🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <DF9F0p.5FD@eunet.ch>, schoen@dial.eunet.ch says...
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>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 23:28:28 GMT
>Lines: 21
>Xref: nntp.earthlink.net rec.games.programmer:35792 
comp.os.msdos.programmer:17821 comp.lang.c++:58062 comp.lang.c:45230 
alt.msdos.programme
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>> yes, it can be done and probably just as fast, if not faster! with the 
>> exeception of the newer gaming systems, pc games have tended to be faster 
>> and more powerful programs. the new game systems such as the sega saturn 
>> and the sony playstation (especially, the playstation) are by far 
>> superior to the computers.
>> 
>> 
>> james
>
>100 % true... I have a playstation, and the action-flightsim
>"Ace Combat" outperforms all flightsims I saw on my PC (a very
>fast 100-Pentium system with EDO-Ram and a 64-bit-VRAM-graphics-card)
>in terms of playability, good-looking and screen refresh-rate on a 
>400 $ hardware (well, that's the price of the playstation around
>here, I don't know how much it actually is in the US).
>Too bad that you have to spend around 20'000 bucks to get a
>development system.. It should be heaven to make games on machines
>like psx or saturn...
>
>Marcel

We are porting Virtual Pool to the Playstation, and let me tell you, that 
machine is a DOG! It is so slow if you want to do something other than more 
texture mapped arcade thingies (ala DOOM/Virtua Fighter/etc...). Let me 
explain the architecture briefly:

	MIPS R3000A processor @33Mhz (main CPU)
	Geometry Transformation Engine (GTE)
	GPU (Graphics Processor)
	SPU (Sound Processor)

Now, in Virtual Pool or any other game where a LOT of mathematical 
calculations, the R3000 processor (a CANNED R3000 processor to boot) is far 
too slow (we are doing 64 bit arithmetic, and a RISC processor with a weak 
instruction set like the Rx000 family needs to run FAST like what Nintendo is 
doing with the Ultra 64). But, for putting pretty pictures (lots of 
textured/gouraud shaded polygons) the PSX and Saturn are going to do you 
absolutely no good, take a look at the games coming out for those systems: 
More fighting/racing/arcade games in general. Very few REAL simulations, why? 
Because the Playstation CAN'T crunch numbers even remotely as fast as a 
486-25. One advantage it does have is that texture mapping/etc... is done by 
the system. BUT, what happens when you want to texture map spheres? Can't do 
it! Say you want perspectively correct textures, can you do it? Nope. You are 
limited by the machine's architecture as well as how they envisioned the 
machine being used. You want 30 controls instead of 8? Too bad, can't do it 
either (game machines don't have keyboards). You can sample the controller at 
only 1/60 seconds, which rules out very fine precise velocity information from 
a mouse (which is what we need!). I think that the PSX and Saturn are good for 
the market that they strive for, but the PC/Workstation class machines 
will always have the evolutionary games first.
	And the development system is a nightmare! Bugs galore, and the 
debugger sucks (I can go on for days ;) ).

Romesh