Where to begin?

[ptr.exe]

Hi,

Basically i want to learn to develop games for DC, but have no idea where to start.
What code do i need to learn? Im fairly sure i need to know C++
What sort of environment do i need? i hear alot about KOS but have no idea what it is.
How hard is it? i have fond memories of making simple games for my old Amstrad CPC464, but get the feeling this is gonna be alot harder

Sorry if this is covered in a tutorial somewhere but all the tutorials ive read are really confusing. Can anyone recommend a tutorial thats good for a complete noob?

Thanks.

[BlackAura]

The programming languages we can use are C and C++. Doesn't really matter which. Virtually everything works fine in both languages.

The environment consists of two cross-compilers (an SH-4 compiler for the Dreamcast's main CPU, and an ARM-7 compiler for the Dreamcasts's sound CPU), and KallistiOS (the sort-of-but-not-really-an operating system that we use). The compilers are used to generate code (obviously), and KOS provides a nicer programming environment than the raw hardware - it sets up the low-level hardware for you (things like interrupts, timers, threading, memory allocation, and other boring stuff), provides drivers for the hardware you actually want to use directly (video, sound, controllers, CD drive), and has some useful libraries included too. We also have SDL, which is a cross-platform library for making games that runs on Windows, Linux, MacOS X, the Dreamcast, and a load of other places. It's possible to write games on top of SDL and have then run on your PC and on a Dreamcast, but they might suffer slowdown on the Dreamcast.

As for tutorials... I seem to remember there being a lot of those around. Have a look in the Metafox Coding Learning School forum (about half way down the main page)...

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=4953 (setting up using Cygwin)
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=4952 (compiling a simple SDL app)

[ptr.exe]

Thanks, i think i'll start by just learning C++ and then try some stuff specific to DC.