Actually I have another question, can any of you quickly explain the .NET framework and what it is exactly. Alot of times when people say they dont want to develop with XNA their reason is being tied up to the .NET framework. What exactly are the limitations due to this? My primary goal is to develop for the PC, I dont have too much an interest im mobile gaming or XBOX, Im guessing it wont be a problem using XNA for PC only?

[quote name='joeparrilla' timestamp='1305751691' post='4812719']
Actually I have another question, can any of you quickly explain the .NET framework and what it is exactly. Alot of times when people say they dont want to develop with XNA their reason is being tied up to the .NET framework. What exactly are the limitations due to this? My primary goal is to develop for the PC, I dont have too much an interest im mobile gaming or XBOX, Im guessing it wont be a problem using XNA for PC only?

The .NET framework is a standard library. One of its biggest upsides is that there are multiple languages that use and compile against it (Managed C++, C#, F#, Boo, among others). The complaint I think some would have against using the .NET framework is that it is a Microsoft implementation. Linux and Mac get their limited support of the framework through Mono (which some say is in particular danger of having its progression slowed since Novell's Mono developers were apparently laid off earlier this month). So, in that sense, you could consider yourself tied to Windows by using .NET.


Another possible concern of using XNA is that it is developed to target XBox, Win Phone 7 and PC. As such, Microsoft doesn't provide any focus towards making XNA use newer DirectX technologies. DX10(Vista's DX) and DX11(Win7's DX) have no support through XNA, so if you found yourself needing those cutting edge features, you'd be left out in the cold. Most indie developers don't need that cutting edge support, which is one of the reasons XNA is such a well-received option for indie developers.

I think XNA sounds like just the solution you're looking for with its level of abstraction. And that the positives of it probably outweigh those limited negatives for your goal/situation.


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thanks man. I mean I guess being tied to Windows isnt so bad, I do use linux as well but for games I usually stick to windows. Youre right, I started using XNA a bit today and it really seems like what Ive been looking for. I useda bit of Slick2D/Java, and this is basically a more complex and supported version of that. It gets alot of the game loop and drawing code in order for you and allows you to run with it and learn.

I did check out Unity today and it is very cool, just not what Im looking for at this moment in time. I can see myself possibly using it once I feel like Ive learned a bunch from making smaller games and exploring the lower level. Its just a little bit too designer oriented for me at this point. Thanks so much for the help, I think XNA is where ill stay for a while

Ive been wondering something before I get deep into C#/XNA. I know this is hard to answer, but does it seem like Microsoft plan to continue supporting XNA in the future? By the time I learn C# comfortably it will be a while, so I dont want to invest tons of time into the framework only to find that Microsoft drops it when some new tech comes out such as the new XBOX.

It's hard to say, but I don't think that MS will be dropping XNA any time soon. It's very popular, and has allowed for programmers to make and deploy games for sale on Xbox/Win7 phones with no real cost to Microsoft. Instead, people submit games for sale, and MS gets a cut of that, plus the fee for getting licenses to sell the games at all.

I haven't heard anything specific about abandoning XNA, and so I think that it would be unreasonable to assume that it will happen. Besides, that's an issue that you're going to face with everything programming related. Libraries become deprecated, engines fall out of favor, languages become less popular, and so on. It's not going to hurt you to know C# even if XNA does disappear, which again is unlikely in my opinion, and with that attitude you aren't going to be able to start developing using anything.

It's hard to say, but I don't think that MS will be dropping XNA any time soon. It's very popular, and has allowed for programmers to make and deploy games for sale on Xbox/Win7 phones with no real cost to Microsoft. Instead, people submit games for sale, and MS gets a cut of that, plus the fee for getting licenses to sell the games at all.

I haven't heard anything specific about abandoning XNA, and so I think that it would be unreasonable to assume that it will happen. Besides, that's an issue that you're going to face with everything programming related. Libraries become deprecated, engines fall out of favor, languages become less popular, and so on. It's not going to hurt you to know C# even if XNA does disappear, which again is unlikely in my opinion, and with that attitude you aren't going to be able to start developing using anything.

I understand what youre saying, I cant expect things to stay around forever. I was just concerned because I do in fact know other languages pretty well, and I was really only learning C# so I can use XNA because I really liked the feel of it. Language wise it would be much easier for me to use Java or C++ because of my experience, but I just never found a library for those languages that compared to what XNA does, Im kind of picky about how much control I want over my development It does seem like XNA has a strong following, so if I cant at least get a few years out of it I guess thats good lol.

I understand what youre saying, I cant expect things to stay around forever. I was just concerned because I do in fact know other languages pretty well, and I was really only learning C# so I can use XNA because I really liked the feel of it. Language wise it would be much easier for me to use Java or C++ because of my experience, but I just never found a library for those languages that compared to what XNA does, Im kind of picky about how much control I want over my development It does seem like XNA has a strong following, so if I cant at least get a few years out of it I guess thats good lol.

Yeah, I can see what you mean. But programming games is its own skill in addition to programming in general, so at least you'll get more experience with that. And you can use SFML + OpenGL for a similar effect using a C++ or C# binding (not sure about Java), which will be much easier once you have worked with the game loop and Draw/Update calls and so forth.

I think that you'll be able to pick up C# pretty easily, and even if you can't use XNA in the future for some reason you'll be able to work pretty quickly and well doing core programming in C++ and then using C# to quickly/easily/stably extend that core. C# is also good for rapid prototyping, which can then translate into a more complex C++ design.