   Getting started
  Can anyone point out some tips about getting started?Ive found lots of good tutorials for isometric engines and such on this site. I use c++ so could anyone tell me how much c++ i should know before getting into this. and should i learn opengl or direct x? damn i want to get started right away :| 
  OpenGL or DirectX can come in very handy. It''s easy to leverage them to draw 2D graphics very quickly, making use of particular tricks of 3D APIs to do things such as colored lighting and alpha blending. I''d recommend learning one or the other (or both, if that is your fancy).As far as where to start-- you might start with writing a very simple demo for yourself of how to draw an isometric view. It doesn''t have to be fancy, and it probably won''t be final code you would use in a game. You just need to figure out some of the issues involved and some of the things you will have to deal with. There are lots of tutorials, as you mentioned, so the best thing to do is just plunge in and get your hands dirty. Lots of small demos to figure out techniques will stand you in good stead when it comes time to build a larger, more complex project.And in regards to how much C++ you need to know-- you need to know exactly as much as it takes to get the job done. That''s the best answer I can realistically give. Such a question can''t really be answered in definitive terms. "You need exactly 4.37 liters of C++ to write an isometric. Narf." How you design your game and choose to implement it will determine "how much" C++ you need.If you are fairly new to C++, then use what you do know, and at the same time try to learn things that you don''t. There isn''t any exact cutoff point. Nobody is going to say, "I''m sorry. You don''t know about partial template specialization. You can not make an isometric game. Bye bye, now." Because it''s just not true. Of course, basic level competency should be achieved. You don''t need to be any kind of kernel hacker guru, but you should at least know the fundamentals. Isometric games rank at about 5 or 6 in terms of relative complexity, compared to trivial games such as the classic Tetris/Breakout/Pong clones and overhead-type tile-based RPGs. They''re not a patch on fully 3D, skeletally-animated, vertex-skinned and pixel-shaded extravaganzas, but they do pose a few technical challenges that may take some thinking and research to overcome.It''s going to take some time. Patience is probably the best trait you can cultivate for yourself. Game programming requires a lot of knowledge spread across a very wide spectrum, and it takes time to gather that knowledge and learn for yourself how to apply it. Best of luck, and have fun.   GolemBlender--The Gimp--Python--Lua--SDLNethack--Crawl--ADOM--Angband--Dungeondweller;  if your fairly new to programming i would suggest using a more simple api for graphics, SDL(www.libsdl.org) or Allegro, both are based on direct draw i think, but easier to learn.(2D)wouldnt dive into making a 3D engine for your first project.but the choice is up to you,Good luck. ;  well, sofar i havnt had a big problem with programming, i dont consider myself a complete newbie and if i try real hard im able to understand a program and what its doing, but then again from allot of angels ive heard pepole saying you shouldnt start with open gl or direct x and so on, what do you guys think should be known to a man before he adventures into the world of direct x?;  Those folks were stating their own personal opinions. Again, there is really no definitive answer to a question like that we can give you.The beginning stages of learning OpenGL (or DirectX, if that''s yer poison) programming are mostly cutting and pasting from tutorials, looking up functions in documentation, playing with things you may or may not have an understanding of, etc... It doesn''t require much more than basic noob skills.At a glance, OpenGL would seem to be the simpler of the two to learn, though this is an opinion totally unfounded in anything resembling experience. I use Linux, so I obviously have no recent experience with DirectX, but just from simple observation you can see that the function names and basic data types are named in a far more simple fashion (God, I wish they''d never invented that Hungarian babble; personal opinion, no flames). If you''re feeling a little nervous, that might be a good place to start. Of course, once you decipher the Hungarian babble, DirectX doesn''t look altogether much more complicated than OpenGL. So that might be a good place to start.There really isn''t anything extremely mystical or arcane about DirectX or OpenGL. They are merely interfaces. They can be used for simple or for complex (for good or for awesome; heh, sorry). With OpenGL, you can do a simple glOrtho() call (look it up), and be drawing 2D graphics in a matter of minutes.Again, it all depends on you. If you feel like you are ready to start learning DirectX or OpenGL, then try it. If you get too badly confused, back off a bit and try something else. Nobody here is qualified to tell you if you are ready or not.Good luck.   GolemBlender--The Gimp--Python--Lua--SDLNethack--Crawl--ADOM--Angband--Dungeondweller