\Games using Managed DirectX
A very strange game created by Rob Burke and a team of folk from his University. The game replicates a tradition from the University where students try to climb up a grease pole.
Download Windows and Xbox versions - you might want to read the short and/or long instructions so you are an expert on the strange terminology and odd logic!
There's some great background documentation including the AI behind the characters which Rob seems to have done as a project while he was at University! Also the game has a full installer, integrates with Vista Game explorer and has its own internal achievements system - hopefully Rob will document some of these in the future.
Jeremy Spiller has been featured on the zbuffer before with his Managed DirectX control but unless you spend time browsing around his web site you wouldn't know that he is one of the great game developers (read an interview) of the late 1980s/early 90s on the CoCo3. Well now he is recreating his 1989 classic in full 3d and so far its looking like a really fun game to play. The soundtrack is really very good and the action is synchronized up to the music. Check out the video, then download the beta and take a look at the screen shots. I really hope he ports this over to XNA - this will look great at HD resolution on the big screen.
Check out a second Zenix3D video from Jeremy (note he is better than me!)
Video by Fraps
Entombed is a nice looking Dungeon Master clone that was being done with VB and Managed DirectX. Looks like Dave is hoping to move it to XNA. Check out the site for more screen shots.
XNA Racer is a starter kit that will be available to Creators Club subscribers. It was coded by Benjamin Nitschke in just 4 weeks (though Ben is some kind of super human coder who never sleeps!) and shows what can be done in the hands of really good game developers.
A great video from some XNA event showing more of XNA racer than we have seen before.
Update thumbnail and progress
Sidereal Fury is a multiplayer sci-fi racing game currently under development. There is no public download yet, but the group has posted screen shots of their current state.
Progress on Sidereal Fury has been consistent - it's good to see an indie MDX game that has regular updates. Isaac has artists and developers on board which is a great sign. I'm not sure if he is still recruiting but you can contact him through the website if you are interested in contributing.
This is looking like a great new game in managed code and its just in beta testing so you can download and test to your hearts content. Its written using the Flat Red Ball 2.5D engine which is itself written with Managed DirectX. More screen shots here and download here.
Added team size
From Koios Works and Matrix Games, the folks with the 1st and 2nd (and currently the only ones admitting it) retail games written with Managed DirectX, comes a new war strategy game called Panzer Command. This genre is not something I am experienced in so if you want to know more you can look at the screenshots (more in this thread), check out the forum, apply to be a beta tester (though currently they are full!) and read a preview. An interesting comment from Tom Miller - this is the 3rd game in less than 2 years from the Koios Works. The team size for Panzer Command is 2 developers and 6 artists which I think shows the productivity gains that Managed DirectX can give you.
Pong Frenzy is a version of pong wih much nicer graphics than the original from Phil Vaira. The ball is bigger too which is great for old folk like me. He's provided the full source code including examples of using D3DXSprite, DirectInput and DirectSound
Sample Code
Nerdkill is a rewrite of an Amiga game from the 1990s. Very simple to play - you kill the nerds by using various weapons.
Sample Code
DaTroof has just announced alpha testing of a graphical MUD called Post Extant. The graphical client is built with C# and Managed DirectX. Looks like early days but he is looking for testers and feedback. Screenshot
via Mykre
The Adventures of Source Fource is part of MSDNs marketing campaign where you can collect the limited edition 'action' figures for attending MSDN events. The game is based on the 2d game from last years webcast, any you can of course watch this years 3D webcast to earn the figures (provided you are reading this before May 2006).
Sample Code
- The full game source is available
via Mykre
developer,
publisherRead an Interview with the lead developer.
Download the demo at at worthplaying.com or experiencegaming.com
| " | Koios Works' Tin Soldiers - Alexander the Great is a turn-based, simultaneous-play wargame with a classic feel and a reaction system to allow mid-turn adjustments to strategy. Aside from covering the most famous conqueror in all of history. Tin Soldiers - Alexander the Great places you in the role of Alexander the Great during his conquest of the known world. You will fight the grand campaign from inheriting your Alexander father’s mantel at the battle of Thebes to his conquest of Darius III and the Persian Empire and last great battle at the Hydaspes. Tin Soldiers: Alexander the Great also presents the wargamer with a unique miniatures-oriented feel with graphics of hand-painted, individually adorned soldiers. | " |
developer,
publisher
Matrix Games has announced their latest Tin Soldiers game. Like its prequel, Julius Caesar was written using Managed DirectX. The graphics engine has been upgraded for this game. For screen shots and more information see the product page.
