DEngine A C# XNA (CTP) 2D Game Engine

1. DEngineA C# XNA (CTP) 2D Game Engine

2. 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/

3. 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

4. Unusual Functionalities • Sample RTS game (Factions)

5. 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.

6. 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" />

7. 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.

8. API • Tiles • Actors • Backgrounds • GUI objects

9. Languages • Supported • C# • XNA CTP Required • C# • XNA 3.0

10. Extensibility • Source code access granted • It's actually necessary to edit the engine, as mentioned before.

11. 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

12. Limitations • XML used not compliant with the correct XNA format • Shows up in Visual Studio but won't appear in the XNA Content Pipeline

13. 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

14. Availability/Licensing • GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2) • Open Source • Must not edit the license • License available at http://dengine.codeplex.com/license

15. 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.

16. Comments? • THANK YOU!