I agree that the SN systems tools lack a certain amount of polish, so they stick out when compared to visual studio's compilers, debugger. They do, however, get the job done admirably. You can easily debug all 4 processors and the dma controller with the one tool, and I've never found that it's missing any critical features.
As for using visual studio, I hope that comment was why you were modded flamebait. Aside from the fact that some people just prefer it, it's possible to use it to build and debug a single project for Windows, Xbox, and all SN platforms. Why do I get the feeling that Eclipse wouldn't be quite as adept at working with the Xbox platform (feel free to prove me wrong)?
I get your point, but that's not what I meant by 'fixed'. You are just talking about a Sony controlled platform, and that doesn't require that it's a fixed configuration. All I was saying is that if you are going to offer settings for graphical quality, you may as well abandon the discrete PS1/2/3 platforms and start offering RAM upgrades, different CPU clocks, better GPUs, etc. Not that I think doing that would be a good idea.
Of course the PS3 can do 120fps, any console can if it can output the signal (say, VGA on X360/DC). No games will ever run at 120fps, they will target 60fps, or 30fps, and they will base all their performance decisions around that number. Why do hardly any xbox games support 720p? Because it takes way more fill rate to draw that huge framebuffer, and they'd rather use those pixels to make the game look better on the majority of user's displays.
Why do I get the feeling that Sony wants to bring the 'fun' of configuring PC games to their console. I can just see it now, do you want to run fast at 480p, or more slowly at 1080i? How about some antialiasing to slow it down a bit more? I even seem to remember them saying something to that effect back around E3. What is the point of a fixed gaming platform if it's going to turn into that mess?
You've got it exactly right. People who are used to balancing the EE/VU0/VU1 are going to have no problem dealing with the 360. Even the PS3 is going to be a similar paradigm to PS2, just more general purpose, so there's no reason to be worried.
They don't need an IDE, they just need better tools. ProDG gives them a good debugger (the PS2 one was, at least), and it can integrate with Visual Studio if you want. Now they just need to get IBM to give them a really good cell compiler(s) instead of that hacked up MIPS gcc. In fact, I don't really care if there's an SPE compiler or not, I can manage using an assembler for that, they just need a solid PPE C++ one.
Yes, but than come in games: 20-60 dollars a game, with mabye 15-50 hours of fun per game. That is about a dollar an hour, it costs less than many arcades, but still, it adds up.
That's a lot less than any arcade I've ever been to, assuming you actually go there to play and not watch. It's also a lot less than the cinema, or buying dvds. Renting films is close, but then you can rent games, and get even more value.
Be I a pussy or not, that's how I always end up playing. Not sure why exactly, maybe a belief that karma will be in effect in the game world. Either that, or too many final fantasy type games:
"Will you help us save our kingdom from evil?"
YES [NO]
The control gives them the ability to manage the up front (hardware) vs. ongoing costs (software) costs for the consumer. Without that control they'd have to sell the hardware for a profit, which would make acceptance lower, and in turn make software less profitable.
I don't know what you're thinking, but Nintendo have always tried way harder than MS/Sony to protect their 'digital rights'. Proprietary cartridges, proprietary discs; GameCube was locked down pretty tight. Where do you get the idea that somehow revolution is going to be a DRM free zone?
3) Backward compat. Because the original Xbox has a HD and did not abstract it away, all Xbox 1 games will require a HD to run at all.
The HD was abstracted away to the same degree as storage in Windows. They could easily emulate the filesystem on solid state memory if it were fast enough; the problem is simply that so much storage was made available to the developers (something like a 700mb utility drive, not including save storage).
The 'problem' really just stems from the fact that video hardware is becoming an operating system managed resource, instead of a thin interface to an essentially unmanaged device. DirectX is becoming a much more important part of the operating system now that the entire GUI is built on top of it. You can no longer just give applications full access to the video resources through OpenGL and the driver.
Complaining about this is like complaining about how 32-bit x86 operating systems rendered DOS4GW useless. At some point video hardware was bound to become a more integral part of the operating system, and if you don't like that you even get the option to turn it off (for now).
People don't all want to play the same games, that's why DVD players don't come with media. They could include a coupon or something, but then we're really just talking about the price of the console.
Even if the size was the problem, it would be a purely aesthetic thing, not that it actually won't fit. If you can fit a TV, you can fit an Xbox, end of story. Do you have some stereotyped image of Japanese people squeezed into closets that are big enough for them and their PS2, but small enough that the extra cubic foot of an xbox would cause them to suffocate?
Please, some common sense. Few games, bad games, nationalism, everyone owning PS2s... these reasons at least border on reality.
If you plug in a UPNP video playback device, yes, it _is_ going to fly down your network. Stuff like that isn't done for no reason at all (not to say it shouldn't be secure).
Can't beat that for excitement, just make a bot competition out of it or something. You can even download the unreal engine 2 runtime for free from http://udn.epicgames.com/. UnrealScript will teach basic programming and OO design, and stuff like 'latent' functions make controller logic a lot simpler.
Also, you could easily integrate it with an art programme to teach that side of it.
Modified data files are only a vulnerability if the game doesn't attempt to verify them. When running on live, the executable code is still verified, so the chain of trust is in place. Extending that chain of trust beyond the executable is the developer's responsibility, and really not that difficult.
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I agree that the SN systems tools lack a certain amount of polish, so they stick out when compared to visual studio's compilers, debugger. They do, however, get the job done admirably. You can easily debug all 4 processors and the dma controller with the one tool, and I've never found that it's missing any critical features.
