This will be my last post on this blog because I'm moving to a new home, at :

http://egrossinger.blogspot.com

So update your links and have a happy and productive new year!

Dear Windows Live users,

I CAN'T PM YOU BACK !

Two person messaged me but unfortunately, their Windows Live settings to receive messages are set to OFF (apparently automatic when you join.. wtf). So whoever's trying to reach me, either make sure your can receive replies or put your email in the message. (This is the last time I'll say it)

On another note, I've been working a lot on my Video Focus and Video Kiosk lately but no worries, the Terrain Editor and xWinForms are still alive. Although both (and my other sites) have been suffering from 404's for the past 2 days, the problem has been solved (called my ISP). Feels good to be back on the intertube!

The bug indexer has been fixed, sorry for any inconvenience. Apparently the apostrophe was causing a problem when sending the report..

xWinFormsLib has been updated to work with XNA 2.0 for those who requested it. Visit GameProjects.com to get the new version. The remaining bugs will be fixed as soon as possible.

Also I've started a new project, called VideoFocus, which is a greasemonkey script for Firefox users. The script is compatible with more than 30 video sharing sites. When viewing a video while using this script, everything on the page will be removed except for the video itself.

You can read a more detailed description and download this script here : http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/19701

Enjoy!

To chrische : I cannot reply to you, so in Windows Live, select Options, then Communication preferences and fix this entry : "Send messages to your Spaces inbox:"

Anyway, to answer your question as best as I can, you must have your background drawn first, and the form or formCollection last, after the base.draw from the game class if possible. Also, the drawOrder property of a form is only used to know when to draw it within the formCollection. I hope that helps.

To anyone else : The project will be updated to work with XNA 2.0 Beta as soon as possible, and I'll take some time to fix the remaining bugs as well. A DataGrid control will probably be added. If anyone has other ideas/suggestions, I'll be happy to take it/them into consideration.

xWinForms 1.3 has been release on GameProjects.com.
This new version includes a library DLL which you can use instead of adding the source to your project. It can be found in xWinFormsLib.

1.3 Updates :

xWinFormsLib.DLL created from xWinForms v1.3
Added Menu/Submenu mnemonics (key shortcuts)
Added Menu/Submenu keyboard control (alt, arrows, enter and escape)
Added Textbox multiline support (not editable, fixed line width)
Added TAB/Shift-TAB input to set focus on the next/previous control
Added CTRL-TAB input to set focus on the next form
Fixed Progressbar to use it's full length
Fixed Submenus (OnMouseOver open submenu)
Fixed Textbox input keys (added every symbols)

Known remaining bugs :
Slider doesn't slide yet.
Cannot load more than 2 layers of submenus from xml files.
User does not see which control is focused.
Textbox timer/cursor issue when the text is too long.
Minimized form positioning issue when more than 3 are minimized.
TextButton not merged with Button class yet.

Hopefully I will resolve all the remaining bugs in v1.4 and be able to focus my energy on other projects.

I've just updated xWinForms on GameProjects, here's the link and list of updates :

xWinForms 1.2

Added custom cursor.
SpriteFonts are now being used.
Improved font size support.
Progressbar color more visible.
Labels can now be aligned.
Form minimize and maximize are now optional.
Fixed multiple combos on a single form.
Fixed Textbox text going outside the borders.
Can now save and load one or more forms.
Added CheckboxGroup class.
Added RadioButtonGroup class.
Added ButtonGroup class.
Added Settings class for better xml support.
Added regular 0-9 number inputs to the Textbox.
Added key hold down capabilities to the Textbox.
Added BorderStyle parameter to the Form class.

Planned fixes for v1.3 :
- Fix the Slider to actually slide.
- Fix the minor Textbox bugs
- Fix the menu to load more than 2 layers of submenus
- Add multiline support to the Textbox

If you want to report a bug or make a suggestion, register at http://bugindexer.no-ip.org or login using
username:xwin password:forms (or form). You can either create a new bug report or make your suggestion
on the message board, in the xWinForms forum.

I updated xWinForms friday.

Here is the list of changes :

• Added TextButton, Scrollbar, Menu and Submenu classeses.
• Added Scrollbars to the Listbox and Listview classes.
• European dot/comma bug fixed.
• XML files now contain one form each for easy loading.
• Updated most if not all classes.

xWinForms is a library of controls similar in look to those of windows.
There are 12 available in this first version and they are :

Form, Button, Combobox, Label, Listbox, Listview, Numeric Up/Down,
Potentiometer, ProgressBar, Radio Button, Slider and Textbox.

Hopefully some people will find uses for them.

You can download it here : <GameProjects.com>

I'd also like to say good luck to anyone who have a game in the DBP contest.
Some projects look amazing, lucky judges hehe.

More about my next project/update soon.. good night!

Well it finally happened, I released the editor.

<Download it here>

It took a while and I'm quite satisfied with the first release, but it'll later need improvements.
Anyway, enjoy.

