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C# or C++ for making a game engine (in depth) [closed]

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What is best C# or C++ for making a game engine. I currently am a .NET C# developer and really want to use C#. Although I know C++ does support memory management and that is why a lot of big companies go for it. That being said C# is quicker in the development process and extremely familiar to me. Before anyone suggests it, yes I've used unity. I like it but want to go the long and hard extra stretch to own 100% of my own built game.
What do I lose by not going to C++? and what kind of libraries do I use, for graphics and stuff? Is that what DirectX is for? I'm trying to wrap my head around this and any help would be much appreciated.

I need some opinions
Perhaps I shouldn't presume to tell you what you need, but I think you'd be much better off receiving information you need to form your own opinion. Asking for opinionated answers (notice irony here) in my opinion isn't generally desirable here.
C# and C++ are both very powerful general purpose programming languages. Either language is 100% capable of creating full fledged high performing games. With that said, there are some (mostly) objective differences one can point out that may effect your decision.
Garbage Collection
Whether this is a pro or con for you is for you to decide. Some people want to save themselves work and have to spend little time taking care of memory. Obviously C# shines in this regard. C++ can have elegant and easy memory management if you know how to properly use smart pointers of course, but that's still more effort than garbage collection. If you're very concerned with having tight control over resources, then C++ might be more your thing.
Libraries
When you want to write software without reinventing wheels (and you should) a language's libraries can be just as important as the language itself. This isn't an obvious pro for either language, as both have lots of libraries supporting games. If you have to pick a winner though, I'd say it's probably C++. The language has essentially been the vernacular of game programmers for years now, and has a lot of maturity in this domain. C++ can directly leverage APIs as low level as OpenGL and as high as Ogre3D. There's no guarentee that your game will actually benefit from a C++ library over a C# library though. It depends on your use case.
Standard Libraries
Continuing on the theme of libraries, this could be a pro for C#. C and C++ are two languages that have an enormous amount of libraries available. If you only count their standard libs though, then things change. Some people don't mind, or even like this. One may also want a more expansive standard set of functionality however. C++ doesn't have a small or incapable standard lib by any means, but C#'s is definitely more feature rich.
Platform
Unless you're going to use Mono, C# is not portable. Mono is a great option, but it does have cons (that you'll have to research yourself). C++ can't tow a line like "Build once, run anywhere", but it does all the same offer damn good portability if that's what you're going for. With an OpenGL renderer (or some higher level wrapper API like SDL/SFML) you can build for pretty much any desktop environment. If you're only worried about making games for Microsoft platforms though, then this point is probably mute.
Virtual Machine or Native
This just like garbage collection is just a factor to consider. It'll be up to you to decide if it's right for your use or not. VM's sometimes have a stigma among game programmers it seems because of supposed performance issues. It's true, if C++ is used intelligently, it will probably be a better performing game. C#'s performance isn't anything to laugh at however. A lot of games that are written today can perform fine with a C# implementation. Is using C++ really an advantage if it means 450 FPS vs 400 FPS? Sure, there's a measurable difference, but it doesn't mean much to anyone playing your game, even if they have a 144hz monitor. Memory overhead is in a similar boat. Usually C++ isn't actually a necessity until you start getting into seriously heavyweight games.
Learning
Last but not least, consider the fact that you have tools you know, and tools you don't know. You already know C#, the time you have to invest learning is probably going to be much less if you choose to pass up on C++. C++ simply has additional concepts and responsibilities compared to languages like C# and Java. Some of these things you can choose to ignore. C++ won't hold you at gunpoint and force you to use multi-inheritance, and hey, that's probably easy to pass up on. Will you pass up on destructors though? Those are pretty important. What about the STL in general? Passing up on that is probably not a great idea, no best you learn STL if you're going to use C++. If you think this is worthwhile doing, then by all means go ahead. Again though, it's just something to weigh in.

Creating a game engine in C++ while learning C++ is a big challenge.
C# is more enjoyable than C++
Why?
In C++, pointers are powerful and you need to know how pointers work and how to use them
In C++, finding libraries is not as easy as pulling a nuget package
In C++, creating/refactoring header and source files is annoying
In C++, need to compile for every CPU architecture
In C++, syntax may be harder to grasp at the beginning
In C++, using the compiler and optimizing it is a topic on its own
But if you want your game/game engine to be fast then you should go for C++
When i see people coding for games in C++ they mainly use OpenGL but thats a common mistake since most of the non-console gamers are Windows users.
My advice is to first start creating a small game using DirectX, if you feel comfortable with it, then take the next step and create your own game engine

Touchscreen App, Do I need to learn a new language? [closed]

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I'm making a multitouch-screen app that for its function will just have to get positions of objects on the screen, have them ordered, be able to select them and drag them (sounds basic). I will also have to have a kind of history of actions so I could press the typical "Ctrl+z" and get X number of actions undone
The only language I know is C++ and I have made two simple GUI programs for Windows 7 in the past. For the porpoise of my app which is meant to be used by professionals, the screen should be 14inchs or bigger, considering there are 2 O.S. that support touch-screen events: W8 and Android, and how the app needs to be (explained in the first paragraph):
Should I have to learn another language to get this done?
If yes, what should it be: C# or Java? By what reasons?
If no, could you recommend any C++ libraries to: manage touch-events, make the GUI (both libraries should be free for commercial use).

