12-27-2012, 03:45 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-27-2012, 03:46 AM by Bombshell93.)
just because their abandoning XNA (which they did so a while ago when the developers were moved onto other projects) doesn't mean its any worse of a framework, its one of the more stable managed DirectX wrappers and although it wont be upgraded to DX10 / 11 the major additions that made DX 10 / 11 are fairly advanced and for the majority of games will make little difference (tessellation and geometry shaders only really make a difference with high detailed models)
All that said a majority of Gaming PC's are still in DX9 / DX10 hardware (obviously if you buy or build a new one its likely to be in DX11 hardware) my PC I made myself and it can run pretty much any game I throw at it, yet its only got a DX10 graphics card (though I'm likely to make another computer when I get the money, my CPU is crap and I'd love an i7) DX9 was the big leap, performance shot up, flexibility went wild, I can see DX9 being used for a long long time (until either graphics card hardware drastically changes, or a revision of similar compatibility and more efficiency emerges)
anyway back on subject, you won't be able to develop for console at the moment, the wiiU is more open yes, but its standards are strict and I'd imagine you'd need a small following before hand, at which point you'd likely be asked to rewrite the game for the wiiU. The other possibility is the Ouya coming out in march, but that'd be the same as mobile platforms as it runs android.
I'd advise developing for PC at the moment if your not planning for mobile. If you wish to use C++ I'd advise you learn your way around OpenGL too, DirectX has been losing the popularity recently due to compatibility issues and its been argued that the new features in DX11 hardware are working much better on OpenGL (in speed and function) even if your not planning to use these features (which you likely aren't) the compatibility is a must because you might have the option to develop for Mac / Linux too. There is also the planning ahead and with OpenGL growing in popularity again it may be best to follow the trend.
also I'd agree on the "it'd be stupid not to try" thing, my statements weren't in opposition of the idea, its just good to know the full story before making a decision.
and you must promise me something, before you consider even touching a generic programming job, you finish a game to standards you are happy with, of which you can greatly enjoy. You don't want to rush into settling with mediocrity.
rewinding onto the controls issue, I find mapping your controls to a controller first is the best way to go,
the less buttons the better (without removing gameplay functionality of course) if you can map controls to a 8 buttons (4 shoulders, 4 main pad) and a D-pad then you can map it similarly on a keyboard, which will make for easy switching between gamepad and keyboard and a convenient control layout.
EDIT: just noticed the size of my post... I like to talk
All that said a majority of Gaming PC's are still in DX9 / DX10 hardware (obviously if you buy or build a new one its likely to be in DX11 hardware) my PC I made myself and it can run pretty much any game I throw at it, yet its only got a DX10 graphics card (though I'm likely to make another computer when I get the money, my CPU is crap and I'd love an i7) DX9 was the big leap, performance shot up, flexibility went wild, I can see DX9 being used for a long long time (until either graphics card hardware drastically changes, or a revision of similar compatibility and more efficiency emerges)
anyway back on subject, you won't be able to develop for console at the moment, the wiiU is more open yes, but its standards are strict and I'd imagine you'd need a small following before hand, at which point you'd likely be asked to rewrite the game for the wiiU. The other possibility is the Ouya coming out in march, but that'd be the same as mobile platforms as it runs android.
I'd advise developing for PC at the moment if your not planning for mobile. If you wish to use C++ I'd advise you learn your way around OpenGL too, DirectX has been losing the popularity recently due to compatibility issues and its been argued that the new features in DX11 hardware are working much better on OpenGL (in speed and function) even if your not planning to use these features (which you likely aren't) the compatibility is a must because you might have the option to develop for Mac / Linux too. There is also the planning ahead and with OpenGL growing in popularity again it may be best to follow the trend.
also I'd agree on the "it'd be stupid not to try" thing, my statements weren't in opposition of the idea, its just good to know the full story before making a decision.
and you must promise me something, before you consider even touching a generic programming job, you finish a game to standards you are happy with, of which you can greatly enjoy. You don't want to rush into settling with mediocrity.
rewinding onto the controls issue, I find mapping your controls to a controller first is the best way to go,
the less buttons the better (without removing gameplay functionality of course) if you can map controls to a 8 buttons (4 shoulders, 4 main pad) and a D-pad then you can map it similarly on a keyboard, which will make for easy switching between gamepad and keyboard and a convenient control layout.
EDIT: just noticed the size of my post... I like to talk