I've been working on a terrain editor lately and I thought it was time to show the progress. So I've made a new photo album and uploaded a video to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

The editor uses a rather 'brute force' method right now, and slower PCs (like mine at the moment) can only modify/paint small terrains without serious lag. (256x256 at best)

So, go check out the Screenshots, and Watch the video. And don't hesitate to comment.

Over and out.

A new version of Bubblezoid has been uploaded on GameProjects.com

Here's a list of what's included in this update :

- Animated background
- Launched bubbles will bounce off the walls
- Bubble clumps will drop, not only single bubbles
- XBox 360 Controller added (forced use if detected)
- Music composed by Erik McClure
- XBox 360 Version (XNA Launcher required)

However, there are still some small problems with the highscores :

1. On pc, some players cannot connect to the database
2. On 360, the scores won't save for the moment.

I'm thinking of removing worldwide scores, and the 360 bug will be fixed as soon as humanly possible.

Another game released, bad news is, it's still a 2d game hehe. This time it's a bubble shooting puzzle game with two modes, classic and time attack. The game also includes a top 10 players which are stored in an online database. If you want to check it out, head over to GameProjects.com.

I did not participate in the 1st xna challenge, and probably will not for the rest either, unless someone wants me to contribute to a project, which I'd be happy to do. Right now I'm going to think about which project to release next and concentrate on that so it doesn't take a month to release something.

I'll post more news when I figure it out.

Buenas Noches!

The Challenge #1 finally started and will be ending Feb. 28th, which gives me two weeks to either make a modification to the starter kit SpaceWar, or a whole game using the SpaceWar content. The latter being more attracting, and the fact that some of my current projects can be modified to use some of that content, I think it's the way I'm gonna go.

One a sad note, the contest is not open to Quebecers, which I am, so I'm looking for a "sponsor" (free of charge) for my projects or another developer willing to participate in a team project, in either case, email me asap.

That's all for now.

Well it's been a while, again, but now the contest is about to begin, and I'm starting to think the puny carrom game won't do it.. but I'll think more about that after we get the details for the "1st" challenge, which should be 3 days from now.

A new site popped up in my email, ran by TurboSquid, it's called GameFlood. It's kind of a "youtube" for modders and developers alike who can share game related work, create projects or join existing ones, etc. It's worth a visit. Too bad they didn't include an XNA section. he he

More news soon..

*Update*

Well maybe I should have read more carefully, the challenge will start this week, probably Friday or Sunday.. hopefully before that.

:rolleyes:

Happy holidays y'all!

It's been a while since I updated my blog, one month to be exact, and I thought today would be a good day to do so. I added a new photo album called "Dev Screenshots" where I'll upload screenshots of projects I currently have in development. Today I added 11 screenshots, from three games. The first is a hovercraft game but the gameplay hasn't been determined yet, next is a 2d/3d top-down shooter involving alien ships, asteroids and a lot of explosions. The last game is intended to be a "pichenotte" game, or "carrom", which is a mix between billards and shuffleboard. The game will have more than one gameplay to choose from and some may not be turn-style.

I can't wait to get more info on the next xna contest set to begin in january. Too bad I didn't participate in the previous one, I would have at least won four months of Creator Club, since Aki finished 6th using my Super Stickman hehe. This time, I won't back out! The pichenotte game will probably be my game of choice for the contest, the shooter is just not enough imo..

Allright, enough chatting, time to get back to work. Enjoy the screenshots, and if I get some comments, it might push me to release them before completion.

Again, happy holidays and a happy new year!

After an eventful week, I was finally able to complete my breakout game, which took longer than expected. It's now up for grab on ThreeSixBox.com.

Game Features:

- 6 Item types
- 14 Brick types, including animated
- 7 Levels
- 3 Difficulty settings
- Animated paddle
- Spin Control
- 4 Fast-paced Soundtracks
- 2 players mode
- Extra Ball every 10K Points
- Point Multipliers

Click here to see some screenshots.

Now I can finish that other game I've been working on, which will be a 2d shoot-em-up, and will hopefully be my last 2d game.
I've already started working with 3d but masterning collisions is easier said then done, not to mention that I'll have to learn how to process models.. oh well , one day at a time.

Since I'm not yet done with my breakout game, I decided to take some time to migrate the other games I've made, without any changes. And it only took 2 hours if not less.

You can find the games in the XNA Games list or on ThreeSixBox.

If everything goes smoothly,  I should have a demo of the breakout game ready by the weekend with the source code.

Science help us!

As promised, here's a preview of the improved breakout game (didn't find a name for it yet)

<800x600 Preview>

Unfortunately it will take a couple of days before I release a version of it, I still have a couple of things to do..

• add drops
• fix the mouse controls
• add a spin effect & meter
• design a new paddle, possibly animated
• design animated bricks
• create a 2-player mode

until then, keep gaming!

I started migrating my breakout game, and will be improving it alot.

I will post some screenshots tomorrow to let the lucky ones who visit this page see what the game looks like.