Converting .dds to .png: is XNA really this convoluted?

Question

I have a .dds file and I want a .png file. Although I already found out about the DevIL.NET library, the API design there of one static class does not parallelize, so I am h

Answer 1

From the top of my head (haven't used XNA for a while):

• Conversion of datatypes is not a common scenario for XNA. It expects to get all assets preprocessed by the content pipeline.
• XNA expects the graphics device quite often, windowless applications are out of XNAs scope.

It seems to me that you are using the wrong tool for the job, although I couldn't tell another one except DevIL, which you already dismissed.

Answer 2

If you have a command line app that needs to create an XNA graphics device, the code in this answer should be of some assistance.

In a nutshell, you need some of the classes from the WinForms sample to avoid having to mess around creating a graphics device services and so on (specifically the classes ServiceContainer and GraphicsDeviceService).

Then you can do this:

Form form = new Form(); // Dummy form for creating a graphics device
GraphicsDeviceService gds = GraphicsDeviceService.AddRef(form.Handle,
        form.ClientSize.Width, form.ClientSize.Height);

ServiceContainer services = new ServiceContainer();
services.AddService<IGraphicsDeviceService>(gds);
content = new ContentManager(services, "Content");

Tada - now you have a working ContentManager that you can use to load stuff. I believe you should be able to get the actual GraphicsDevice from the GraphicsDeviceService, too.

The form you create is never displayed. Remember to reference System.Windows.Forms.dll in your project.

Disclaimer: This was written for XNA 3.1. I haven't tested it in 4.0, but I suspect it will work with little or no modification.