So lately I have been working on learning how to make 3d video games in c++ as I spent the previous year supposedly becoming proficient in c++ at Clarkson. I was skeptical at first when I took the classes but now that im activly using c++ to try irrlicht(German for will o' the wisp or mad lights) I am surprised to discover how much I did learn these last few semesters. The last time I tried it I had no idea what all the * or -> were for and now I read it naturally and smoothly. As a result I feel confident enough to storyboard out a free to play FPS for Windows and Linux(hopefully). It wont look that stellar as I'm not that great with 3d modelers or animators, but with luck it will be a nice start to what I hope will be a large portfolio in 3 years. And I'll need that portfolio in order to get a good job once im in the "real world". Well no spoilers of the game for you yet; I want to make sure I have it all planned out before I actually start coding anything so that I dont just wing it as I write.
As for the actual engine(irrlicht; remember?) I have found it pretty straight forward. There's the scene, the gui, etc. Level of Detail is built in, (just tell it how far away to clip and culling is done automatically in most render formats offered; I'm going with Direct3D) it supports any file format I could care to use or name and the methods are pretty obviously located. I'm quite pleased with the way it is set up and will likely use its companion(IrrKlang) for the audio engine. Well off to story boarding, ill give you an update soon.
Heres a picture of a wall rendered with the Direct3D engine. The FPS is wicked high because its pretty much just a flat texture.
