I wanna program for XBox...
Think about it. Regular old DirectX, except:
NO device enumeration
NO windowed mode, ever
NO Device Validation
NO Resolution Enumeration
NO pixel formats(well maybe, but probably not)
That''s like losing 2000 lines of code!
-----------------------------
The sad thing about artificial intelligence is that it lacks artifice and therefore intelligence.
Sure you don''t have to include support for a couple things like older systems, windowed mode, and the other things you mentioned, but you are forgetting that your game has to look absolutely incredible for Microsoft to even think about it. The time that you would save not doing the things that you mentioned would probably (rough estimate of course) be lost in the time that you would have to spend coding a million different pixel/vertex shading algorythms, and everything else you have to do to make it look awesome.
Dont get me wrong, I want to code for XBox REAL bad too, but I dont think development for one would be any faster.
Dont get me wrong, I want to code for XBox REAL bad too, but I dont think development for one would be any faster.
Would be cool to try though, don''t have to be a proffesional game, just for fun... Not that I know how to get the program over to the x-box.
Sure it wouldn''t be fastet but...
Would you rather spend your time makeing the game work with DirectX and OpenGL, optimizing for all kinds of different video cards, and hack away forever at a scaleable feature set or...
Would you rather spend your time makeing the game realy stinking cool. Pixel shaders take forever but they are a heck of a lot more fun. Imagine this: You work for weeks and finally get that water looking all wet and splashy. Every time you start the game up it makes you all thirsty and want to go swimming really bad. Then on the other hand you work for weeks getting support for OpenGL and DirectX down and yipee it runs on two different machines without a hitch.
Average dev time for an Xbox title will probably be longer than the average dev time for a PC game but I bet the developers feel like they accomplished more.
Would you rather spend your time makeing the game work with DirectX and OpenGL, optimizing for all kinds of different video cards, and hack away forever at a scaleable feature set or...
Would you rather spend your time makeing the game realy stinking cool. Pixel shaders take forever but they are a heck of a lot more fun. Imagine this: You work for weeks and finally get that water looking all wet and splashy. Every time you start the game up it makes you all thirsty and want to go swimming really bad. Then on the other hand you work for weeks getting support for OpenGL and DirectX down and yipee it runs on two different machines without a hitch.
Average dev time for an Xbox title will probably be longer than the average dev time for a PC game but I bet the developers feel like they accomplished more.
The cost for a development system for the XBOX is considerable, as it is for any other console system: $10,000+ per system. The hardware won''t simply run a DirectX game burned to a CD and plopped into any XBOX''s drive; you need the Xbox Development SDK, which means you''ll have to enter into a contract with Microsoft, which I would guess costs money, as well.
Every project takes a different about of time to complete, no matter which platform it is being released on. The ''good looking'' rendering of XBOX games is only part of the large project that makes up an xbox game. I wouldn''t bet my money that the difference between writing the renderer for an XBOX game versus a PC game impacts the game''s time to market -- it just might mean that the rendering programmer can focus on one hardware spec instead of having to support multiple targets.
Every project takes a different about of time to complete, no matter which platform it is being released on. The ''good looking'' rendering of XBOX games is only part of the large project that makes up an xbox game. I wouldn''t bet my money that the difference between writing the renderer for an XBOX game versus a PC game impacts the game''s time to market -- it just might mean that the rendering programmer can focus on one hardware spec instead of having to support multiple targets.
Microsoft actually had (dunno if its'' still active or not) a program for startup dev companies..
you''d sign up with them after your game was in a very serious
alpha stage, and they''d give you a liscense/sdk and the
specifications on how to build a *near* xbox test system
using off-the-shelf hardware. i can''t remember the name
of this program, but if it''s still in effect.. that''s how you''d
go about doing it.
and yeah, developing an xbox game with a normal developer''s kit
and machines would be VERY expensive.
-eldee
;another space monkey;
you''d sign up with them after your game was in a very serious
alpha stage, and they''d give you a liscense/sdk and the
specifications on how to build a *near* xbox test system
using off-the-shelf hardware. i can''t remember the name
of this program, but if it''s still in effect.. that''s how you''d
go about doing it.
and yeah, developing an xbox game with a normal developer''s kit
and machines would be VERY expensive.
-eldee
;another space monkey;
why not just dev for geforce3 and up cards? make the min requirments:
geforce3 (or radeon 8500)
800mhz cpu
192MB
whatever harddrive space you need for the game
joystick
3d sound card
dx 8.1
etc.
you dont have to write your software to work on older machines or be scalible (its a good idea though). last time i checked return to castle wolfstein did not work on old pcs (less then 400mhz) to well. nor does max payne work well on older pcs. its up to you if you want to support older hardware. of course if your code is unoptimized its no excuse for requiring better hardware.
geforce3 (or radeon 8500)
800mhz cpu
192MB
whatever harddrive space you need for the game
joystick
3d sound card
dx 8.1
etc.
you dont have to write your software to work on older machines or be scalible (its a good idea though). last time i checked return to castle wolfstein did not work on old pcs (less then 400mhz) to well. nor does max payne work well on older pcs. its up to you if you want to support older hardware. of course if your code is unoptimized its no excuse for requiring better hardware.
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