DEngine A C# XNA (CTP) 2D Game Engine. Websites Main page High-level explanation of ants navigation

DEngineA C# XNA (CTP) 2D Game Engine

Websites

Main page http://dengine.codeplex.com/

High-level explanation of ants navigation http://ai-depot.com/Essay/SocialInsects-Ants.html/

CTP Workaround http://creators.xna.com/en-us/XNAGS3readme/

Core Functionalities

2D Game Engine Animated sprite capability Physics simulation by FarseerPhysics Level editor GUI controls library A* pathfinding for unit movement Ants system for AI navigation

Unusual Functionalities

Sample RTS game (Factions)

Unusual Functionalities (Continued)

Needs to be set up and compiled to be used Needs either

1. Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Workaround

2. Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and XNA Community Technological Preview (CTP)

I have only tested the first because the XNA CTP is no longer available.

Compiling

1.2.3. How to Upgrade Projects from XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP to XNA Game Studio 3.0

You will need to manually upgrade projects that were created with XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP in order to use them with XNA Game Studio. The upgrade wizard for XNA Game Studio upgrades only XNA Game Studio 2.0 projects. To manually upgrade a project created in XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP, use the following procedure.

1. Open the <projectname>.csproj file in a text editor, such as Notepad.

2. Scroll down to the bottom of the .csproj file, and locate the following three <Import.../> elements.

<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />

<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\XNA Game Studio\v3.0\Microsoft.Xna.GameStudio.Common.targets" />

<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\XNA Game Studio\v3.0\Microsoft.Xna.GameStudio.NestedContent.targets" />

Compiling (Continued)

Replace these with the following two <Import.../> elements. Note that the first element is the same.

<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />

<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\XNA Game Studio\Microsoft.Xna.GameStudio.targets" />

3. Save the .csproj file.

4. Open <projectname>.csproj in Visual C# 2008 Express Edition or Visual Studio 2008 to use it with XNA Game Studio 3.0.

As you may guess, it would have been better if the code base had been switched to be compatible with a fully supported version of XNA.

API

Tiles Actors Backgrounds GUI objects

Languages

Supported C# XNA CTP

Required C# XNA 3.0

Extensibility

Source code access granted It's actually necessary to edit the engine, as

mentioned before.

Ease-of-Use

Simple, easy-to-understand interface

+

Crashes all the time

=

Would be easy to use if you could get it to reliably run

As it is, you would probably be best off learning from this engine implementation's mistakes, rather than trying to fix them yourself

Limitations

XML used not compliant with the correct XNA format Shows up in Visual Studio but won't appear in the

XNA Content Pipeline

Support Status

Has Documentation as of April 3, 2009 Available at http://dengine.codeplex.com/Wiki/View.aspx?

title=Documentation

Very small community No active discussions Moderated by spamdog

Availability/Licensing

GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2) Open Source

Must not edit the license License available at http://dengine.codeplex.com

/license

Comments from Me

The engine needs heavy-duty coaxing to get it to work. This engine has many holes and is not robust in any

discernible way. If someone does want to help out with, take over, or

make a better version of this project, I think it would be unlikely that the moderator, spamdog, would be hostile to the idea. It seems like it was possible that this was a personal side project, given its leanings towards incompleteness.

I do not recommend using DEngine for anything more than an example to learn from.

Comments?

THANK YOU!