Ok, Here is what i have noticed about both... (please correct me if i am wrong about any of these)
*OpenGL IS easier to use... few commands needed to creat, fewer commands needed to run.
*OpenGL dose NOT have any sound controll. For that u would need to use some outside SDK of some sort.
*DirectX has direct access to the the system's controll, it bypasses windows and gose directly to the hardware, makeing the software be able to run faster.

So i had started to program w/ OpenGL but i wasn't completly happy. In the end, i chose to go towards DirectX because it maybe more complicated, but it does seem much more powerfull. Again, if i am mistaken about some of this, anyone please tell me, i may rethink it in the end but this is what i have been tool or have read about.

I use DirectX, but to be honest I went with it simply because the first game programming books I got my hands on used it. It does cover all bases though: DirectGraphics, DirectSound, DirectInput, DirectPlay, etc.
As Kaimera said, OpenGL is a little easier, but because DirectX is of a slightly lower level I think you can learn more while using it.
Of course, because DX is Microsoft you are guaranteed a large user base. Plus, I have noticed a bias towards DX in most of the work advertisements I have seen.

I'm sure both will be around for a long time to come. Whichever API you choose, make sure to learn the underlying concepts of the features you use.

One thing i was told also, is that OpenGl is Compatable for PC, Mac, and Linux... But being only for graphics, it makes it limitid w/ what u can do...

Originally posted by justin
do you know if you could use *just* d sound or d input?
and gl for graphics??

You certainly can. You can even use both DX and OpenGL and let the user decide which to run. Thats quite hard though :]

The only real advantage to OpenGL is its support for multiple platforms, which makes porting games to mac and Linux simpler. If you use SDL it's just a matter recompiling your code for each platform.

The downside of OpenGL is extensions. If you want to do any fancy stuff with your hardware you have to use vendor-specific extensions, which means you have to write and test every little bit of code twice (once for ATI and once for nVidia). The good news is OpenGL 2.0 should solve the extensions problem, whenever it's finished.

If you don't need multiple-platform support it's generally better to just use DirectX. In general, DirectX is more widely supported by hardware drivers than then Open*L api's.

OpenAL, OpenGL, RakNet, Newton, and other open source tools work great for a DirectX replacement...And they're cross platform!!! I say something like directX (something for every aspect of game programming) should be made for every programmer and cross platform . BRING ON THE OPEN SOURCE REVOLUTION!!!! (probably been done )

I think a basic knowlege of both is important - but most game companies will require some knowledge of DirectX since it is the basic platform for PC game development.

OpenGL is much easier to learn - so I think starting with that, and getting into shader programming, is a really good idea. You won't get as frustrated and you'll learn a lot. When you have a handle on that, you can tackle DirectX, and learn more about some of the other systems like audio and input that DirectX supports.

So most commercial games today use DirectX....

Do you think that I should probably learn and become fluent with both?

Seems to me that most commercial games use DirectX, but have OpenGL support you can toggle on.

When starting off it's probably more important to just pick the one that seems more appealing to you, either in terms of apparent ease of use or style of programming (if you like procedural-based programming, you'll feel more comfortable with OpenGL, if you're more comfortable with an OO style through the use of COM, DirectX will appeal more to you), and just stick with it while you're learning. Assuming you're staying on the Windows platform while you're learning, either ought to be fine. You can always go back and learn the other one once you have a foundation of knowledge gained from learning the first one.

Thanks for the info I already know a basic amount of OpenGL I'm gonna learn as much of it as I can. By the way - do you know any good books on the subject - Teaching or Reference ?

Thanks

"OpenGL Super Bible 3rd Edition" is pretty good.

Most of the book uses GLUT for the call backs and main loop. GLUT is not as flexible but a great platform for testing OGL stuff.

There are also tons of good tutorials on the web for free. Checkout Gamedev, gamasutra, etc..

Heres a good place to start.
OpenGL Tutorials

NeHe Gamedev
This site is all OpenGL and teaches how to implement OpenGl in games...with cool effects and simple functions...its what helped me the most.