Apple has shifted their focus, to iOS gaming. macintosh desktop gaming is still sub part. Lion pushed opengl 3.2 as a sub feature, barely even mentioning it at all, and highlighted a bunch of features relevent to a mobile platform instead. Even then, 3.2 was about 2 years too late to end user. Even with 10.8, no 4.x is in sight. They aren't working very well with ati and nvidia either in bringing the latest hardware to us sooner, instead of having to settle for a 2 generation old card still being sold at a premium price when it is flat out obsolete (5870). Mac pros that haven't been updated since 2010, about the only true hardware for a high end gamer. Apple has not turned their feelings around even remotely. What's 10.8's most promising feature for gaming? Gaming center? more apis that mean more to mobile gaming like a macbook pro or air, then an actual desktop gamer would care about. But no modern advances to the things that actually IMPROVE our gaming hardware or even software performance in sight. Companies like blizzard and steam and the like spend more time trying to make their games work at all then they do making them work smooth. It's no secret a mac boote into boot camp running same game will run it a ton better there then in OS X, there is a reason for that, and it's because windows platform actually has real gaming focus and not "oh look, you'll get to play angry birds with friends in 10.8 on gaming center"
You would assume that if Apple was to team up with Valve in any kind of way, to create some kind of non-mobile gaming platform, they would make sure both the hardware and the software side will be covered. Macs have never been a good choice for gaming, for the simple fact that they have always been designed with other desirable properties in mind. Small, silent, beautiful. Just because it has always been like this, it doesn't mean Apple could not build something that could work well as a gaming platform. It doesn't take years of R&D to improve OpenGL drivers, or to design a box with a GPU fast enough for serious gaming at 1080p. The iPad and iPhone have shown that Apple is not oblivious to gaming, since they have had very capable graphics hardware since the 4S, much more than you would need just to run the iOS UI.
You don't need to have top of the line specs rivaling high-end gaming rigs if you want to create a great gaming platform. The Xbox and PS3 are no match for even a 5 year old PC (not in terms of graphics at least), yet they are still the most popular platforms for games. Alienware is trying to imitate some aspects of consoles with their X51 (which is very nice but ridiculously expensive), and it comes with a mid-range GPU...
I don't disagree, but I think the OP was referring to the entire DX code stack, which was originally designed to abstract away all access to the PC hardware. Audio, input controllers, video display devices were hidden behind DirectX, not only making games work on different generations of PC hardware, but the Xbox as well. OpenGL really ony deals with a subset of graphics programming: 3D rendering. However, Apple has done a pretty good job adding gaming APIs into iOS to complement the non-3D graphics hardware access provided by OpenGL, so in the end, what he's wishing for probably already exists, without a name like DirectX to draw attention to itself
I get it, put it that way it's a good point. But as you say, candidates to fill the gaps missing between DirectX and OpenGL do exist. First thing that comes to mind is SDL, which has already proven to be very capable, many Linux ports (and possibly also OS X ports) of triple-A Windows games use it. It basically adds input, sound and video API's to OpenGL, and works on about any platform you can imagine.
inciting? really? is that the best word you professional journalists could come up with? hardly relevant in this context.
Quote:
in·cite
Encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behavior)
Consider first that this is not a professional journal, but rather an organized and sensationalized super-blog. Sounds just right to me.
Context is dead-on; the only etymological concern here is whether the word is too strong for the intended meaning. Again, given the local context (sensationalized blog), I would argue that it sounds just right.
I'm imagining direct integration between Steam and the Mac App Store.
Tangential to the matter, I hope they consolidate the Mac App Store with the iOS App Store and pull all related app content ::COUGH::COUGH::BLOAT::COUGH:: from iTunes.
Think about it:
I'm more likely to use the iTunes store on my OS X machine because I'm already using media playback features within the same software.
I'd also be more likely to use the App Store on my OS X machine if I'm already there using app management tools within the same software.
