Hello and a question

Hello and a question

professormetal's picture
professormetal
Mon, 08/08/2011 - 20:57

Hi, All

I'm new to the Havok world, so I want to introduce myself as well as ask a question. I'm Jeff AKA ProfessorMetal(comes from a moniker I use on a website I own). I'm new to Havok but not to programming. Currently, I'm doing the Try Havok bit and have a question. I've downloaded the Tools and Content download and the SDK. I'm assuming the Havok materials will be plugins for the IDE, which is apparently Visual Studio. I've seen some talk here and some things on the Havok site referencing C++. Is this the language that needs to be used or will C# work as well.

I'll be downloading and installing an Express version of VS and want to be sure I pull the right one. So, do I need to pull the C+++ version, the C# version or the ASP.NET version.

Many thanks for any info.

Cheers,

Jeff

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havokcormac's picture
havokcormac
Tue, 08/09/2011 - 02:44
Best Reply

Hello Prof,

Havok XS (the free PC version) comes as libraries and C++ headers and demo code.
When you fill in your details and accept the license agreement on the Try Havok site, you get a bunch of download links for the Content Tools and SDK.

Each version of the SDK is built (and contains project files) for a particular version of Visual Studio (VS2010, VS2008, VS2005 etc).
As far as I know it'll work with the express versions, as long as you download the correct build.

Then pick the version of the content tools that matches the version of the SDK you've got (2011.1 is the latest XS release).
The content tools download is an exe installer that installs plugins for 3dsMax, Maya or XSI. The plugins let you export models into Havok format, including adding rigid body properties, constraints and so on.
Later versions of the content tools only support later versions of those modellers (due to the amount of effort it takes to support multiple versions of a modeller).

So, in short: C++, and match the download link to your version of VS.

Don't hesitate to come back here and ask if there's anything not clear.
Cheers, and happy developing!

Cormac

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professormetal's picture
professormetal
Tue, 08/09/2011 - 14:36

Thanks, Cormac

That told me everything I needed to know. I downloaded the VS2010 version of the SDK and the latest 32 bit version of the contents download last night. I just wanted to be sure about the language so I'd get the right VS version. I've spent 9 years developing in VC++ so it shouldn't be too painful. :-) I've also got 2 years experience with C#. I really prefer it in some ways becuase it's cleaner to code but C++ has much more power, especially when it comes to direct memorey manipulation. You just have to know what you're dong or you'll blow your feet off. You can talk to C++ libraries, etc. with C# last I knew but it's a real pain and not worth the time and trouble unless you've got a compelling reason to do so. So, C++ it is. Hopefully, the visual editor in the IDE can be used instead of having to hand code everything. Makes life much easier.

Anyway, thanks for the info and I'm sure you'll see me here again.

Later,

Jeff AKA "Prof"

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