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[gunswordfist]

Dammit, I thought we'd get to recommend strategy RPGs.

[eclectocrat]

Just do it.

1. Make a system to draw your world. Make it work. Make it fast. Stabilize an interface.

2. Put things in your world. Make them move. Make them dance. Stabilize the interface.

3. Profit...?

It's hard work. But speaking from experience... you can do it! Just get ready to do frequent code reviews to clean up/recode things you've already done. My own project frequently got messy because I was learning on the fly. One step backwards, two steps forward.

Good luck.

[Moczan]

To every Fast Fourier Transform comment: aren't you guys ashamed? 

[Netsu]

To every Fast Fourier Transform comment: aren't you guys ashamed? 

I never had a console, don't hate me guys :C

[TwilightVulpine]

Dammit, I thought we'd get to recommend strategy RPGs.

Well, that could help me to get some ideas. The game theme will be post-apocaliptic fantasy, similar examples could help too, but since this is the Technical board, PM me.

Personally, I'd just learn OpenGL. If you ain't doing anything terribly complicated with it (and I'd say an orthographic/isometric rotatable world with bill-boarded sprites for the objects falls into that description) then it ain't too bad. Just grab SDL and read the NeHe tutorials. I'll even chuck some C code your way just to get a window open and graphics loaded and turned into 1-bit masked textures to save you the faffing.

I took a look at NeHe. It says the tutorials are using an outdated libray (GLAUX). What should I use instead? I'd be thankful for reference code too.

Just do it.

1. Make a system to draw your world. Make it work. Make it fast. Stabilize an interface.

2. Put things in your world. Make them move. Make them dance. Stabilize the interface.

3. Profit...?

It's hard work. But speaking from experience... you can do it! Just get ready to do frequent code reviews to clean up/recode things you've already done. My own project frequently got messy because I was learning on the fly. One step backwards, two steps forward.
Good luck.

Dancing my way through game development.

Edit: No more title confusion now.

[Netsu]

I took a look at NeHe. It says the tutorials are using an outdated libray (GLAUX). What should I use instead? I'd be thankful for reference code too.

You can use GLUT instead.
HERE are some examples you could study, but you probably won't need most of them for what you want to achieve.

[rivon]

Really, use SDL or SFML... OpenGL isn't needed.

[TwilightVulpine]

Really, use SDL or SFML... OpenGL isn't needed.

Aren't SDL and SMFL 2D? How would I do map rotation then? Not only that, but the maps can't be flat. I need variable heights.

[Fallsburg]

Well, I mean isometric games with varying levels have existed solely in 2d before. Hell, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a perfect example.  That being said, it does add extra work for you, especially if you want to rotate.

[Mikademus]

The game theme will be post-apocaliptic fantasy, similar examples could help too, but since this is the Technical board, PM me.

A musical tactical RPG in the period after Calypso was the dominant style? Hot damn, I'd buy that!

Jokes and nit-picking aside, keep suggestions to the thread rather than PM:s--this is a forum after all--if for no other reason that that different settings might entail different technical requirements.

[TwilightVulpine]

Well, I mean isometric games with varying levels have existed solely in 2d before. Hell, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a perfect example.  That being said, it does add extra work for you, especially if you want to rotate.

Well, if making it in 3d makes it easier...

I will also need to calculate visibility and cover.

[rivon]

Really, use SDL or SFML... OpenGL isn't needed.

Aren't SDL and SMFL 2D? How would I do map rotation then? Not only that, but the maps can't be flat. I need variable heights.

Oh sorry, I forgot that you wanted to make a rotating isometric game. Yeah. But then, I'd still use some already written engine like Irrlicht, OGRE or Panda... Not direct OpenGL.

[Paul Eres]

if you've never made a game before you will not be able to make a tactical RPG on your first try, that's about as insane to me as trying to make a MMO as your first game. i'd suggest making simpler genres of games first, to learn how to make games, since any tactical RPG will probably require tens to hundreds of thousands of lines of code, and writing hundreds to thousands of functions, and a large amount of art and music resources, not to mention all the playtesting, balancing, and design issues (designing all the weapons, all the monsters, etc.) which to someone who has never finished a game before would probably be too overwhelming

even if the game were *very* limited and simplified, to something like the nes fire emblem games or shining force for the genesis, it'd still probably be not a good idea for someone's first game

i'd suggest starting with a simpler type of RPG, such as an old dungeon-crawler style RPG like wizardry or the bard's tale; those are comparatively easy to finish, and would better prepare you to make games with the complexity of something like final fantasy tactics

[eclectocrat]

if you've never made a game before you will not be able to make a tactical RPG on your first try, that's about as insane to me as trying to make a MMO as your first game.

I beg to differ...

Although I frequently wish I started with tetris, and had a decade of programming experience before attemping my first game.

[JOBA]

I find it funny that people suggest you to steer away from OpenGL and use some rather big (complicated?) engines when fixed pipeline openGL is actually pretty easy to use for the most part (especially once you've got hang of basics and some common gotchas), it also completely satisfies your requirements (Final Fantasy Tactics).

Also keep in mind that FFT is not the type of game where you'd need C++ performance, so you might as well use Python, C# or any other language that you like better for one reason or another.

Don't complicate/over engineer the whole thing, because writing a FFT-style renderer is a simple task, writing a FFT-like game is not.