Are you actually talking about DirectX, or Direct3D? And, in particular, the desktop version or Direct3D Mobile and comparing that against OpenGL, or OpenGL ES?
To summarize, Apple's doing perfectly fine with OpenGL ES (especially 2.0 which adds much more flexible shader pipelines) compared to DirectX Mobile, and the rest of DirectX (video, etc) Apple's way ahead on. As for the desktop versions, as long as you're not on a Windows kernel they're pretty comparable. Microsoft hobbles OpenGL on Windows by keeping the necessary OpenGL support out of the kernel leading to excessive context switching and thus worse OpenGL support. This should be considered a deficiency of Windows, not of OpenGL.
He needs to play HL2 or Portal on OSX. Then he will understand.
It was one of the best days in Apple history, IMHO, when Valve announced they would be supporting the Mac. And I have been using Apple computers since the Apple II days.
There was whisperings in the gaming industry that Valve was working on a project to create a console. Birdies called it the Steam Box. Valve was quick to deny it but recently, a job posting was revealed that Valve was looking for 'hardware platform engineer'.
Now, Apple's Tim Cook is spotted at their HQ. It may or may not have any connections with Valve secret project or Cook was there just to strengthen relationships or discuss some issues.
I'm surprised no one here mentioned the obvious: Valve wants to launch a game title at an upcoming Apple keynote. Other game devs do it all the time.
The only question is: will it be an ordinary Mac/PC game, or will it be Valve's first iOS game?
Valve doesn't need Apple to build the SteamBox, which is nothing but standard PC components. Apple would be an unnecessary middle man in that arraignment.
EDIT: I suppose Valve might be looking to put their games on the Mac App Store. They do sell their games in other download stores after all.
Not going to happen unless Cook and company has been really working hard on a tool set that can rival Direct X...
Open GL does that but Apple are dragging, as usual. All Jobs' promises for Apple being the number one platform for this and for that came to nothing. Gaming came to iOS by accident, not design. Steam is the only thing giving them any credibility in the gaming market. Maybe Cook can take the bull by the horns and get Apple a big chunk of that market but they need a partner because they have no traction on their own.
I think this is more of Valve releasing something for Apple more than the other way around. More games for the Mac OS or even some for iOS? Left 4 Dead iOS? I'm quite intrigued....
Apple may want to work with Valve on a standardized Bluetooth game controller design that can work on multiple platforms. If there was a standard minimum design for button and analog stick layout and a common Bluetooth protocol that was adopted for all Steam games and also on iOS we could see the end of the video game console in a year or two. I already suggested to Apple that this is what they needed for iOS devices but the same is true for the Mac, and PC desktops and laptops.
Have you seen the rumored specs for the next XBox? Not very exciting. One said it would be six times faster. Really? Six times? The iPad's graphics got twice as fast in one year. You can pick up a complete dev kit for $99 and there are several game engines for a few hundred. You can sell app games for any price you want in any region you want. Compare that to the closed and expensive dev kits for the XBox, Playstation and Nintendo. Those $60 games look pretty expensive when you can pick up thousands of decent app games for a buck or even free. The missing element is a standardized controller interface because touch and gyroscope UI limit the potential of the platform.
Not going to happen unless Cook and company has been really working hard on a tool set that can rival Direct X...
Apple, Google, Sony, Nintendo, and everyone already have something better, it is called Open GL. Microsoft's proprietary Direct X is crap in comparison.
Encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behaviour)
Quote:
Originally Posted by brutus009
Consider first that this is not a professional journal, but rather an organized and sensationalized super-blog. Sounds just right to me.
Context is dead-on; the only etymological concern here is whether the word is too strong for the intended meaning. Again, given the local context (sensationalized blog), I would argue that it sounds just right.
I cannot believe that you actually looked up this word, printed the definition of it and then argued it was correct within the context!!! Argh!