Have you considered using libgdx to write multiplatform stuff: http://libgdx.badlogicgames.com/features.html
there is a C++ plugin for it here:
http://aevumlab.com/libgdx-cpp/
The beauty of libraries like this (and there are quite a lot when you google them) is that if you haven't got the time to learn a new language you can work around it this way. That being said if you see yourself working closely with Android in the future it wouldn't hurtto dip your toe in Java.

First of all, what do you mean there are two operating systems that support touch-screen events? What about iPhone and Blackberry? Or Google Chrome OS?
In any case, I think you've got your question backwards, or I don't understand it. You do not choose a programming language and then decide your target platform. That hardly makes sense. You will usually have requirements by customers dictating the target platform, and only then you start to think about programming languages.
If there are multiple target platforms, then you may choose to reimplement the same application in different programming languages for each system. Or it may turn out better to use shared native C++ or C code which can be reused, at least partially, on several platforms. These are classical software-engineering tradeoffs, and it's impossible to tell you in general what's easier or more efficient.
You've tagged your question as "Android". For an Android app, you will usually want to implement as much as possible in Java and resort to native C++ or C code only if necessary. You do not use C# on Android. Mind that the often-heard assumption that native code is automatically faster is typically wrong and is made by people who do not measure but guess. Native code may be faster, but it may also be slower because of the extra indirection. However, as I said, reusability of native code on other platforms may be an important advantage and beat related disadvantages, such as reduced robustness or harder development.

C# does have some nice support for touch screen, and it is a great next step from C++. Learning an extremely object oriented language such as C# or Java is almost a must these days. Though a touch screen application isn't exactly 'Hello World', making a small, touch-based app is a good way to get into the WPF side of C#.
To get you started, see this MSDN article: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee649090(v=vs.110).aspx

Unmanaged C# versus C++ [closed]

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I am a wanna-be Games Developer and I prefer using C#. When I asked what the disadvantages of writing real-time applications in C# were I got 1 significant point back: Garbage Collection and the unpredictable impact it can have on performance.
My counter question is, what about Unmanaged C#? How does it compare (performance-wise) to C++? Is it a valid option for developing software?
I don't hear much about unmanaged c# and all the "unmanaged c# versus C++" questions I saw were unanswered or answered inaccurately. These questions were not on stack overflow.
EDIT:
I believe umanaged C# is "Unsafe Code".

Unsafe code in C# is not for developing separate applications. You can use unsafe code for some kind of time-critical operations, but generally it's not the most effective and the most convenient way of doing this. IMHO, it is primarily designed to give C# an opportunity to integrate with unmanaged dynamic link libraries and unmanaged code, so from my point of view the primary reason is INTEGRATION.
I can see 3 common ways of managed and unmanaged code integration:
Unsafe code in C# and P/Invoke. Build C# wrappers over compiled unmanaged DLLs.
Managed C++. Build managed assemblies over existing C/C++ code.
COM interoperation. Call Runtime Callable Wrapper from .NET client or call COM Callable Wrapper from COM client.
On the other hand, it's your architectural and conceptual decision: if you need a full memory and performance control, you develop in C++ or even pure C. If you need advantages and simplicity of modern language and modern technologies, you develop in .NET C#. Or you can use both, and how to integrate them is described above.

You can use C# to build games. The question is what exactly are you intending to do? What platforms do you intend to target, and how polished do you intend the finished product to be?
Others have mentioned Unity, which uses C# and provides a ready-made game engine and development suite. The only downside is that the free version has limitations.
If you want to build your own engine for the sake of understanding, look into XNA. Or you can use a wrapper around OpenGL like SharpGL. Or maybe you can find the long-dead Managed DirectX floating around somewhere. Or if you are really brave, you can use unsafe code and wrap GDI calls so that you don't have to deal with the horribly slow GDI+ implementation. The last two really aren't recommended, and only XNA is going to provide you more than a way to draw things on the screen. There are sure to be countless other possibilities, especially considering what becomes available to C# developers with Mono.
Whatever you decide, the garbage collector isn't going to get in your way, and unsafe code wouldn't be a solution if it did.
Edit:
As mentioned by cdoubleplusgood, XNA is no longer in active development. Look into Monogame and consider the wonders of cross-platform development a bonus.

