This way you are able to join more teams due to knowing more libraries instead of being left out because you may not know the one they are using.

If you have a problem, post questions in the General C++ forum as I've seen questions there for SFML, SDL, Allegro, and OpenGL.