The official .net wrapper is now http://irrlichtnetcp.sf.net/ which is much more complete and up to date than our old version.
Using Irrlicht with VB6 would mean writing a whole VB6 wrapper, which would be a massive waste of time and energy.
its because in our company software we need to implement a new feature with 3D, and all its coded on VB6. we arent a big company but, we are thinking on develope this part on VB.net.... but will be 2 different programs.
I used to use MSVC++6.0, as I thought modern compilers would use modern libraries and I would lose backward compatibility. I actually found out that using an older MS compiler required you to to put dlls that the modern system didn't have with your application.
You're best to use a modern compiler. The debugging features of MS visual express are fantastic, and don't require yelling at the computer or running to get the local nerd like gdb does
Btw i started my programming with irrlicht in vb6.
and what i learned that c++ is really easy to leran and easy to make 3d applications with.
while on the other side vb6 wont make you use irrlicht in ease ,i used to like vb6 and hate c++(without trying it) but u should try c++ it is really easy.
c++ tutorials:http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/