As for using visual studio, I hope that comment was why you were modded flamebait. Aside from the fact that some people just prefer it, it's possible to use it to build and debug a single project for Windows, Xbox, and all SN platforms. Why do I get the feeling that Eclipse wouldn't be quite as adept at working with the Xbox platform (feel free to prove me wrong)?
I get your point, but that's not what I meant by 'fixed'. You are just talking about a Sony controlled platform, and that doesn't require that it's a fixed configuration. All I was saying is that if you are going to offer settings for graphical quality, you may as well abandon the discrete PS1/2/3 platforms and start offering RAM upgrades, different CPU clocks, better GPUs, etc. Not that I think doing that would be a good idea.
Of course the PS3 can do 120fps, any console can if it can output the signal (say, VGA on X360/DC). No games will ever run at 120fps, they will target 60fps, or 30fps, and they will base all their performance decisions around that number. Why do hardly any xbox games support 720p? Because it takes way more fill rate to draw that huge framebuffer, and they'd rather use those pixels to make the game look better on the majority of user's displays.
Why do I get the feeling that Sony wants to bring the 'fun' of configuring PC games to their console. I can just see it now, do you want to run fast at 480p, or more slowly at 1080i? How about some antialiasing to slow it down a bit more? I even seem to remember them saying something to that effect back around E3. What is the point of a fixed gaming platform if it's going to turn into that mess?
It's in all of microsoft's new C++ compilers, including xenon. Look it up.
You've got it exactly right. People who are used to balancing the EE/VU0/VU1 are going to have no problem dealing with the 360. Even the PS3 is going to be a similar paradigm to PS2, just more general purpose, so there's no reason to be worried.
They don't need an IDE, they just need better tools. ProDG gives them a good debugger (the PS2 one was, at least), and it can integrate with Visual Studio if you want. Now they just need to get IBM to give them a really good cell compiler(s) instead of that hacked up MIPS gcc. In fact, I don't really care if there's an SPE compiler or not, I can manage using an assembler for that, they just need a solid PPE C++ one.
Yes, but than come in games: 20-60 dollars a game, with mabye 15-50 hours of fun per game. That is about a dollar an hour, it costs less than many arcades, but still, it adds up.
That's a lot less than any arcade I've ever been to, assuming you actually go there to play and not watch. It's also a lot less than the cinema, or buying dvds. Renting films is close, but then you can rent games, and get even more value.
Be I a pussy or not, that's how I always end up playing. Not sure why exactly, maybe a belief that karma will be in effect in the game world. Either that, or too many final fantasy type games:
"Will you help us save our kingdom from evil?"
YES [NO]
"Please, you are our only hope!"
YES [NO]
"Please, you are our only hope!"
YES [NO]
"Please, you are our only hope!"
YES [NO]
"Please, you are our only hope!"
[YES] NO
"Thank you so much, I knew you would save us."
There are plenty of orchestra conductors out there, and they have that market locked.
The control gives them the ability to manage the up front (hardware) vs. ongoing costs (software) costs for the consumer. Without that control they'd have to sell the hardware for a profit, which would make acceptance lower, and in turn make software less profitable.
I don't know what you're thinking, but Nintendo have always tried way harder than MS/Sony to protect their 'digital rights'. Proprietary cartridges, proprietary discs; GameCube was locked down pretty tight. Where do you get the idea that somehow revolution is going to be a DRM free zone?
3) Backward compat. Because the original Xbox has a HD and did not abstract it away, all Xbox 1 games will require a HD to run at all.
The HD was abstracted away to the same degree as storage in Windows. They could easily emulate the filesystem on solid state memory if it were fast enough; the problem is simply that so much storage was made available to the developers (something like a 700mb utility drive, not including save storage).
That thing doesn't even have it's own power source.
MySQL is a toy. Period.
The 'problem' really just stems from the fact that video hardware is becoming an operating system managed resource, instead of a thin interface to an essentially unmanaged device. DirectX is becoming a much more important part of the operating system now that the entire GUI is built on top of it. You can no longer just give applications full access to the video resources through OpenGL and the driver.
Complaining about this is like complaining about how 32-bit x86 operating systems rendered DOS4GW useless. At some point video hardware was bound to become a more integral part of the operating system, and if you don't like that you even get the option to turn it off (for now).
People don't all want to play the same games, that's why DVD players don't come with media. They could include a coupon or something, but then we're really just talking about the price of the console.
They started off with a controller very similar to the controller S.
And also, illiterate.
Even if the size was the problem, it would be a purely aesthetic thing, not that it actually won't fit. If you can fit a TV, you can fit an Xbox, end of story. Do you have some stereotyped image of Japanese people squeezed into closets that are big enough for them and their PS2, but small enough that the extra cubic foot of an xbox would cause them to suffocate?
Please, some common sense. Few games, bad games, nationalism, everyone owning PS2s... these reasons at least border on reality.
But then they replaced them with these wireless ones, which are obviously inferior.
Wavebird lasts at least 10x that.
If you plug in a UPNP video playback device, yes, it _is_ going to fly down your network. Stuff like that isn't done for no reason at all (not to say it shouldn't be secure).
Can't beat that for excitement, just make a bot competition out of it or something. You can even download the unreal engine 2 runtime for free from http://udn.epicgames.com/. UnrealScript will teach basic programming and OO design, and stuff like 'latent' functions make controller logic a lot simpler.
Also, you could easily integrate it with an art programme to teach that side of it.
They don't need to exploit a buffer overflow to execute their code if you execute it for them.
Modified data files are only a vulnerability if the game doesn't attempt to verify them. When running on live, the executable code is still verified, so the chain of trust is in place. Extending that chain of trust beyond the executable is the developer's responsibility, and really not that difficult.