Allegro/C++ 1

Allegro/C++ Tutorial
--------------------------
Difficulty:
0.1/10

NOTE: Do not attempt this if you dont know at least the bear minimum of C++
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Installing the files
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Create a new empty "Win 32 Application Project" NOT CONSOLE or FORMS.
Open the Allegro Files.rar and include them into your compiler/project
Add "alleg.lib" as one of the additional dependencies:

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Creating your first window
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Start off by including "allegro.h"

Code:

#include <allegro.h> // You must include the Allegro Header file

Start if off like any normal project

Code:

int main()
{

Now basically we to tell Allegro that we are starting. Its just one function and it sets everything up for us

Code:

allegro_init();

Now what does a game require? A keyboard and mouse so add those...

Code:

install_keyboard();
install_mouse();

This is basically the hardest part of this lesson. We need to setup the size of the window.

Code:

set_gfx_mode(GFX_AUTODETECT_WINDOWED, 640,480,0,0);

For the first parameter of this function you can input any of these:

Code:

GFX_AUTODETECT
GFX_AUTODETECT_FULLSCREEN
GFX_AUTODETECT_WINDOWED

They are self expanatory...
For the second and third parameter, these set the size of the window. The last two wont be explained in this lesson, we will talk about it in the future though...
Now because this acts just like a console, we need to add something that will stall the program.

Code:

readkey(); // Wait untill a key is pressed

readkey is basically the same as cin.get
Now one last thing that we need to add to ALL our Allegro projects is this

Code:

return 0;
}
END_OF_MAIN()

Without END_OF_MAIN() the project wont compile. If you want the actual reason here it is:

Code:

It is needed because Windows uses WinMain function as entry point instead of main. The END_OF_MAIN macro makes Windows accept linking against a regular main. First, the END_OF_MAIN macro uses #define main _mangled_main to rename main to _mangled_main, in order to avoid conflicts about the symbol main. Then it creates a WinMain function which calls the _mangled_main function. It's done in such a way that both main() and main(int argc, char** argv) are supported.

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Complete Source Code
----------------------

Code:

#include <allegro.h>
int main()
{
allegro_init();
install_keyboard();
install_mouse();
set_gfx_mode(GFX_AUTODETECT_WINDOWED, 640,480,0,0);
readkey();
return 0;
}
END_OF_MAIN()

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Conclusion
----------
Ok, if you got this far, compile it and run it. You should have a window that looks like this:

Congratulations. We will actually start to work on our game in the next tutorial. We will be making a platformer game to start off
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Virus Scans
-----------
Jotti Virus Scan

VirusTotal has high traffic and it would take up to 15 mins for a scan. So yeah, I only have 1. If you dont trust mine then download it from here:
Official Allegro Website

PRESS THANKS!!!

Allegro Files.rarattachment deleted · 3 downloads before removal

Any suggestions or feedback?

SDL > Allegro

DirectX > All

Well, I learned Allegro instead of SDL and amen Hell_Demon

Allegro/C++ 1

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