If i submit a game and it is accepted how do I go about defining how long the trial game will last? Is this something that MS will do? Also whilst the game is in play test whoever downloads to play test, will they then have the full version for good?

Hello Mouse88,

Mouse88:

If i submit a game and it is accepted how do I go about defining how long the trial game will last? Is this something that MS will do?

The trial mode lasts for 7 minutes , after that time has expired a prompt will appear asking the player if they wish to purchase the game.
This is controled by microsoft.

Mouse88:

Also whilst the game is in play test whoever downloads to play test, will they then have the full version for good?

A person who playtests or peer reviews your game will have the cc of game for as long as wish.



Hope that helps,
phill

simiansoup:

A person who playtests or peer reviews your game will have the cc of game for as long as wish.

But that version cannot connect with the version that is released on XBLIG if the game has multiplayer.

simiansoup:

The trial mode lasts for 7 minutes

The trial lasts for eight minutes, not seven.

simiansoup:

A person who playtests or peer reviews your game will have the cc of game for as long as wish.

Remember that .ccgames are only availalbe for a limited time, to people who have fully paid premium memberships and are not of much use to the general public becuase they would need a creators club membership to use them. Add in the fact that they won't be able to use the network features to connect to the released game and its really nothing to worry about.

Further to this thread is there any way I can limit the features of my game as it is a relatively quick game and the user would be able to get maybe three games in before the 8 minutes is up. My game has a local two player mode so my thoughts were maybe to disable this is the trial mode and only have it in the full game. Is this possible and do you think this is being tight?

You can check the Guide.IsTrialMode property to know if you're in trial mode or not and do whatever you'd like. Disable features, hide things, etc. Whatever you feel makes your trial better and makes people interested in buying your game.

If the player can complete your game in under the trial time, you'll have to limit it in someway if there's no real replayability. If there are multiple modes, locking off one in trial is a good way to go.

If Keep track of elapsed time and limit it to say 3 minutes, is there a way that I can get it to diplsay the "would you like to purches game" sort of screen or can I simply only have it end the game?

You cannot force the Microsoft screen to appear, but you can make your own screen and ask the user to Press (X) to purchase.

The xbox user base were fairly unhappy when the default timeout was 4 minutes and they are now very used to having 8. So its not really recommended to force your own timeouts. Its not a fail reason but annoying the people you want to pay for your game isn't a smart move.

Ok I shall take your advice on this one. Thanks

I have now modified my menu so it only lets the gamer select multiplayer if it is not in trial mode. When deploying to the XBOX its not letting me select multiplayer wether i selected play trial or play game. Can anyone give any advice?

Step through and debug your code while it's running on the XBox 360. That would be my advice.

How do I actually run through the code whilst its running on the XBOX. On my PC when it launches on here is it?

Instead of deploying the 360, just run the code instead. That will allow you to debug just like you do when you're debugging your PC versions. You can step through code and set breakpoints and your game will run on the 360. It's just a different build option. So make sure your startup project is set to your 360 version and make sure it's set to compile the 360 version, then just hit F5 to run or click the little green arrow in the toolbar. That will start with debugging and launch it on the 360 while giving you full debugging capabilities in Visual Studio.

Ok thanks shall give this a shot.

Was that message on twitter for me? Im not trying to release my game it's only up for play test?

It was indeed :)  But it's for all developers in general, you're not the first and you're not the last game developer who hasn't known how to do this. How you got this far without knowing how to debug on the 360 is shocking to me.

But yes, I strongly feel that even putting it up for playtest is premature. You're basically still just learning to code. You're not really ready for feedback. I have to say kudos to you for getting a game even working without that HUGE bit of development knowledge you were missing, but I really think you need to make sure you've more stable with the development end of things before you start putting games into playtest and peer review.

So yep, was sort of for you, but more just voicing a concern/frustration I have in general.

Ok thats fine I admit ive only been programming C# for about a month as I was previously developing PC games using VB and XNA which as you probably know isn't greatly supported. I had a problem debugging just on the PC when i first started which was all because I had the display set to full screen and no one thought to tell me that. I did have an idea that you could debug on the xbox but I haven't yet needed to do so for my game so that's why I have not learn't.

You've always needed it, you just didn't realize it ;) 

That's ok, I'm glad your learning. Heck, I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for beginners (it's the whole reason I run my tutorial site), I just wish beginners would slow it down a little and release when they REALLY are ready. Not understanding how it all works means you're not ready for playtest and you're DEFINITELY not ready for peer review. Give you and your future customers something worth buying, by slowing down, learning what you need to know and really making sure you understand what you're doing.

Is saving/loading allowed during the trial time?