LudumData

LudumDare is Starting Soon

[raw] LD18MiniLD 12. Aug 2010 · 15:37 UTC · 7 days before compo start by sfernald · 0

For the next Ludum Dare I want to try using a language that I’m actually familiar with for once, so I’m looking at C# libraries.

I’m considering three c# libraries at this point:

1) SFML

This one looks very straightforward. Simple class structure. Kind of a SDL done right with lots of organized classes. It was easy to build a simple game with it. Does not have any of the advanced stuff of a game library like physics or collision. The thing is I would want to use the 2.0 version that is in beta and I haven’t got that working with .NET and Visual Studio 2010 (works fine with 2008). I really want to use the latest tools and frameworks for this competition. Maybe I will check the beta soon and see if it is ready for prime time with 2010.

2) SlimDX

This is basically a C# wrapper for DirectX and Direct2D and all of Microsoft’s graphic stuff. New version in June came out and now it supports DirectX 11. I’d really like to play with this. Can probably get some great performance out of it. It has x64 frameworks and .NET 4.0 frameworks and it fully supports Visual Studio 2010. Looks like a good option if I really want to put the petal to the metal (with c#). I am looking at the samples right now. Not very familiar with it though. Need to do more research.

3) FlatRedBall

This is a game framework with advanced stuff like collision and physics. It runs under XNA or MDX. It is updated every month so that is nice. So far I have only got it working with Visual Studio 2008 though. Has a lot of specific formats and tools. For example there is an Animation Editor you use to build animations, and an AI editor for AI. I am looking at this one closely. It is really well structured and I was able to put together a simple asteroids game in about 10-15 minutes. I will probably choose this one if I manage to spend the time to get familiar with it. I really want to do some animations in this game, so it will depend on if I think I can get the tools working though.

Those are the options I’m considering. I have used XNA before and don’t want to use it for this competition.

Have you tried any of these libraries? Have any recommendations or tips?

Thanks.

Comments

bluescrn
12. Aug 2010 · 17:06 UTC
SlimDX is pretty sweet, access to the full power of the latest D3D versions from C# – but I wouldn’t recommend using it your first time for an LD – or if you do, at least get a little bit of base code prepared beforehand (creating a D3D window, handling resize/focus loss, loading textures, etc)
sfernald
12. Aug 2010 · 17:36 UTC
I usually try a library or language I’ve never tried before for each competition. It doesn’t really give me a chance to win, but I just enjoy trying new things. It is a great way to learn. Last time I managed to write my first interactive fiction game using Inform 7. So I don’t really mind the going in blind part. That said, from what I’ve looked over the slimDX code, it does look like you have to do a lot more work to get things done with it. However, all that code would allow me to play with cool things like shader effects and such and I could probably throw thousands of sprites on the screen at a time.