XNA 3.0 Game Programming Recipes - A Problem-Solution Approach

Contents at a Glance

Contents

About the Author

About the Technical Reviewer

Acknowledgments

Introduction

If You’re New to XNA and Starting Your First 2D Game

If You’re Going from 2D to 3D

Start Using the Content Pipeline

Enhance the Final Image with HLSL Shaders

Prerequisites

Downloading the Code

Contacting the Author

Getting Started with XNA 3.0

1- 1. Install XNA Game Studio 3.0

1- 2. Start Your First XNA 3.0 Project

1- 3. Deploy Your XNA 3.0 Game on Xbox 360

1- 4. Deploy Your XNA 3.0 Game on the Zune

1- 5. Deploy Your XNA 3.0 Game on Another PC

1- 6. Customize Game Loop Timing

1- 7. Make Your Code Plug- and- Play Using GameComponents

1- 8. Allow Your GameComponents to Communicate with Each Other by Implementing GameServices

1- 9. Save and Load Data to or from a File

Setting Up Different Camera Modes in Your 3D World

2- 1. Set Up the Camera: Position, Target, and View Frustum

2- 2. Specify the Target of Your Camera

2- 3. Create a First- Person Shooter Camera: A Quake- Style Camera

2- 4. Create a Freelancer- Style Camera: Full 3D Rotation Using Quaternions

2- 5. Check Whether an Object Is in Sight of the Camera

2- 6. Detect Camera Collision Against Models, Walls, or Terrains

2- 7. Create a Camera Fly- by Action

2- 8. Remove the Solid Background Color: Skybox

2- 9. Draw Only the Parts of the Scene That Are in Sight of the Camera: Octree

2- 10. Use a Quadtree to Hide Parts of a Grid That Are Not in Sight

2- 11. Create a Real- Time Camera- Dependant Optimally Adapting Mesh ( ROAM) Terrain

2- 12. Set Up a Post- Processing Framework

2- 13. Create a Blur/ Glow Post- Processing Effect

2- 14. Write a Custom Content Importer

Working with 2D Images/ Textures in XNA 3.0

3- 1. Display 2D Images: Load and Render Images Using the SpriteBatch Class

3- 2. Rotate, Scale, and Mirror an Image

3- 3. Render Transparent Images Using Layers

3- 4. Consider Performance When Using the SpriteBatch Class

3- 5. Display Text

3- 6. Create a 2D Menu Interface

3- 7. Create a Texture, Define the Color of Each Pixel, Save a Texture to a File

3- 8. Render the Scene into a Texture

3- 9. Extend the Image Content Processor

3- 10. Extend the Image Content Processor: Grayscale Conversion and Processor Parameters

3- 11. Make Your Scene More Impressive with Billboarding: Render 2D Images in a 3D World So They Always Face the Camera

3- 12. Create a 3D Explosion Effect/ Simple Particle System

3- 13. Create a Mirror: Projective Texturing

Working with Models

4- 1. Load and Render a Model Using the BasicEffect Class

4- 2. Set Different World Matrices for Different Objects, Combining World Matrices

4- 3. Find the Rotation Angle Corresponding to a Direction

4- 4. Use Acceleration to Control Velocity

4- 5. Construct the Global BoundingSphere Around a Model

4- 6. Scale the Model to a Predefined Size

4- 7. Render a Model Using Custom Effects and Custom Textures ( Easy Approach)

4- 8. Visualize the Bone Structure of a Model

4- 9. Make the Bones Move Individually: Model Animation

4- 10. Use BoundingSpheres for Basic Model Collision Detection

4- 11. Use Ray- Traced Collision Detection for Small/ Fast Objects

4- 12. Extend the Model Content Processor to Load Custom Effects ( Clean Approach)

4- 13. Gain Direct Access to Vertex Position Data by Extending the Model Processor

4- 14. Gain Direct Access to Vertex Position Data of Each ModelMesh by Extending the Model Processor

4- 15. Gain Direct Access to Vertex Position Data by Defining a Custom TypeWriter and TypeReader

4- 16. Store Multiple Objects in the Tag Property by Defining a Custom TypeWriter and TypeReader

4- 17. Correctly Tilt a Model According to the Terrain Underneath

4- 18. Detect Ray- Model Collisions Using Per- Triangle Checks

4- 19. Detect Whether the Pointer Is Over a Model

Getting the Most Out of Vertices

5- 1. Render Triangles, Lines, and Points in a 3D World

5- 2. Apply a Texture to Your Triangles

5- 3. Remove Redundant Vertices Using Indices

5- 4. Store Your Vertices and Indices in the Memory of Your Graphics Card Using a VertexBuffer and an IndexBuffer

5- 5. Store Your Frequently Updated Vertices in a DynamicVertexBuffer

5- 6. Enable Backface Culling: What It Is and What It Can Do for You

5- 7. Automatically Calculate the Normals for All Vertices in a VertexBuffer

5- 8. Create a Terrain Based on a VertexBuffer and an IndexBuffer

5- 9. Calculate the Exact Height of a Terrain Between Vertices Using Bilinear Interpolation

5- 10. Calculate the Collision Point Between the Pointer and the Terrain: Surface Picking

5- 11. Load Data from an XML File

5- 12. Create Your Own Vertex Format

5- 13. Work with Bump Mapping: Fixed Normal

5- 14. Add Per- Pixel Detail by Bump Mapping in Tangent Space

5- 15. Add an Ocean to Your 3D World

5- 16. Apply Catmull- Rom Interpolation in 3D to Generate Additional Vertices

5- 17. Create the Vertices for a Racing Track

Adding Light to Your Scene in XNA 3.0

6- 1. Define Normals and Use the BasicEffect

6- 2. Share Normals Between Vertices

6- 3. Add Higher Detail to Your Lighting: Per- Pixel Lighting

6- 4. Add Specular Highlights to Reflective Surfaces

6- 5. Add HLSL Vertex Shading

6- 6. Define a Point Light Using HLSL

6- 7. Add HLSL Per- Pixel Lighting

6- 8. Define a Spotlight Using HLSL

6- 9. Add HLSL Specular Highlights

6- 10. Add Multiple Lights to Your Scene Using Deferred Shading

6- 11. Add Shadowing Capability to Your Deferred Shading Engine

Adding Sounds to Your XNA 3.0 Project

7- 1. Play and Control Simple . wav Sound Files

7- 2. Play MP3 or WMA Sound Files

7- 3. Play Simple . wav Sound Files Through XAct

7- 4. Loop Sounds

7- 5. Play Sounds from a 3D Location Relative to the Camera: 3D Sound

Networking in XNA 3.0

8- 1. Sign In for Networking Services

8- 2. Create a Network Session

8- 3. Join a Network Session

8- 4. Send/ Receive Data Over the Network

8- 5. Search for Networking Sessions Asynchronously

8- 6. Add Rich Presence Information

8- 7. Move from the Lobby to the Actual Game

Index