   C++ GUI for games
  Hi, I'm a java programmer and I'm studying c++ to develop games. From my java experience, I already have created a simple mario game. In studying object oriented programming in c++, I created a simple tetris game. Problem is, I used cin and cout for input/ output. I want to know how to create simple windows apps (like JFrame, Canvas, JPanel) in c++. Currently, I'm developing in Ubuntu. I'm not sure what kind of c++ (installer) will I use in Windows XP ( and how do I install this?). Also, please help me find a decent IDE that I would be using in case I develop in Windows XP.My target in c++ is to create a simple rpg game using mouse clicks for movement commands and keyboard inputs for other commands. How will I achieve this? What libraries do you recommend (and how do I install these?).And last thing, can I create an OS independent application? I'm not sure but I think I will be using win32 api in Windows but of course that won't work on Linux.Or do you recommend that I master only in 1 OS for my apps?Thanks!   
Quote:Original post by racuminplease help me find a decent IDE that I would be using in case I develop in Windows XP.Visual C++ 2008 Express. Doesn't get much better than this (not for free, anyway).Quote:My target in c++ is to create a simple rpg game using mouse clicks for movement commands and keyboard inputs for other commands. How will I achieve this? What libraries do you recommend (and how do I install these?).You don't need a GUI to achieve that, just simple keyboard and mouse handling, which any game library supports.As for which one to use, I recommend that you try SFML.(That site seems to be down at the moment, hopefully it won't be for long.)Quote:And last thing, can I create an OS independent application? I'm not sure but I think I will be using win32 api in Windows but of course that won't work on Linux.Or do you recommend that I master only in 1 OS for my apps?SFML is cross-platform, but using a cross-platform library is not enough to ensure that your game will work properly on different platforms. This can get pretty complicated, so I recommend that you stick with one OS for now.   ;  Thanks for replying! I think I'm going to use SFML in Linux. By the way is does the VS2008 Express iso a trial version? Or is it a free IDE?   ;  It's not a trial, it's completely free.   ;  Visual C++ 2008 Express is a free full version.  Things to look out for, in v2008 there are some settings turned on by default (Unicode) that you may want to turn off or you'll get errors if you try to compile non-unicode complient code.  Also, a lot of the core c++ functions now have a "safe" version (these will have an _s attatched to the function name).  If you are still using the old function calls, the compiler will output a bunch of warning messages.I created a video showing how to work with Visual C++ Express here:http://www.marek-knows.com/downloadSection.php?Topic=GameDev&pg=7#GameDev139If you want to create an OS independent game/app then I would suggest you use SDL.  It is supported by Windows, Mac, and Linux.