mdx2 is it real or vapor?

It's dead.

Last time I tried to use it (before the December 06 DXSDK) MDX2 would throw a TimeBombException every time I tried to run my application. Needless to say that prompted me to move back to MDX1. I don't know if it will be supported in the future, but I wouldn't recommend starting to use it right now.

officially, at this time, MDX 2 and future versions are no more, while MDX 1 is now in maintanance mode. MDX 1 will only recieve necessary updataes, ie - security.

XNA has taken over going forward.

MDX2.0 is now part of the XNA framework.

Quote:

Original post by Promit It's dead.

Yeah it's dead.
"Managed DirectX 2.0 has been included in the SDK as a beta since October 2005. Once the XNA framework was announced Microsoft confirmed that Managed DirectX 2.0 would never ship and would be replaced by the XNA framework. The Managed DirectX 2.0 beta files will stop working on October 5th 2006 (announcement, discussion) and code needs to be migrated back to MDX 1.1 or forward to the XNA framework."
Note to self: Next time book on microsoft technology in my case "managed directx" is delayed over and over get a hint and stop wasting your time and move on to something else. I can't believe I didn't see this coming. I guess I was to busy reading all the managed directx books I already had!

Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi [wink]

At least the French had the good grace not to timebomb Charles VI :p

Is the xna framework reliable at this time? Is anyone using it? Does it cost money?

Sorry for the delayed response,

Devin

Quote:

Original post by devronious Is the xna framework reliable at this time? Is anyone using it? Does it cost money? Sorry for the delayed response, Devin

Yes, Yes, No.

I looked at and downloaded the xna framework and it looks to be proprietary to the xna game studio application. I also read that the xna is for experimenters and students only. It doesn't sound like a professional target. Has anyone used it in a professional application?

-Devin

Quote:

Original post by devronious I looked at and downloaded the xna framework and it looks to be proprietary to the xna game studio application. I also read that the xna is for experimenters and students only. It doesn't sound like a professional target. Has anyone used it in a professional application? -Devin

XNA (at this time with Game Studio Express) is not intended for professional use on the Xbox 360. You can create PC games with XNA and sell them, but selling Xbox 360 versions isn't allowed (or really possible unless you want to distribute source and assets too).

A Professional Edition is in the works though, and although I don't think an official date has been set it should hopefully be sometime soon (spring perhaps?). When the Pro version comes out then you can expect to see XNA really erupt (not like it hasn't already [lol])

That is not to say there aren't already things made with/for XNA that are commerical. TorqueX is one and another made by a very talented individual is XNA Magic [smile]

The XNA FAQ has lots more information.

In my own opinion, XNA is lovely. Use it and I doubt you'll regret it [smile]

Regards,
ViLiO

The XNA framework can be used outside of GSE (just reference the appropriate DLLs). Whether or not doing so will suit your needs is another matter, and one I can't answer.

XNA is for more than "experimenters and students." It's a good tool for hobbyist or indie developers. For professionals, not so much, quite yet (or possibly ever depending on what category of "professional" you mean). There will eventually be an "XNA Pro" release but it's too early to say much about that.

However, it is my educated guess that XNA is not the future of 3D graphics on Windows. Rather it is a future direction of 3D graphics on Windows.

I don't claim to have any insider information or anything, but if you consider the fact that one of XNA's driving points is "nearly-no-fuss" Xbox360 deployment, it seems reasonable to speculate that XNA won't be getting core API features that would break that deployment capability -- namely, it won't be getting a lot of the cool Direct3D 10 stuff we're all so eager for.

Then consider the importance of the "managed code initiative" (e.g., "use C# fools!") to Microsoft. It would be silly for them to close the door on managed Direct3D development completely. I expect that we'll be getting a "Managed D3D10" at some point from them, which will address the lack of D3D10-class functionality in XNA and hopefully won't suffer from the API issues that XNA must endure to provide security on the Xbox.

However, I suspect that developing "Managed D3D10" is low-priority for them for a few reasons (including the fact that the professional developer studios who use D3D won't be interested in using C# because it locks them out of the PS3 and Wii markets unless they want to maintain two codepaths, and the fact that they want to focus on XNA while its hot to build up userbase).

Besides, if we don't have official word of one kind or another about managed D3D10 by this time next year, I'll do it myself.

Cool, thanks for the responses. I think I'll stick to mdx9 for now. It seems more sound at the moment. And I do hope they come out with mdx for 10. C# is my primary language at the moment.