A passing thought.. Xbox 2 + .NET

W

wyrd

Senior Contributor
Joined
Aug 23, 2002
Messages
1,405
Location
California
Not sure if anyone else here is a game junky, but the other day while I was randomly thinking about games + programming, I started to wonder... what if Microsoft put the .NET framework into the Xbox 2? If actually used to develop a game or two for commercial use, and the games were actually of top quality, it could start a brush fire in the way people view game development as a C/C++ only arena. :eek:
 
That would be cool, imagine if anyone could just download .NET SDK and develp games for XBOX on their own computer :), there would be some chaos on the XBOX market.
 
Would never happen, at least not in the near future. Console developers demand too much low-level control to accept .Net. They would balk at such a high-level layer.

It would be nice though....
 
From reading that I've done, developers appreciate the ease-of-use and small learning curve in order to produce and develop games for the Xbox compared to PS2 and GC. Adding the .NET framework would only make things easier, no?
 
developers do appreciate the small learning curve of XBox development. But it is still done in C\C++ which gives them low-level access, it is just the low-level access they are used to having when coding on the PC. So the learning curve is small since they already have experience with C\C++, but they still have their low-level control over the runtime environment. Console developers will love anything MS can do to reduce the learning curve, but they will not trade their low-level control for it.
 
My son's mates has linux installed on his Xbox, USB KB and uses a GUI interface, upgraded the HDD, saves movies, games etc on it so I presume he may well be programming on it too
 
Optikal said:
developers do appreciate the small learning curve of XBox development. But it is still done in C\C++ which gives them low-level access, it is just the low-level access they are used to having when coding on the PC. So the learning curve is small since they already have experience with C\C++, but they still have their low-level control over the runtime environment. Console developers will love anything MS can do to reduce the learning curve, but they will not trade their low-level control for it.
Click to expand...

But they don't have to. What would be wrong with developing a few .dlls written in C/C++ to handle the low-level control, and leave the rest to .NET? I just mentioned adding the .NET framework to Xbox 2, I didn't say anything about taking away anything.
 
All I know is that the XBOX2 is going to totally rule the PS3 as far as price goes. The XBOX2 is going to have off the shelf parts not like the customized PS3 and its "Cell" chip... :o who cares about a washing machine that can get on the internet and download washing instructions for some underwear! :p
 
I wouldn't quite rule out the PS3 just yet. We have yet to see the either the Xbox 2s or PS3s specs and games. Online gaming will have a lot to do with the success of next generation consoles, so we'll have to see who can crank out the best online games. The obvious choice would be Microsoft, but Sony isn't dumb.. unlike Nintendo who refuses to support online gaming. *shakes head* Yeah, like I'll be waiting for Mario and Zelda #23452 come next generation.
 
Tuppence worth:)

Currently Xbox blows PS2 away, the controls alon make it a more usable device let alone the blistering graphics:):)
 
Merrion said:
Vertigo Software have release Quake II rewritten in managed C++.NET - so it is definitely a viable games option...
Click to expand...

Thats cool :), congratulations to the people that remade the game, not only becuase its in framework but its not a simple overnight project.
But lets wait for Doom3 to appear on .NET framework :D.
 
Being able to add stuff to a 3D shooter via managed code is a pretty cool idea. It would make mod writing and all that stuff a lot easier, and code access security could even help stop cheaters.
 
Back
Top