How to make a functional main menu without headers?

[irisetto]

Hello! I am kind off new to sfml and im trying to do a menu that when i press the button "Help" or "Play" to open the corresponding window. I have different projects for the main menu, help and game window, without any headers, just 3 cpps. I dont know how to link the projects to the main menu buttons and if that is possible.

[Stauricus]

if there are just .cpp files, the IDE linker will put everything together when you compile it.
you will just need to declare (but not necessarily define) variables and classes in all files they are used.

[irisetto]

I don't get it. the idea is that when I press the help button in main the menu window to open in the same window the cpp project from the help file

[NeroGames]

Hello irisetto,

If I get it, you've created three separate projects for each window (menu, help, game), which means you have three software (three executables) each one with its own game loop. If this is the case you are doing it wrong.

1 - You only need one project (one game loop, one executable)
2 - What you are trying to build is commonly called "Games States" and it can be done with a "State Machine" (it's not the only method though )
3 - You can search "SFML game state" or refer directly to the source code of SFML Game development book, chapter 5 https://github.com/SFML/SFML-Game-Development-Book
4- A simple solution would be to use "if else" or "switch" statement and draw only what needs to be drawn (menu, help, game)

[irisetto]

How do I make one project from three. I'm struggling but I don't know how

[NeroGames]

you can do something like this, you switch between the states in your game loop

enum GameState {Menu, Play, Help}

GameState currentState = Menu;

while(true) //game loop
{
        switch (currentState )
        case : Menu
                inputMenu(); updateMenu(); drawMenu();
               
                if(buttonPlay) currentState = Play
                if(buttonHelp) currentState = Help

        case : Play
                inputPlay(); updatePlay(); drawPlay();
               
                if(buttonMenu) currentState = Menu
                if(buttonHelp) currentState = Help

        case : Help
                inputHelp(); updateHelp(); drawHelp();
               
                if(buttonMenu) currentState = Menu
                if(buttonPlay) currentState = Play
}