How can we build usefull tools around XNA if SwapChains have disappeared ??

Hi,
Here is my question, ant the context.

MDX 2.0 is dead, MDX 1.1 is dying, XNA is growing .

My chief ask me to evaluate Managed Technology and to port our old fashioned OpenGL Engine to .Net. Your software use many game technique and produce PhotoRealistic RealTime Image, but since it's not a game, we realy need many windows...
(We manipulate large models ~ 1 500 000 triangles with complexe shader at ~ 20 FPS. )

With The Xna Beta 1 and Microsoft Visual 2005, I started to port the foundation tools required to make professionnal application.

The first step was to build a Xna Widget :)
It took me be 10 minutes !! I ask to myself XNA is certainly the future.
Then I port our compiled file format to C#, (easy)
Then I port our mesh structure to IB, VB (so easy).
Then I write fx to simulate The OpenGL fixed pipeline (too easy)
Then I write fx to simultate our old ARB_*_SHADERS.. (not so easy)
And all was so promising ...

But today I install the beta 2, and the first step could not be rebuild !!!

So here are my questions:
1) How can we build 3D Applications around XNA if SwapChains have disappeared
(Sharing Render Code between Content Creation Tools and Game Engine)
2) If Xna is not the good choice, what is the alternative to build 3D application in .Net.

Any Ideas.

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How can we build usefull tools around XNA if SwapChains have disappeared ??

sxzhan
There are a few ways you can this with Beta 2. You can render to one window and do virtual panels via manipulating the viewport. You can render into render targets and do the virtualization that way or you can Present into a different window handle, so you can render into seperate controls.
JIM.H.
Post your suggestions to the feedback forums. You have to sign up for beta membership at http://connect.microsoft.com
Manuel5

MDX 1.1 is not dying - it is 'maintaining'. Its part of DirectX 9.0c so it will be around and supported for a long time. For all the things that are not in XNA its your only managed option right now.

There are managed bindings to OpenGL which might help if you are used to that. I've never used them so I have no idea if they are suitable or not. See http://www.mono-project.com/Tao
How can we build usefull tools around XNA if SwapChains have disappeared ??

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