For general purpose applications C# (managed) is a very suitable language with great performance. Unless you have extremely high demands you can certainly use it for games. Have a look at Unity:
Unity
Nevertheless, most AAA game studios use C++ as their main programming language. That being said, if you want a career in such studios you are better off investing some effort in C++.

C# to C++ Translation [closed]

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I am coming towards the end of a project that I created in C#. Unfortunately, the target hardware only comes with compilers for C/C++. My dad is an embedded programmer so he will be making the necessary code to integrate with the hardware, but in the meantime I need to find a way to translate the language. Free translators are a very high preference as I am extremely tight on funds at the moment.
While I am not fluent in C++, with a dirty translation I should be able to figure out most of what is required to make it run.
Edit:
The target platform is mbed Microcontroller

Don't. This will not work.
C# has a garbage collector. C and C++ don't. You will have to rethink how you allocate objects and release them in C++.
Chances are, since you already have completed the project, rewriting it in C/C++ will be quite easy. You already understand the problem and have expressed it once before.

There is no 1 to 1 mapping from c# to c++. The programming model and platforms are very different at the lower levels. Take memory management for example.
Your best chance is either to rewrite your application or try to get .NET Compact Framework or .NET Micro Framework to run in the hardware.
Edit:
Note that at least the .NET Micro Framework has a porting kit if your hardware is not supported.

Since design is half the battle in application development, your C# prototype should serve you well, but you are unlikely to find a suitable automatic translation tool. If you have not made heavy use of the .NET class library, especially those parts that relate to the underlying OS API, C# should be easily manually translated to C++. The code body syntax and semantics are very similar; it is the enclosing structural elements such as class definitions that are more different.
The required effort depends on the size of the application code, but much of that is mechanistic. The biggest difference being that you need to be more careful with memory management in C++ since there is no automatic garbage collection.

Learn C or C++. There are no alternatives.
Both languages are radically different from C# and .NET, and automatic conversion is not possible. (and if it were, it certainly wouldn't allow you to "figure out most of what is required to make it run". It would be completely unrecognizable code, that'd be impossible to read or extend.)
In order to write a working C or C++ program, a C or C++ programmer needs to write the code. The good news is that it doesn't have to be that difficult. You don't have to learn every corner of the C++ language. But you do need to learn the basics.
If you're looking for the quick and dirty way to get off the ground, learning C might be a better option, because the language is so much smaller and simpler. But C++ is doable too. Just don't think you can get away with reading a 15-minute online tutorial.

There are no translators.
The .NET Micro Framework has been ported to a Phycore LPC3180 (NXP) platform that is not to dissimilar to your board so it can be done but you still need to port the .NET framwork to your platform.
It is unlikely that you will be able to use Mono AOT unless you are going to port Meamo to to your mbed board.
Any porting would require you to be able to program C code.
The best and fastest way forward would be for You to learn C++.
The differences between C++ and C# are not to big once you get going with C++ and understand the differences. You also going to have to use the mbed library for your hardware control and communications instead of what is provided by C#.
The C# code was a good prototype to debug your program design but it is not going to help you on the target. Now that you understand the problem it should not be to hard.

I'm not sure how you got this far without realising that the target platform couldn't run .NET, but it might be worth seeing if Mono's Ahead-of-Time compiler is able to output to your target platform.
At least then you wouldn't be throwing out (months of?) code.

Since you wrote the application in a garbarge-collected language, the fastest way to port this to an mbed platform should be to port the application to a garbage-collected language which runs on mbed.
I haven't tried it, but eLua is supposed to have a preliminary port which runs on the mbed platform, and Lua is fairly simple to learn.
http://mbed.org/users/jsnyder/notebook/elua-preliminary-port/
If you can get your dad to bring up eLua on the mbed platform, I suspect you could do the conversion fairly easily compared to trying to convert your application to C++.

Port the code manually, and as you do, you will learn C++. :D

C++ as first language for Windows game programming? [closed]

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I'm a hobbyist programmer with a fair grasp of Python and I'm currently learning C. Recently I was talking to a colleague who also wants to learn to program. In his case, he wants to learn C++ as a path to Windows game programming using DirectX. Personally, I feel diving straight into C++ as your first language is a bit much - it's hard enough keeping motivated in an easier language, and I think it's better to learn another language to get your head round most of the basic concepts, then go into something like C++.
I found Python worked well as my first language as I'm more interested in network and web programming on Linux/Unix platforms, but for someone mainly interested in Windows game programming I was thinking C# might be a better choice as he could learn using Visual C# Express Edition and XNA, then switch over to Visual C++ when he's ready to start learning C++ and therefore already be in a familiar environment. I think memory management is a lot to take in, and C# at least handles that so he can put that off till he starts learning C++.
What do others think of C++ as a first programming language for this kind of application? Should I recommend he go for C# instead?

