The DirectX Conspiricy

wyrd said:
I've done some inquery. Their current version (2.05) will remain a "pay what you want" license. That means if you want to pay $0, you can, and they'll allow you to use it commercially. However, there is a new version coming out (3.0) that also supports Palm and N-Gage (the current version is just Pocket PCs and Desktop PCs), and also have a number of improvements and enhancements. This new version will be licensed for about $100/game. Even so, you can d/l a trial (never expires, just shows a splash screen). So if you're just making things as a hobby, you won't have to worry about any of this.
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Just to follow up, I also contacted the Institue and they have changed their licensing model. It is much clearer now. They fixed the hobbyist price at $100 per application. Professionals have to become a licensee. Here are all the gory details:

http://www.gapidraw.com/license.asp
 
All sorts of people are complaining about it. The guy who was speaking on www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/ was misleading. He made it sound like you could continue to get a 2.05 license after 3.0 was released, but obviously, as you can see, that is not the case. As it stands now, GapiDraw is only free if your game is free (in which case you have a nice little splash screen with GapiDraws name on it). If you want to sell your game you're forced to either pay $100 (if you qualify as a hobbyist) or a heck of a lot more if you're not (I've heard it's around $1000 for prof).
 
That seems to be the problem with the gaming market today. Corporations are not interested in quality games, they're just interested in making a visually stunning game, that has lackluster gameplay.
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Couldn't agree more Wyrd... I rather play a horribly pixelated 2D side-ways scrolling game that has great gameplay than one that has realistic graphics but the worst plot/gameplay ever. It not only goes to graphics, IMO, there's just aren't alot of games that are that great out there anymore... they're all very blah... they have no long term playability... they're exciting for a week or so and then... ehhh... no biggy. I remember back in the late 80's I guess it was when my step-dad got the Original monochrome Falcon - I played that for months on end... that's what I like, the only recent things I've had that come close to that are GTA3 and GTAVC... MOH...sorry, bored with it after 2 days... And then they make them too darn complicated... you remember when we'd have a blast with just a joystick and a single red button??? You know Atari 2600's? Pitfall, Space Invaders, Video Pinball, Stampede... how many hours did you waste on those? I got Microsofts CFS3... nice... but almost too real you know? Too many damn buttons and other things to worry about. I think a game programmers challenge should be - 'If I only had an Atari joystick, what could I do?", and then once he has a good idea, they say, "Okay I've got an entire computer and graphics out the yin-yang, what would make this better?".

But I'm an App Programmer... what do I know? :)
 
Forget Pitfall, Bubble Bobble was and still is the game for me! Remeber those 2 dragons who you played and tried to save there girlfriend(s)?

100 levels of fun fun fun. Not to mention that it was a 2d platformer game that did not even scroll the screen!!

You can check it out here at bhlegend

http://www.bhlegend.com/php/show.php3?game=34

or download it here

http://freegamesonly.narod.ru/index.html

for the link above you can find the link for it under the Classic games section entitled "Classic Bubble Bobble" its the 7th ot 8th one down from the top. Just check the checkbox to begin download



Don't think classic games are superior to todays 3d fancy schmancy games think bout this. Right now sitting next to my keyboard is a Game boy advanced SP with 3 games. Take a wild guess what games they are... Super mario world, Legend of zelda oracle of seasons, and Mario Cart. Three of my favorite game titles that have thankfully been kept along by nintendo to this day.

Also to my left, 2 feet away, is a PS2 and a GameCube, with Super mario sunshine. Why am I telling you this. Simple. Even though nintendo may be going through some tough times in the console wars, Nintendo is the only company that comes to mind that has consistantly released game titles that have essentillay remained unchanged since the good old days of the NES.

I have purchased what is basiclly the same mario game since the nes, (bowser kidnaps princess and mario to the rescue), for every nintendo console NES, SNES, N64, and now GameCube. Why am I such a stauch supporter of nintendo even though they basicly market the same game every time....

Because I am dam garenteed to get a game that has rock solid game play and is just plain fun to boot. No in your face eye poping over the top graphics, just pure classic gameplay. I don't ever see myself not owning a nintendo system.

To Quote ...
That seems to be the problem with the gaming market today. Corporations are not interested in quality games, they're just interested in making a visually stunning game, that has lackluster gameplay.
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... Unfortunatly that is the sad truth in todays gaming market. profits before game experience.

