Hello all,

I have a question about C++ development. 

Basically, how would I go about doing it? With stuff such as SDL, SFML, OpenGL (for 3D, and any other good 3D game dev tool) etc. Does anyone have any advice on starting/ working with C++ game development from scratch? Any good tutorials? What code editor do you guys use (e.g. Code::Blocks, Visual Studio etc.)? 

I am familiar with the language as I have been learning the basics of C++. This is for personal experience, as I would like to know how it all works and how to make something from scratch if I choose to do so. 

Thank you for your time.

- Caleb (LebbyFoxx)

Hi Caleb - you could give Unreal Engine 3 or 4 a try; it's free to download and you only have to pay if you ship something for sale (5% of gross revenue). There are many tutorials available as well as community support too (https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/support). 

A lot of the C++ coders we know use Visual Studio, and we do too (but for C# instead). Good luck with your project! 

At risk of sounding like a bot, I would recommend getting a SkillShare free trial and checking out some tutorials on there. I find they're much more direct and academic than most YouTube tutorials. That's the most helpful platform I've found while I'm learning C#

b

If it's just for learning, you could learn a lot about C++ and the low level stuff… using the Allegro libraries.

It's hardcore stuff, but great as a learning tool. If you are into that sort of thing.

Otherwise, as others have suggested, just get an engine such as Unity (though it's C#) or Unreal.

I like Dev-C++, its outdated sure but loading library's to the compiler is way easier then visual studios (then again it could be that i am just stupid -_-)

I tend to learn by re-writing programs from github and then tinkering with them (also i have a book on C++)

Visual studio is okay. I haven't dealt too much with c++ BEFORE. now that i'm working in Unreal, i am dealing with it a lot. 

No need to pay anything, any and all programming you can learn online for free. Tons of free tutorials web/video on the internet. That's a great aspect of programming and internet. 

I'd say pick up some beginner projects on the console (if statements, loops, functions, variables, classes, etc...), maybe using dev-c++ or any ide that supports console apps.  Then when you have an solid grasp of the concepts, this being a gamedev site; switch to unreal to really start implementing and learning practically. For me the best way to learn is when applying to a project or something i have interest in.

There's probably  like an online c++ compiler/editor, if that's your fancy.

I would start with SFML, it offers a great documentation, community forum and tutorials. It is also very simple. It supports only 2D rendering tho. (And can port OpenGL but that is only the window creation)

What I use: SDL2, and OpenGL if necessary. If 3D, then also Horde3D (although ever since I've heard they're dropping GL2 support, I've been building my own rendering engine). For physics, Bullet3D, and ENet for networking.

Welcome to the best game engine, your own!