C# game/physics engine
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Hi all, I have previously worked with Andy Beaulieu's Farseer Helper as a physcis engine for a small Silverlight game. I am now proposing using a similar conept for a basic class in C# that I am involved in. To my surprise, I realised that Silverlight is not developed anymore, and so, the Farseer physics/Farseer helper combo might not make sense anymore. Basically, I just need something that is really very easy to start with (it's learning C# that should be the focus; developing a game with objects junping around would be just to make things more fun). Physics Helper was great in that you could work in a WYSIWYG environment and then dig into the code to programmatically add more objects or so. So what I am looking for is something along those lines: easy to learn is better than powerful here. Any thoughts? (I have looked through the C# forum here without result). I have also done seraches on the net but it's hard to judge what kind of game engine would be easy to use and not discontinued. The game engine should also be free or perhaps shareware, so that the students can use it from home and the institution maybe pay a fee. Thanks for any hints! petter
If you want to leverage the knowledge that's available in the XNA world, you could always look into MonoGame (it's free, and actively developed). Plus, it works on other platforms as well.
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Hi, Thanks a lot. I have already signed up in the Unity community to see if it is something for my particular situation. It still might be a bit too much, but I'll download the free version and try it out! Thanks again.
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See http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=23714[^].
Veni, vidi, abiit domum
Thanks, but I hesitate, as it's not developed anymore (as Silverlight). Thanks anyway! ... Actually I took a look at it anyway. It seems very simpleand there are many templates to start out with. Perhaps this can be the winner after all, since the objective is just to get the students hooked on game programming, using OO principles.
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If you want to leverage the knowledge that's available in the XNA world, you could always look into MonoGame (it's free, and actively developed). Plus, it works on other platforms as well.
Thanks, took a look at it. Right now I am considering Unity, but it might be too large.
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Hi all, I have previously worked with Andy Beaulieu's Farseer Helper as a physcis engine for a small Silverlight game. I am now proposing using a similar conept for a basic class in C# that I am involved in. To my surprise, I realised that Silverlight is not developed anymore, and so, the Farseer physics/Farseer helper combo might not make sense anymore. Basically, I just need something that is really very easy to start with (it's learning C# that should be the focus; developing a game with objects junping around would be just to make things more fun). Physics Helper was great in that you could work in a WYSIWYG environment and then dig into the code to programmatically add more objects or so. So what I am looking for is something along those lines: easy to learn is better than powerful here. Any thoughts? (I have looked through the C# forum here without result). I have also done seraches on the net but it's hard to judge what kind of game engine would be easy to use and not discontinued. The game engine should also be free or perhaps shareware, so that the students can use it from home and the institution maybe pay a fee. Thanks for any hints! petter
I think Farseer was based on Box2d. And Box2dx is a C# port of Box2d So that could be the way to go. Download the demo[^] and run the testbed - it's fun! The nice thing about Box2d is that it is just the engine - you provide all the graphics - but it does allow an easy debug mode which draws the different physical entities so even the graphically challenged can have fun
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I think Farseer was based on Box2d. And Box2dx is a C# port of Box2d So that could be the way to go. Download the demo[^] and run the testbed - it's fun! The nice thing about Box2d is that it is just the engine - you provide all the graphics - but it does allow an easy debug mode which draws the different physical entities so even the graphically challenged can have fun
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Thanks! I think that whatever the path I take, I will use a template that the students can build on (adding different kinds of classes for obstacles/enemies and the like)so that they can start coding right away. I also think that Duality seems interesting, especially with its tight integration with VS. However, it seems like a very small project. Thanks again!
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Thanks! I think that whatever the path I take, I will use a template that the students can build on (adding different kinds of classes for obstacles/enemies and the like)so that they can start coding right away. I also think that Duality seems interesting, especially with its tight integration with VS. However, it seems like a very small project. Thanks again!
I hadn't seen Duality before - looks really interesting! If I ever get back into teaching I will give it a serious look into - so if you investigate I'd really be interested in what you find out. Unity I don't have much experience with - but I know that it is popular in some schools - but make sure you read the licensing because my understanding (from teachers that use it ) is that is it not free for educational use. If Duality was cross platform I'd be downloading it now!
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I hadn't seen Duality before - looks really interesting! If I ever get back into teaching I will give it a serious look into - so if you investigate I'd really be interested in what you find out. Unity I don't have much experience with - but I know that it is popular in some schools - but make sure you read the licensing because my understanding (from teachers that use it ) is that is it not free for educational use. If Duality was cross platform I'd be downloading it now!
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Yeah, If you take a look at this thread: http://www.fetzenet.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=49[^] you will find that this entire concept is interesting and inspiring: - C# (which is what I need) - Tight integration with Visual Studio, but "the other way around" - Not a big environment, so it should be easy to start with. - Farseer physics is used (which I happen to be used to) - Good sense of programmer humour! :) The only downside as I can see is the small community, which gives doubt about future development. That said, it's active now, and the more people who join, the more chance it's taking off, I guess. Overall, the developer seems to have made several very clever design decisions, which you can read about in the linked post.
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Yeah, If you take a look at this thread: http://www.fetzenet.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=49[^] you will find that this entire concept is interesting and inspiring: - C# (which is what I need) - Tight integration with Visual Studio, but "the other way around" - Not a big environment, so it should be easy to start with. - Farseer physics is used (which I happen to be used to) - Good sense of programmer humour! :) The only downside as I can see is the small community, which gives doubt about future development. That said, it's active now, and the more people who join, the more chance it's taking off, I guess. Overall, the developer seems to have made several very clever design decisions, which you can read about in the linked post.
Wat - as an exclusive LOB developer who has not dipped into game development since the C64 reading the features of Farseer was ... Odd, I have no idea what most of the terms are referencing to. Interesting and if I had enough time to scratch myself I'd be tempted to have a look around :^)
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Wat - as an exclusive LOB developer who has not dipped into game development since the C64 reading the features of Farseer was ... Odd, I have no idea what most of the terms are referencing to. Interesting and if I had enough time to scratch myself I'd be tempted to have a look around :^)
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
:) Then I suggest you take a look at this web site (or his project page on CodeProject): www.andybeaulieu.com/ Andy has created something called "Physics Helper", giving a GUI for the physics engine. Very, very cool! I was actually going to use Physics Helper, Blend, and Silverlight, but as Silverlight is ot supported anymore I neededto investigate anew - hence this thread. petter :)