XNA and Creators Club released

[grammerjack]

F# does work on the 360

It's unclear at this point of you can compile even Managed C++. For example, you can't use other CLI languages like F# and VB.NET, because they use features available only in the full .NET framework, while XNA on the 360 is based on the so-called Compact Framework. So far, only C# is officially supported and guaranteed to work.

Just a clarification: any language that works on the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 should work on the 360.

Right now both C# and F# are known to work. (See my blog for details on how to use F#: How to Write XNA Game Studio Express Games with F# - Part 3: Running on the Xbox 360

Managed C++, Visual Basic, and Iron Python are presumed not to work, because they are known to use CLR features that aren't supported by .NET CF 2.0.

The Iron Python main developer has said that he might make Iron Python work on the 360 some time in the future, but it's not a high priority with him. No word from the Managed C++ or Visual Basic teams.

 

[22psi]

A GT Vid: http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=15853&type=wmv

 

[Graham]

Well I started a fun little project a while ago. A little game, currently rendering Quake3 BSP maps with deferred lighting (no lightmaps).

I'll post pictures here ever so often

I got the lighting working nice tonight:

However the to-do list is still significant...
Shadows, tone mapping, texturing and materials, performance improvements, collision detection, etc. Ohh and a game too.

It's currently brute forcing the entire map for a start Currently a grand total of two calls to drawIndexedPrimitives per frame

It's more an interest thing than a real game though. It will be interesting eventually trying it on the 360. In theory it should monster the lighting with all that backbuffer bandwidth... However I'm a tad worried about bandwidth for the deferred textures, 10 full screen lights would soak it all up at 30fps@720, let alone everything else. Lack of occlusion querys in XNA is annoying....

 

[DemoCoder]

Why does Creators Club sound to me like some Burger King or McDonalds promotion for kids?

 

[TheChefO]

Why does Creators Club sound to me like some Burger King or McDonalds promotion for kids?

Let me guess, because you're not a fan?

{puts on mousekateers hat}

 

[pipo]

Bump

Another update: http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/05/24/more-content-now-available-on-creators-xna-com.aspx

We’ve got more great content available on http://creators.xna.com this month, including a new mini game, new tutorials, and new samples to keep you busy throughout the month of June.

...

Samples

* Shader Series 2: Colors and Textures

This sample shows how to combine texture operations with mathematical color operations to blend colors and achieve interesting lighting effects.

* Particle Series 2: 3D GPU Particles with Point Sprites

This sample improves on the Particle Sample by animating the particles in 3D entirely on the graphics processing unit (GPU), resulting in higher performance, even with a large number of particles.

* Color Replacement

This sample shows how to use a pixel shader to allow certain parts of a model to change color based on a player's selections.

* Content Pipeline Importer: Custom Mesh Format

This sample shows how to extend the XNA Framework Content Pipeline to import and process .obj model files and their associated .mtl material files into ModelMesh and ModelMeshPart objects at run time.

* Picking

This sample demonstrates how to translate between 3D world coordinates and 2D screen coordinates, allowing the user to hover over a 3D object with a mouse cursor and displaying text above the chosen object.

* Aiming

This sample demonstrates a versatile algorithm for in-game artificial intelligence: aiming. Use this sample to determine the correct angle necessary for one game object to face another object--for example, a car toward a waypoint.

* 3rd-Person Chase Camera

This sample demonstrates a 3D camera that follows an object with a natural, springlike motion, and contrasts it with a rigid, fixed-offset camera.

 

[pipo]

BUMP

Two small things...

We are delighted to announce that we will be webcasting the keynote, along with six sessions from the first day of the XNA Game Studio track, for Gamefest 2007 on August 13th.

http://letskilldave.com/archive/200...-plus-first-day-of-xna-game-studio-track.aspx

And the finalists for the XNA challenge: http://www.dreambuildplay.com/main/default.aspx

 

[archangelmorph]

Two small things...



http://letskilldave.com/archive/200...-plus-first-day-of-xna-game-studio-track.aspx

And the finalists for the XNA challenge: http://www.dreambuildplay.com/main/default.aspx

Great stuff..

I'm really looking forward to XNA GS 2.0.. Although i'm a little concerned about MS's plans for it since dropping the "Express" from the title makes it a little difficult predict exactly whom the new framework is aimed at (homebrew or pro..)

I DO hope they don't give us homebrew users the shaft as there are quite a few features we've been crying out for since the start (namely network support)...

 

[Todd33]

Can anyone recommend any of the XNA books? They started coming out last month, but I don't know which is the best.

 

[archangelmorph]

Can anyone recommend any of the XNA books? They started coming out last month, but I don't know which is the best.

I know Ben's book on XNA programming is pretty good for beginners however you probably don't *really* need a book..

