Monday, April 16, 2007

MANAGING UNITS

Machaira has published a couple of examples, being one of them a class that manages units in a RTS game.

From the post: "... In response to a post on the Creators Club Online forums, I whipped up a quick sample of a class that manages RTS (or any genre) units. Check it out here. If I get a chance, I'll spruce it up a little since the current version is totally barebones (what do you expect for a half-hours, if that, worth of work) ...".

Well, I guess it's all for today ...

"EQUALIZING ARTWORK"

Shawn has published his latest installment on lighting: "Equalizing artwork".

From the post: "... Any time you draw more than one thing on the screen you need to think about how well their colors, brightness, and contrast levels will fit together. By far the most important tools for controlling this are the lighting and fog settings ...".

Read on!

GET A BETTER SERVICE

Uhmm ... typo, sorry, my mistake: "A Better GetService" by Rhysyngsun.

From the post: "... so recently there's been a lot of major discussion on the XNA forums about GameComponents. Now, I love the idea of having integrated components that automatically get get updated and also drawn in the case of DrawableGameComponent, however, when it comes to accessing the Game class's Services. I also have at issue being able to access said Services in a class that is not a GameComponent. I understand the XNA's team for making the services the way they are, however I don't want to have to derive from GameComponent and add it to the GameComponentCollection every time I want to check to have access to the ContentManager or whatever. For the most part, input components are the only issue that I have with the way Services are set up ...".

Read on!

IS "SILVERLIGHT" THE NAME OF A COLOR?

Maybe not this time ... it's the new name for the Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere (WPF/E).

Want to know whether XNA GSE will integrate it? Then read David's post on this regard.

From the post: "... How can I use Silverlight with my XNA Framework-based games?" I will directly answer that we have ...".

Curious? I told you to read David's post ... ;)

"GET MY BEST RELEASE EVER", SHARKY SAYS ...

... want to know whether he's right? Go and download "Air Legends" game.

From Lawrence's post: "... I’ve decided I’m going to invoke “Sods Law” once again, and take the hit for the team. I’ll release early after all. If the XNA release comes shortly afterwards then so be it. You’ll all be able to thank me! ...".

A must have ...

A CHANCE TO PRODUCE YOUR OWN TV SHOW FOR XBOX LIVE

There's a new compo with a prize of USD 100k to help you produce your own TV Show for the Xbox Live.

From Major Nelson's post: "... Got a great idea for a TV Show? How would you like $100k to produce your great idea AND have it digitally delivered over Xbox LIVE?

Hit this site for details on how to sign up and get in on the competition. To enter you must be over 18 and live in any of the 25 countries where Xbox Live is available. Fire up the camcorder and good luck ...".

Are you one of the lucky guys living in any of the eligible countries? If so, start thinking on an idea, right now and join the compo!

NEW XNA CONTENT BY FRANCESCO FORNO

Francesco has uploaded the latest versions of "XMLPipeline" and "FontRenderer" assemblies, both used by his GUIManager sample.

From Francesco's post: "... The FontRenderer is the same you find on the Creators web site, however since I slightly modified it you need my DLL for the GUIManager to work. The source code of the modified sample is public: just drop me an email.

To learn how to use the XMLPipeline and FontRender components, just look at the GUIManagerSample, or post a comment to this post ...".

Cheers!