XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) ReadMe

This file provides setup information and describes known issues for XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview).

Setup Requirements

This section describes the operating systems and hardware on which XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) is supported, and the additional software required for running XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview).

Supported Operating Systems

XNA Game Studio is fully supported on the following operating systems.

Operating SystemSupported Versions
Microsoft® Windows® XP
  • Home Edition
  • Professional Edition
  • Media Center Edition
  • Tablet Edition
Windows Vista™
  • Home Basic Edition
  • Home Premium Edition
  • Business Edition
  • Enterprise Edition
  • Ultimate Edition

Remarks

  • Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is supported, but not required, for XNA Game Studio.
  • Windows XP requires Service Pack 2 or later.
  • Although XNA Game Studio itself is available only in English, it is supported under any of the available language settings on Windows.
  • Administrator permissions are not required to run XNA Game Studio. However, Administrator permissions (administrative elevation on Windows Vista) are required to install XNA Game Studio.
  • Although the setup program for XNA Game Studio will complete on the Windows 2003 Server operating system, XNA Game Studio is not officially supported on Windows 2003 Server, and the XNA Game Studio software may not work as expected.

Hardware Requirements

To run XNA Framework games on Windows, you will need a graphics card that supports Shader Model 1.1 or greater and DirectX 9.0c. We recommend that you use a graphics card that supports Shader Model 2.0 because some samples and starter kits may require it.

You should ensure that your graphics card is using the most recent drivers by checking with your hardware vendor and by accessing Microsoft Update.

Other hardware requirements for XNA Game Studio are identical to those for Visual Studio 2008. For more information, see the Visual Studio documentation.

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 either Visual C#® 2008 Express Edition or one of the other Visual Studio 2008 products such as Visual Studio 2008 Professional. You can also use XNA Game Studio with multiple variants of Visual Studio 2008. For example, if you have both Visual C# 2008 Express Edition and Visual Studio 2008 installed on the same computer, the XNA Game Studio Setup program will install support for both.

Note
XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) is supported only on members of the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 product line, and is not compatible with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or earlier.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) requires that the .NET Framework 3.5 be installed, although not all features new to the .NET Framework 3.5 are supported in the preview version.

The Setup program for Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 installs the .NET Framework 3.5 if it is not already installed on your computer. You can also install the .NET Framework from the Microsoft .NET Framework Developer Center.

XNA Creators Club

To develop games for the Xbox 360®, you will need a membership in the XNA Creators Club. Obtain an XNA Creators Club membership from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Xbox LIVE Membership

XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) supports networking and multiplayer functionality using system link, that is, a LAN connection between game machines, or through the Xbox LIVE service. The following table describes the Xbox LIVE membership requirements for this functionality.

Windows® Game
Run an XNA Framework GameNo memberships Required
System LinkNo memberships Required
Contact Xbox LIVE Servers, for Example, Sign-On, Query Friends, Query Gamer ProfilesXbox LIVE Silver membership + Creators Club membership
Xbox LIVE Matchmaking and MultiplayerXbox LIVE Gold membership + Creators Club membership
Caution
The 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 on a Windows-based computer, the game will not be able to connect to the LIVE service and the XNA framework gamer services components, including the Guide, will not be available. To disable auto sign-in for a LIVE profile on a Windows-based computer, launch an XNA framework game and open the Guide while disconnected from the network.

Please note the following.

  • 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 the game process hanging. To workaround this issue, the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer from AMD should be installed on the computer on which the game is running. The Optimizer is currently available at the following location.

    AMD Dual-Core Optimizer

Additional Required Software Installed by XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Setup

The following additional required software is installed for you by the XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) setup program.

DirectX Runtime

XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Setup installs the DirectX runtime, which is required to use the XNA Framework game API.

Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool

XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Setup installs the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) from the August 2007 DirectX Software Development Kit (SDK). XACT enables you to author audio content for your game. XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Setup installs a version of XACT that is compatible with the XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) product. XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) may not work with content authored using other versions of XACT.

1. Known Issues with XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview)

This section describes known issues that you may encounter when using XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview).

