Included in this release :
Audio and Initial Network support.
Multitouch and Accelerometer works, but still incomplete.
Marblets Starter Kit - Shows landscape rendering
Platformer Starter Kit - ScreenShot
Multitouch example
GameStateManagement example
and lots of under the hood changes to get an couple of extra frames per second.
XnaTouch is a free implementation of the XNA Framework for MonoTouch.
Our goal is to facilitate the porting of XNA based ZuneHD, Xbox and PC games/applications to the IPhone / Ipod Touch.
For now, the idea is to support just the 2D XNA API, until the ZuneHD 3D XNA API is released officially.
Note : even though you write your code in C# rather than Objective C, all the code is compiled down to native iPhone arm code, NOT interpreted, as Apple do not allow interpreted code on the iPhone or iPod touch.
Last edited by CartBlanche; 12-06-2009 at 06:16 AM.
Reason: Added linke to Alien Game that shows accelerometer support on an actuall iPhone
So would it be possible to sell XNA games designed for the zune?
XnaTouch does not bypass Microsoft's restrictions. It is simply a library to allow you to port XNA games ( initially 2D ), from Zune etc to the iPhone.
In both cases there are costs involved. With XNA you need to buy a Creators club membership and with iPhone you need to become and iPhone developer and purchase a commericial version of MonoTouch from Novell. XnaTouch sits on top of MonoTouch, which in turn is a C# wrapper over the native iPhone APIs..
Both platforms allow you to develop your project free of cost and only pay when you are ready to actually sell your product.
XnaTouch is free and open source.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Netrix
So this compiler completely skips the Common Language Infrastructure?
I'm not part of the MonoTouch team, but my understanding is that it is a 2 stage compile process. Your C# code is initially compiled to native .NET, therefore CLR. Then that byte code is then NGened to native iPhone arm code. iPhone does not allow CLR code, hence why the .NET code is compiled down to native code. This same compiler process is used in Unity 3D ( UNITY: Game Development Tool ), which also targets iPhone ( PC, MacOS, Web and soon Xbox 360 - and we can only hope it does ZuneHD as well at some point ).
In both cases there are costs involved. With XNA you need to buy a Creators club membership and with iPhone you need to become and iPhone developer and purchase a commericial version of MonoTouch from Novell.
For XNA development you only need a Creators Club Membership if you want to develop for the XBox360. For PC and Zune(HD) its totally free.
How do I deploy the game to my iPhone in the end? I mean, working with a simulator might work for a while but when it comes to a final build, how do I test it on a real device?
Don't forget that this is an opportunity for the developers. You cannot make money with xna games, but you can for iPod games. When you port your xna game with minimum effort you can at least get some reward for making games for the Zune! Why do all the people think so bad about Apple/iPod/iPhone? The iPods are great devices, ZuneHd is great too. I have both and I don't want to miss one of them. I as a developer find it very very cool to have a chance to support another additional platform. Now its like xna supports Windows, Xbox 360, Zune, ZuneHd, iPod and iPhone. This is just awesome! One code, six target platforms!
For XNA development you only need a Creators Club Membership if you want to develop for the XBox360. For PC and Zune(HD) its totally free.
How do I deploy the game to my iPhone in the end? I mean, working with a simulator might work for a while but when it comes to a final build, how do I test it on a real device?
Thanks for the clarification about ZuneHD deployment Dirk.
Basically, from inside the MonoDevelop IDE you can target either the simulator or iPhone/iPod touch device. Note: When using the trial version of MonoTouch, you can only target the simulator. MonoTouch offers a commercial Personal or Enterprise edition of their SDK, both of which allow you to deploy to the iPhone and sell your application on the AppStore. See the FAQ above for more info.
Assumming I don't have a Mac, approx. how much it costs in total in order to port Zune(HD) games to iPhone/iPod touch?
As long as the Mac runs Mac OS X 10.5.8 you are good to go. So an iMac or even a Mac Mini. The game that a work collegue and I are working on, he uses a Mac Mini and I have a Mac Book Pro. I also have 2 Windows laptops and 2 desktop machines to test the Windows side of things. I'm still waiting for ZuneHD to be released in the UK.
