Car Race Game in C++: Source Code and a Fix for Unwinnable Traffic
A three-lane terminal racing game in C++17 with full source, and why random traffic made 994 of 1,000 races impossible to finish.
C++ is one of the most powerful and widely used programming languages in the world. Built on the foundation of C, it adds object-oriented programming, generic programming through templates, and the rich Standard Template Library — making it the language of choice for game development, systems programming, high-frequency trading, real-time applications, and performance-critical software.
MYCPLUS has been one of the web’s longest-running C++ programming resources, publishing tutorials, source code examples and practical guides since 2004. This section covers everything from the absolute basics of C++ syntax through to modern C++ features introduced in C++11, C++14, C++17 and beyond. You will find clear explanations of classes, inheritance, polymorphism and encapsulation, practical STL container and algorithm examples, and real-world source code that demonstrates how C++ is used in professional software development.
Whether you are a student learning C++ for the first time, a C programmer making the transition to object-oriented development, or an experienced developer exploring modern C++ features like smart pointers, move semantics and lambda expressions — this section has the resources you need to level up your C++ skills.
Why MYCPLUS: One of the web’s longest-running C++ resources — trusted since 2004 with hundreds of tutorials, examples and source code projects built for real learning.
A three-lane terminal racing game in C++17 with full source, and why random traffic made 994 of 1,000 races impossible to finish.
Encapsulation in C++ with tested code: invariants, access specifiers, getter pitfalls, safe resource ownership, and how Python’s approach compares.
How C++ smart pointers own memory, measured: what each one costs in bytes and allocations, why shared_ptr cycles leak, and which one to use where.
What changes when a C++ class has two bases: offsets, ambiguous names, a duplicated base in the diamond, and who constructs a virtual base class.
How C++ inheritance works and where it fails quietly: default private bases, hidden overloads, a missing virtual destructor, and arrays of derived types.
One virtual function grew a class from 4 bytes to 16. Three kept it at 16. What vtables cost, measured, plus the destructor rule nobody mentions.
Eight memory errors that compile cleanly, which tools catch them, and the ownership habits that stop them: new and delete, RAII and smart pointers.
How C++ functions receive arguments and what each way costs, why overloads and defaults fail to compile, and the dangling return that builds anyway.
How C++ does OOP differently from Java and Python, with one program that uses all four pillars and the slicing and override mistakes that still compile.
The standard library, Boost, Qt, Eigen, libcurl, oneTBB, OpenCV, Catch2, POCO and {fmt}: one tested program each, and what each costs to build.
The C++ Standard Template Library explained with tested code: choosing containers, iterator categories, invalidation, std::remove and C++20 ranges.
The complexity table says list wins. Measured, vector was 30 times faster with the same search. A selection guide for the C++ container library.