Blitz multiplatform Dev speaks for XBOX360-PS3 (good read)

[groper]

I found this new interview quite interesting as it is coming from an independent developer currently working for both consoles( Richard Hackett from Blitz).
Full interview here

The debate over graphics on Xbox 360 and PS3 is still raging online, with developers coming out on both sides to claim superiority. As an independent developer how do you compare the two formats in terms of visuals?
In essence the two systems are actually fairly closely matched in terms of graphics. The jump to HD is a major step up in visual quality and that is delivered by both systems. The difference between 720p and 1080i will be fairly academic for some time as there are very few mass market TVs out there at the moment that support native 1080 resolution, and I'm not sure the average consumer sees the difference between them anyway.
At Blitz our cross platform technology enables us to develop simultaneously for both systems and spend our time playing to the strengths of each. Of course developers have had longer to get to grips with the X360 but you can be sure we won't see the full potential of the either system and especially the PS3 for some time yet.

One developer has publicly (although anonymously) stated that Xbox 360 - in games programming terms - is the better machine as the GPU is more powerful, providing greater pixel and vertex processing horsepower. Do you concur at all? Is this really what it all comes down to?
The X360 GPU is slightly more flexible due to the subtle differences between the respective architectures of the nVidia and ATI chipset. Certain shader restrictions are lifted or easier to work around on X360. The bandwidth of the X360 GPU is pretty massive too, though partly this is balanced out by the differences in VRAM layout of the two systems that means the Xbox needs to move graphics data around the system more than the PS3 does. While the GPUs are fast and have a big impact on the visual quality and level of game effects, other factors such as general processing power and memory architecture also come into play.

I've heard that third-party PS3 developers are currently under using the machine's seven 'SPE' processors. How are you planning to employ them? Do you have specific tasks in mind for specific SPEs as some first-party developers seem to be doing?
It does seem that developers have been slow to make use of the SPEs, especially those coming from other platforms perhaps with existing game engines.
At Blitz we are not reserving SPEs for specific tasks but have implemented a more dynamic system that automatically dispatches processing to each SPE making best use of the available resources. It works something like a distributed computing system, SETI@home being a famous example of that kind of technology. For instance in one of our projects we have hundreds of enemies on-screen and the processing for their animation and AI is split up and automatically sent to each SPE dynamically whenever there is processing time available.

 

["Nerve-Damage"]

$10 this leads to a system -Vs- system flame war.

 

[liolio]

$10 this leads to a system -Vs- system flame war.

this site is now world poker tour alike
20$ for me and I add this :

Is there anything you're able to do, visually, on PS3 that you can't on Xbox 360?
Certain procedural effects are easier to create on the PS3 because of the power of the SPEs. Effects like water simulations, especially when you move beyond simple surface effects to fluid dynamics require the kind of algorithms that are really suited to the CELL architecture. Having said that the slightly more flexible GPU and unified memory model on X360 allows some neat tricks that level the playing field somewhat. It will be interesting to see what emerges with video processing and EyeToy as well - CELL is designed for streaming and image processing applications in mind. I think we'll see both new visuals and game play out of that.

As an aside the audio technology running on CELL created by the guys in the SCEE Technology Group in London is pretty amazing, opening out loads more possibilities for real-time audio effects to enhance the visuals, something that is often overlooked but is an important part of increasing gamer immersion.

 

[NavNucST3]

Audio has ALWAYS been the key to immersion for me.

2nd post serves no useful purpose other than baiting

EDIT: There is a demo that the Harmon-Kardon guys I know used to do, they would show a movie clip, typically Star Wars, show how great it looked on whatever demo unit they had, then kill the sound. The picture was still great but now the movie was lifeless, they would then flip and shut off the tv and have just the sound, while I had always loved audio it really hit home to me just how important it is.

I can't tell you how many movies I have "watched" through my ears alone, especially while grinding away on code...

 

[Naboomagnoli]

Audio has ALWAYS been the key to immersion for me.

2nd post serves no useful purpose other than baiting

EDIT: There is a demo that the Harmon-Kardon guys I know used to do, they would show a movie clip, typically Star Wars, show how great it looked on whatever demo unit they had, then kill the sound. The picture was still great but now the movie was lifeless, they would then flip and shut off the tv and have just the sound, while I had always loved audio it really hit home to me just how important it is.

I can't tell you how many movies I have "watched" through my ears alone, especially while grinding away on code...

Works surprisingly well with Curb Your Enthusiasm too .

I know it's probably not what was meant in the OP (which I assume would be related to things like echo, reverb, maybe the muffled sound of someone on the other side of a wall talking etc) but moving from playing BF2 in surround to playing it in stereo is plain rubbish . Spatial awareness is completely lost IMO. It's also something I dislike about the concept of listening to your own music in games, though I appreciate why others might want to do so - a good soundtrack has fantastic music that sets the tone of the game scenario.

 

[jonabbey]

Good sound will be especially important on PS3 due to the lack of rumble, as well.

Rumble controllers are basically just providing a very low frequency audio signal to the hands.. a good sound system could do the same sort of thing fairly convincingly with a low bass signal, at least for single player games.

With multiplayer games, you lose the ability to send a different bass signal to the different players, so you do lose something there.

 

[22psi]

We pretty much know all this before.

 

[Darkon]

One developer has publicly (although anonymously) stated that Xbox 360 - in games programming terms - is the better machine as the GPU is more powerful, providing greater pixel and vertex processing horsepower. Do you concur at all? Is this really what it all comes down to?

strange most devs where saying that about RSX and what does unified memory model allow 360 to do that ps3 wouldn't

 

[Tap In]

Wow...this just in....!!

both systems will be very similar in final results and have their own strengths and weaknesses based on the developer!

 

[infinity4]

i dont understand a thing he is talking about, but i feel that he is saying that ps3 is more powerful system than Xbox 360 even though i prefer 360 over ps3.

 

[mrcorbo]

i dont understand a thing he is talking about, but i feel that he is saying that ps3 is more powerful system than Xbox 360 even though i prefer 360 over ps3.

I do understand what he is saying, and that's not it.

In a nutshell, PS3 is better suited to certain graphics-related tasks and the 360 is better suited to others.

Certain procedural effects are easier to create on the PS3 because of the power of the SPEs. Effects like water simulations, especially when you move beyond simple surface effects to fluid dynamics require the kind of algorithms that are really suited to the CELL architecture. Having said that the slightly more flexible GPU and unified memory model on X360 allows some neat tricks that level the playing field somewhat.

As 22psi pointed out, this is not exactly news.

It is interesting, though, to see that there is a focus on leveraging the power of CELL for audio effects. I wonder how complex they can make these effects without limiting the power available for other tasks.

 

[infinity4]

but which system is better for game development overall??? it depends, or is there clearer superior console???

*confused*

 

[Cheezdoodles]

but which system is better for game development overall??? it depends, or is there clearer superior console???

*confused*

What do you mean by better?

As in easier?

This is a vs question tho, dont think thats allowed here.

 

[function]

but which system is better for game development overall???

Whichever one you can make the most money on?

 

[Johnny_Physics]

Discussions like these were fun when neither system was released and it was interesting to see what kind of info people could track down and pick apart. It started to feel a bit old after the 360 launched and now that we have both systems on the market, and a wealth of information on them both, I no longer see a point to pick apart and interpret what some person said to someone else or whatever a PR guy said in a press release etc.

I mean, can't we just leave threads like these to neogaf and those guys now?