O'Reilly Showcases PS2 Linux Gear

cascadefx writes: "The O'Reilly Network is currently running an article that showcases the much talked about Playstation 2 Linux distribution. Nice parts of the article include analysis by a Blizzard developer on the Linux PS2 as a gaming platform and a screenshot and pic of the hardware that comes with it."

Comments

Not just any Blizzard developer

[geekd]

The Blizzard developer quoted in the article is non other than Sam Lantinga, of Loki and SDL fame.

In my very limited email correspondance with Sam, he proves to be a great guy. SDL is an awesome development API, and he already ported it to the Playstaion 2 Linux.

Re:PC replacement?

[Indras]

I could watch the Simpsons and play Civ3 during commercials, without even having to SPIN THE CHAIR. This is truly beautiful. :,)

You truly are the pinnacle of the information age.

Re:Not too useful

[Scrameustache]

this is definitely for personal amusement and not for "real" gaming.

Yeah, when I play games, personnal amusement is the farthest thing from my mind! ;-)

My main reason for getting it...

[Blackwulf]

A lot of people are saying it's not all that useful because it can't play DVD's in Linux and stuff...I want to get it because it allows you direct access to the PS2 graphics hardware and will give me some experience in programming console games. I would have killed to have gotten a Net Yaroze (for the original PlayStation) just to get to play around with it. With the Net Yaroze, you developed on a PC and uploaded about a meg and a half max through a paralell port. At least now I can develop on the box (through ethernet) and play my game right there, and then send it to other people with PS2 Linux.

Would you want to make this your only Linux box? Not really. Make it a server? Nope, not really. Use it as a way to program PS2 games without paying the extraordinarily high Sony licensing fees? Yep. That's what I'm using it for.

If I want to hack Linux, I'll just hack the linux PC I already own.

Preorder at playstation.com for $199.99

[IdleMindUI]

Not an awful price for the hardware, but not great, for $200, you get

• Linux (for PlayStation 2) version 1.0 software
• Monitor Cable Adaptor (for PlayStation 2)
• Internal Hard Disc Drive (40 GB) (for PlayStation 2)
• Network Adaptor (Ethernet) (for PlayStation 2)[10/100 Base-T]
• USB Keyboard & USB Mouse (for PlayStation 2)

Here ya go!

Already /. More on This at ......

[LuxuryYacht]

Linux for Playstation 2 Community

Pre-Order Linux for PS-2

Re:Already /. More on This at ......

[LuxuryYacht]

The bout between Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft with their video game consoles could become even more heated when Linux enters the fray this spring. Sony will sell online the "Linux (for PlayStation 2)" Release 1.0 in the U.S. in May 2002. (A European version will come out that month, too, and the Japanese version earlier in April.)

<script></script>
This kit will include a Linux distribution on DVD that runs on the PS2 hardware, additional software, documentation, a 40GB hard drive, an Ethernet adapter, a USB mouse, a USB keyboard, and a computer monitor cable. The package will cost $200. (The PlayStation 2 is sold separately, though.)

While Linux has been brought to other consoles (such as the SEGA Dreamcast) by hobbyist programmers in the Linux community, this is the first distribution officially released, sold, and supported by a major hardware manufacturer for its game console. Since the demonstration of the kit in January this year at LinuxWorld, over four thousand people have registered at the Linux for PlayStation 2 Community Web site. The site offers discussion forums and file space to help Linux PS2 developers coordinate with one another on projects.

Besides the sheer geek thrill of being able to do it, there's a practical reason for running Linux on a PlayStation 2. A lot of people expressing interest in this kit are hobbyists looking to gain experience in developing for a major game console. The Linux PS2 distribution makes home-brew game programming and experimentation on the PS2 platform affordable for such individuals. The only other alternative is to become a professional, licensed developer and lease a PS2 development kit from Sony--and the professional license and development kit cost many thousands of dollars.

