Where Did you learn OpenGL?

[Fierce_Dutch]

Well I have really been wanting to move onto 3D and I finally did. I downloaded GLUT and got it all set up. But compared to SFML, I have no clue how to anything except draw shapes.. I mean I want to load a 3D model and then just make it move or something other than drawing shapes. SO I guess I am just asking people who use OpenGL this, where did you learn about OpenGL and Glut and why is it so popular?

Also should I be using OpenGL ES?

[Groogy]

You can use OpenGL trough SFML and I highly recommend that before GLUT. I would recommend ANYTHING before GLUT.

Anyway here's a very popular site: http://nehe.gamedev.net/

[Fierce_Dutch]

You can use OpenGL trough SFML and I highly recommend that before GLUT. I would recommend ANYTHING before GLUT.

Anyway here's a very popular site: http://nehe.gamedev.net/

Ok ya I think I will do that for now because GLUT looks terrible.. Any I also added another question to my first post if you would like to answer that.

Also the site looks great thanks! but isnt it mainly for GLUT?

[Groogy]

Any I also added another question to my first post if you would like to answer that.

Unless you are about to write for smartphones or PS3 then no.

Also the site looks great thanks! but isnt it mainly for GLUT?

No it's mainly based on WinAPI. He started a SDL version for not so long ago but I think it never went off. Anyway he highlights what is WinAPI specific and what is OpenGL specific. What you are interested in are the OpenGL specific stuff of course, to replicate the WinAPI parts will be easy since you'll use SFML for it. While he'll have like 25 lines of code to process events you'll have like... 4.

[Fierce_Dutch]

Any I also added another question to my first post if you would like to answer that.

Unless you are about to write for smartphones or PS3 then no.

Also the site looks great thanks! but isnt it mainly for GLUT?

No it's mainly based on WinAPI. He started a SDL version for not so long ago but I think it never went off. Anyway he highlights what is WinAPI specific and what is OpenGL specific. What you are interested in are the OpenGL specific stuff of course, to replicate the WinAPI parts will be easy since you'll use SFML for it. While he'll have like 25 lines of code to process events you'll have like... 4.

Well what exactly is Open GL? I thought it was like sfml where it was really easy to use to make games. Also I was thinking about coding for Iphone and droid and blackberry later. And maybe even for my jailbroken ps3... SO then would I use OpenGL Es?

[Groogy]

Any I also added another question to my first post if you would like to answer that.

Unless you are about to write for smartphones or PS3 then no.

Also the site looks great thanks! but isnt it mainly for GLUT?

No it's mainly based on WinAPI. He started a SDL version for not so long ago but I think it never went off. Anyway he highlights what is WinAPI specific and what is OpenGL specific. What you are interested in are the OpenGL specific stuff of course, to replicate the WinAPI parts will be easy since you'll use SFML for it. While he'll have like 25 lines of code to process events you'll have like... 4.

Well what exactly is Open GL? I thought it was like sfml where it was really easy to use to make games. Also I was thinking about coding for Iphone and droid and blackberry later. And maybe even for my jailbroken ps3... SO then would I use OpenGL Es?

OpenGL is more or less a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. So more or less it's a set of functions that each graphic card driver has to implement. It is not a complete library to make games. It's only a library that gives you a standard interface to the graphic card. So you are only relying commands to the graphic cards using OpenGL.

Making games easy, aaah no no no. OpenGL is far from being easy. It's as hardcore and low-level as you can get.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL

[Fierce_Dutch]

Any I also added another question to my first post if you would like to answer that.

Unless you are about to write for smartphones or PS3 then no.

Also the site looks great thanks! but isnt it mainly for GLUT?

No it's mainly based on WinAPI. He started a SDL version for not so long ago but I think it never went off. Anyway he highlights what is WinAPI specific and what is OpenGL specific. What you are interested in are the OpenGL specific stuff of course, to replicate the WinAPI parts will be easy since you'll use SFML for it. While he'll have like 25 lines of code to process events you'll have like... 4.

Well what exactly is Open GL? I thought it was like sfml where it was really easy to use to make games. Also I was thinking about coding for Iphone and droid and blackberry later. And maybe even for my jailbroken ps3... SO then would I use OpenGL Es?

OpenGL is more or less a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. So more or less it's a set of functions that each graphic card driver has to implement. It is not a complete library to make games. It's only a library that gives you a standard interface to the graphic card. So you are only relying commands to the graphic cards using OpenGL.

Making games easy, aaah no no no. OpenGL is far from being easy. It's as hardcore and low-level as you can get.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL

Ok then is there something like sfml or sdl or allegro but 3D? I really want to learn Open GL because of its power and I mean learning c++ was hard with now prior experience so do you think I am up to using Open GL?

[Groogy]

Ok then is there something like sfml or sdl or allegro but 3D? I really want to learn Open GL because of its power and I mean learning c++ was hard with now prior experience so do you think I am up to using Open GL?

Sure why not? You won't be able to produce a good quality game from the get-go but you'll at least learn how everything works on the very low level. There will probably come someone telling you to not "Reinvent the wheel" but then I'll add "unless you learn something from it".

Sure you might just get a rotating cube with a texture on it with maybe some light source. But hey it's a start!

Start here:
http://www.sfml-dev.org/tutorials/1.6/window-opengl.php

Also from my look on SFML2 it looks to become even easier to create opengl apps trough custom Drawables, unless that is changed.

