Hi,
I am developing a new game title (Project Excalibur) myself, using Unmanaged
C++ and XAudio2. So I can tell that XAudio2 definitely is a superior version
of DirectSound. It is extremely flexible, fast and easy to use once you get
used to it.
As for th einput side of things, I was previously using DirectInput for the
keyboard input, but I have changed to standard Windows input handling. These
Windows messages that represent keypresses are easier to retrieve (Windows
sends them anyway), there is no seperate interface anymore (decreased
program size), the Windows input system for keyboards seems faster than
DirectInput, and Windows input allows you to get more detailed information
about the keypress. This last advantage effectively means that you can
detect if a key was previously pressed or not, which is useful to turn key
repeat off in your game title. For joystick support you would still be best
of with DirectInput as far as I can tell. But then, I ahve never written or
researched joystick support in games.
Cheers!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <[email protected]>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 10:38 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] creating accessible games
Hi Davy,
Yeah, when it comes to game documentation C++ is definitely the most well
documented and most supported language out there. Most of what I know is a
direct result of reading various matierials written for C++ game
developers, and converting it to whatever programming language I might be
using at the time. Since most mainstream games are written in C++ it
explains why there is so much more documentation available on any game
related subject. Even if a developer doesn't intend on writing games in
C++ it is helpful to know the language so that the developer can have axis
to a wide range of game related materials out there.
As far as using Managed DirectX or using the standard DirectX libraries
for C++ developers goes I agree that using the standard libraries is
better. It is certainly much easier to used the Managed DirectX libraries
designed for VB .NET and C-Sharp, but I also happen to know they have been
moved to the legacy branch of the DirectX SDK. In other words Microsoft
has phased Managed DirectX out in favor of the XNA Framework, and the
Managed DirectX libraries are only provided with the DirectX SDK for
backward compatibility reasons. This means that there is no plans to
update Managed DirectX, or include new libraries in the future. In other
words, Managed DirectX is on its way out of the SDK.
When it comes to the XNA Framework for .NET and the XNA libraries for C++
the C++ libraries are better. For one thing the XNA Framework for .NET is
tied to the Xact tool which is unaccessible for a blind developer. That
rules it out as a replacement for Managed DirectX at this time. With the
standard C++ XNA libraries we don't have that problem. The XAudio2 library
doesn't require Xact and is quite a bit like DirectSound. Which is a
reason it would be a good choice for a C++developer. Especially, since
DirectInput, DirectSound, etc is on their way out as well as the Managed
DirectX libraries.
Smile.
Davy Kager wrote:
Hi,
Well, as for documentation: choose C++ if you want to have up-to-date,
full documentation. No language matches the excellent support of C++ (at
least that goes for Microsoft). This is one of the reasons why I chose
C++. And not to make this a C++-propaganda message, but I will never
switch to any other language unless it is the follow-up of C++. The
syntax is brilliant and apparently th eonly syntax that I understand well
enough to program in. I have never understood what people like about
VB.net and the other "word-languages". To me, Then, End, Sub and all the
other words are confusing to simple brackets. But many people have
difficulty with the language. However, if you really want to make
high-performance games -- which you probably don't if you are a
newbie -- then C++ is the best. Don't use the MAnaged side of things, go
for the raw Unmanaged C++. But once again, this path is long, hard, and
full of hazards. C++ allows you to get very close to the computer's
hardware, but it can lead to malfunctioning programs if you forget a
single line, or even a single character in your source code. It's really
an art.
Regards,
Davy
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