But there are diamonds in the rough out there, you just have to waste your money playing lame crap games until you find one that sets your gaming desire ablaze and makes you enjoy gamming again ...

Asside from games nintendo produces there has only been one game(s) that has trully captivated me in all my years of game play ( And I've been playing games since the original atari ) Soul Reaver: Legacy Of Kain, Soul reaver 2, Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2, and the newest eddition Soul Reaver Defiance witch I can't wait to play.

If you have not played these games I urge you to give them a try. But I do warn you that to under stand this game series you should first PAY attention! and play them in order starting with Blood Omen, then Blood Omen 2, then Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain, then then Soul Reaver 2: Legacy of Kain, then then Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain Defiance.

Other wise you may have trouble understanding the rather complicated deeply intertwined history of nosgoth...
 
Nintendo is the only company that comes to mind that has consistantly released game titles that have essentillay remained unchanged since the good old days of the NES.
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That's because they're trying to milk their franchases for all their worth, and just reinventing the wheel. If they essentially remained unchanged, then why are you paying $50 for what you can get for free on an emulator? I just didn't see the point, and there are only 2 games I even remotely liked on the GC. That's why I no longer own one; even for $100, it 'aint worth it.

I personally think Nintendo needs to get off their lazy bums and make something original for once. In their current state, they're no more better than PC game companies who produce games with lackluster gameplay w/ "uber" graphics.

Oh.. and IMO, the above reasons are exactly why the GC is doing so horribly this generation. They're just about neck and neck with the Xbox, and with Nintendos reputation and well known products, this is quite sad. Nintendo needs to take a hint.

Asside from games nintendo produces there has only been one game(s) that has trully captivated me in all my years of game play ( And I've been playing games since the original atari ) Soul Reaver: Legacy Of Kain, Soul reaver 2, Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2, and the newest eddition Soul Reaver Defiance witch I can't wait to play.
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I disagree. I found those games mediocre, and they certainly don't stand up to some of the PC and PS2 games that were released within the same time span.
 
Ahhh you dised Soul Reaver! You evil evil person. How could you.

lol

Mediocre! Well I did not find them to be mediocre.

I personally think Nintendo needs to get off their lazy bums and make something original for once. In their current state, they're no more better than PC game companies who produce games with lackluster gameplay w/ "uber" graphics.
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Actually I hope nintendo sticks with the whole mario, zelda, games etc. The only beef I have with these games is the storyline IE bowser kidnaps princess and mario to the rescue. If they used a completly different story line for each mario game it would be a much more enticing series of games. With the exception of supermario RPG witch did sway from a tradishonal marios story line.
 
NOT FOR DUMMIES

The truth is that the concepts involved in 3d programming at a comercial level are so complex that you have to be a very smart to even consider programming in 3d in the first place.

I look at managed directx as a quick easy place to laern about the Directx API, but a game written in VB or C# will never be able to run on an XBOX or PS2 like a C++ one would.

Almost all professional games are written in C++ and there is so much documentation and books on the subject that it is very posible, if you know C++ and top level maths and 3d theroy to be able to use it succefully. Microsoft know that serious game programmers write there games in C++ so the can be easily ported to multi platforms.

As for a conspiricy to stop home users from competing with comercial gaming houses .... my friend who works for Atari in says that an average big game title has 150 highly skilled animaters, world builders, designs, story boarders, programmers and cut sequence people, ... etc. working for around 18 months to create one title that you would recognise. That means a total cost of US$5,000,000 or 430,000 man hours. So for one man thats about 11,000 weeks work or more to the point 211 years.

I know ever since window 95-98 everyone has bashed microsoft and has great conspiracy theories about them, but hey they do give alot of stuff away for free and thanks to them I have written cool text to speech stuff, GIS stuff and 3D stuff for the cost of a development studio.
 
but at least.. make the managed documentation better.. its quite pathetic to see one liners.. in such a big sdk.. very sad..case for developers starting out on managed code..

i got stuck on rendering video.. to a texture.. using managed.. =(
 
make the managed documentation better
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i totally agree, i try to start such a project, but i dont know if it will be successful, since i need help of people...

so how will it work?
i am going to setup an environment like php documentation where everybody can post comments, and then just slowly take the best out of the comments and fill the docu, any ideas, which could help?
 
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