   directx9 or opengl
  Hi guys i was wondering what i should learn next?Heres my problems. I cannot learn DX10 as i have too little access to a vista computer. And not going to pay for the upgrade on my computer. and now that directx11 is starting to come out is it a bit pointless to learn directx9? or should i jump into opengl and once start getting serious about game dev jump into directx11 -12 when i get a new computer? (which could be along way away unless i get a part time job. The only reason i want to jump into directx is because i have been told it is industry standard and used in most games.I mean people say directx 10 is like a whole new api compared to directx9. and it seems opengl stays the same. please help me :Doh and btw i looked at the forums and couldn't seem to find any with my particular situation   
  That's really a question about what you want to develop. Do you want to develop software that's very easily portable to other systems (like Linux, MacOS X, etc.)? If so, than forget about DirectX and go with OpenGL.If you're only worried about Windows and perhaps XBox, than just worry about DirectX.DirectX 10 does change some of how the API works. I can't say exactly because I've never used it myself but unless you've got a Vista or Win7 machine than your not going to be able to do much with DX10.As far as being industry standard, that also depends on who you ask. Windows developers will tell you that because as far as Win32 is concerned, DirectX does tend to work faster (but only because OpenGL calls are hooked by the OS and routed through DirectX). Otherwise OpenGL makes it so much easier to write cross-platform software.Hope this helps.   ;  well i just want to develop 2d-3d games for my computer. I dont have an xbox so thats outa the question. But i do have a PS3. Say i wanted to develop a PS3 game would i have to go and learn OpenGL? or is PS3 a viable option for directx as well   ;Quote:Original post by leeor_net(but only because OpenGL calls are hooked by the OS and routed through DirectX). This is only true if you don't install the appropriate drivers.To the OP:as far as the PS3 goes you can't use D3D, nor can you use OpenGL.It has support for OpenGL:ES but its not its primary API (It has its own API that i'm not familiar with, some of the PS3 developers on this forum could probably tell you more about that), that however is rather irrelevant since you won't get your hands on a devkit anyway.If you want to develop for consoles the xbox360 and C#/XNA is your best option as a independent developer.Edit: For the PS3 you can actually use OpenGL for homebrew if you install Linux on it, you'll be limited to using a software renderer (such as Mesa) though since Sony has restricted access to the RSX.   ;  Oh Oh... when I was a newbie in this forum I asked the same question, and the thread became a flame war between directxers and openglers. So get you popcorn and enjoy the fight.My conclusion at the time was: it doesn't matter. Learn both.   ;  ok thanks alot i think i will go with opengl as by the time i get to learning directx i will have a vista computer:D   ;  Hi Emforce,It really doesn't matter. It's the concepts that count, not the actual API call.I'd say go for OpenGL though because that's cross platform, but if you are not interested in that then it really doesn't matter. I heard ( I don't know, I'm an OpenGL guy because I love Linux ) that DirectX has a cleaner API.It will only be a few percent of your code and you can easily wrap it inside a class so you don't actually have to do it by hand anymore.   ;  Hey,Looks like you've already made up your mind what you want to learn.But before you go into opengl, i'd recommend learning with win32. (i didnt know the first time i learnt opengl, win32's pretty handy)There was also a comment below saying learn both.I'd take that advice :D opengl's cool, Cause you can make ds games.. whenever.and directx is cool because you can make xbox games. So if you learn both. Going for a job later on'l be easier.A good place to learn directx9 is - http://www.directxtutorial.com/and opengl - http://www.videotutorialsrock.com/Both very well made sites. easy to learn from.   ;Quote:Original post by ryanp321Hey,Looks like you've already made up your mind what you want to learn.But before you go into opengl, i'd recommend learning with win32. (i didnt know the first time i learnt opengl, win32's pretty handy)There was also a comment below saying learn both.I'd take that advice :D opengl's cool, Cause you can make ds games.. whenever.and directx is cool because you can make xbox games. So if you learn both. Going for a job later on'l be easier.A good place to learn directx9 is - http://www.directxtutorial.com/and opengl - http://www.videotutorialsrock.com/Both very well made sites. easy to learn from.Hello there. I'm a beginner amateur programmer, first time poster, but I've been reading this forum for a while.I can tell from experience that www.directxtutorial.com is not a good place to learn from, especially for beginners. The code in that site has no error checking. I started learning DirectX from there and it wasn't nice.I recommend EvilSteve's tutorial: http://thetavern.servebeer.com/?p=articles&a=D3DTutorial1   ;  I think people need to settle this once and for all, D3D and Opengl are Graphics libraries. Most of the real differences only a seasoned programmer would actually appreciate anyway. For the most part, I found that what can be done with one can be done with the other. Opengl is mainly accepted because it's cross platform, Direct3d is mainly for windows. Since you don't have a vista pc, you are probably better off using d3d9. It probably still has a decent amount of time. From what I hear D3D11 and Windows 7 are still a ways off, and d3d10 is for Vista.   