I was curious to know what development tools do Xbox 360 and PS3 game developers use (I know that there are expensive SDK's to access professional development on these consoles).
So, do Xbox 360 devs use Visual Studio? And what version?
And what about PS3?
And what is the graphics API used on the PS3? Is it a variant of OpenGL?
Thanks.
Professional XBox 360 development is done with Visual Studio.
PS3 uses a proprietary compiler and IDE developed by a Sony subsidiary.
There is an OpenGL-like graphics library available on the PS3, but most major games use a lower-level API that speaks directly to the graphics hardware instead.
for ps3 development you need to buy ps3 dev kit, which is cost around $2000. it includes hardware and software for development. the software includes sdk where you can code in c++ ( or some other languages sony specifies ). and the graphics library to use is PSGL ( PlayStation Graphics Library ). that is a combination of OpenGL-ES and the CG programming of NVIDIA. and later to release the game you need to become sony licensed developer. for that you should contact sony through mail. that license is given only to developers or developer team which is having enough previous understanding in game development.
and now (around the feb '12 ) sony is going to release playstation suite by which developers can able to develop applications and games for playstation certified devices ( ps3, playstation vita, some android mobiles, etc ). there you have to use c# to code. but afaik it will not be a better sdk for full fledged AAA game development for ps3. Because it uses a virtual machine which translates the code dynamically to the underlying hardware platform where it runs, which may affect the performance. and the sdk is now in closed beta test for developers in us, uk, japan. you can get results regarding this from google with query 'playstation suite closed beta'. and its beta is expected to be released in the coming feb with the release of playstation vita.
for microsoft xbox 360 better place to start is xna game development. and after some time getting better knowledge in game development, you can approach microsoft to get the sdk for xbox 360 game development. the games developed with xna will not be much faster as games developed with the sdk given by microsoft. but getting the sdk for xbox is also having lots of procedures as getting sdk for ps3. the xna coding will be in c# with directx and direct3d as graphics library.
and later news tells that microsoft is migrating to metro style apps from xna. metro is going to be released with windows 8. now its beta version is bundled with windows 8 beta release. and microsoft doesn't show any support for xna in future ( it is not clear still ). now xna is only available for dircetx9. but metro is going to be released with directx11. microsoft didn't give any word about xna support in future. in metro apps, you need to be code in C++ with directx and direct3d graphics libraries.
Check CryEngine 3 Free SDK. http://mycryengine.com/
Allows you to develop for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation3.
The Unity3D engine also ports to PS3, XBox and Wii :]
You need Playstation SDK or Xbox360 SDK. Both include hardware and software. Normally only companies can gain them and it costs a lot of money. For Xbox360 you can also use XNA.
in response to what somebody said above, are we not all past the JIT compiler debate.
with proper coding techniques, microsoft and other companies have produced virtual machines which are far more powerful than anybody gives them credit for.
back in the day when we have VERY LITTLE memory to work with, C++ was a video game development standard due to the fact that we could directly manage our own memory when needed, and working with a lower level programming language just seemed "right"
i still enjoy developing both games and software in C++, but there is no reason that this playstation SDK which is using a JIT compiler and C#, will not be able to produce efficient code for developing video games.
Related
I was wondering if adobe air would come out for the apple watch or is there any way to develop with adobe air for iWatch? Thanks!
WatchOS 2 apps require submission to Apple using LLVM BitCode. Apple can than compile to native code (currently S1/arm7v) as they update the watch framework and/or hardware and the developer does not have to resubmit their apps to handle those changes.
Adobe has not publicly mentioned adding any additional platforms to Air and it would require a major investment to place a AS3/Air front-end on the LLVM compiler. I, personally, highly doubt this feature will ever be seen.
Learning X-code (or license and learn Xamarin/C#) is the only way to go right now (unless someone knows of other third-party development env. that support WatchOS2/WatchKit).
Add your Vote of support to additional Air platforms:
Open Adobe bug/tracker for Windows Phone 8/10 (open since 10/2013): https://bugbase.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=selectBug&CFGRIDKEY=3648920
Open Adobe bug/tracker for WatchKit & Android Wear:
https://bugbase.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=bug&id=4069595
I have been asked to develop an Xbox 360 app. Not a game but an application like Netflix, Youtube or Muzu... I find it realy hard to find any information on app development for the Xbox console. Can anybody give me some advice?
I know that the XDK allows game development in native C++ but is it suitable for creating apps as well? Is there any information on the submission process and policies for Xbox 360 apps?
I think you may need to ask the question, "What's the difference between a game and an application?" I'm sure you could use XNA to build an application as well thus develop your app in C#, using the libraries Microsoft provides. Good luck!
I am not sure if what you want is possible with XNA. If you are registered xbox developer, you should talk to your developer account manager.
