XNA Networking and Hair Tearing

Today is the day I’m supposed to write all about how to create networked XNA programs. This is a wonderful feature of the platform, and makes it really easy to make multiplayer games for PC, Xbox or even Zune. Or at least it would be, if I could get the networking to work.

I’ve got the material written but my programs just don’t notice each other. They just sit there, aloof and out of touch. I was a bit cross about this for a while, but then I tried some sample programs from other sources and they don’t work either. I think it must be something about the installation I have here, but at the moment I’m not sure what.

The good news is that the Zune devices which I’ve got, which also support network gameplay via XNA, work just fine.