November 2007 - Posts

• Chase Camera sample posted

  This was the third sample I converted, pretty basic stuff. In addition to converting from C# to VB.NET, it's also been updated for XNA 2.0.  You can grab the archive here. Chase Camera Sample This sample demonstrates how to create a simple chase camera with spring physics. Sample Overview In this sample, you can pilot a Spacewar ship from a third-person chase camera view. The motion of both the ship and the camera are governed by simple physics. When the ship speeds away, the camera pulls back. When the ship turns, the camera lags behind in the turn to show a partial profile view of the ship. When the ship stops moving, the camera gradually slides back into place. By pressing a button, you can compare and contrast the spring-based camera with a rigid, fixed-offset camera. You will notice that the spring-based camera provides a greater sense of speed and the ship will feel more natural to control. Posted Nov 30 2007, 03:55 AM by admin with no comments Filed under: xna, vb.net, samples, camera, chase

• XNA GS 2.0(beta) deployment platform bug (what causes it and how to workaround it)

  First... how to cause the problem. 1. Create a new C# Windows Game 2.0 project in VS2005. If you take a look at this point, in the Configuration Manager, you will see 2 entries. One is for the Content project and the other is for whatever you named your new project. So far, so good. 2. Add a new VB.NET Class Library project to your solution. (Make sure to add it to the solution, not create a new one.) Take a look in the Configuration Manager again. Now you'll see 3 entries, including a new one for the VB.NET Class Library you just added. You should also notice that the Content project's Platform has changed from x86 to Xbox 360. That's a problem. Fortunately, fixing it is easy enough. 3. Click on the Active Solution Platform dropdown box and select x86 (it probably says Mixed Platforms when you look at it.) 4. Save, Recompile, etc...  you're all set. FWIW, this has already been reported to Connect (you're welcome) and has been marked as fixed in the final version. After all, we are using Beta stuff, so it's not entirely unexpected.     Posted Nov 28 2007, 01:40 PM by admin with 1 comment(s) Filed under: xna, vb.net, Configuration Manager, Active Solution Platform, vs2005, beta

• Audio3D Sample Posted

  This one took a bit of reworking when the 2.0 beta bits came out, but it's all set now.  One thing that was different in 2.0 is the inclusion of a content project, instead of just a folder, and the old sound content wouldn't load in the new project, so I had to regrab the files. If you crack open the audio.xap file, you'll see the Version number is 16 now. One of the other snags I ran into, that may have been my own error, but took a while to figure out was that my content project was targeting an xbox instead of PC.  Once I figured that out, everything ran fine. Anyway, you can grab the Audio3D sample here. Posted Nov 23 2007, 06:21 PM by admin with no comments Filed under: xna, vb.net, Audio, 3D

• Aiming Sample posted

  I'm pretty much just working my way down the list and this was the first sample I converted. Fully 2.0 (beta) compatible. This sample shows how to use trigonometry to make one 2D object aim towards another object as fast as it can. This can be useful when making spotlights, gun turrets, and more. The function TurnToFace does the hard work in this sample. You can copy it and use it in your game. You can grab the Aiming Sample from the files section, here. One thing you'll notice in the sample is that I'm still using a c# project for the content pipeline. Pretty much all of the actual sample code is written in VB.NET.  Until XNA actually supports a VB.NET content pipeline, I'm going to keep doing it this way. I don't see any point in trying to rewrite the pipeline from scratch. Posted Nov 23 2007, 04:54 AM by admin with no comments Filed under: xna, vb.net, Aiming

• VB.NET XNA Samples

  I've been working like crazy to convert all the XNA Samples (from XNA.COM) to VB.NET.  I've got a handfull done already, and will be posting them soon. Hopefully the rest will follow in relatively short order. As I post them, they'll be in the files area for download. Posted Nov 21 2007, 05:04 AM by admin with no comments Filed under: xna, vb.net, samples

• XNA 2.0 BETA shipped last night

  As many of you no doubt know, the XNA 2.0 bits shipped last night.  Initial thoughts?  Well for starters there's no support for the 360 (only in the beta) but that will be ficed in the full release. I'm pretty stoked about the networked gaming potential.  Also, there's support for Visual Studio 2005 versions other than Express, which certainly makes this project easier. I haven't had a chance to play with the monospaced spritefonts yet, but I'll post on that soon (probably tomorrow.) Posted Nov 21 2007, 03:42 AM by admin with no comments Filed under: xna, vb.net, spritefonts