The Official XBOX360 topic

[privateer]

Europe to get Limited Edition version of Perfect Dark Zero

 

Two-disc edition of Rare's Xbox 360 title to include case, comic book and collectable cards

 

Microsoft Game Studios has announced that a Limited Edition version of Perfect Dark Zero, Rare's forthcoming Xbox 360 title, will be available in Europe this Christmas.

 

The LE will include a second disc full of bonus content, plus a metal game case, comic book and one of nine collectable holograph cards.

 

Perfect Dark Zero is the prequel to multi-million selling shooter Perfect Dark, which was released on Nintendo 64 in 2000. As heroine Joanna Dark, players get access to a wide range of high-tech weapons, gadgets and vehicles, including jetpacks and a hovercraft. The game features multiple Xbox Live modes as well as a single player campaign.

 

Perfect Dark Zero is one of two Xbox 360 launch period titles designed by UK developer Rare, which was purchased by Microsoft three years ago. The Limited Collector's Edition will go on sale alongside a single disc version this Christmas.

 

Former Nintendo second-party studio Rare was purchased by Microsoft in 2001 for around $300 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a development studio, but since then has only published two titles for the Xbox - Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Conker: Live and Reloaded.

[iSpO_fAcTo]

XBOX 360 to be Carmacks Primary Development Platform

 

id Software's John Carmack has often commented that his engines target a particular feature set of a graphics board and he uses a certain boards for his primary development; for instance the Doom3 engine was initially targeted towards the features enabled by the GeForce 256 series of graphics processors, but overtime that was incremented to DirectX8 and 9 level boards, with NVIDIA's 5800 (NV30) being his primary development platform for a while. What has always been clear is that the PC, and the capabilities of PC graphics, was id's primary target market and development platform. From John's keynote speech, transcribed here by Beyond3D forum member aaaaa00, it would appear that this is likely to change, in the interim at least:

 

"In the last couple weeks I actually have started working on an XBOX 360. Most of the upcoming graphics development work will be starting on that initially. It’s worth going into the reasons for that decision on there. To be clear, the PC platform will be released at least at the same time if not earlier than any of the consoles but we are putting a good deal more effort towards making sure that the development process goes smoothly onto them."

 

Questions have often been asked about the state and longevity of the games market on the PC, and although John states that the PC versions of upcoming id engine based titles will appear on the PC first, it could be quite telling that such a consummate PC developer is choosing to base his development on the XBOX 360 for the time being.

 

However, reading into it a little further he clearly states that "most upcoming graphics development" will be based on XBOX 360 - other than the reasons he states, this could also be because the graphics processor within the XBOX 360 will not only be relevant to the XBOX 360, but may also give more insights to future PC processors than those around now or the next year. As our article on Xenos, the graphics processor behind the XBOX 360, states, the graphics processor doesn't map entirely on to any current DirectX based PC graphics processor, and whilst falling short of Shader 4.0 capabilities (as they probably haven't been entirely finalised yet, and certainly not when Xenos's design was finished) it does have capabilities beyond the current Shader Model 3.0 requirements. To add to that, the XBOX 360 processor utilises a unified shader architecture, bringing around the potential for a different balance in vertex to pixel loads, as well as a general understanding of the performance mapping - while it is almost a given that ATI will bring an architecture very similar to this for the PC, NVIDIA have also recently made suggestions that they are looking into it as well, so getting to grips with such a graphics processor now may be beneficial for PC development later.

[iSpO_fAcTo]

Epic's CliffyB talks up Xbox 360

 

Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski, currently hard at work on Gears of War, has joined the long list of developers getting publicly excited about Xbox 360, announcing in his weblog that the console is a "BEAST" and "capable of MUCH GREATNESS" after receiving his final development kit.

 

In a post called "The Waiting Game", Bleszinski - better known as CliffyB - began by thanking everybody for 20 years of patience with game graphics, before announcing, "I have seen the future - the next generation of consoles. I have had more than a taste of what true next generation gaming is going to have to offer and I'm here to tell you - You're in for something special.

 

"I can't speak much for Sony right now - yeah, we're working on stuff for the PS3 but honestly I'm so busy with Gears that it's all I'm seeing and I can tell you - Microsoft is giving you a hell of a system. This thing is a BEAST and is capable of MUCH GREATNESS," he concluded.

 

Xbox 360 is due to launch worldwide before the end of the year.

[Slay]

XBOX 360 to be Carmacks Primary Development Platform

 

mhpos mporeis na mas doseis kai ena link apo to site poy to diabases, giati sta megala forums kai sites poy koitao ego den brhka kamia tetoia anafora.

kai kalo einai genika na dineis kai link mazi me tis plhrofories poy kaneis post.