1.1. Setup Issues

This section describes known issues with setup of XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview).

1.1.1. Zune Development Is Not Supported on 64-Bit Operating Systems

The XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) does not support development of games for Zune if XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) is installed on a 64-bit operating system such as Windows XP Pro x64 Edition or the x64 versions of Windows Vista®.

1.1.2. Uninstall Games for Windows - LIVE Before Installing XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview)

Before installing XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), uninstall any instance of Games for Windows - LIVE already installed on your computer. Installing XNA Game Studio 3.0 will install the most recent version of Games for Windows--LIVE.

To uninstall, use Control Panel | Add or Remove Programs from Windows XP, or Control Panel | Programs and Features from Windows Vista. The exact name of the program to uninstall is the following.

Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable

On Windows XP

  1. From Control Panel | Add or Remove Programs, select Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable.
  2. Select Remove.

On Windows Vista

  1. From Control Panel | Programs and Features, select Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable.
  2. Select Remove.

Games for Windows - LIVE may have been installed previously by XNA Game Studio 2.0 or by a Games for Windows - LIVE game, such as Viva Pinata.

1.1.3. Close Visual C# 2008 Express Edition and Other Supported Visual Studio 2008 Products Before Installing XNA Game Studio

Before installing XNA Game Studio, close any running instances of Visual C# 2008 Express Edition or other supported Visual Studio 2008 products, such as Visual Studio 2008 Professional.

1.1.4. Unable to Debug in XNA Game Studio 2.0 after Uninstalling XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview)

If you uninstall XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) from a computer that has XNA Game Studio 2.0 installed, you may not be able to use XNA Game Studio 2.0 to debug games that you have deployed to the Xbox 360. To resolve this issue, run repair on XNA Game Studio 2.0.

On Windows XP

  1. From Control Panel | Add or Remove Programs, select Microsoft XNA Game Studio 2.0.
  2. Select Change.
  3. Select Repair in the setup wizard.

On Windows Vista

  1. From Control Panel | Programs and Features, select Microsoft XNA Game Studio 2.0.
  2. Select Uninstall/Change.
  3. Select Reinstall in the setup wizard.

Repairing XNA Game Studio 2.0 does not require you to re-download XNA Game Studio 2.0.

1.1.5. Uninstall XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Before Uninstalling Visual Studio 2008

If you choose to uninstall Visual Studio 2008, you must first uninstall XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview). XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) will not uninstall properly if Visual Studio 2008 is not currently installed.

1.1.6. Do Not Uninstall XNA Framework Unless Also Uninstalling XNA Game Studio

Do not uninstall the XNA Framework unless you are also uninstalling XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview). Although XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) and the XNA Framework are separate components, XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) relies on the XNA Framework and will not function correctly if the XNA Framework is uninstalled.

1.1.7. DirectX Redistributable Files Removed Only on Uninstall

After you install XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), a copy of the DirectX redistributable files will exist in

C:\Program Files\Microsoft XNA\XNA Game Studio\3.0\Setup\DX Redist

These are temporary files used by Setup and are not supported for direct use by developers. Uninstalling XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) will uninstall these temporary files.

1.1.8. Error Codes that May Be Returned from Setup

Setup may return one of the following error codes if an issue occurs during installation. If you are using a script to install XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), you should check for these error codes.

ValueDescription
5001.NET Framework 2.0 is not installed
5002Not running on a supported operating system
5003Setup is not running with Administrator privileges
5005Error in the command line specified to the installer
5006Setup is already running; cannot run multiple instances of Setup
5007Pre-released version of the product must be uninstalled before running Setup
5998User canceled out of Setup
5999Other non-specific error

1.2. Development Environment

This section describes known issues you may encounter when working with XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) and the Visual Studio 2008 environment.

1.2.1. Manual Upgrade of Existing Projects to XNA Game Studio 3.0

The upgrade wizard for Visual Studio 2008 does not operate correctly for projects developed for XNA Game Studio 2.0. This section describes how to upgrade an existing project developed under XNA Game Studio 2.0 to XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview). This is a manual procedure that later releases of XNA Game Studio will automate.