[Items in the Release 1.0 kit.]
The items that come with the "Linux (for PlayStation 2)" Release 1.0 kit.
(Almost) Full access to the PS2's capabilities

The PlayStation 2-specific libraries will be released under the LGPL; there are no proprietary licenses involved. Sony's distribution of Linux is based on Kondara Linux, which in turn is based on Red Hat Linux. The documentation with this kit will give all the same information about the PS2 hardware that Sony provides its licensed game developers (but it won't give access to the system's anti-piracy mechanisms). This will include full details on the PS2's proprietary Emotion Engine core instruction set, the Graphic Synthesizer, and the Vector Processing Units. "The idea was to simply provide a functional and complete distribution of Linux on the PlayStation 2, while also giving access to the PlayStation 2's unique hardware," says Sarah Ewen, who works for Sony as one of its Linux engineers responsible for supporting the kit.

Related Reading
[Physics for Game Developers]

Physics for Game Developers
By David M. Bourg
Table of Contents
Index
Author's Article
Sample Chapter

Those interested in buying and playing around with the PS2 Linux kit should be aware of some things before getting it: Access to the PS2's DVD drive is restricted so that only official PlayStation discs can be read; and CD-Rs and DVD-R discs won't work in the drive. However, the USB ports on the PS2 are standard, so some USB external CD and DVD drive models that are supported under Linux could be used with this kit.

In terms of programming, the following graphics libraries are provided: libSDL (a fast, 2D graphics library), mesa, and ps2gl (a simplified GL clone, which makes use of the PlayStation 2's hardware). Ewen says, with these tools and enough effort on a programmer's part, it is possible to create games with graphics that are comparable to those of commercial PS2 games: "So the limitations really are few. You have almost unfettered access to the [graphics] hardware. There is nothing stopping programmers from coding 'right to the metal' using the Linux kit."

As for the portability of code from Linux on a PC system to the PS2, most applications written on a PC will compile on the PlayStation 2 with little or no modification. The significant difference is having to pass the --host option to the configure script. The kit supports languages typical to a Linux distribution, like C, C++, Perl, Python, Ruby, and Tcl. The only one missing is Java, although Kaffe has been ported by others in the Linux PS2 community.

"Porting between Linux on the PC and Linux on the PS2 is very easy. Both the PC and PS2 use the same endianness, the same word sizes, et cetera," says Sam Lantinga, a software engineer at Blizzard Entertainment (makers of the Diablo and Warcraft game franchises). With the kit, he ported to the PS2 his Simple DirectMedia Layer, a cross-platform library he created for handling access to graphics and sound, that is mainly used for helping to develop Linux games. "The only kind of code that I can think of that wouldn't run on the PS2, if it ran on a PC, would be either very memory-intensive applications or applications like WINE that require an x86 CPU core."

[Screen shot...click for full-size view.]
X Windows running on the PlayStation 2 with the "Linux (for PlayStation 2)" kit. (Click for full-size view.)
Open source, open possibilities over the competition?

For Sony, there is no plan to make this kit a significant revenue source. The company won't be advertising it through the usual methods since it doesn't want to confuse consumers who have no interest in Linux or programming. "We're definitely not trying to enter the desktop PC market [with the Linux PS2 kit]," says Ewen, who points out that Sony already sells its own brand of PCs.

Regardless, there could be benefits for the company if the PS2 is seen as more than just a game console. Lantinga predicts that this kit, with its inclusion of an Ethernet adapter and hard drive, could spur the development of online applications and services, things that could give the PS2 platform an edge over Microsoft's Xbox. "Linux is the natural choice for Sony to leverage the vast amount of non-Microsoft expertise available around the world," says Lantinga.

Then there's the advantage for Sony that more games will inevitably appear for the PS2, thanks to this kit. Lantinga easily ported Maelstrom to the PlayStation 2 and played it with the console's game controllers on a television set. "That was very cool. Any other 2D game [made with Simple DirectMedia Layer] that uses 640x480 or lower video resolution should run just fine on the PS2," he says. "So I expect that when the Linux kit ships in the U.S., there will be a number of games almost immediately available for it. It should be fun."