It's so obviously not the correct term.
It's far, far, far too strong for the intended meaning.
Comments
Apple has shifted their focus, to iOS gaming. macintosh desktop gaming is still sub part. Lion pushed opengl 3.2 as a sub feature, barely even mentioning it at all, and highlighted a bunch of features relevent to a mobile platform instead. Even then, 3.2 was about 2 years too late to end user. Even with 10.8, no 4.x is in sight. They aren't working very well with ati and nvidia either in bringing the latest hardware to us sooner, instead of having to settle for a 2 generation old card still being sold at a premium price when it is flat out obsolete (5870). Mac pros that haven't been updated since 2010, about the only true hardware for a high end gamer. Apple has not turned their feelings around even remotely. What's 10.8's most promising feature for gaming? Gaming center? more apis that mean more to mobile gaming like a macbook pro or air, then an actual desktop gamer would care about. But no modern advances to the things that actually IMPROVE our gaming hardware or even software performance in sight. Companies like blizzard and steam and the like spend more time trying to make their games work at all then they do making them work smooth. It's no secret a mac boote into boot camp running same game will run it a ton better there then in OS X, there is a reason for that, and it's because windows platform actually has real gaming focus and not "oh look, you'll get to play angry birds with friends in 10.8 on gaming center"
You would assume that if Apple was to team up with Valve in any kind of way, to create some kind of non-mobile gaming platform, they would make sure both the hardware and the software side will be covered. Macs have never been a good choice for gaming, for the simple fact that they have always been designed with other desirable properties in mind. Small, silent, beautiful. Just because it has always been like this, it doesn't mean Apple could not build something that could work well as a gaming platform. It doesn't take years of R&D to improve OpenGL drivers, or to design a box with a GPU fast enough for serious gaming at 1080p. The iPad and iPhone have shown that Apple is not oblivious to gaming, since they have had very capable graphics hardware since the 4S, much more than you would need just to run the iOS UI.
You don't need to have top of the line specs rivaling high-end gaming rigs if you want to create a great gaming platform. The Xbox and PS3 are no match for even a 5 year old PC (not in terms of graphics at least), yet they are still the most popular platforms for games. Alienware is trying to imitate some aspects of consoles with their X51 (which is very nice but ridiculously expensive), and it comes with a mid-range GPU...
I don't disagree, but I think the OP was referring to the entire DX code stack, which was originally designed to abstract away all access to the PC hardware. Audio, input controllers, video display devices were hidden behind DirectX, not only making games work on different generations of PC hardware, but the Xbox as well. OpenGL really ony deals with a subset of graphics programming: 3D rendering. However, Apple has done a pretty good job adding gaming APIs into iOS to complement the non-3D graphics hardware access provided by OpenGL, so in the end, what he's wishing for probably already exists, without a name like DirectX to draw attention to itself
I get it, put it that way it's a good point. But as you say, candidates to fill the gaps missing between DirectX and OpenGL do exist. First thing that comes to mind is SDL, which has already proven to be very capable, many Linux ports (and possibly also OS X ports) of triple-A Windows games use it. It basically adds input, sound and video API's to OpenGL, and works on about any platform you can imagine.
inciting? really? is that the best word you professional journalists could come up with? hardly relevant in this context.
in·cite
Encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behavior)
Consider first that this is not a professional journal, but rather an organized and sensationalized super-blog. Sounds just right to me.
Context is dead-on; the only etymological concern here is whether the word is too strong for the intended meaning. Again, given the local context (sensationalized blog), I would argue that it sounds just right.
Tangential to the matter, I hope they consolidate the Mac App Store with the iOS App Store and pull all related app content ::COUGH::COUGH::BLOAT::COUGH:: from iTunes.
Think about it:
I'm more likely to use the iTunes store on my OS X machine because I'm already using media playback features within the same software.
I'd also be more likely to use the App Store on my OS X machine if I'm already there using app management tools within the same software.
