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[Max White]

You could try XNA.
Shit has everything one could need, with a little set up, full color, easy pallet swaps, input is pretty damn hot. It will even make life easy once sound is involved.

[Aqizzar]

Alright, I think this conversation has gotten a little obtuse.  For those of us who don't know what the Hell we're doing, can you guys who understand these libraries describe them a little?  What's the difference between Libtcod, SDL, and apparently XNA too?  What about them is "hard", and why would you ever be using more than one?  And if these are all "hard" as I keep hearing, is there some "easy" library that a beginner should be using?

[Max White]

Easiest: For you you are doing, libtcod, also least powerful, least flexibility to do what ever you want. However, getting it to work is pretty easy.
Medium: XNA, a library made by Microsoft for games in c#. It will need a lot more setting up to be good for a roguelike. Libtcod came with a console that did all that for you, but you will need to make your own in XNA. Also a lot more flexible, can display graphics both 2d and 3d, does music, pretty much what ever you could need in a game of any sort.
Hard: SDL, an independent library. Now your cooking with petrol, so careful not to blow anything up. Hardest as it requires the most set up to get running, you will be writing code for just about everything, will have to use events, not very forgiving. Having said that, should be the most powerful, and should run the fastest for what you want.

[Gatleos]

The vast majority of SDL isn't needed to use it with libtcod. In fact, you don't even have to call the SDL_Init function. Just include the SDL header and link in the library and it'll catch events for you.

I'd show you how if I had even a passing knowledge of C#.

[MaximumZero]

So, I have a question: How do you guys keep from getting frustrated as you learn? I'm trying to get psyched up to code, but all I can muster is the will to come here and whine. What keeps you going when the going gets tough? How do you keep from knocking your brains out on the keyboard?

[Max White]

Well you see son...

This is ten percent boredom, and twenty percent luck.
Fifteen percent concentrated not give a fuck.
Five percent planning and fifty percent error.
And one hundred percent reason to subject yourself to this constant onslaught of never ending, painful programming terror.

[Gatleos]

Oh, the rage is inevitable. The best you can do is minimize it. The best way I've found to do so is to simply have more than one project at a time. When you get frustrated with one, put it down for a few weeks and work on the other. By the time you come back to it, you'll have made plenty of progress on the other project and have a fresh perspective on the one that was causing you trouble before.


...Also what Max said.

[MaximumZero]

Wow, some really quick insight there. Okay, here's another question: Does there come a point where you're comfortable with your level of knowledge? I spend most of my time staring at a blank screen, thinking, "Okay, how are you going to pull this off?" I feel like I don't know anything.

[Max White]

Yes, there comes a point when you start to get it. When you have become adapt at breaking down a problem and understand the requirements for each atom of work, and while each individual part might give you trouble, it is a problem in itself that is small enough to be understandable.

There comes a point what you are no longer wondering what to do, but instead looking at the shotty documentation of an open source project, and wondering how.

[Gatleos]

Programming is all about abstract thinking, and breaking a problem down into manageable parts. A programmer is simply an engineer that works with computer programs. It's about more than just understanding language syntax, and the more you work at it the easier it becomes, regardless of language. It's a skill that comes to some more naturally than others, but it will come to anyone with enough work.

...Also what Max said. And like an engineering project, sometimes you'll be stuck working with some seriously funky code and enigmatic documentation written by someone who obviously isn't as skilled as you are.

[Max White]

Well credit where credit is due, it mostly comes from people who specialize in algorithmics, and can have things run on a dime, but aren't so good on the programming side, and realise somebody might want to one day use this stuff.

[Telgin]

Does there come a point where you're comfortable with your level of knowledge?

There will come a time that you feel reasonably confident in your abilities, but if you're like me you're never completely comfortable (in the complacent sense) with your level of knowledge.  There's always something new to learn, especially when you're starting a new type of project.  New ways to do things, new techniques to try, new technologies, or even just new libraries to work with.

For me, I didn't really gain any confidence in my ability to program until about six months after I graduated with my undergrad computer science degree and had worked for that long in an actual web development firm.  After working with other programmers and discovering that, yes, I can actually write useful software in an appropriate amount of time without an undue number of bugs, I gained a lot of confidence.  I was eternally worried that despite what I'd learned in college, my knowledge gained from hobbyist programming wouldn't prepare me for the real world.

But, I'm not comfortable, in that I've learned even more so that there's no time to really sit and be complacent.  One of the bad things about being a programmer: the field evolves pretty quickly.

[Mego]

Examine these guidelines.

I'm actually not joking. That is a pretty good description of what not to do in a project to maintain the sanity of yourself, your coworkers, and your boss. Don't limit yourself by doing only what you think is good, but rather avoid doing what is horrifically bad. You'll come out better in the end.

[Max White]

Yea, I know a few people who decided to go for the 'unmaintainable code' method to keep themself gainfully employed. And stuck in the same job working on the same crappy system for the rest of their days. Take it as what not to do.

[MaximumZero]

Yea, I know a few people who decided to go for the 'unmaintainable code' method to keep themself gainfully employed. And stuck in the same job working on the same crappy system for the rest of their days. Take it as what not to do.

Sounds like solid advice.