So currently the basic cost is for whatever you can get a Mac that runs Mac OS 10.5.8. If you look around you should be able to pick one up for around $350 or even cheaper. Software wise, just to do the initial development should not cost you anything as there are either trial versions or free versions of what you would need. When you are ready to deploy, then you need to get a developer license from Apple ( £60 ) and of course an iPhone/iPod touch to test your game on. If you know someone with an iPhone, be nice to them and maybe they will allow you to test your game on their phone .
I am not saying that this is a bad thing. I mean I own an Itouch also....I let my sister use it...and I am sure she would enjoy some of the games for the ZuneHD....but wouldnt it be fair if Itouch ported some of its good stuff too?
I am not saying that this is a bad thing. I mean I own an Itouch also....I let my sister use it...and I am sure she would enjoy some of the games for the ZuneHD....but wouldnt it be fair if Itouch ported some of its good stuff too?
I am not saying that this is a bad thing. I mean I own an Itouch also....I let my sister use it...and I am sure she would enjoy some of the games for the ZuneHD....but wouldnt it be fair if Itouch ported some of its good stuff too?
the way his code is written ids to convert our API and code to anIphones, you can;t reverse the procces without extreme re-coding.
Dirk, i agree, i mean i devolop for fun, but i would also like money too =), thats why i put ads on my blog and a donate button, its nice when people donate, but its rare, so i agree with you so we can make money selling zune games on the iphone/itouch
hmmm.....I guess if I was a programmer I would like to make money as well!! I just wish that more Itouch fans were as.....liberal.....as some as us here.
I wish I had a Mac I'd love to see Acceleroid running on an iPhone...
Dom, could you test porting one of my games? Is the XNATouch already supporting the accelerometer and such?
What about setting up a service to port our games to iPhone/Ipod touch, sell them at AppStore, and pay us some royalties?
I know a guy who developed his game called Jelly Car with XNA Game Studio, ported his to Ipod touch, and "sold" over 2 million copies (last year stat) via AppStore for free. Image how much he would earn if he asked only a dollar per copy.
I wish I had a Mac I'd love to see Acceleroid running on an iPhone...
Dom, could you test porting one of my games? Is the XNATouch already supporting the accelerometer and such?
Hi Dirk,
I sent you a message on your YouTube channel saying that I'd like to try and port Acceleroid and Valgard's Fate to iPhone, assuming neither of them use things like RenderTextures or any 3D stuff. Yes XnaTouch has accelerometer and multitouch support. I can do the port and send you screen shots of it running on the iPhone simulator. Catch me on Skype on the week-end.
I know a guy who developed his game called Jelly Car with XNA Game Studio, ported his to Ipod touch, and "sold" over 2 million copies (last year stat) via AppStore for free. Image how much he would earn if he asked only a dollar per copy.
I've been exchanging emails with the maker of Jelly Car about porting the Jelly Physics to XnaTouch. Btw, for the iPhone version he did not use XNA, but rewrote it in Objective C. Jelly Car 2, which is not free, has sold 2700+ units at 0.99c, since the beginning of November 2009.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KawaCoder
What about setting up a service to port our games to iPhone/Ipod touch, sell them at AppStore, and pay us some royalties?
Funnily enough, I was thinking exactly this yesterday. I have a limited company in the UK, and we can do everything above board. Contracts can be set up between parties, we can decide on what an appropriate royalty scheme is, when royalties will be paid etc.
Typically to do well on the iPhone, most games/apps have a Lite version and a full version. Ideally they should be released at roughly same time, so that your conversion rate from Lite to Full paid version is higher.
and grab ChangeSet 35142 which is labelled "STABLE RELEASE 27th November 2009 21:05" . We will be creating a more official 0.7 release either this week-end or next week-end, depending on how much we get working.
Btw, has anyone here written a multi-player game using XNA for ZuneHD?
Jelly Car 2, which is not free, has sold 2700+ units at 0.99c, since the beginning of November 2009.
Is it 0.99c = 99th / 100 of a cent or 0.99 of a dollar? If the latter you meant, it is almost 3,000 bucks a month of selling. I believe he will get a double in income in the next month which is December. Amazing!
According to his blog, he did his Jelly Physics in XNA originally. In fact, I do have his source code for the engine. Yes, I remeber he rewrote his game in Objective C. My mistake.
Official XnaTouch 0.7 Stable released...
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I'd love to see Acceleroid running on an iPhone...
