Need an XNA framework equivalent, that WORKS with system.windows.forms (it doesn't have to work with XBox 360)

Question

Next Semester I will be taking a "Software Practive II" class. In that class, my professor wants us to learn XNA. I have been playing around with XNA for quite sometime, and enjoy its functionality and simplicity. However, XNA does not take advantage of System.Windows.Forms. Using CEGUI# I was able to get XNA to work with System.Windows.Forms, BUT it has limited functionality (For example, while the mouse has has "Left-click" and "Double-left-click" it doesn't have "drag").

And so, I am ditching XNA for a new framework. Here's my question --> Is there a C# framework that has all of the functionality and simplicity as XNA, but is also fully compatible with System.Windows.Forms (or at least, fully compatible with System.Windows.Forms if I use a 3rd party tool)? The framework does NOT have to work with XBox360 - it only has to work with Windows XP and Windows Vista. I would like it to have similar syntax to XNA (In other words, to have similar methods like LoadContent, Draw, and Update).

Thank you for your time,

~BenShums

Answer 1

You could try Managed DirectX (MDX - veering into "unsupported" territory there), SlimDX, or even WPF 3D...

Answer 2

I would recommend SlimDX

Answer 3

I'm curious to hear why you're dismissing XNA. Can you elaborate on what it is you're trying to do and why the connection to Windows Forms is so important -- and what it is that's not working, more precisely? My suggestion would be to at least try to stick with XNA -- it seems to be going nowhere but up, and seems really slick from what I've seen. I'd investigate the various reasons why you feel like you can't use XNA, and see if those can be solved somehow.

But, it's also entirely possible I'm not understanding what it is you're trying to do. If so, my apologies!

Answer 4

Drag is just a wrapper for movement while a mousebutton is down, and that's certainly easy enough to do. I'm also curious as to what windows forms has that you can't do in XNA (other than the obvious of drawing UI windows, which you can do in XNA just not for the main window).

Answer 5

If you're just using SpriteBatch, it probably wouldn't be that hard to create a compatible API in Windows Forms, but if you want to do 3D or shaders it would be a lot tougher.