I did that same google search (there's a few other clues out there too) and confronted a couple of microsoft developers on a mailing list (we'd been having a long discussion about VSS, and how much it sucked for projects with more than a hundred files). One of them fessed up. Apparently the SCCS system is chosen on a per-team basis. Some use SourceDepot, which is derived from Perforce, while others use VSS. Oh, and good luck trying to get a copy, SourceDepot is an internal project, not for public release.
Actually, in term of T&L, the EE kicks nVidia's butt....but that's beside the point, as it's not a PC graphics chip, and so the comparison's a bit pointless. Like saying my Cray XMP would make a lousy sound card, because it doesn't support dts.
I put this change of focus down to a renewed power grab from the WebTV / UltimateTV group.
"But Gates left a glimmer of hope for the WebTV team. [...] This fateful suggestion turned into a new form of the old Microsoft strategy tax, slowing down the Xbox again." here
...user base, manufacturing costs, spatial efficiency, game library, size of developer community.
As another console programmer, I'd agree that the PS2 tools are still playing catch-up with the x-box tools. However, since the market for PS2 games is like 10 times the size of that for the x-box, the development costs for a PS2 title could be up to 10 times that of an x-box title and it'd still be more profitable in terms of return on investment. (NB this is an incredibly crude analysis, but the fundamentals are important).
Oh, and the x-box is in no way a beemer (the 'cube is the beemer in this metaphor), much more like a cadillac. Big, expensive, over-specced, looks much more impressive than it actually is.
> You mention AppleScript, and claims it is like having shellscript for GUI. No it isn't: you are bound to use that specific language
It's actually much more powerfull than shellscript, as it can manipulate objects other than text files. The architecture is completely open and documented. There are numerous other languages available, only the basic object model is fixed. The whole fully factored and recordable cross application scripting thing blows shellscript out of the water.
That's ok, I know more about the PS2 than either of the others. The actual situation with regards to EE registers is pretty complex, as the EE actually consists of the core, 2 vector units, and an fpu.
The core has 31 128-bit registers, and instructions to manipulate them either as 32-bit, or 64-bit integers, or as 4x32-bit integers, or as 8x16-bit integers (where 4x32 bit means, four 32-bit integers packed into one-128 bit integer). The reason there's 31, is that register 0 (zr) is a constant 0.
Each vector unit has 31 4x32-bit float registers, and 15 16-bit integer registers. One of the vector units (VU0) is available to the core as a co-processor, as are all of it's registers. The other sits in the DMA stream, and can be thought of as a pumped up vertex shader.
Finally the fpu is pretty traditional, with 32 32-bit float registers.
So thats 31 128-bit integer registers, 31 4x32-bit float registers, 15 16-bit integer registers, and 32 32-bit float registers. Giving us a total of 109 registers, with a total of 8208 bits, and that's not including 20 or so status or result registers.
None of this is modal, you can mix core, VU, and fpu instructions as you like. There's also nothing stopping you treating a 128-bit core register as a 32, 64, 4x32, or 8x16-bit integer, nor moving it to a VU0 register, where it's treated as a 4x32-bit float.
There's also the IPU, a DMA controller, and a whole bunch of other stuff, but they're not directly accessibly from the core. Well, actually, even that's not true, as most things are also memory mapped, but that's only really for debugging, as memory mapped access has a habit of stalling everything.
Oh, and the bus to the RDRAM is 128 bit, while the bus to the GS is 64 bit.
So, in summary, mostly 128-bit registers, and a 128-bit data bus. It's a 128-bit system.
Dunno what you mean about a PS2 32 bit mode though. Unless you're referring to most of the intructions only operating on the low 32 or 64 bits of its 128 bit registers.
JC writes to OpenGL, he does not implement it, that's the job of the driver writers. Writing to OpenGL is piss easy. Writing an OpenGL driver, or worse, a complete software implementation of OpenGL, is a fucking nightmare.
>I believe its goin to be the same battle as OS security, and game console copy protection.
Console protection is hard, because it's a static target. Cheating prevention is easier, as you have a network connection, and thus can patch the executable in response to cheat attacks.
..because only the rich kids could afford a BBC, thus limiting their popularity. More kids had Spectrums and C64's, which at least pretended to be affordable.
Slashdot Mirror
DJED off of Millions Now Living is an exercise in live band and sampler. While it's not 'traditional' electronica, the ethic is pretty much the same.
The second remix album is definately a classic.
3 if you count the storming live album.
...because only kids play games right? Odd that the availablilty of PC games hasn't relegated them to toys.
I did that same google search (there's a few other clues out there too) and confronted a couple of microsoft developers on a mailing list (we'd been having a long discussion about VSS, and how much it sucked for projects with more than a hundred files). One of them fessed up. Apparently the SCCS system is chosen on a per-team basis. Some use SourceDepot, which is derived from Perforce, while others use VSS. Oh, and good luck trying to get a copy, SourceDepot is an internal project, not for public release.
