VBGamer

You're getting far too carried away over this. I don't know if you've misunderstood the whole thing or if Microsofts marketing guys have a problem with expressing themselves, but what I know about the .NET platform comes from Microsofts developers (like Bill Dunlap, program manager for Visual Studio). I got the chance to listen to them at TechEd, and also to ask questions. And personally, I think the .NET platform is a COOL thing, even if the name sucks... Visual Studio .NET (incl. Visual Basic) will not REQUIRE a network connection, or FORCE you to write network applications.It is ENABLED for NETWORK applications. To say this is a bad thing is like saying "Visual Basic supports DirectX, so it can only be used to make games". Don't complain about added features, that's just stupid. If you don't like them, don't use them. Some technical notes regarding the network support: You will be able to create a COM component (like an object) and store it on a server somewhere (YOUR server of course... MS is not going to own all severs). You can then create the objects using VB's CreateObject, and access them as usual, without having to care about whether it's a network component or one that's locally stored on your computer (YES you can still have applications stored on your computer. Your choice). When you call a method in the object, its put in a message queue (kind of like a mail system, but for apps) and if the server is down, it's sent once it's up again. If it's up again, it's sent ímmediately. As far as the application is concerned, the call was finished as soon as the message was but in the queue. So, what's all this got to do with game programming? NOTHING! The network functionality we need is supported through DirectPlay, and when writing a game, we DEFINATELY want to store everything on the users HD. But what is it good for then? Well, the number one area of use for VB is the buisness applications. The .NET solves a lot of the problems that you encounter every day in this field (I work as a VB programmer, developing knowledge management and fund administration applications). Picking on Micrsoft is fun sometimes ( I do it myself too) but it's no fun when you take it too far. In my opinion, Microsoft have done more good for programmers than ANYONE else. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be where we are today. And I'm man enough to give them that recognition. /Corre, MiCo Games http://www.micogames.com