Are you actually talking about DirectX, or Direct3D? And, in particular, the desktop version or Direct3D Mobile and comparing that against OpenGL, or OpenGL ES?
To summarize, Apple's doing perfectly fine with OpenGL ES (especially 2.0 which adds much more flexible shader pipelines) compared to DirectX Mobile, and the rest of DirectX (video, etc) Apple's way ahead on. As for the desktop versions, as long as you're not on a Windows kernel they're pretty comparable. Microsoft hobbles OpenGL on Windows by keeping the necessary OpenGL support out of the kernel leading to excessive context switching and thus worse OpenGL support. This should be considered a deficiency of Windows, not of OpenGL.
He needs to play HL2 or Portal on OSX. Then he will understand.
It was one of the best days in Apple history, IMHO, when Valve announced they would be supporting the Mac. And I have been using Apple computers since the Apple II days.
Signed,
Bill Budge
Now, Apple's Tim Cook is spotted at their HQ. It may or may not have any connections with Valve secret project or Cook was there just to strengthen relationships or discuss some issues.
PC consumers want this stuff.
Together Apple and Steam could create a Cumulonimbus.
The only question is: will it be an ordinary Mac/PC game, or will it be Valve's first iOS game?
Valve doesn't need Apple to build the SteamBox, which is nothing but standard PC components. Apple would be an unnecessary middle man in that arraignment.
EDIT: I suppose Valve might be looking to put their games on the Mac App Store. They do sell their games in other download stores after all.
The only question is: will it be an ordinary Mac/PC game, or will it be Valve's first iOS game?
Half Life 2: Episode 3.
iOS exclusive.
OH how people would scream.
They do sell their games in other download stores after all.
No, they don't?
Not going to happen unless Cook and company has been really working hard on a tool set that can rival Direct X...
Open GL does that but Apple are dragging, as usual. All Jobs' promises for Apple being the number one platform for this and for that came to nothing. Gaming came to iOS by accident, not design. Steam is the only thing giving them any credibility in the gaming market. Maybe Cook can take the bull by the horns and get Apple a big chunk of that market but they need a partner because they have no traction on their own.
Messing with Terminal to get my Steam stuff onto an external isn?t Mac-style user friendliness!
No, they don't?
Nope, all of Valve game products are thru Steam exclusively.
Have you seen the rumored specs for the next XBox? Not very exciting. One said it would be six times faster. Really? Six times? The iPad's graphics got twice as fast in one year. You can pick up a complete dev kit for $99 and there are several game engines for a few hundred. You can sell app games for any price you want in any region you want. Compare that to the closed and expensive dev kits for the XBox, Playstation and Nintendo. Those $60 games look pretty expensive when you can pick up thousands of decent app games for a buck or even free. The missing element is a standardized controller interface because touch and gyroscope UI limit the potential of the platform.
Nope, all of Valve game products are thru Steam exclusively.
False. For instance, you can buy and download Valve's games from Impulse: http://www.impulsedriven.com/publisher/valve
I'm not sure, but you can also probably buy from Origin.
But you still need to download Steam to play Valve games, you just need to place them in your Steam library.
Not going to happen unless Cook and company has been really working hard on a tool set that can rival Direct X...
Apple, Google, Sony, Nintendo, and everyone already have something better, it is called Open GL. Microsoft's proprietary Direct X is crap in comparison.
in·cite
Encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behaviour)
Consider first that this is not a professional journal, but rather an organized and sensationalized super-blog. Sounds just right to me.
Context is dead-on; the only etymological concern here is whether the word is too strong for the intended meaning. Again, given the local context (sensationalized blog), I would argue that it sounds just right.
I cannot believe that you actually looked up this word, printed the definition of it and then argued it was correct within the context!!! Argh!
It's so obviously not the correct term.
It's far, far, far too strong for the intended meaning.
"engender" would be much closer.