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The struggle is real.

Welcome, Kitling.  You fit in already.

Wow.  You guys have been busy in my absence.
My life is super busy at the moment, but should settle some soon...but my computer died, and needs a new Hard Drive before I can do any more programming. 

Not to worry, I got everything backed up when it started to die, it's just a pain.  I should be able to order that in the next couple weeks, after everything settles.

That said, MonoGame looks simple enough to implement.  I had it installed on my computer, but I obviously won't now.   I figure I'll finish the game as-is before I worry about cross platform implementations.

The thing is, I've installed some indie games that packed in their dependencies in the past, and it's always been more work than just throwing that crap away and doing it by hand.

This is probably because the guys making the packs are only slightly more skilled than I am.

There's a difference between being lazy and knowing your limitations.

Maybe on Mac.

Linux people are used to having to keep track of which dependencies they need for a particular application. No sense burdening people who already have it installed, or need to install some weird fork version because their rig is made of two laptops with no hard drive.

Not all Linux people are used to that. I find it annoying sometimes, when I cannot install a package normally (using apt-get), that I have to install all of the dependencies. There are people, who are fresh off of WIndows, switching to Linux, who would find all of this confusing. No matter what OS somebody is running, it is going to be easier for the person running it to just have it bundled, instead of having to download/install Mono, and then download/install MonoGame.

Ahem...

What I meant by a bundled version, is a version that doesn't need to be installed: You click on a script or a binary, which calls the bundled runtime with the executable as the target, and it runs the game with the bundled Mono runtime. The point would be so that people don't have to worry about the dependencies, no matter what OS they're on. Additionally, the main EXE would be available, in case the person running it wants to use their own version of MONO/MonoGame.

You could also include just the MonoGame library with the executable, so that the game doesn't need to install extra libraries. Or just do none of these things. Depends on the amount of time you are willing to spend on trying to make things work.

Keep in mind, I'm just throwing ideas around now. However, that's the beauty of experimentation: You play around, and see what works. I will see what I can do after I try porting a game with available source code based on XNA that is available online.

Wow. I've started typing big responses. I'll just go now...

Maybe on Mac.

Linux people are used to having to keep track of which dependencies they need for a particular application. No sense burdening people who already have it installed, or need to install some weird fork version because their rig is made of two laptops with no hard drive.

I'm glad I stopped installation of VS 2013. I raised the ram from 1/2 GB to about 3 GB, gave it another core, and installed VS 2010, XNA Game Studio, any dependencies needed, and MonoDevelop.

Now I just need to preform the actual experiment.

MonoDevelop is probably not necessary, but I got it, just in case I end up using it on my actual machine, which runs Ubuntu. (I can get used to MonoDevelop as opposed to VS.) Anyway...

Oh, I suppose I need to get MonoGame, for the purpose of porting. That shall have to happen. Hmm. Anyone playing the ported game afterwards will likely need to install MonoGame, but that shouldn't be that big of a problem for some people. I suppose it would be nice for people on Linux/Mac if they didn't have to install the whole Mono runtime + MonoGame to play ShadowWolf...

Heh, I wonder if we could bundle a runtime with the ported game? Another experiment, after I finish this one?

<<Back in character>>

20 Timber continued: It's not all bad news. Fancy Oddom has just informed me that some booze just hit the stockpiles, and wasn't immediately signed out to be drank. It's one pint of ale and two pints of wild prickleberry wine, but that hasn't happened in months. If the Booze Goddess continues to bless us, we may be able to stock up enough to keep our industries running through the entire winter.

If we can get our industries online, we can produce equipment for our militia to train and fight in, and goods to trade for supplies. However, as everyone knows, a dwarf without enough booze in her system will work at half-speed or slower.

Already we are seeing a huge turn around. The furnaces were all built just today, and we are ready to start producing charcoal for the forges and ash for the soap factory.

It's been a very eventful day.

26 Timber: Zefon has crafted our first masterwork item, a bucket. This is the beginning of a great legacy for WeaselSplatter!

28 Timber: Another day to mark. We've run out of plants to brew, but our stock stands at 25 tankards of drink. If we can scrounge up some more plants by the end of the month, we just might make it.

Additionally, Sarvesh, the craftsdwarf, has declared his intent to create yet greater masterwork than Zephon's, to really make our name shine for the world. He has sworn that he will forge an artifact, or die in the attempt.

3rd of Moonstone: It's officially winter now, but there's enough green left in the fields that we can try to grab a few useful herbs from the mountainside, before the snow comes.

Sarvesh has found everything he thinks he'll need and begun construction of his mysterious artifact.

6th of Moonstone: The brook has frozen solid. It's officially too bloody cold. I knew things would be colder toward the south nd of the continent, but I am now epecting a brutally cold winter indeed.

 I'm moving all possible operations deeper into the mountain and placing heavy rock-salt doors over the entrance. We don't want to lose any lives to exposure.

8th of moonstone: Sarvesh's reputation as a bonecarver will be set in history for all time.

It is a spiked axe made from the bones of a hoary marmot, but it's so much more than a weapon made from an animal my dog ate most of. He's managed to weave strips of cloth into the handle and blade such that it forms an image of the coronation of Kaing Sazkul (may he live forever!). Not only that, but the construction is beyond amazing. I would trust this blade over any iron axe.


Moonstone 25th : We're eating a lot of weird things, like soup stock rendered from marmot fat and grilled melon vines, but thus far I've managed to convince he dwarves not to eat any of the mushrooms we produce on the farm. We have plenty of other vegetables, which the booze goddess has informed we are unsuitable for brewing, but safe to eat. I'll grant that I probably wouldn't want to eat anything brewed from spinach leaves, carrots, or the vine part of a grape plant, but I would've thought she  could do something with the Yams. Maybe that's just the mellon wine talking.

She's managing to make mushroom beer about as fast as we can drink it --for now.
Degel is getting more out of our mushroom spores than before, but in this winder cold, even his plantings grow more slowly.

Speaking of cold, I am trying to get cutter out of the forests, and indoors. He'll be our militia captain for the winter. I'll have to get him some combat gear, so he can practice using his axe for more than wood chopping. We'll need him to lead our civilian milita, if the goblins or kobolds try to raid us. I've ordered a second anvil, some helms and a suit of chain armor.

It's only going to get colder, and a lot or our workbenches are still set up outdoors. We have some spaces cut out for them, and it's time to move them.

Never mind, I'll just install MonoDevelop. I was thinking of XNA 4.0 that I had to install...
EDIT: I still have to install VS 2010, for XNA4.0 for content pipeline... xD

Good question.

I use VS2010 express, because that's what I got free in school and I have no money, and I've never needed to upgrade to 2014.