Important info

The current project file for the 360 project may be missing Settings.cs. If you right click on the Configuration folder, you should be able add the file in. I'll fix this as soon as possible.

• If you're looking for the fancy looking version you may have seen in the screenshots, with skies and water, you may be looking for this version: http://www.codeplex.com/QuickStartEngine/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=8818. Older, but better looking for now. :)

New forums, and repository

• You may have noticed the forums here are kind of quiet. We've moved our forums. Here is the URL: http://xnaquickstart.freeforums.org/portal.php.
• If you'd like to get the latest code that is in development between releases, our repository is at sourceforge, this URL has all the info you'll need: http://xnaquickstart.freeforums.org/get-the-latest-code-t73.html

QUICKSTART ENGINE TUTORIAL

Finally! A Tutorial! We've had many requests for a tutorial to help users get started. You can find the document for download on this page along with the source code/application itself.

Release notes

This is an intermediate release until we can release v0.2. v0.19 was released just to show the new framework of the engine for the first time. Now we're trying to make it easier to use, and more powerful.

In order to use this version you will need:

• Visual Studio 2005 with C# (Express version will be sufficient)
• XNA Framework, version 2.0
• AGEIA PhysX Driver http://www.ageia.com/drivers/drivers.html. This does NOT mean you need an Ageia PhysX card, you can run your physics fine without it.

In order to develop on the physics implementation you will also need

• Visual Studio 2005 with C++
• AGEIA PhysX SDK

New features since v0.19

• New component system
• You can easily attach components to Entities, allowing them to be of whatever types the components allow. For example, by attaching a Physics component that Entity will now have physics, and update and react to physics automatically. If you'd like it to render, you give it a Render component which describes its model.
• Entity system refactored
• The new component system lets us remove the work many entities were doing within them. There is no longer a need for cameras to be entities (as described later on), and while Terrain still remains an Entity, things like rendering and physics are now handled by components rather than directly by the terrain Entity class.
• Messaging system update
• Messages can now be sent directly to Entities themselves
• Messages sent to Entities will route through all that Entity's components if the Entity does not handle it.
• Camera system redesigned
• Cameras used to be derived from Entities. This made it harder to use them generically. Now Cameras are a component, if you'd like a camera, you simply attach a camera component to any entity and it can render. Then you just let the camera interface know which entity you are rendering from.
• Cameras are now using matrices to do all movements. This means cameras can now roll (along their forward axis), and they can now pitch past vertical (they can flip over).
• Entity input refactored
• If you'd like to control an Entity you can now place an input component on it. This allows it to receive input messages and handle them however you desire, based on what input component you use. Currently all cameras are controlled through specific input controller components made for them. If you attach a FreeCameraInputComponent for example, your input will handle as if the entity was of that type.
• SceneManager update
• Scenes are going to much simpler in the coming versions, so much was moved out of them and into the direct control of the Scene Manager.
• Engine Settings
• Settings are now read in through an XML file rather than being hard coded into a common variables class.