The Focused Games Framework is well on its way to hitting the next version. All libraries in FGF will be updated to reflect this new number (1.3) as it will be a major release. If you have any requests or bug reports, please get them to me as soon as possible. Many thanks to those that have gone out of their way to really test the code. Here are a few things to look forward to in FGF 1.3 (and beyond):

1. A License
   

   FGF will be released under an official license. The license will remain fairly loose with a few restrictions put on distribution. For example, you can redistribute the libraries with your game/software but cannot redistribute the libraries as a standalone piece of software.

2. Refined State Management
   

   A lot of work has been going into getting all the kinks out of the state system because it is a very large part of Thrust. I am streamlining the Load code to give the end-developer more control over what is happening. I will be releasing some samples that cover this system in detail as well.

3. Return of the Control
   

   I have made the decision to start going back to GUI Controls. Although menus have done me well in the past, controls will allow me to truely delegate responsibility. I will be including some basic controls that implement much of the same functionality you see in the GUI library today. The menu system will state in tact, but look for it to be removed in a later release.

4. Gamer Profiles
   

   I have spent some time learning about the gamer profile APIs and will be including some classes that help manage user specific data. This will include helper classes for gamer profiles, storage, signing users in and out, et cetera.

5. A Better XmlProvider
   

   One of the best unused features of FGF is the XmlProvider class. It is an incredibly powerful and useful Xml serializer / deserializer. I have rebuilt it from the ground up to be even better. Not only that, I have ported it to the Zune and Xbox 360 platforms.

6. Samples
   

   I understand that many developers need samples. If you haven’t yet, check out the currently available samples. I will be adding to this list as time goes on.

7. Clear Error Messages
   

   One of the things I do worst is trap errors. It is a bad habit that I am attempting to change. Starting with Vodka, FGF will be getting clear cut exceptions, a numbering scheme and an online database of these errors with explanations and possible solutions. Check out FGDN for more.

8. A Faster Framework
   

   Last but certainly not least, I have made great strides in the performance of some of the core components of Thrust. This is especially true on the Zune where garbage collections were causing a big problem. I have taken extensive looks at the memory useage and garbage generation on the Zune with Thrust and have solved many of the issues.

If you are still with me, you are wondering what is bringing on most of these changes. As I gear up to release more games that are better (overall) and better suited for Xbox Live Community Games, I need to make sure that my core code works well. The biggest driving factor to most of the new changes is the newest version of Galactic Wars. The following video of Galactic Wars shows the smooth transitions between different UI states. This build of the game is using a post 1.2 build of FGF which makes it a lot easier to support a lot of what you see. My favorite part is how easy it is to handle when all gamers have signed out.

Soon after making the decision to get started on Galactic Wars [3] 2.0, I ran into the problem of managing users and their profiles in a way that was not going to limit what I could do with the game. This article gives you a closer look at how I am handling users in the game. » Read more: A Closer Look at Profile Management

I am taking a different approach to the menus in the next version of Galactic Wars (formally known as Galactic Wars 3). The previous version (1.3) used a new sliding menu that shifted to seemingly random points on an image and displayed some text for the point. It made sense since Galactic Wars does take place in space (each menu choice was a star in a galaxy). However the graphics required to do this were a big drawback, even on the Zune. This is because you can’t really have a low resolution image and have to make it much larger than the screen to get the sliding effect to look good. Because the game is going to the PC and Xbox 360 platforms, to carry over this idea would require even bigger images. In the end, it just doesn’t make sense.

So the new idea is to keep it sleak and simple. On the PC/360 version the menus will drill down a little differently but the idea is the same.