If your looking to go multi-platform then using VS as a base maybe a limiting factor unless you manage to rig some cross-compiler stuff in...
It's been a very long time since I did C++ (10 years) so I am not sure what the other options are you could look into these days.
Thats the problem with having me gone across to Java as that every man and his dog using are Eclipse for IDE's so as I say I'm out of touch on the C++ front.