I assume you may get detailed explanation from theese links
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/developers
http://www.xboxmb.com/forum/15-xbox-360-tutorials/67430-how-create-xbox360-applications-sdk.html
Everywhere I found the buzz about Xbox 360 games. However I want to know how I can develop normal application for xbox 360. Mostly silverlight based.
Also I am not sure what this homebrew stuff is all about? What language I need to use for Xbox 360 application development?
From where / how can I get the SDK? On App Hub all buzz is about windows phone. There is not much information on Xbox? Why is it so?
Xbox 360 development is largely split into two distinct sections:
XNA Development
This involves using the XNA Framework to develop games/applications, and is done through AppHub. You can find the tools for development (XNA Game Studio) here. Anything developed using these tools must be written in C#.NET and can only be released onto the Xbox LIVE Marketplace as an 'Indie Game' (after passing the review process, of course). To debug your XNA app on the console itself, you need a membership. Another thing to note is that Xbox 360 apps can't access the Internet at all - all communication goes through Xbox LIVE or System Link.
Professional Development
This covers the development of complete Xbox 360 titles, and requires that you be part of the Xbox 360 Registered Developer Program. Once a development license is obtained (and the NDA is signed), Microsoft provides developers with access to the official Xbox 360 SDK and development hardware, which includes full Visual Studio integration and documentation for developing native Xbox 360 applications and libraries using C/C++. The development kit hardware comes in a few flavours and supports debugging from Visual Studio via ethernet, DVD emulation via USB, etc. For more information on the professional development program, see this information.
Developing 'normal' applications for the Xbox 360 isn't really possible at the moment due to the limitations of the XNA Framework and community developer program. If you're part of the registered developer program it might be possible, but there's no way to be sure (due to Microsoft's strict NDAs).
As for Silverlight, there have been some rumours regarding Silverlight on the Xbox 360 but Microsoft hasn't confirmed or announced anything.
Microsoft has introduced App Hub as a publishing portal for WP7 and Xbox 360. However, for the Xbox 360, there only seems to be support for adding and Xbox Live Indie Game project. Given the recent introduction of apps and the app marketplace on Xbox 360 I would expect the option of creating apps as well.
Is it possible, or will it be possible, to create and publish apps for the Xbox 360 without a full-on professional Xbox development partnership with Microsoft?
As far as I know there is no official information on this, but there have been some rumors.
Microsoft is said to plan a version of Silverlight 5 running on the Xbox 360 and with this they may open up the platform some more. Look at this article for instance: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Free-To-Play-Apps-Xbox-360-microtransaction-silverlight-5,news-10800.html
But this is still only a rumor, Microsoft has not even announced Silverlight for Xbox in public yet.
That there will be a version of Silverlight for the Xbox is quite obvious though, look at the documentation for the INotifyPropertyChanged interface for instance. Here the supported platforms lists the Xbox 360 :-)
This does not fully answer your questions, but I think it is the best answer there is. Microsoft will probably announce a new platform (Silverlight) for developing apps on the Xbox 360 quite soon. This new platform will probably allow for more ways to publish apps, but that has not been confirmed.
just a general query. I've tried to research the tools and environment used for professional 360 development but there's not much available that isn't covered by NDAs.
(Please note that I'm not interested in XNA development.)
Q. What is the preferred/most-common dev environment for PRO development? Is it Visual Studio 2010? Or does the SDK provide a specific IDE and compiler/linker/build chain for the 360?
Q. What are the core frameworks provided through the SDK? A custom version of DX9 for example? What else? Does the SDK or licensing provide access to commonly-used middleware for major components?
Q. Is OpenGL supported at any level on the 360 or would all code have to be ported to a DX version?
Q. In terms of tools (not technology) what are the main differences in developing a game for the 360, and, say, Windows?
Thanks for any help.
Please be aware that the development tools are held under a very strict NDA by Microsoft, so information is hard to come by.
Q. What is the preferred/most-common dev environment for PRO development? Is it Visual Studio 2010?
Yes, the professional Xbox 360 SDK integrates into the latest version of Visual Studio (so currently it integrates into 2010). This is the preferred and supported development environment,.
Q. What are the core frameworks provided through the SDK? A custom version of DX9 for example?
DirectX 9.0 is part of the SDK, and has only a few minor differences to the Windows version. The SDK also provides:
Tools and utilities for development hardware
A framework for creating rendering effects
HLSL for working with shaders
Various audio, video and graphics APIs
The 'achievements' API
Xbox LIVE and multiplayer/networking APIs
The XInput API
UI framework called XUI
Q. Is OpenGL supported at any level on the 360 or would all code have to be ported to a DX version?
No, there is no official OpenGL support. The Xbox 360 uses a custom version of Direct3D (so yes, all code would have to be ported to DirectX).