Hey! I want to learn how to write shaders!

[MidKnight]

Does anybody know the best way to get started?

HLSL, GLSL, Cg, it doesn't make a difference to me. I just wanna make some cool effects.

[Beherith]

Read this: http://wiki.labomedia.org/images/1/10/O ... dition.pdf

But seriously, start with this tutorial, and crack open a shader in spring. Do you know much opengl/how the 3d gfx pipeline works?

[MidKnight]

I don't know very much about graphics pipelines at all, just that data goes through a bunch of steps to get rendered and thrown on the screen.
Ooh! I also know that vertex data gets fed into a vertex shader, the results of which go to the pixel (or fragment) shader!

...That's about it.

I know Python and Lua. I have zero experience with writing C++.

[Das Bruce]

I know Python and Lua. I have zero experience with writing C++.

Brace for fun!

[Beherith]

Unzip the map Gehenna Rising, and fool around with the lava shader until you understand every line of code in the shaders.

[knorke]

slightly related, if the Gehenna Rising shader does not work on my gfx card, does that mean no shaders at all will work for it?
(outline widget, xray, unit higlighter and all that stuff worked)