C++ should be fine. I think he is best off learning about memory management, pointers, etc. BEFORE jumping up to C# as he will understand how the program is working better. Otherwise, he will just see memory as being magic and the garbage collector will have no real meaning. It's always good to have a solid understanding of underlying languages (C, C++, Assembly, etc.) to produce the best code.

C++ is the main language used for most "serious" gaming titles. If programming for a major gaming studio then he needs to know the dirty little bits of C++.
Starting out with C++ might be a bit much for a complete novice. I would recommend C as a great starting point. You get familiar with the concepts of memory management and the other low level stuff before adding the complexity of C++.
Since C# is managed code, he would not be gaining the insights of the low level memory management. That will not serve him well when having to deal with C++. In this case, starting closer to the metal will help him in the long run.

C++ game programming is great. But unless you like total pain while you are learning to program, you might look at starting with XNA. This will allow you to work on the game content and logic instead of fighting with your engine code.
Now if you like pain go the DirectX and C++ route to start with.

I think it is better to thoroughly learn a language such as Java or C# before taking on C++. The reason I say this is because you can easily get bogged down in the details and intricacies of C++.
I struggled with C++ on and off (as a hobby) for a few years, then at Uni I was taught Java, stopped doing any C++, got a job doing Java for a couple of years, then moved into C++ dev. I picked everything up very quickly because I already knew what patterns and concepts I wanted to apply and it was just a matter of learning the syntax and weirdnesses and getting used to pointers again. I just had to learn HOW and not WHY. Taking on C++ as a first major language is learning HOW and WHY at the same time and it can be very confusing!
XNA is a good suggestion.

Python is good at game programming. See i-want-to-learn-game-development-which-language-should-i-use. Consider learning Pygame.
Pygame is a set of Python modules designed for writing games. Pygame adds functionality on top of the excellent SDL library. This allows you to create fully featured games and multimedia programs in the python language. Pygame is highly portable and runs on nearly every platform and operating system. Pygame itself has been downloaded millions of times, and has had millions of visits to its website.

If he wants to get into the industry, then knowing C++ is vital, as the majority of game engines use C++. (I also developer should at some point lean C or C++)
However, if he wants to write games (as in, finish writing a game) then C++ may not be the way to go. It is very complex and has a lot of pitfalls that make it a slow language to develop in. It is not just the memory management, but things like the horrible stl related compile errors etc that make it very hard to get anything done when first trying to program.
Looking at something like C# or Python would be a better option, as they are far less complex languages and each have some good game library's.
If he decides that C++ is the right way to go, then I would recommend at least a rendering library. Something like Ogre3D at the very least. The reason for this is covered in this article Write games not engines. While writing (or trying to write) an engine from a base API is going to be a good experience, it is unlikely that the game will get finished.

Something you have to consider is existing SDK's, you probably don't want to program everything yourself. For example, there are pretty good 3D engines with different types of licencing that may suit you well.
So you should check outthe existing libraries and SDK's and the few languages you want to stick with together at the same time. Adapting to C++ or C# is not that difficult, the former is more strict and more demanding whereas it gives you more extensive control on memory, the latter allows you to focus on the main development area but takes the memory management in charge (mostly), which means you could have real-time issues.
At the end of the day, what help you can get to build your application will invariably outweight the small differences between those OO languages (to some extent).
There are lots of game engines, most are listed on this page. Of particular interest are, in the free world:
Panda3D (http://www.panda3d.org/), C++ and Python;
NeoAxis (http://www.neoaxisgroup.com/), essentially C# (.NET);
Ogre3D (http://www.ogre3d.org/), C++;
CrystalSpace (http://www.crystalspace3d.org/main/Main_Page), C++ and Python;
Esenthel (http://www.esenthel.com/), ...
Non-free packages include Unity, and others.
If you do not want any of those engines, there are still very good libraries like Qt for C++, that allows scripting - though not directly Python, you would have to embed it yourself - and others for C#, but the listing could get quite lengthy.

Typically, people run out of steam before completing their first game. Therefore, unless your friend has a track record of being doggedly determined, I'd recommend the most high-level option available. If you are choosing between C++ and C#, that'd be C#.

I would prefer XNA and C# for a quick and painless introduction.I would use C++, and a library like DirectX, for game programming after having some experience on the topic.Most of the most successful games have written in C++.

If your goal is to have fun, and actually finish games yourself (or in small teams) that are relatively small in scope, then I say C# and XNA.
If your goal is to work in the industry, on super big budget games with giant teams... Then C++...