Aces High on a game console?

[Rob52240]

My thrustmaster is PS3 compatible.

AH is not compatible with consoles because of the constant updating.  And the whole sales model of only charging for arena usage.

[nrshida]

All hail McFudmukkr, Thane of the Outside Toilet, and that little gravelly patch next to the garden shed.   

[Lusche]

My thrustmaster is PS3 compatible.

AH is not compatible with consoles because of the constant updating.  And the whole sales model of only charging for arena usage.

Not saying AH could technically be ported to consoles, or even that it should be ported at all... but sales models can be changed. In fact, I wouldn't really be surprised if such a thing (going from fixed $$ per month to other models) would happen in the future anyway, considering the ever changing gaming environment.

[Ack-Ack]

Even if it were possible - would the console players even be able to play on the current server?

Yes but Microsoft doesn't like allowing games that have cross platform online play to be on the Xbox 360 and will usually claim that its technically difficult but that's not true at all.

ack-ack

[Ack-Ack]

there is no money in making cross platform universally playable games.

As the company I worked for proved 8 years ago, that's not true. 

ack-ack

[SEseph]

In fact, I wouldn't really be surprised if such a thing (going from fixed $$ per month to other models) would happen in the future anyway, considering the ever changing gaming environment.

NOOOOOOOOO my wife ack will not allow for much more. It's already set to extra lethal... 

[Lusche]

NOOOOOOOOO my wife ack will not allow for much more. It's already set to extra lethal... 

different does not have to mean more

[guncrasher]

That is exactly what I am saying.

In the old days it was like 7 out of 10 that battled. Today it is more like 1 in 10.  I'd rather be picky and have 30 players that want to battle than 100 that would rather ho, run, and hide.

How they.can go about getting players who want to play instead of that that just run and hide, I don't know, but that is what I'd rather see.

with all the people that say basically the same thing.  I am surprised you guys dont go to the da and fight each other till you get tired.  I am pretty sure you know at least 10 people who say the same thing.


semp

[B4Buster]

Yes but Microsoft doesn't like allowing games that have cross platform online play to be on the Xbox 360 and will usually claim that its technically difficult but that's not true at all.

ack-ack

Good info! I figured you'd know the scoop.

[Fud]

All hail McFudmukkr, Thane of the Outside Toilet, and that little gravelly patch next to the garden shed.   (Image removed from quote.)

 <S> my friend. btw just dodged a tornado by a few miles tonight. May drive around tomorrow to look at the damage 

[RedBull1]

It's great to see you fuddy! How are ya bud? Hope to see ya back in the DA soon, we miss you 

[Krusty]

That's because you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

Pretty much anything Windows based can be made to work on 360. The graphics would be acceptable. There are many joysticks you can plug into it's multiple USB ports that just work. The only place it would get interesting is network stack integration.

I've developed stuff for my own 360. It's easy. You don't even necessarily need the pricey dev kit.

You can develop your own easy stuff, of course. But there's a difference between playing around with a cracked XBOX and actually rewriting millions of lines of code from an existing game, hardware support, file structure, and all that stuff.

Not to mention you HAVE to make it PS3/XBOX controller playable without a joystick or keyboard. Even with shift, alt, and ctrl, I often find Aces High doesn't have enough keys to map on a 104-key keyboard. Simply getting the game to run is one hurdle (and you WOULD have to dumb it down to run properly) you'd have to fundamentally change how the game WORKS simply to accommodate 10 or 12 button controller.


EDIT: I may not have tried to load unix on a XBOX or anything pesonally, but I've read a ton of dev blogs from actual gaming companies working on consoles as well as PCs, so I know a few things. It's not a simple thing like you say.

[Ack-Ack]

Not to mention you HAVE to make it PS3/XBOX controller playable without a joystick or keyboard. Even with shift, alt, and ctrl, I often find Aces High doesn't have enough keys to map on a 104-key keyboard. Simply getting the game to run is one hurdle (and you WOULD have to dumb it down to run properly) you'd have to fundamentally change how the game WORKS simply to accommodate 10 or 12 button controller.

There are twisty flight sticks and keyboards available for both consoles as well as vox communication.  Just like Aces High is fully playable with a mouse, its the same way with a game pad.  Sure, it's not as convenient as a flight stick but the game is still fully playable as is with a game controller. 

EDIT: I may not have tried to load unix on a XBOX or anything pesonally, but I've read a ton of dev blogs from actual gaming companies working on consoles as well as PCs, so I know a few things. It's not a simple thing like you say.

No, you don't know a few things about this Krusty, don't try and play if off as you do.

It is both technically feasible and not as difficult as people think to make a game that is playable on the same server cross platform.  The biggest hurdle is one of money because you have to fork over a lot of money to Sony and Microsoft.  Square Enix did it with Final Fantasy XI in the US 8 years ago when it first introduced PS2 and PC cross platform play and then a couple of years later added support for Xbox 360.  All three platforms play on the same servers without any difficulties.  We were going to do the same in our last MMO but Microsoft wanted a huge amount of money to do so and we dropped the plans of adding Xbox 360 cross platform support.

If this was possible 8 years ago with the technology back then, it is very safe to say that with the technology today it is quite feasible and not as difficult as one would think.

ack-ack

[Krusty]

Ack-Ack you have to make the game playable WITHOUT the optional USB joysticks and USB keyboards to get it approved for that platform, if I recall. You have to meet their standards or they won't carry your game. The rare exception seems to be the "rockband"-style games -- no doubt making up for it with proprietary hardware that gives the consoles more money in licensing fees anyways.

Further, game companies such as Valve have been making PC-only games and porting them to console for many years now. They have mentioned the steps they have to go through, including all the ones I've mentioned (level redesign to reduce geometry per maps, level of detail decrease, texture size decrease, simplification of control/commands (often including adding auto aim and "helpers" due to the console nature).

It was rather interesting reading their comments when they were porting the HL2 episodes to console, but they're not the only ones.


So yes, straight from the game companies' mouths, I do know a few things about it. I'm not saying I'm an expert. If you're starting from scratch you build in the limitations and you don't have to worry about it. If you've got a fully working game for PC already and need to port it to a console it's an entirely different kettle of fish and takes a lot of work. THAT is what costs money. The man-hours to redo the game to fit on the console.


P.S. I never said you couldn't make it cross-platform compatible on the same servers. Often this is not done because of politics of the consoles, or differences in gaming experience on the different consoles (to make up an example, say there's auto-aim on the XBOX but not the PS3, then putting those players together is unfair).

[Karnak]

Per my co-worker, Final Fantasy XI is an MMORPG that is cross platform between the PC and Xbox360 with players sharing the same servers and is on a monthly subscription payment system.