The Visual Studio 2008 project upgrade wizard does not correctly upgrade projects developed under XNA Game Studio 2.0 to XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview). Projects upgraded through the wizard may fail to load in Visual Studio 2008. If XNA Game Studio 2.0 is installed on your system, the project may load, but it will still not be a valid XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) project; you may run into issues when building or running the project. You can fix a project which is in this state by using the manual upgrade procedure described below.

The upgrade wizard also neglects to include the content project in its backup. As a result, the backup project will fail to load in Visual Studio 2005. This can be corrected by copying the content folder from the project created by the upgrade wizard to the backup project. The backup project can then load properly in Visual Studio 2005.

Because of these limitations, any existing project developed under XNA Game Studio 2.0 should be manually upgraded to XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) using the process described here.

These procedures should be followed only for Windows projects. The XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) release does not support development or deployment of Xbox 360 projects. Attempting to use XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) to run or debug a project to an Xbox 360 console will fail and may leave the console displaying only a black screen. To recover control of the console, press the Guide button, then press Y to return to the Xbox 360 Dashboard.

1.2.1.1. Before You Begin

Before you initiate this manual procedure, you should back up all components of your project, including the game code and the content pipeline. Save a copy of this data in a backup directory before you upgrade your project.

1.2.1.2. Performing the Upgrade

To upgrade your existing project to XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), perform the following steps:

  1. Open the game project file (.csproj) with a text editor such as Notepad.
  2. Near the top of the project file, between the <PropertyGroup> XML tags, find the specification <XnaFrameworkVersion>v2.0</XnaFrameworkVersion>. Change this to read <XnaFrameworkVersion>v3.0</XnaFrameworkVersion>.

  3. In the <Reference> statements for the XNA Framework, change all "Version" attributes from 2.0.0.0 to 3.0.0.0. For example, the following line:

    <Reference Include="Microsoft.Xna.Framework, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=6d5c3888ef60e27d, processorArchitecture=x86">

    should be changed to read:

    <Reference Include="Microsoft.Xna.Framework, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=6d5c3888ef60e27d, processorArchitecture=x86">

  4. In the <Import> statements for XNA Game Studio, change all path references to subdirectories for the target files that are specified in the "Project" attribute from "v2.0" to "v3.0". For example, the following line:

    <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\XNA Game Studio\v2.0\Microsoft.Xna.GameStudio.Common.targets" />

    should be changed to read:

    <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\XNA Game Studio\v3.0\Microsoft.Xna.GameStudio.Common.targets" />

  5. Save the game project file.
  6. Open the content project file (.contentproj) with a text editor such as Notepad.
  7. Repeat steps 2 through 4 and save the content project file.
  8. Open the project or solution in Visual Studio 2008. The conversion wizard will begin. Allow the wizard to upgrade the project and solution from Visual Studio 2005 to Visual Studio 2008.
1.2.1.3. Upgrading Content Pipeline Extension Projects

To upgrade a content pipeline extension project for XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), the most reliable method is to create new project under Visual Studio 2008 and add the files that comprise the project. This method will ensure that your content pipeline extension project will function effectively for all platforms, including Zune projects.

1.2.2. XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) May Not Support All New C# or .NET Framework Features

The XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) release does not guarantee support for features of C# 3.0 or .NET Framework 3.5 for game or content projects. However, the .NET Framework 3.5 release is required for Content Pipeline Extension projects.

1.2.3. Standard Templates Not Visible in Visual Studio 2008 IDE

If you install XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) with the English version of Visual Studio 2008 on a non-English version of Windows, you may experience the following issues:

  • The standard templates are not visible in the integrated development environment (IDE).
  • The IDE uses a mix of English and non-English text.

To resolve these issues, click Options on the Tools menu, expand the Environment node, and ensure that International Settings is set to English instead of Same as Microsoft Windows. If you change this setting, you must restart Visual Studio 2008 for the change to take effect.

