I'm an XNA developer looking to use MonoGame to write games for the OUYA. I've read through the documentation, compiled the C# bindings using Xamarin and was about to try to compile one of the example programs when I discovered that I need at least the "indie" license to do so.
Now I've got nothing against software authors making a living, obviously, but I simply cannot afford to purchase even the basic indie license for this software. The only other alternative that I could see was Visual Studio Professional (as the Express version is too limited to work with MonoGame) and the licenses for this are much more expensive.
Is there any sort of free or dramatically less expensive alternative that allows me to use my XNA knowledge? I've always run into problems with just about anything Java related due to out-of-date documentation and to be honest it would be a shame to start at square one when I'm already very familiar with C# and XNA.
Toodice
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To be honest I've had a go with Unity in the past. Creating a 3D model well is a whole new learning experience in itself and setting up a project for 2D use is an absolute pain. I'm sure it's amazing for those who are already Blender or 3D Studio aficionados or at least have a friend who is.
I might have another blast at using Java instead. Any recommendations for an engine that's as easy to just pick up and use for 2D game development as XNA? It's not so much the language that puts me off here, it's the sheer number of outdated tutorials that seems to surround just about every engine I've tried.
The most highly recommended Java engine I've seen on the forum is LibGDX, which is Java, and even supports iOS, HTML5, and more. I can't stand Eclipse so I couldn't get into it, but people swear by it.
Tomato: dot42 looks pretty good, although at this moment in time I don't really want to give up the opportunity for people who think my work is good enough to give me money for it, so it's a catch-22 situation really. Certainly when I get some cashflow going again I'll look into it rather than just buying Xamarin, especially as it's only a matter of time before somebody forks the last open-source release of MonoDevelop and gives them some competition (and possibly a reason to lower their prices again).
I'll have to look into all of this tomorrow now. I think I'm going to concentrate on getting something working using LibGDX firstly, and perhaps move from there. It's just frustrating as I could easily have a prototype working with XNA in an afternoon.
Thanks both for your answers!
MonoGame can be used with MonoDevelop. this, on their site, is only for mac and linux, but the download is just t=he monogame framework so you could put it on monodevelop for windows. This has no sort of ouya sdk or plugin, but Im going to try to figure out how to rig it up to the ouya input. I will make a tutorial or release a set of files if my attempts are successful.
:-B