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does anyone know if any companies have looked into this?
i`m not very good at networking stuff, but i assume it would require a LOT of server side calculations, probably a prohibitive amount, in order to relay the right set of information to the relative console?
anyone have any ideas?
i`m not very good at networking stuff, but i assume it would require a LOT of server side calculations, probably a prohibitive amount, in order to relay the right set of information to the relative console?
anyone have any ideas?
thanks fantasymeister, that link was pretty good.
i spoke to a mate "in the biz" last night and he supported the notion that it would be unfairly balanced towards PC gaming as they have the option of getting at the files directly and modifying them.
i`m still interested to see if 360/ps3 action will happen, but Garin makes a good point about the politics of it all. hehe, that didn`t even occur to me, i figured it would be cool so why WOULDN`T companies want it to happen. i`m amusingly naieve sometimes.
i spoke to a mate "in the biz" last night and he supported the notion that it would be unfairly balanced towards PC gaming as they have the option of getting at the files directly and modifying them.
i`m still interested to see if 360/ps3 action will happen, but Garin makes a good point about the politics of it all. hehe, that didn`t even occur to me, i figured it would be cool so why WOULDN`T companies want it to happen. i`m amusingly naieve sometimes.
Garin wrote:
> Anyway, dont you work for a games company? Surely there is
> somebody there who can tell you far better than we ever could.
probably, but i wasn`t at work when it occurred to me :)
besides, i`m an animator, i don`t deal with techy stuff.. it`s nasty!
i need this place to be a buffer and put it into words i`ll understand if it WERE to be all networky and technical.
likewise, if anyone has any art based tech questions, i`m happy to translate ;)
anyone worried about generating their specular maps from a diffuse/normal combination? i`m yer guy, IK/FK animation rigging? i`m yer guy, etc :D
> Anyway, dont you work for a games company? Surely there is
> somebody there who can tell you far better than we ever could.
probably, but i wasn`t at work when it occurred to me :)
besides, i`m an animator, i don`t deal with techy stuff.. it`s nasty!
i need this place to be a buffer and put it into words i`ll understand if it WERE to be all networky and technical.
likewise, if anyone has any art based tech questions, i`m happy to translate ;)
anyone worried about generating their specular maps from a diffuse/normal combination? i`m yer guy, IK/FK animation rigging? i`m yer guy, etc :D
FantasyMeister wrote:
> FFXI probably gets away
> with it because it's hosted on Square Enix's servers rather than
> Live, but it's a marvel in its own right because it uses a
> client-server model rather than the usual hybrid peer to peer
> system that most online games use.
Usual peer to peer? I doubt theres a major online game in the last 10 years that hasnt been strictly client/server.
> FFXI probably gets away
> with it because it's hosted on Square Enix's servers rather than
> Live, but it's a marvel in its own right because it uses a
> client-server model rather than the usual hybrid peer to peer
> system that most online games use.
Usual peer to peer? I doubt theres a major online game in the last 10 years that hasnt been strictly client/server.
EA use their own servers, don't they? So surely a future version of any one of their cross-platform franchises could be tweaked to provided cross-platform online gaming? Burnout 360 vs PS3 anyone?
FFXI is also cross platform (PS2, XBox 360 and PC). I think the networking side of things is less of a problem than the political aspect as Garin mentioned. FFXI probably gets away with it because it's hosted on Square Enix's servers rather than Live, but it's a marvel in its own right because it uses a client-server model rather than the usual hybrid peer to peer system that most online games use.
Then there's Phantasy Star Universe where PS2/PC players can play together and 360 users play on a separate server. Sonic Team could probably answer a "Why is it like that?" question if you drop them a polite e-mail.
Need for Speed: Underground was PS2/PC, there's an interview with EA's assistant producer about how tricky this was to pull off which can be found here although it doesn't go into great depth.
The biggest problem with cross-platform isn't networking code or political though, I've always found it to be game balance. PCs make it too easy for cheaters to cheat, and different glitches on different consoles can be exploited in different ways so you end up with one group of players having a considerable advantage over others, which effectively kills the game for those that play fair.
