.NET Gaming API Reference

Welcome to the comprehensive API reference for the .NET Gaming Framework. This documentation provides detailed information on all classes, methods, properties, and enumerations available for developing high-performance, cross-platform games with .NET.

Overview

The .NET Gaming API is designed to offer a robust and flexible foundation for game development. It leverages the power and efficiency of the .NET runtime, enabling developers to create sophisticated games for various platforms.

Key features include:

  • High-performance graphics rendering (DirectX, Vulkan, Metal support).
  • Low-level input handling for keyboards, mice, gamepads, and touch.
  • Multi-channel audio playback and management.
  • Scene graph and entity-component system for organizing game objects.
  • Integrated physics engine for realistic simulations.
  • Extensible scripting capabilities.
  • Comprehensive math library for 2D and 3D operations.

Graphics

The Graphics module provides tools for rendering 2D and 3D graphics. This includes managing render targets, shaders, textures, meshes, and post-processing effects.

Classes

  • Renderer: Manages the overall rendering pipeline.
  • Shader: Represents and compiles shader programs.
  • Texture: Loads and manages image assets.
  • Mesh: Defines geometric data for 3D models.
  • Material: Defines surface properties for meshes.

Key Methods

Renderer.DrawMesh(Mesh mesh, Material material, Matrix4x4 worldMatrix)

Example Usage


// Create a simple cube mesh
Mesh cubeMesh = Mesh.CreateCube();
// Load a basic material
Material diffuseMaterial = Material.Load("materials/basic.mat");
// Set up world transformation
Matrix4x4 objectTransform = Matrix4x4.CreateTranslation(0, 0, -5);
// Draw the cube
Graphics.Renderer.DrawMesh(cubeMesh, diffuseMaterial, objectTransform);

Input Management

The Input module handles user input from various devices. It provides an abstraction layer to access key presses, mouse movements, gamepad states, and touch events.

Classes

  • InputManager: Central hub for input events.
  • KeyboardState: Represents the current state of the keyboard.
  • MouseState: Represents the current state of the mouse.
  • GamepadState: Represents the current state of a gamepad.

Events

InputManager.KeyPressed, InputManager.MouseButtonDown, InputManager.GamepadButtonPress

Example Usage


// Check if the 'W' key is pressed
if (Input.Keyboard.IsKeyDown(KeyCode.W))
{
    // Move player forward
}

// Get mouse position
Vector2 mousePos = Input.Mouse.Position;

Audio

Manage audio playback, including loading sound effects and music, controlling volume, and spatializing audio sources.

Classes

  • AudioManager: Manages all audio operations.
  • SoundEffect: Represents a short audio clip.
  • MusicTrack: Represents a longer audio piece.

Methods

AudioManager.PlaySoundEffect(SoundEffect effect, Vector3 position = Vector3.Zero)

Example Usage


SoundEffect laserSound = SoundManager.LoadSound("sounds/laser.wav");
AudioManager.PlaySoundEffect(laserSound, player.Position);

Scene Management

Organize and manage game entities within a hierarchical scene graph. This module facilitates object transformations, culling, and spatial partitioning.

Classes

  • Scene: Represents the current game world.
  • GameObject: A node in the scene graph.
  • Transform: Manages position, rotation, and scale.

Methods

Scene.AddGameObject(GameObject obj), GameObject.AddComponent(Component comp)

Rendering Components

Components that can be attached to GameObjects to define their visual representation.

Classes

  • MeshRenderer: Renders a Mesh.
  • SpriteRenderer: Renders a 2D sprite.
  • Camera: Defines the viewpoint for rendering.

Example Usage


GameObject player = new GameObject("Player");
player.AddComponent<MeshRenderer>().Mesh = Mesh.Load("models/player.obj");
player.AddComponent<PlayerController>(); // Custom script component
Scene.Active.AddGameObject(player);

Physics Engine

Provides capabilities for 2D and 3D physics simulations, including rigid bodies, colliders, and collision detection.

Classes

  • PhysicsManager: Manages physics simulations.
  • Rigidbody: Adds physics properties to a GameObject.
  • Collider: Defines collision shapes (Box, Sphere, Capsule).

Events

Rigidbody.OnCollisionEnter, Rigidbody.OnTriggerEnter

Scripting Interface

Allows developers to extend game behavior using a scripting language (e.g., C#, Lua via integration).

Classes

  • ScriptComponent: Base class for custom scripts.
  • ScriptManager: Manages script execution and lifecycle.

Methods (in ScriptComponent)

Awake(), Start(), Update(), OnDestroy()

Math Library

A comprehensive set of math types and functions for game development.

Types

  • Vector2, Vector3, Vector4
  • Quaternion
  • Matrix3x3, Matrix4x4
  • Color

Functions

Vector3.Normalize(Vector3 v), Matrix4x4.Multiply(Matrix4x4 a, Matrix4x4 b), Mathf.Sin(float angle)

Serialization

Utilities for saving and loading game state, assets, and configuration.

Classes

  • Serializer: Provides methods for serialization and deserialization (e.g., JSON, Binary).
  • SaveGame: Represents a saved game state.

Methods

Serializer.ToJson(object obj), Serializer.FromJson<T>(string json)

Networking

Components and utilities for implementing multiplayer functionality.

Classes

  • NetworkManager: Manages network connections and messages.
  • Connection: Represents a connection to another peer.
  • Message: Represents a network message.

Events

NetworkManager.OnConnected, NetworkManager.OnDisconnected, NetworkManager.OnMessageReceived