[iSpO_fAcTo]

poli periergo pantos na min to vrikes afotou malista epsakses giati ine mia selida pou tin anafereis parapano.(http://www.beyond3d.com/) Malista anafereis oti einai kai mia apo tis sovaroteres selides kai den tin koitas?!

[Slay]

koitao to console forum mono apo to beyond3d kai ontos akoma na anaferthei.

 

Edit: kai ayta einai palia nea mallon giayto, to arthro poy les einai apo tis 15 aygoystoy giayto den eida kati neo, anyway dine links esy kalo kaneis kako den kaneis.

[iSpO_fAcTo]

ksero oti bgike 15 tou mina aplos den exei anaferthei edo anyway...

[privateer]

Those of you who have been gamers for the last 20 years... gamers like me, who have playing since the old days where, quite frankly, graphics were crap. And, truth be told, the gameplay - while it was fun back then it really doesn't hold up that well these days. Nostalgia is a powerful thing and our memories of those games are far greater than most of them.

 

Now, I'm sure you're saying "Cliff, that's bullshit. Hold your tongue! Classic games are just as fun now as they were when we first played them!" Now, I know there are a few that hold up. Galaga. Tetris. Robotron. And...yeah. That's all I can think of right now. Why?

 

Because we, as gamers in 2005, expect more. We expect more features, more depth, better graphics, quality acting, a well written narrative, and everything except for the kitchen sink. Sophisticated gamers? Yes. Spoiled? Maybe a little. But is it so wrong?

 

Ever notice how horror movies that were considered scary in the 50s are seldom as frightening now? Audiences grow. And it's important for the products to grow right along with them otherwise a medium will ultimately stagnate.

 

So thanks for waiting. Because I have seen the future - the next generation of consoles. I have had more than a taste of what true next generation gaming is going to have to offer and I'm here to tell you - You're in for something special.

 

I can't speak much for Sony right now - yeah, we're working on stuff for the PS3 but honestly I'm so busy with Gears that it's all I'm seeing and I can tell you - Microsoft is giving you a hell of a system. This thing is a BEAST and is capable of MUCH GREATNESS.

 

Sigh. That's all I can say so far. I am, after all, under NDA.

 

http://cliffyb.1up.com/

[Stormwatch]

Live, news and pricing

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/news/2005/0908-xbox360online.htm?level1=enushome&level2=live4&level3=2005-0908-xbox360online

 

Το πιο ενδιαφερον ειναι οτι πλεον δεν ειναι απαραιτητη η χρησιμοποιηση πιστωτικης καρτας αλλα θα μπορει ο χρηστης να αγορασει χρονο μεσω καρτων χρησιμοποιοντας μετρητα.Πολυ σημαντικη κινηση της MS αυτη, επρεπε να ειχε γινει πολυ νωριτερα...

[Pytzamarama]

gia na teleiwnoume me to ASGEIA

 

http://www.extremenano.com/article/Ageia+Withdraws+Xbox+360+Comparisons/159632_1.aspx

[Pytzamarama]

SEGAAAAAAAAAA

 

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/sonicthehedgehog/screens.html?page=4

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/sonicthehedgehog/screens.html?page=1

 

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/chromehounds/screens.html?page=2

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/chromehounds/screens.html?page=9

[Stormwatch]

Αποσπασματα απο το link του Pytzamarama....

 

 

"The summary of the information below is that AGEIA would like to go on record that we do not have data to support performance comparisons for the PS3 or Xbox360 that would impact any of our physics features,"

 

"Specifically, statements that the Xbox360 cannot run fluid simulations are not correct. In addition, conclusions about relative performance should not have been stated or implied in our presentations."

 

 

Αλλωστε παρομοια απαντηση ειχαν παρει αρκετοι χρηστες του Beyond3D forum σε emails που ειχαν στειλει στην AGEIA.

Πηγαινετε εδω http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23199 για ενα διαβασμα του συγκεκριμενου thread.

Συμπερασμα, το θεμα AGEIA ηταν φουσκα ,οπως αρκετα που θα ακουσουμε οσο πλησιαζει ο καιρος και προς τις δυο κατευθυνσεις....

[Stormwatch]

Origen Xbox 360 web site counting down to the official announcement of Halo 3 on September 27th?

