Migration from Visual Studio to NetBeans or some other IDE

Question

I've done a lot of programs in C# using Visual Studio. I know that C# is terrible for games (it becomes slower as more objects are on screen), and I've heard that Java is better for games, so I decided to try re-doing a board game in Java, using the NetBeans 7.0.1

I've done some basic things in the past, and by basic, I mean Java programs where the user can move a shark around or something.

But I've noticed that most of my Java programs were hard coded. If I wanted a window (a Frame), I'd have to type it in, set the size, blah blah blah. I've gotten used to the drag, drop, edit of Visual Studio, and while I am aware of (and trying to use) the drag and drop component functionality of NetBeans, I'm still having a hard time.

For instance, when creating a Java Desktop Application (from NetBeans), it automatically provides me with a Panel, which I believe would serve as the main "Window". But I can't edit it, or at least, can't find the properties that I need to edit (size, start position, no min, max, close buttons, background images, etc.). My attempts at coding usually fails, because apparently, the Panel automatically generates code that I can't edit.

I don't want to hard code everything, since I can imagine it would be a nightmare (the board is an 8 x 9 square one. Every square is a button).

So, how should I begin? I tried doing both Java Application and Java Desktop Application (don't know the difference between the two), but I still fall to the same problem; I can't edit anything, at least not in the quick and easy way I'm used to in Visual Studio?

If this impossible, then I'm afraid I'll have to stick to C#. A friend told me XNA is okay for games (said friend also told me XNA is overkill for a relatively simple board game).

Answer 1

Considering what kind of game you want to create and what your problems are, I'd rather say that the game is poorly written, which might be your problem, not the language.

Answer 2

Windows forms use GDI for graphics, while XNA uses hardware acceleration. There shouldn't be any performance concerns with using XNA to make a 2D board game. How efficiently it runs depends on how well you know the APIs for your language.

Answer 3

If you're interested in game development on .Net, perhaps this api can help you. It is written in VB.Net, but you might find it instructive.

.Net Game API

Answer 4

Check out this post to first decide the language that best suits the kind of game(s) that you wish to build. The IDE choice to follow.