If you're interested in getting into XNA and you have prior [game] coding experience then I'd suggest picking up many of the samples from the creators club site as well as taking regular trips to the XNA docs (probably the most useful resource for XNA programming i've used so far.. But then this is pretty much expected since the DirectX docs have always been really good too..)

 

[pipo]

http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/08/13/announcing-xna-game-studio-2-0.aspx

What’s New with XNA Game Studio?

* XNA Game Studio 2.0 works in all versions of Visual Studio 2005. This includes Standard and Professional, as well as many other specific editions.

* The new and improved interface makes it easier for you to manage your Xbox 360 console.

* You’ll find that managing and building content is easier and more consistent in XNA Game Studio.

* We’ve included project templates for content importers and processors.

* You can configure how content is processed with the new ability to set parameters on Content Processors.

What’s new in the XNA Framework? Now you can:

* Create rich multiplayer games over Xbox LIVE using the new networking APIs.

* Create Audio more effectively with the new XACT editor!

* Host XNA Framework games easily inside a Windows Form.

* Use the virtualized GraphicsDevice: no more special code to handle device reset and recreate!

* Take advantage of render targets that are more flexible, consistent, and easier to use. Xbox 360 and Windows now support multiple render targets (MRTs) as well.

* Easily nest one component inside another thanks to improvements in GameComponent.

* Enjoy many more enhancements and tweaks!

 

[archangelmorph]

http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/08/13/announcing-xna-game-studio-2-0.aspx

Got the message this morning!

I'm really psyched about this announcement since this means they'll have Xbox Live support just about ready by the time the game i'm currently working on hits alpha!

I'm interested to know how it's going to work and whether they are going to provide a cross platform networking API through XNA (to support XBL and network play across windows) or one specific to the 360 side..

Either way it's a win for us hobbyist/homebrew guys the world over!!

 

[Graham]

A very good update indeed
ignoring Live support (which is just too awesome), there are lots of good things. MRTs and support for VS2005 are my picks for 'yay finally!'.


And then there is that other little announcement...

That selected Microsoft Game Studios games will have art content made legally available for non-commercial 'remix' work. How huge is that... I want to see warthogs in PRG dammit! (link)

 

[pipo]

http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2...e-xsi-mod-tool-and-august-content-update.aspx

August XNA Creators Club Online Update

There's a new round of content available on http://creators.xna.com including a new starter kit available exclusively to XNA Creators Club Members

* Premium starter kit – Ship Game

Ship Game is a 3D spaceship combat game set inside a complex tunnel system. Ship Game features advanced lighting and textures, a full GPU particle system, and advanced physics. Explore the tunnels on your own, or take on a friend head-to-head using split-screen mode.

* Optimization Tutorial

This tutorial teaches you how to find and correct performance problems in your game, and highlights solutions to common performance problems on Xbox 360, using a particle system as an example.

* Distortion Sample

Using a particle system as an example, this tutorial teaches you how to find and correct performance problems in your game, and highlights solutions to common performance problems on Xbox 360.

* Shader Series 4: Materials and Multiple Light Sources Sample

Until now, the shader series has focused on single meshes, single lights, and single materials. This sample demonstrates how a developer might combine the techniques leading up to this sample into a usable system for composing a 3D scene.

 

[pipo]

Heads-up

New content: http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/09/27/september-content-on-xna-creators-club-online.aspx

* Collision with a Heightmap

This sample demonstrates how to move objects along a heightmap, useful when creating a game that requires interaction between moving objects and terrain. It is based on the Generated Geometry sample, which creates a landscape from a bitmap.

* Custom Model Class

This sample shows how to go beyond the limits of the Model class that comes built in to the XNA Framework, loading geometry data into a custom class that can be extended more easily to cope with specialized requirements.

* Mesh Instancing

This sample shows how to efficiently render many copies of the same model, using GPU instancing techniques to reduce the cost of repeated draw calls.

* Shatter

This sample shows how you can apply an effect on any model in your game to shatter it apart.

Utilities

* Curve Editor

This utility provides an easy-to-use visual editor for creating curves for use with the XNA Framework Curve class. The curve control used to display and edit curves inside the editor can also be imported into your own applications.


* Input Reporter

This utility displays input data for all controllers connected to the system. The utility supports multiple controller types, including flight sticks, dance pads, and guitars.

* Xbox 360 Controller Button Glyphs

This utility is a set of images that represent the buttons, thumbsticks, and triggers on the Xbox 360 Controller.

Articles

* Ship Game Article - 3D Collision using the BoxCollider library

This supplemental article introduces the BoxCollider library provided in Ship Game. BoxCollider is a collision detection and response library that features an octree implementation, collision response with friction effects, and prebuilt collision-aware camera classes.

 

[Zassk]

I thought this would be the best of the old XNA threads to bump... some news:

Closed Beta started today for XNA Community Submissions & Peer Review

I guess this user content sharing system for XBox Live will be for real...