 

 

Earlier this week, we reported about the latest update to the Origen Xbox 360 website, in which the teaser site had a phrase in Latin placed in one of the tree branches (you can go now to http://www.origenxbox360.com and right click on the tree and select Zoom In. Do that three times over the branch near the bottom). The phrase in question was:

 

in hoc spatio arbor noster floruit, fecundus pomies Elysii ignoti, qui in loco ludent electi, ab Originis angelis circumdati.

 

That would translate in English as:

 

In this space our tree has flourished abundant with the unknown fruits of Elysium, who will play in the chosen place, surrounded by the angels of Origen.

 

 

 

 

Although that sounds like a suggestion to either the rumored stores that will open on Tokyo and New York’s Time Square, or the first Xbox 360 kiosk appearing in stores, a new clue gives us a third option.

 

Kirill Wiser emailed us to inform us that Elysium is the name of the city in which John Spartan-117, aka Master Chief, grew up before being replaced with a flash clone in order to join the Spartan II program on Reach.

 

When we first discovered the Latin phrase in Origen Xbox 360, we immediately associated it with the Greek term. In Greek mythology, the Elysium (the spelling Elysium is a Latinization of the Greek word Elysion) are the Elysians Fields, the place where the mortals favored by the gods can go when they die. It is a peaceful and beautiful place similar to the modern concept of paradise.

 

One can understand why Bungie chose that name for the city in which Master Chief grew up but now the connection with Origen Xbox 360 is remarkable.

 

Interestingly too, the name of Halo 2 third and final boss is Tartarus, which again in Greek Mythology, is the opposite of the Elysium, the Underworld zone of eternal torment, where the greatest sinners were punished for their transgressions.

 

So now a new question rise: Is the Origen Xbox 360 web site counting down to the official announcement of Halo 3 on September 27th? Well, in only three weeks we’ll find out what Origen Xbox 360 is all about.

 

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/9191/Origen-Xbox-360-Counting-Down-to-the-Announcement-of-Halo-3/

[Pytzamarama]

H MS exei pari PARA POLI SOVARA to business afti ti fora.

Prota to ourcolony , twra to origen....

Den ksanaexei ginei tetoiou eidous campaign.

 

Oso fantazomai ti arwstia tha einai to Halo 3 sto 360!!!

 

metalgear,mario paparoparty kai odontokremes....

[Pytzamarama]

Freska nea apo TOKYO

 

XBOX360 detailed specs

+ Among 3 cores in Xbox 360 CPU (codenamed "PX"), Core 0 is primary and Core 1/2 are secondary. Core 0 is fully usable by a game program. Core 1 and Core 2 are shared by a game program and the Xbox 360 system. Network stacks, services, drivers such as a USB driver run on those secondary cores. 5% computation usage of both core 1 and core 2 are reserved by the system.

 

+ The XMA (modified WMAPro) decoder in the southbridge chip can decode 256 XMA channels at the same time. Though the compression rate is variable, 1/8 is just enough for typical usage. After decoding, all software sound processing (multi-channel mixing, 3D surround sound, Dolby Pro Logic II/Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding) are done on CPU Core 2. When it processes 256 channels at the same time it costs 25% load of Core 2.

 

+ A hardware-assisted tile-rendering method called 'Predicated Tiling' is supplied as a library for Xbox 360 for the case when 10MB eDRAM is not sufficient, for example 64bit (FP16 * RGBA) HDR rendering + Z buffer + MRT in 720p. While it affects geometry processing with 1.2 - 1.3 times load, it doesn't affect pixel processing as there's no overlapping unlike geometry. As the result, it doesn't affect the total performance as pixel processing load is inherently larger than that of geometry.

 

+ The hardware tesselator in Xenos supports both adaptive and sequential, and adaptive tesselation requires 2-pass. If the tesselator is used the vertex output from it is limited to 1 vertex per clock though the performance impact can be mitigated as output vertices from the tesselator have higher locality for better caching.

 

+ In a double-layer DVD for Xbox 360, 7GB is usable by a game. The transfer rate of the DVD drive is 15MB/sec max, 10-12MB/sec average. The seek time is 115ms, switching layers takes 75ms. Loading 512MB data takes 34 seconds.

 

+ 2GB in the HDD is used for a temporary cache area for games. Its average transfer rate is 17MB/sec and the average seek time is 13ms.

 

+ Game data is managed per user account and saved in HDD, but 64MB Memory Unit is also usable for checkout/backup. The Memory Unit slot is 2.5MB/sec write, 8MB/sec read.

 

+ In its 512MB RAM, 32MB is allocated for the system. The RAM is GDDR3 SDRAM @ 700MHz (22.4GB/sec).