1.2.4. Error: Not Implemented When Using XNA Game Studio with Visual Studio 2008 Source Control

You may receive Error: Not Implemented when using the source control features of Visual Studio 2008 with XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) projects. For example, you may receive this error when using Visual SourceSafe 2005. To work around this issue, click Flat View in the source control user interface. The error does not occur when using Flat View; the error occurs only when using Tree View, which is the default. Use Flat View with the following source control dialog boxes: Pending Checkins, Check Out, Check In, Get, and Undo.

1.3. Target Platform Deployment and Debugging

This section describes issues that you may encounter when deploying to an Xbox 360 console or Zune device or when debugging a game on one of these platforms.

1.3.1. XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Does Not Support Xbox 360

The XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) release does not support development of new Xbox 360 projects or deployment of projects to an Xbox 360 console.

1.3.2. Zune Device Names Should Not Contain Backslashes

In XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), the backslash character ("\") is not supported in Zune device names.

1.4. Networking and Multiplayer

This section describes issues that you may encounter when using the networking and multiplayer features of XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview).

1.4.1. Windows Games May Hang When Running on AMD Dual-Core Processor

If you are running an XNA Framework Game on the Windows operating system on a dual-core AMD processor, and the game contacts the Xbox LIVE servers, you may experience unpredictable behavior such as the game process hanging. To work around this issue, the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer from AMD should be installed on the computer on which the game is running. The optimizer is currently available at the following location.

AMD Dual-Core Optimizer

1.5. Game Sharing and Distribution

1.5.1. XnaPack Is Not Available in XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview)

The XnaPack tool is not available in XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview). However, XnaPack will be included in the final release of XNA Game Studio 3.0.

1.5.2. Visual C++ 9.0 Run-time Files Are Required by XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) Games

The Visual C++ 9.0 run-time files are required by games based on XNA Framework 3.0, the version of the XNA Framework used by XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) These files are installed by .NET Framework 3.5 or you can install them using the standalone Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable. You can obtain the redistributable from the following location.

1.6. XNA Framework

This section describes issues that you may encounter when using the XNA Framework.

1.6.1. NoSuitableGraphicsDeviceException from XNA Framework Game

If an XNA Framework game throws NoSuitableGraphicsDeviceException, inspect the text in the unhandled exception dialog box to determine whether the cause is an unsupported video card.

To run XNA Framework games on Windows, you will need a graphics card that supports Shader Model 1.1 or greater and DirectX 9.0c. We recommend that you use a graphics card that supports Shader Model 2.0 because some samples and starter kits may require it.

You should ensure that your graphics card is using the most recent drivers by checking with your hardware vendor and by accessing Microsoft Update.

1.7. Content Creation

1.7.1. Build Action Must Be Set to Compile for Items in Content Projects

Items in content projects must have their build action set to Compile in order to be built by the XNA Framework Content Pipeline. If the build action is set to Content, the item will not be built. By default, items in content projects have their build action set to Compile.

1.7.2. You Must Use the Version of XACT Provided with XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview)

The setup program for XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) installs the August 2007 version of the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT). You must use this version of XACT when developing with XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview).

1.7.3. Imported Wave Banks Limited to 200

When using the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) with XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), you are limited to importing no more than 200 wave banks.

1.8. Starter Kits

This section describes issues that you may encounter when using the XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview) starter kits.

1.8.1. Spacewar Starter No Longer Available

In XNA Game Studio 3.0 (Preview), the Spacewar starter kit has been removed from the product. Some of the tutorials included in the documentation use art assets from the Spacewar starter kit. These assets are available from the Creators Club Online website for use with the tutorials. See the tutorials documentation for more information.

1.8.2. Graphics Hardware Requirements for Starter Kits

To run XNA Framework games on Windows, you will need a graphics card that supports Shader Model 1.1 or greater and DirectX 9.0c. We recommend that you use a graphics card that supports Shader Model 2.0 because some samples and starter kits may require it.

You should ensure that your graphics card is using the most recent drivers by checking with your hardware vendor and by accessing Microsoft Update.