But if you want a Game engine in order to easily create a game then there exists some like CrystalSpace and OGRE. But I warn you, it's hell getting them setup. I tried them both and CrystalSpace have a very complicated API which takes time to learn and I never succeeded to compile OGRE.

[Fierce_Dutch]

Ok then is there something like sfml or sdl or allegro but 3D? I really want to learn Open GL because of its power and I mean learning c++ was hard with now prior experience so do you think I am up to using Open GL?

Sure why not? You won't be able to produce a good quality game from the get-go but you'll at least learn how everything works on the very low level. There will probably come someone telling you to not "Reinvent the wheel" but then I'll add "unless you learn something from it".

Sure you might just get a rotating cube with a texture on it with maybe some light source. But hey it's a start!

Start here:
http://www.sfml-dev.org/tutorials/1.6/window-opengl.php

Also from my look on SFML2 it looks to become even easier to create opengl apps trough custom Drawables, unless that is changed.

But if you want a Game engine in order to easily create a game then there exists some like CrystalSpace and OGRE. But I warn you, it's hell getting them setup. I tried them both and CrystalSpace have a very complicated API which takes time to learn and I never succeeded to compile OGRE.

OK well thanks, and since I am doing this do you think it would be easy to switch to openGL es? Later I mean when i develop cross-platform

[Groogy]

OpenGL is cross-platform, it is the basis for the OpenGL library. But OpenGL ES is specialised for smaller platforms where we have to spare as much memory as possible and so on.

I've never used OpenGL ES myself but if it follows the guidelines of normal OpenGL, then no it shouldn't be much of a difference.

[Fierce_Dutch]

OpenGL is cross-platform, it is the basis for the OpenGL library. But OpenGL ES is specialised for smaller platforms where we have to spare as much memory as possible and so on.

I've never used OpenGL ES myself but if it follows the guidelines of normal OpenGL, then no it shouldn't be much of a difference.

Ok, so I want to get a few things strait about OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong on any of these things.
1. It is purely for graphics.
2. It doesn't control any system things like key presses.
3. It works directly with the graphics card.
4. I will have to pretty much create my own sfml if I just use it strait.

[Groogy]

OpenGL is cross-platform, it is the basis for the OpenGL library. But OpenGL ES is specialised for smaller platforms where we have to spare as much memory as possible and so on.

I've never used OpenGL ES myself but if it follows the guidelines of normal OpenGL, then no it shouldn't be much of a difference.

Ok, so I want to get a few things strait about OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong on any of these things.
1. It is purely for graphics.
2. It doesn't control any system things like key presses.
3. It works directly with the graphics card.
4. I will have to pretty much create my own sfml if I just use it strait.

Correct, but you don't need to create your own SFML since SFML already exists

[Fierce_Dutch]

OpenGL is cross-platform, it is the basis for the OpenGL library. But OpenGL ES is specialised for smaller platforms where we have to spare as much memory as possible and so on.

I've never used OpenGL ES myself but if it follows the guidelines of normal OpenGL, then no it shouldn't be much of a difference.

Ok, so I want to get a few things strait about OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong on any of these things.
1. It is purely for graphics.
2. It doesn't control any system things like key presses.
3. It works directly with the graphics card.
4. I will have to pretty much create my own sfml if I just use it strait.

Correct, but you don't need to create your own SFML since SFML already exists

Unless I am the hardest of hardcore

Also can I do 3D with sfml? liek put 3D stuff in an sfml window?

[Groogy]

OpenGL is cross-platform, it is the basis for the OpenGL library. But OpenGL ES is specialised for smaller platforms where we have to spare as much memory as possible and so on.

I've never used OpenGL ES myself but if it follows the guidelines of normal OpenGL, then no it shouldn't be much of a difference.

Ok, so I want to get a few things strait about OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong on any of these things.
1. It is purely for graphics.
2. It doesn't control any system things like key presses.
3. It works directly with the graphics card.
4. I will have to pretty much create my own sfml if I just use it strait.

Correct, but you don't need to create your own SFML since SFML already exists

Unless I am the hardest of hardcore

Also can I do 3D with sfml? liek put 3D stuff in an sfml window?

Yes, I gave you a link about it some posts ago.

[Fierce_Dutch]

OpenGL is cross-platform, it is the basis for the OpenGL library. But OpenGL ES is specialised for smaller platforms where we have to spare as much memory as possible and so on.

I've never used OpenGL ES myself but if it follows the guidelines of normal OpenGL, then no it shouldn't be much of a difference.

Ok, so I want to get a few things strait about OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong on any of these things.
1. It is purely for graphics.
2. It doesn't control any system things like key presses.
3. It works directly with the graphics card.
4. I will have to pretty much create my own sfml if I just use it strait.

Correct, but you don't need to create your own SFML since SFML already exists

Unless I am the hardest of hardcore

Also can I do 3D with sfml? liek put 3D stuff in an sfml window?

Yes, I gave you a link about it some posts ago.

Ok, well I think I will just stick with GLUT for now, unless you think that I can take sfml just as far as I can take GLUT. Because when I go to college I know that they use OpenGL but idk what they use with it, probably win32 huh? (Cal Poly in US)  So, ya I am just using GLUT to create a few things now. And since glut is just the windowing system I wont really try to learn it just use it, i am just going to try and use OpenGL and learn it throughly.

Also my parents are trying to figure out what to give me for Christmas, so any suggestions that will also help me learn opengl. Like a class or something?