Actually, in term of T&L, the EE kicks nVidia's butt. ...but that's beside the point, as it's not a PC graphics chip, and so the comparison's a bit pointless. Like saying my Cray XMP would make a lousy sound card, because it doesn't support dts.
...nor indeed that they are the narrators of this particular fairy tale from the future.
Fark's over there, this is slashdot.
...because no-one really wants to get into bed with Microsoft? They do have a terrible habit of eating their partners alive.
Oh yes, and because they were incredibly late with a recent set-top box contract. There was quite a bit of coverage on this on the Register IIRC.
> Microsoft has already have a TiVo like system, it's called the Ultimate TV.
No, it's called, third place in a one horse race.
Although that's what RenderMorphics was before they bought it renamed it Direct3D, and started giving it away for nothing. here
[I worked at Argonaut during all this, although I never met Rich, IIRC his office was stateside]
> my PS2 is practically the same size
No Dougal, the PS2 is small, the x-box is far away.
I put this change of focus down to a renewed power grab from the WebTV / UltimateTV group.
"But Gates left a glimmer of hope for the WebTV team. [...] This fateful suggestion turned into a new form of the old Microsoft strategy tax, slowing down the Xbox again." here
> XBox kicks PS2 on everything but fill-rate...
...user base, manufacturing costs, spatial efficiency, game library, size of developer community.
As another console programmer, I'd agree that the PS2 tools are still playing catch-up with the x-box tools. However, since the market for PS2 games is like 10 times the size of that for the x-box, the development costs for a PS2 title could be up to 10 times that of an x-box title and it'd still be more profitable in terms of return on investment. (NB this is an incredibly crude analysis, but the fundamentals are important).
Oh, and the x-box is in no way a beemer (the 'cube is the beemer in this metaphor), much more like a cadillac. Big, expensive, over-specced, looks much more impressive than it actually is.
...actually the "Wankel Rotary Engine" failed in the marketplace, because very few people could say the name with a straight face.
Hush child.
> You mention AppleScript, and claims it is like having shellscript for GUI. No it isn't: you are bound to use that specific language
It's actually much more powerfull than shellscript, as it can manipulate objects other than text files. The architecture is completely open and documented. There are numerous other languages available, only the basic object model is fixed. The whole fully factored and recordable cross application scripting thing blows shellscript out of the water.
That's ok, I know more about the PS2 than either of the others. The actual situation with regards to EE registers is pretty complex, as the EE actually consists of the core, 2 vector units, and an fpu.
The core has 31 128-bit registers, and instructions to manipulate them either as 32-bit, or 64-bit integers, or as 4x32-bit integers, or as 8x16-bit integers (where 4x32 bit means, four 32-bit integers packed into one-128 bit integer). The reason there's 31, is that register 0 (zr) is a constant 0.
Each vector unit has 31 4x32-bit float registers, and 15 16-bit integer registers. One of the vector units (VU0) is available to the core as a co-processor, as are all of it's registers. The other sits in the DMA stream, and can be thought of as a pumped up vertex shader.
Finally the fpu is pretty traditional, with 32 32-bit float registers.
So thats 31 128-bit integer registers, 31 4x32-bit float registers, 15 16-bit integer registers, and 32 32-bit float registers. Giving us a total of 109 registers, with a total of 8208 bits, and that's not including 20 or so status or result registers.
None of this is modal, you can mix core, VU, and fpu instructions as you like. There's also nothing stopping you treating a 128-bit core register as a 32, 64, 4x32, or 8x16-bit integer, nor moving it to a VU0 register, where it's treated as a 4x32-bit float.
There's also the IPU, a DMA controller, and a whole bunch of other stuff, but they're not directly accessibly from the core. Well, actually, even that's not true, as most things are also memory mapped, but that's only really for debugging, as memory mapped access has a habit of stalling everything.
Oh, and the bus to the RDRAM is 128 bit, while the bus to the GS is 64 bit.
So, in summary, mostly 128-bit registers, and a 128-bit data bus. It's a 128-bit system.
They'd probably stare blankly at you.
Dunno what you mean about a PS2 32 bit mode though. Unless you're referring to most of the intructions only operating on the low 32 or 64 bits of its 128 bit registers.
> Whatever happened to this whole Cathedral and the Bazaar thing?
Reality trumps metaphors.
Region 2 is still in print
Region 1 is harder to find
Region 0 is out there
Alternatively: 105.5 (note the dot above the last 5)
JC writes to OpenGL, he does not implement it, that's the job of the driver writers. Writing to OpenGL is piss easy. Writing an OpenGL driver, or worse, a complete software implementation of OpenGL, is a fucking nightmare.
>I believe its goin to be the same battle as OS security, and game console copy protection.
Console protection is hard, because it's a static target. Cheating prevention is easier, as you have a network connection, and thus can patch the executable in response to cheat attacks.
Stallman wears dresses?
...back then, Window's was just a shell replacement for DOS.
..because only the rich kids could afford a BBC, thus limiting their popularity. More kids had Spectrums and C64's, which at least pretended to be affordable.