Just what was running the Xbox 360 demos?
- Thread starter nelg
- Start date
The games are running on alpha Xbox 360 development kits (machines that possess only two of the three CPU cores in the final spec, as well as a run-of-the-mill ATI graphics card as opposed to the final, custom GPU set) - 1UP.com
Final development kits aren't coming out until summer
Final development kits aren't coming out until summer
blakjedi said:I was asking about this the other day and i think acert said that devs hadkits beyond alpha stage...
Go back and read the freaking post man... I said just because YOU have not heard about something it does not exist. MS did not announce when the CPU taped out, what part M-Systems was making, what part NEC was fabbing and what part TMC were fabbing, and so forth does not mean it never happened. Likewise the dev kits are being updated all the time--and just because YOU do not hear about it does not mean it does not happen.I never said, "The Xbox 360 kits are beyond Alpha stage". All I said was just because YOU have not heard about it they do not exist (you were using the arguement of "absence of evidence is evidence of absence" which is usually a nonsequiter). If you are not under NDA then you have very little firm facts, so trying to piece things together without press releases or being under NDA is guess work at best.
I have no clue how in your mind you twisted that into ME confirming they were past Alpha stage Dev kits. They may, or may not be.
I would like to note that Dave said "Final dev kits may not be in the wild yet." Also, "possess only two of the three CPU cores in the final spec" indicates what? That they have dev kits now with 2 cores like the ones going into the final product? Or are these still the G5s mentioned long ago (and thus not two of the three cores going into the final spec). Who knows what was meant and whether or not 1UP is giving valid info or a rumor (which a lot of these sites post... and many of them from HERE!)... That is why you take what others say with a grain of salt from most on the board (ERP and Dave are usually pretty reliable though).
Acert93 said:
Relax.
The real question is "Whats the difference between ME never having heard that there were x360 kits post Alpha available based on people who know on this board and others and someone else saying straight out that kits beyond Alpha aren't available yet?"
None.
See that was easy. Those kits may exist or they may not. I just never heard that they do exist yet and no one, NDA or not, has confirmed that they do yet. In fact most people I have read or talked to, state that more than likely they dont yet.
If you have seen them or know that they exist then great just say so. End of argument.
According to this, the Xbox 360 demos are being run on G5 Macs!
This says to me that most of what we have seen is really a dual-G5 Mac with X850 XT PE or R520, and not the real XB360 CPU and R500.
The reason PDZ sucked so bad was probably because it was the only game that was running on real XB360 HW, and it was a straight port from a MacG5 devkit.
The rest of the movie clips we were shown were captured from Macs.
This says to me that most of what we have seen is really a dual-G5 Mac with X850 XT PE or R520, and not the real XB360 CPU and R500.
The reason PDZ sucked so bad was probably because it was the only game that was running on real XB360 HW, and it was a straight port from a MacG5 devkit.
The rest of the movie clips we were shown were captured from Macs.
ShootMyMonkey
Veteran
Nobody outside of MS-owned studios and ATI themselves have probably ever laid eyes on an R500. Most developers will not see it until about 3 or 4 months prior to release (based on some historical precedents). Some who are more friendly or whom MS is more desperate to hold onto might get an earlier crack (which basically means not NA developers).
At best, there might be a few people who took their devkits and upgraded the video cards to something that can run SM3.0. Initially, the devkits only had 9800s because the X series wasn't out at the time.
Beta kits still do not exist. Partially out of paranoia and partially out of the fact that they'd want to wait for at least SOME production volume ramp-up.
At best, there might be a few people who took their devkits and upgraded the video cards to something that can run SM3.0. Initially, the devkits only had 9800s because the X series wasn't out at the time.
Beta kits still do not exist. Partially out of paranoia and partially out of the fact that they'd want to wait for at least SOME production volume ramp-up.
DemoCoder said:
Interesting. I would have thought that developers would get the hardware as soon as possible. What would be the strategy behind that, besides the obvious attempt to keep trade secrets? In this case we now have the specs, so what would be the harm?ShootMyMonkey said:
What did that time line look like?ERP said:
The first Xbox Beta kits went ouit days before E3 to a very few developers in low quantities.
In the end I don't think anyone showed product at E3 on final hardware.
Beta kits were available in volume about a month later and final kits not long before the launch.
MS aren't holding back, they just aren't in a position to provide beta kits in quantity earlier.
In the end I don't think anyone showed product at E3 on final hardware.
Beta kits were available in volume about a month later and final kits not long before the launch.
MS aren't holding back, they just aren't in a position to provide beta kits in quantity earlier.
I thought I read somewhere that M$ was using the Mac G5 development kits for early development but giving a developer a range that the Xbox 360 final hardware is capable of.
For example M$ could say if your game is running at 15-20 fps it should be able to run at 60fps on the final hardware. Once the developers do get final hardware they could optimize until their release dates. This could explain some of the "choppyness" that we saw in the demos if indeed the games were not running on final Xbox 360 hardware.
Please note this is only a theory and I will try to dig up where I read that. (I think it might of been stated here on the forums)
For example M$ could say if your game is running at 15-20 fps it should be able to run at 60fps on the final hardware. Once the developers do get final hardware they could optimize until their release dates. This could explain some of the "choppyness" that we saw in the demos if indeed the games were not running on final Xbox 360 hardware.
Please note this is only a theory and I will try to dig up where I read that. (I think it might of been stated here on the forums)
Similar threads
