Describes the software required to use XNA Game Studio 3.1.
XNA Game Studio 3.1
To download XNA Game Studio 3.1 itself, go to the Creators Club
Online.
.gif) Important |
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| You must uninstall previous versions of XNA Game Studio before you install XNA Game Studio 3.1. However, you can install multiple versions of the XNA Framework Redistributable at the same time. |
Visual Studio 2008
XNA Game Studio leverages the Visual Studio 2008 development environment, extending it for game development. You can use XNA Game Studio
with any supported versions of Visual Studio 2008 tools. Click one of the following links for
more information about using XNA Game Studio with Visual Studio 2008.
| Note |
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| Only members of the Visual Studio 2008 product line support XNA Game Studio 3.1. XNA Game Studio 3.1 is not compatible with Visual Studio 2005 or any previous editions. |
XNA Creators Club
To develop games for Xbox 360, you need a membership in the XNA Creators
Club. You can get an XNA Creators Club membership from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, or at XNA Creators Club Online: Sign in and Membership.
XNA Creators Club and Xbox LIVE Membership Requirements
There are two types of online multiplayer games available when you create a networked game
with XNA Game Studio: system link game sessions and LIVE sessions. These two forms of
online multiplayer gaming describe whether the multiplayer gaming session is on the local
area network (system link games), or if the gaming session is advertised and found through
the LIVE service. With system link games, you can search the local area network to find the
gaming sessions. With LIVE sessions, you can use the LIVE service to find available game
sessions. Use the searchProperties argument of NetworkSession.Find to specify the parameters used to search for
an available game session—a game session that uses either system or the LIVE
service.
Developing and testing a networked game requires at least two machines, but you only need
one Xbox 360 console and one Creators Club membership to test network code for the Xbox
360. This is because XNA Framework supports cross-platform system links so developers can
run one instance of a game on an Xbox 360, and a second on a Windows-based computer. This
functionality helps creators debug their titles without having to purchase a second
console. It is also possible for more than one Windows-based development computer to
connect several machines in a system link session without any memberships required.
Memberships are required for a player on a Windows-based computer and an Xbox 360 console in a network session, depending on the session type that has been
created.
| | Xbox 360 console | Windows-based development computer | Zune |
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| Run an XNA Framework Game | LIVE Silver membership + Premium XNA Creators Club membership | No memberships required | No memberships required |
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| Use System Link for Local Area Network gameplay | LIVE Silver membership + Premium XNA Creators Club membership | No memberships required | No memberships required |
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| Sign in to Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE Servers | LIVE Silver membership + Premium XNA Creators Club membership | LIVE Silver membership + Premium XNA Creators Club membership | Not available on Zune |
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| Use LIVE to connect to other machines over the Internet while the game is in
development | LIVE Gold membership + Premium XNA Creators Club membership | LIVE Silver membership + Premium XNA Creators Club membership | Not available on Zune |
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.gif) Caution |
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| XNA Framework components that interact with Games for Windows - LIVE
require an XNA Creators Club membership. If for any reason a LIVE profile without a
Creators Club membership is set to auto sign in to a Windows-based computer, the game will
be unable to connect to the LIVE service. Furthermore, the XNA Framework gamer services
components, including the Guide, will be unavailable. To disable auto sign in for a LIVE profile on a Windows-based computer, disconnect from the network, launch an XNA Framework game, and then open the Guide. |
Please note the following.
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If you are running an XNA Framework Game on the Microsoft Windows operating system on a
dual-core AMD processor, and the game contacts the Xbox LIVE servers or otherwise uses
the Gamer Services extensions, you may experience unpredictable behavior such as a
hanging of the game process. To work around this issue, you should install the AMD
Dual-Core Optimizer from AMD on the computer on which you are running the game.
Currently, the optimizer is available at the following location.
Zune Client Version
When developing games for Zune, the Zune client needs to be running at least the 3.0
version of the firmware.
Additional Required Software Installed by XNA Game Studio 3.1 Setup
The XNA Game Studio Setup program also installs the following required software:
DirectX Runtime
XNA Game Studio Setup installs the DirectX runtime, which is required to use the XNA Framework
Game API.
Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool
XNA Game Studio Setup installs multiple versions of the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation
Tool (XACT). You can use XACT to author audio content for your game. Games written using
the 3.1 XNA Framework are required to use XACT 3 projects, which are not backwards
compatible. Games written using the 3.0 XNA Framework are required to use XACT 2
projects. For more information about upgrading your projects in regard to XACT, Upgrading XNA Game Studio Projects.
Games for Windows - LIVE
XNA Game Studio Setup installs Microsoft Games for Windows – LIVE Redistributable, version
2.0.687.0. This software provides support for various gamer services such as retrieving
player preferences for local accounts, as well as programmatically displaying various
LIVE Guide user interface screens.