Using C++/CLI on Visual Studio I want to create a 2D simulation, with the options to change the user's inputs on one side of the screen and the simulation on the other side. (The user's inputs would be used to calculate what to draw for the simulation)
I would like to be able to do this within a panel/fixed region keeping the drawing separate from UI elements (buttons etc). Essentially I would like to draw multiple dots on the screen and the position of those dots changes every second. Trouble is all the examples of of drawing I've seen take up the whole form.
What libraries and how can I use to create multiple 2D drawings either by controlling the colours of pixels or any other way inside a fixed region like a panel?
This really depends on what GUI toolkit you're using.
There are other methods for both toolkits, of course, but those are the ones I would use. Plus there's things like DirectX and OpenGL, but it sounds like you want something simple, so those would probably be overkill.