Title: Creating a Simple 2D Game Using XNA Game Studio to Run on a PC, Xbox 360 or Microsoft Zune

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 10th at 3:15pm

Description: This session will demonstrate how to build a very simple 2D game engine and game using the latest version of XNA Game Studio. Attendees will learn how to effectively use the content pipeline, import 2D sprites into XNA, manage input from the keyboard, mouse, Xbox 360 controller and Zune, manage game state, and debug the resulting game. The sample code will be built on a PC and run on the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune platforms when complete.

Title: Interfacing External Hardware Using Managed Code

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 10th at 4:45pm

Description: While developers write code to build software every day, not often are they exposed to code that drives and interfaces hardware. This session will attempt to …

Sorry for all of the previous confusion.  Version 1.5.2 is now up at CodePlex.  This release now has the Wii Fit Balance Board working for everyone who has tried it.  Please let me know if you have any issues with it.  The changes:

v1.5.2.0

• Ok, Balance Board support is really fixed this time (thanks to Manuel Schroeder, Eduard Kujit and Alex Wilkinson for testing)
• LED checkboxes are properly set on the WiimoteTest tabs

UPDATE 2: Sorry, but I've removed this release from CodePlex.  It's just too buggy (though it continues to work just fine for me).  Look for version 1.5.2 very soon...

UPDATE:  It appears some people are still having issues with this build as well due to some Balance Boards being a bit finicky in their response times.  Stay tuned for build 1.5.2 soon…

Oops.  Apparently the one new thing in version 1.5, Balance Board support, was actually broken.  I have just put version 1.5.1 up at CodePlex which fixes the Balance Board operation.  Sorry about that…

I’m really cranking out the releases these days.  Today I have released WiimoteLib v1.5 at CodePlex.  The big news is that the Wii Fit Balance Board is now supported.  The balance board is simply a very heavy piece of plastic with 4 weight sensors located at the corners.  The library reads those individual sensors to determine how much weight is applied to each sensor, and the total weight applied to the entire board.  You can use it as an impromptu (and very expensive) scale.

Comments and bugs welcome…

In an effort to put out more frequent builds with fewer changes, I’ve released WiimoteLib v1.4 to CodePlex.  This release contains the single most requested feature:  multiple Wiimote support.  I’m very interested to hear bug reports and suggestions on this release, so please do let me know how it works for you.  The original Coding4Fun article has also been updated with some details on how to use multiple Wiimotes, as has the WiimoteTest application included with the distribution.

Changes

• Multiple Wiimotes supported!
• Slight change to ExtensionType enum for better extension detection
• Decided I didn't like the dependency on System.Drawing for the 2D point so am now using my own Point structs.  Sorry...
• WiimoteTest app updated to show multiple Wiimotes working