I was planning to ambitiously start a small game-project, and i was wondering if anyone here used microsoft's XNA studio yet? If so, how is your experience with it? I just want to do some hobby-gaming and see if i can make a little platform game. I havent recently coded much but in the past i have coded some demos and stuff in Pascal with a little ASM, some Borland C in DOS and some stuff in Visual C and DirectX (DirectDraw only). Should i give XNA a go or is it better to stick to what i know, which is basically (visual) C with the DirectX kit.
You probably already know, but XNA can only be programmed in C# (which is a big turn off for me). I guess it depends on how well you know C. If you know it very well, then technically you shouldn't have TOO much trouble picking up C#. Though, I think you would actually be better off knowing C++ before jumping into C#. The reason I say this is because C# is purely object oriented, where C is not and has no object properties. However, C++, while not fully object oriented, is object enhanced. On a separate but similar note, I plan on working with Crystal Space 3D, a framework used for developing 3D applications in C++, after this term is over and I'm in Christmas break. Anyway, If you do decide to work with XNA, then good luck. I'm sure it will be an interesting venture.
c# can be best compared with JAVA. If you know JAVA then you will find C# VERY similar. Since JAVA is the language we work with at the Uni I find it quite easy to use. I'm looking into it as well, looks interesting. Since its quite new, tuts and books are harder to find, but you can find interesting infos in the XNA forum. Since its free for now, just download it. Get the Visual C# express edition and then the up to date XNA (should be beta 2 right now) and give it a shot. Both is freely avalible. Trying doesn't hurt
I've never messed with Java, but have heard on several occasions this C# is very similar to it. The reason I was using C and C++ as examples above is because C# is "supposed" to be an extension of the C language and is in many ways. I just prefer C++
XNA is alright. I think if you know C++ and DirectX well enough already, then best jus tto stay there. C# is definatly more JAVA than C++ (even though it can be forced to act more like C++). I've done bits and pieces in XNA, but don't really see an advantage over DX other than the obvious.
MS has always been pretty mysterious about what exactly their great .NET thing is think But as far as i always understood it .NET is just the framework itself. That framework can be built against using different languages of which C# is one (and the only other one i can think of is VB.NET).
What? .NET and C# are most certainly not the same thing. .NET is a framework and C# is a programming language (which just so happens to be part of the .NET framework). Ever heard of Visual Studio? That's part of the .NET framework, as well as ASP.NET, Visual C++.NET, J#, JScript.NET, Visual Basic.NET, etc. The .NET framework is a collection of development tools, namespaces and class libraries, applications, etc. created by Microsoft specifically for development work in the Windows environment. I don't know where you've heard "so many bad stuff about .NET", but I probably wouldn't trust any of it, considering the fact that you thought C# and .NET were the same thing. I've talked with several software engineers who have had nothing but good things to say about .NET, and others who despise it just for being a part of the Microsoft evil empire. You should make your own decisions and opinions based on your own experiences, not on what other people say.