Homepage
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Punch'n'crunch is the first mouse-gesture-driven Fun Boxing Action game in development. Unique character design and animations Punch'n'crunch offers a variety of 8 - 20 characters to choose from - the wackiest ones you've ever seen - at least 20 attack animations, ridiculing animations with impact on the following attack gesture. Hidden gestures and opponents, special gestures and combo system. Facial expressions, speech and texture changes which reflect the state of health. Puppeteer-like control of characters |
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homepage
Currently under development by Benjamin Nitschke who was also involved with Arena Wars
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StarLynx: Earth Invasion Features:
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"Greetings program. I'd like to be positive, but I've seen your code types before. I give you around 5 core tick cycles on the d-Rez game grid before your blasted in to a million red pixels!" d-Rez borrows from the dazzling look of Tron and implements an addictive 3D first person shoot-em-up. With simple controls d-Rez is very much in the arcade game mould where speed of play and lightening reactions are the only way to survive! |
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Homepage, Sandlot games, Microsoft Partner Pack
| " | Super Slyder - Slide on over to Super Slyder. Help maneuver a lovable superhero named Slyder through hundreds of challenging mazes. There are many more unique characters for you to meet in over 100 addictive mazes of Super Slyder. Install and play the game on your Media Center PC. | " |
According to their system requirements this game uses Managed DirectX. You can download and try the game before you pay.
Homepage, Sandlot games, Microsoft Partner Pack
| " | Serpentine - Do you think you can corral a hungry serpent? Instead of controlling the serpent, use the mouse to manipulate the walls that guide your creatures to yummy "bao" or Chinese steamed buns. Play Serpentine and become the best serpent herder in the land. | " |
According to their system requirements this game uses Managed DirectX. You can download and try the game before you pay.
Not so many completed games recently, and though this one is simple it is complete which is more than most of us can say.
So from the shores of Denmark I present DXPong. The blog it came from is in Danish, a language which google does not help me translate, so the content is beyond me. However there are screen shots here and the download is here.
Mykre pointed me to a thread on GameDev forums regarding a new managed DirectX game looking for a team.
The game is called Star Odyssey and they have a team forum and some very nice looking screenshots
So if you are interested in helping them out, please go and pay a visit
Its been bought to my attention (thanks Diep and Tom's blog) that though Arena Wars is written in managed code it uses OpenGL rather than managed DirectX. The entry will remain for the sake of permalinks.
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Arena Wars is a completely new kind of 3D Real Time Strategy game,
combining the gameplay principles and interface from RTS games with the fast
pace of action-based shooters. Arena Wars is a single and multiplayer game. Multiplayer supports up to 8 players, who can fight against each other and challenge other players from all around the world via the AW Server, whilst the single player mode is loaded with action-packed single player missions against one or more computer opponents. |
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1/12/06: Fixed link to Aaron's site. Added links to tutorials
I don't know how long it took Aaron to put this together, but its a magnificent bit of coding and graphics for one guy to do in his spare time. If you didn't download and play it then do it now. I hope his girlfriend appreciated it!
Texas Quest is a 2d side scroller, much like Mario World. Aaron wrote it for his girlfriend :-). Read more and download here and see more screen shots. Aaron has generously made the full source available for the game so if you want some 2-D scrolling sample code this would be a great place to look.
Aaron has a couple of tutorials talking about how this was developed. 2D rendering, design part I. Also see Aarons other projects.
Matthieu Laban is working on a Flight Simulator using Managed Direct. That's a nice screen shot and there are many more in his flight simulator gallery. The project uses ODE for the physics simulation and is mostly written in C#. It also has the ability to use real DEM data and has written a neat google earth add in that plots the course you flew.
Download it here.
Land of Legends is a turn-based fantasy strategy game where eight unique races vie for supremacy using a combination of cold steel and hot magic. Players will have to use their wits and each race's special abilities to bring defeat to the forces of darkness plaguing the lands in the thirty-two mission campaign. The game doesn't end with Evil's defeat though, as a built-in matchmaking service allows infinite replayability by giving players the chance to play against live opponents around the globe.
Land of Legends was developed by Scott Lance from Tiny Hero game studios and is published by Shrapnel Games. There are more screen shots here and you can download a demo here.
According to a write up on sharpSpace, Scott did a presentation to the IGDA Seattle chapter in October (2005) and mentioned that he used Managed DirectX.
Flight Simulator - Next Generation (FSNG) is Andreas Jung's ambitious project to build a flight simulator using Managed DirectX. There are some screen shots and a project status page.
4/19/06: English translations of the Coding4Fun video tutorials on Rocket Commander and upcoming webcasts (thanks Mykre)
Finally Rocket Commander releases along with the German Coding4Fun site. There are images on the Rocket Commander home page as well as some on Benjamins blog. There is also now a video available. You can download the game and the full source code from the download area
The US Coding4Fun site now has the same video tutorials in English (originals in German)
Benjamin will also be doing 3 live Webcasts in May.
According to Tom Miller's blog, Stacks Poker is using Managed DirectX to produce an online Poker experience with full 3d graphics. Right now its just image and videos (no direct links, sorry, the site is a big old Flash application) but you can sign up to be a preview player. The site talks about a fall release so we must surely be close.
Source code available, fixed for the December 2005 SDK
Snowglobe is a fast-paced arcade style 3D game in the same vein as the classic Breakout and Arkanoid games. Set inside a virtual snow globe with a castle in the middle, the player spins a paddle around the globe and tries to hit a ball to destroy the castle brick by brick. It was written by a group at the University of Columbia. There is a white paper, a PowerPoint slide deck and full source linked from the home page.
Sample Code
- Download full source (fixed up for the December SDK by The ZMan)
via Tom
