myFishtank goes LIVE

Here is the link to download: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855021c/?p=1&of=0&sb=2

Xbox Fireplace on special: 50% off !

Enjoy the awesome ambiance of a crackling fireplace in your living room. With realistic smoldering embers and flickering flames it sets the perfect backdrop for a relaxing evening.

The price has been reduced from 400 Microsoft points to just 200 points.

click here for more info & to download to Xbox

Community Game Reviews

Hexothermic and World Revolution:


Machiavelli's Ascent & Ultratron


Miner Dig Deep


Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp

Xbox Fireplace Update Released

The update has been released, if you already have purchased it then re-download it to get the update.

Here is the link.

Fireplace update coming soon.

To make the Fireplace a little more enticing we have added few more options. You can now create over 50 different variations.

Here are some examples:







The new update should be available on Xbox within the next few weeks.

This weeks top 10 sold games

1 Golden Royal Blackjack (200 points) up 1
2 Air Legends (200 points) down 1
3 Groov (200 points) new entry
4 Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp (200 points) down 1
5 Weapon of Choice (400) up 2
6 Machiavelli's Ascent (200) unchanged
7 Sudoku X (200) new entry
8 Word Soup (400) down 3
9 Dr. Popper (200) down 5
10 Foosball For Two (200) new entry

Top Community Games (by purchases)

Top Community Games (Full Versions purchased)for the week of the 9th Jan.
1 Air Legends (200 points) new entry
2 Golden Royal Blackjack (200 points) re-entry
3 Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp (200 points) down 2
4 Dr. Popper (200) up 3
5 Word Soup (400) down 3
6 Machiavelli's Ascent (200) up 2
7 Weapon of Choice (400) down 2
8 CarneyVale Showtime (400) down 4
9 Fireplace (400) down 6
10 EZMuze Break and House edition (200) down 4

Other stats:
- Fireplace demo ends it's number 1 downloaded CG 15 day run.
- Sin(Surfing) ends its Top 10 list for the last 5 weeks.
- Golden Royal Blackjack join Sin(Surfing) in making 5 weeks in the Top 10.

Farseer Physics Engine

Farseer Physics Engine 2.0 has been released.

Here is a sample video of what Farseer Physics can do (this is based on v1):



Here is a water demo done in silverlight using Farseer Physics.

New Xbox Experience - Community Games video

Check out all you need to know on the new community games channel which is launching in November on the new XBox 360 Experience.

New XNA 3 beta coming early next week!

New Features/Changes:

Zune

Compatibility with the upcoming Zune 3.0 Firmware release.
Improved deployment stability.
Support for Zune deployment on Windows Vista x64 Systems!
You can now use the Remote Performance Monitor for Zune games.

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 project templates (You will not be able to develop on the Xbox 360 until our final release. We felt this was important to include so that you could get projects converted over and look at the system, even if you are not able to run the games, yet).
Support for the Big Button Pad.

Framework & Visual Studio Features

Enumerate and play back media on your Windows computer or Xbox 360.
Simple sound effect support on Windows computers and Xbox 360.
Support for Rich Presence (lets friends know what’s going on in your game).
Support for Invites (ask your friends to join you in a multiplayer game) and Join Session In Progress (after you see what your friends are doing, you can join their current session with just a couple of button presses, even if that’s a different game to the one you are currently playing)
Compress your content and save space with the new content compression features!
ClickOnce packaging support for distributing your XNA Framework games on Windows.
Upgrade your project from XNA Game Studio 2.0 using the Project Upgrade Wizard!
Take screen captures of your game running on Zune through the XNA Game Studio Device Center.
Support for .NET language features like Linq
Create multiple content projects and leverage cross project synchronization in Visual Studio.
FBX importer improvements: read materials containing multiple textures, and export custom shader materials directly out of Max or Maya.

Full story on the XNA Team blog

New XNA Creators Club Online almost here

Looks like we can expect the new XNA Creators Club website to be launched sometime in the next few days.

Currently the website is "closed for a while" you can check out the message here.

In other news....

Blender 2.46 (also known as the Bunny release) has just been released.

"This version supports a new particle system with hair and fur combing tools, fast and optimal fur rendering, a mesh deformation system for advanced character rigging, cloth simulation, fast Ambient Occlusion, a new Image browser, and that's just the beginning."
Check the extensive list of features here.

Democratizing Game Distribution: The Next Step

Gamasutra have a 7 page article describing just how the new game distribution system will work in the beta of XNA 3 coming this Spring.

The article can be found here.

Something to note... the beta only supports the American region :(