Howard Wen is a freelance writer who has contributed frequently to O'Reilly Network, and written for Salon.com, Playboy.com and Wired, among others.

A Preview of the Potential Evils of CBDTPA

[Ogerman]

From the FAQ on the playstation2-linux.com page:

The PlayStation 2 contains a subsystem for operating peripherals and audio including the SPU2 (Sound Processing Unit), the IOP, the HDD, the DVD drive, controllers, memory cards, USB and other peripherals. The hardware specification for these units is not disclosed. The Runtime Environment provided on DISC 1 includes binary software device drivers for controlling these hardware units. Source code for the Runtime Environment is proprietary and will not be disclosed. However, DISC 2 contains Linux device drivers (with source code) which show how to access all these devices through the Runtime Environment interface. This gives the developer access to the functionality of all the devices but not the complete hardware specification.

If CBDTPA passes, this is precisely the kind of scenario we'd have on all PC hardware. Sure, you could still use Linux with it, but you'll have to use proprietary binary drivers to access any I/O device. Replace "Runtime Environment" in the above paragraph with "government certified anti-copying device" and you've got a near perfect preview of CBDTPA. And of course, note that "hardware specifications are not disclosed." In other words, if you reverse engineer a device.. say a USB scanner.. to write a Linux driver, you'd be in violation of the proposed law. Only the manufacturer would be able to legally provide the drivers to access their hardware. And we all know the wonderful track record of PC hardware manufacturers in supporting alternative operating systems. I for one, will not support any company who produces proprietary hardware in the name of "anti-piracy."

Warning: PS2 Linux insulates a lot from the system

[Ryu2]

First off, you must boot off of Sony's bootloader disc. The code on the bootloader, which runs before the kernel gets loaded, is basically a NT-like hardware abstraction layer that prevents you from getting direct register-level access to the GS (graphics/sound coprocessor) chip, the DVD CSS mechanism on the DVD-ROM (so no CSS-supported DVD player possible in Linux), memory card (Linux uses a special memory card format different than normal Playstation games, probably to prevent you from getting at and modifying saved game data), and possibly others as well.

The VGA box is only supported under Linux as well -- a shame, as Dreamcast has a VGA box which is actually supported by most of its commercial titles, and really makes them look better.

PS2 Linux is *not* for mainstream

[sph]

Most people seem to forget the target audience of the PS2 Linux. It's *not* for desktop or server use, definitely not for average gamer or even typical Linux hacker. It's not for mainstream in any form, if it was it would be available outside of the net as well. It won't be very supported officially, it's supposed to be community-supported. PS2-games and DVDs won't work in Linux. Software made on PS2 Linux can't be run on another PS2 without Linux. Bootable CD/DVDs can't be burned even on PC, because PS2 won't boot from burned discs (at least without hardware mods).

It's for people who already know Linux and possibly programming, and want to play with PS2 hardware, try what it's really made of. Documentation and development tools for processor, vector units and graphics synth are included. And I'm going to get it, because I'm very interested in that very nice piece of hardware.

I think it's quite a smart move from Sony. PS2 has always been criticized as being a very difficult platform to develop to. PS2 Linux will make it possible for a couple of thousand (no, it won't sell much more) hobbyists, and even game developers without previous PS2 experience, to familiarize themselves with PS2 hardware. It won't brew a large community of home-made PS2 games, but it may give a good start for a few of PS2 coders.

Re:PC replacement?

[CMiYC]

Guess you didn't read the article. But that is not surprising. If you think about it, the PS2 makes a pretty limited general purpose computer. It features very little upgradibility and limited general computing power. As I recall, it only has 32megs of system RAM. That's fine for running a couple of applications, but nothing memory intensive.

Re:Warning: PS2 Linux insulates a lot from the sys

[rcs1000]

Not strictly true. A DVD work-around has already been produced (search on Google, I can't remember the URL) for the (admittedly beta) Japanese versions of the Linux kit.