One of the authors of SlimDX said he was not interested in adding support for it to SlimDX, and Valve is obviously going out of their way to make a point that they are not going to support it either. Minecraft won’t, and I am not decided on my own engine.
MJP has never even tried to use DirectX 11.1 yet.
There are several separate issues here: Windows 8, Metro, latest version of DirectX and so on.
Windows 8 (non-RT) will still run all existing Windows applications, and I imagine therefore most people would be supporting Windows 8, even if this doesn't mean any new APIs.
I hardly see why it's doom and gloom for MS because not every immediately jumps onto the latest version of DirectX - for all sorts of reasons, it takes time to move engines across. Also not all software is necessarily best suited to the full-screen Metro UI.
For myself: I'll be happily writing for and supporting Windows x86. I won't be doing anything Metro as I'm not interested in that yet and don't have the time - for GUIs, I primarily use Qt anyway. I'm still using DirectX 9 - not out of any protest or boycotting, but because I haven't had time to learn and write for newer versions.
How many of you are starting to consider moving away from Windows in favor of Macintosh OS X or Linux?
Do you think Microsoft will be able to continue going this route or will they be forced to either downsize considerably or lift their ridiculous policies? Do you plan to push them into such a situation by, for example boycotting any of their products?
I don't know what ridiculous policies you mean.
I do have concerns with the Windows RT model where software can only be distributed by their site. But that doesn't stop me writing x86 Windows software as before. It would also be ludicrous to boycott MS by switching to a company that has far more ridiculous policies as far as trying to lock down open computing is concerned. I already write cross-platform for Linux, but it would be silly to drop Windows.
And this is the first time I have considered moving away from Windows, or at least never “upgrading”.
Windows XP and Windows 7 still work fine. If games stop coming out for them, I will see what platform is getting all the games. Linux? Valve’s own new game machine? That Ouhaoasdjh thing funded by Kickstarter?
In any case it is not going to be Windows 8/Metro, as guaranteed by their own policies on what they allow through their store, which specifically state, “No good games”.
It will still be possible to release standard PC games for Windows 8, even if it's not through the MS store.
I see Microsoft in the near future being just a shell of its former self.
Apple has been rising steadily in popularity thanks to iOS and other vendors are stepping up to fight in the console wars, while existing platforms may suddenly get a boost in popularity depending on how things go.
Well in turn, Android is massively more popular than IOS. It also seem contradictory to have a post that criticises MS for various policies, but then suggest they will be outdone by a mobile OS that does all these policies to a far greater extent. If people are going to boycott because of those policies, it will hurt Apple more. If not, it's not a problem in the first place.
The upcoming generation of gaming will leave consumers with many more options than previously, so we are no longer bound to just Windows and consoles. With many gamers feeling smitten by Microsoft, I see a lot of people intentionally seeking options outside of Microsoft, and Microsoft will ultimately end up in trouble.
There is nothing new here, for games there have long been devices (handheld and non-handheld) for playing games, that aren't Windows, and in some cases other things. Whether they are labelled "console" or not is a semantics issue. And on the contrary, this has been an area where MS has been increasing its reach over the last 10 years (mainly with X Box).
There is no guarantee of anything being ported over, and many game companies not (yet) willing to out, with no guarantee they ever will.
No guarantee of ever being able to use my favorite applications and no guarantees as to what kinds of games will be available, but with guarantees on what kinds of games will NOT be available.
You will be able to play and use them on Windows 8. And even beyond then - MS tends to have long support for backwards compatibility, so there is no reason to think that this will change anytime soon. Even if eventually this gets pushed out into a "Ultimate" version. And pingz makes a good point - for MS to kill off the older compatibility sooner, and to be stricter about forcing people to release only through their site, this would require good uptake in the new APIs, and in releasing through their site. If what you claim is true, and no one wants this, then this also means you have less to fear anyway, as MS won't be in a position to do that so easily.
You see, I'm also worried by a future where you can only write software for a device you own if one of a few big companies lets you. But it's not logical to say "And so it'll flop", on the contrary, the fear exists that most people won't care, and it will be successful. Just as with Apple - it'd be fine if everyone was releasing for Android (and Symbian before that), but the fear is precisely because IOS gets catered for above all else, despite smaller share, and despite their closed platform. And if you want to criticise people for supporting a closed platform, you need to target the people who have done so for hundreds of thousands of IOS applications. You're the one who gave hundreds of dollars to Apple for their closed platform - not I.
This would be fine if it was the App Store. It’s just crap for my New iPad. I never planned on playing Mortal Kombat Super Bloody Gore Version 3,000 on it.
But this is a desktop. My entire life, essentially.
I can’t feel safe with that much of my life under that much control.
Just as my New iPad can be nothing more than a small side part of my life, Windows Metro will, in all of the foreseeable future, be nothing but an on-the-side toy if it has any part in my life at all.
Here I think is the problem. You happily hand over hundreds of dollars to get every New Device from Apple, despite it only being a small part of your life. But for something that offers much more for you, you don't want to pay the $30 upgrade, just because of some of the policies that Apple are far worse on anyway. And you post to forums arguing for others to do the same. Quite frankly, if MS have decided that they should take on some of the profiteering tactics from Apple, it's people like you who are to blame
This is the mentality a lot of people seem to have. People will likely get more and more comfortable with the idea of the Windows machine being just a side as some other platform grows to the forefront of their minds.
Well hang on, if a Windows machine is just a side thing, and your New Ipad is your life, surely by the above reasoning, you now need to criticise Apple, whilst excusing MS for doing the same thing?
Edited by mdwh, 29 October 2012 - 09:09 AM.
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