The advantage to non-cross platform gaming is that, theoretically, you're on a level playing field. The disadvantage is that servers aren't as populated as they could be and there's less diversity.
I think as more and more tools are developed we'll see more and more cross platform games. The code might be slightly tricker but the end result is that you can launch a game aimed at 3 or 4 systems without having to worry about how well those systems are selling.
It baffles me why Blizzard don't make a cross platform console version of WoW, but then again with $150,000,000 per month coming in as subscriptions just from the PC version they don't really need to. Seems to me a nice way to double their income though.
Then there's Phantasy Star Universe where PS2/PC players can play together and 360 users play on a separate server. Sonic Team could probably answer a "Why is it like that?" question if you drop them a polite e-mail.
Need for Speed: Underground was PS2/PC, there's an interview with EA's assistant producer about how tricky this was to pull off which can be found here although it doesn't go into great depth.
The biggest problem with cross-platform isn't networking code or political though, I've always found it to be game balance. PCs make it too easy for cheaters to cheat, and different glitches on different consoles can be exploited in different ways so you end up with one group of players having a considerable advantage over others, which effectively kills the game for those that play fair.
The advantage to non-cross platform gaming is that, theoretically, you're on a level playing field. The disadvantage is that servers aren't as populated as they could be and there's less diversity.
I think as more and more tools are developed we'll see more and more cross platform games. The code might be slightly tricker but the end result is that you can launch a game aimed at 3 or 4 systems without having to worry about how well those systems are selling.
It baffles me why Blizzard don't make a cross platform console version of WoW, but then again with $150,000,000 per month coming in as subscriptions just from the PC version they don't really need to. Seems to me a nice way to double their income though.
Very_Metal wrote:
> does anyone know if any companies have looked into this?
I think in recent times the only example is Live with its 360 and PC cross platforming. Although the only game so far thats been supported is Shadowrun.
> i`m not very good at networking stuff, but i assume it would
> require a LOT of server side calculations, probably a
> prohibitive amount, in order to relay the right set of
> information to the relative console?
I dont see why. Typically the type of information you'd send and receive between client & server for a game is pretty much the same regardless of the platform. The initial handshake would be unique to the console but after that you'd hope to not really care what platform you were receiving from and sending to.
But of course all of the above is dependent on the individual consoles involved, what networking middleware they have, whether you're forced to use it etc. etc.
In terms of current consoles I strongly suspect your biggest problem would be business related rather than technical. For instance Xbox Live is a closed network, so unless you could persuade Microsoft its a good idea to let PS3/Wii owners play on their network, its hard to see how you'd make it happen.
Anyway, dont you work for a games company? Surely there is somebody there who can tell you far better than we ever could.
> does anyone know if any companies have looked into this?
I think in recent times the only example is Live with its 360 and PC cross platforming. Although the only game so far thats been supported is Shadowrun.
> i`m not very good at networking stuff, but i assume it would
> require a LOT of server side calculations, probably a
> prohibitive amount, in order to relay the right set of
> information to the relative console?
I dont see why. Typically the type of information you'd send and receive between client & server for a game is pretty much the same regardless of the platform. The initial handshake would be unique to the console but after that you'd hope to not really care what platform you were receiving from and sending to.
But of course all of the above is dependent on the individual consoles involved, what networking middleware they have, whether you're forced to use it etc. etc.
In terms of current consoles I strongly suspect your biggest problem would be business related rather than technical. For instance Xbox Live is a closed network, so unless you could persuade Microsoft its a good idea to let PS3/Wii owners play on their network, its hard to see how you'd make it happen.
Anyway, dont you work for a games company? Surely there is somebody there who can tell you far better than we ever could.
does anyone know if any companies have looked into this?
i`m not very good at networking stuff, but i assume it would require a LOT of server side calculations, probably a prohibitive amount, in order to relay the right set of information to the relative console?
anyone have any ideas?
i`m not very good at networking stuff, but i assume it would require a LOT of server side calculations, probably a prohibitive amount, in order to relay the right set of information to the relative console?
anyone have any ideas?