PS4 Dev: Other Console Manufacturers Decisions Didn’t Influence Our Plans, Devs Happy With SDK Tools

The developers also detail the benefits of going open source with their LLVM based compiler.

[gfk342]

From the article: "[...] building a system that was familiar to game developers and yet had plenty of potential for maximum performance over a long lifetime.”

PS4 hasn't shown its full potential yet and we still have to wait to see how powerful it really is.

This is somehow expected seeing the PS3 games, BUT
the fact that NOW we have beautiful games that run at 1080p/30fps (others even 60 fps), hearing this statement makes to wonder what the future will show us, maybe 1080p/60fps...

[DarkOcelet]

Its not always about 60fps there is just things that can happen this gen that is not seen before on last gen. Like no load times at all. Extremely smart AI. Ultra realistic graphics that are better than Driveclub in open world games, that could happen in the later years. Fully explorable city where you can enter every building and do things that couldnt be done before. I am really excited to see what the current gen consoles will look like in the years coming.

[TheStrokes]

That's what I think Rockstar are doing more and more with GTA. Give it time and they will take the best of fighting, racing and shooting games etc and bring them all into GTA... like a game of life with many more side games and places you can enter to buy, sell and decorate... but I think something like that will be next-gen.

[Moldiver]

"maybe 1080p/60fps..."

You can forget about that in AAA games, right now.and any that do will not look as good as games running at half the framerate. Dont mean to be a debbie downer but, it needs to be said. Devs will for the most part shoot for high IQ over high FPS, this gen. Just like they always do. you want both? get a PC.

[BitbyDeath]

Yep, devs will always choose graphics over framerate. 60 FPS is only popular with the really hardcore gamers. (the minority)

[Moldiver]

Indeed. for competitive games like COD, halo, CS, street fighter, tekken, forza, GT etc, I think its a must.

I dont miss it for games like the witcher or say a skyrim/fall out/GTA. just give me locked 30FPS that never drops regardless of what is going on, on screen and high IQ, for such games.

[TheCommentator]

I'm not into Sony, but it's nice to hear from them instead of of all of the flame-broiled DX12 arguements all the time. Sony has a strong machine and undoubtably a long life cycle before it is tapped out, I just happen to prefer MS; controller, games and features suit me better.

[pivotplease]

Nicely said. No implied sense of objectivity used whatsoever. I can appreciate that.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@TheCommentator well said and exactly how I feel. I do prefer MS but I do appreciate the games and hardware Sony makes. I think they definitely built a great machine this generation and did it in a way that has been far easier for "most" developers to get the most out of their machine from the start.

[rainslacker]

I'm tired of all the talk about API's as well. I prefer to hear about the games myself. Lots of good stuff this year.

I like API talk in relation to how they're used in games. I find that more interesting as it's an actual practical application, and not some theoretical implementation.

[THC CELL]

Games are game no matter what console it's tome to but when they are broken or look bad blame development not console look at ps3 some of the best looking games come out in the end cause development teams played with the console. God of war n uncharted says it all n last of us.

[rainslacker]

I agree. Games are what we buy these systems for. We don't buy them for Windows 10. We don't buy them to play our games on PC or through some other device(although that's a nice feature to have), we don't buy them to keep developers learning new things all the time, and we don't buy them to do 100's of things unrelated to gaming(although again, it's nice to have those features available).

I do blame devs when a game is broken, more specifically the publishers which allow a broken game to release, and have heard many 1st hand stories of publishers who just say the game is ready, when it's not.

What I see now, particularly for the X1, is a lot of talk about what might be, instead of what is. I don't mind anticipation for these kinds of things, or even reasoned discussion on it, but when all the discussion is about how uber-awesome it's going to be two-three years from now, instead of how great the games are coming out in the immediate future(this year), it's rather disturbing.

I don't see that as much from the PS, as people are talking more about the games, and API talk is few and far between. It exists sure, but not to the same degree.

So where is all the talk about QB, Halo, ScreamRide, Fable, GeOW, Ori, etc? Out of all those, nothing is getting hyped. Most of the hype I see is for DX12. Even when the cloud was the big thing, people still hyped up the X1 games.

[ScorpiusX]

Decision are essential, cause my console ownership determines what games I buy and can't buy. Crazy part am okay with buying select games based on my platform .

[shadyiswin]

Im still waiting for a ps4 game that looks better than ryse or even better a ps4 exclusive that runs at 1080p/60fps. I'm really hoping they can get more power out of it,im none to impressed as it stands.

[Nekroo91]

Ahh Ryse, the 900p/20fps game. good choice

look at those lightning effects

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

and compare them to

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Infamous glorious 1080p / unlocked or locked to 30fps open world

[TheCommentator]

Games like Killzone and Drive Club, and the upcoming game The Order 1886 are all graphical showcases for what PS4 can do right now. Ryse and Forza, however, are also testament that in the right hands Xbox One can be visually striking as well. It sounds like you may take console ownership a bit too seriously.

[Spotie]

I'm not gonna make a list you'd just ignore anyway.

Instead, I'll ask: who are you fooling? Who are you trying to convince?

[DigitalRaptor]

There are plenty. The only areas where Ryse looks better than Killzone: Shadow Fall, inFamous: Second Son or DriveClub (and this isn't the first time I've exposed this fact) is in its character models and animation. The rest of those games stomp it in practically every other category whilst providing more dynamic gameplay.

You can't use Ryse anymore. The game is a corridor hack & slash with poor frame rate and horrific (no exaggeration) environmental textures, terrible draw distance, and almost no dynamism in its gameplay. Watch for proof of the smoke & mirrors of that game: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Final Fantasy XIV is 1080p/60fps. And there we have it.

[Mkai28]

No thx, I think I would listen to a gamer with some unbiased logic. I stopped watching when I heard Xtwats..:)

[MadMenX]

THats great, was also said for the PS3 and PS2 and those were nightmares, difference this round they listened then built, instead of built and said shut up , here you go.

Can think Kaz for making sure it was done right this round.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

What exactly was a nightmare about PS2?

[rainslacker]

PS2 was actually built with developer input in mind. I don't think they went to as many great lengths though. The emotion engine was a pretty amazing processor, focused on game development needs for it's time.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

The PS4 is easy to develop for because it's SDK is compatible with several programming environments, including Windows programming environments, such as VB.NET.

To elaborate even further:

The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure

"you can use LLVM to compile Ruby, Python, Haskell, Java, D, PHP, Pure, Lua, and a number of other languages. A major strength of LLVM is its versatility, flexibility, and reusability, which is why it is being used for such a wide variety of different tasks: everything from doing light-weight JIT compiles of embedded languages like Lua to compiling Fortran code for massive super computers."

Now before we get the "no it doesn't crowd" coming in, OpenGL is supported by VB.net, a Microsoft CLI environment.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

I wonder who disagreed...

The usual suspects...

@rainslacker

LLVM is not completely compatible with Net framework, but it works, somewhat.

[rainslacker]

VB.NET, or more specifically .NET is a framework for platform independence so programs can work across a variety of platforms and operating systems. It MS answer to Java, and it has some improvements and some drawbacks compared to it.

To my knowledge, LLVM is not compatible with .NET for console games, as there is no need for Sony to build their software in .NET, and doing so would slow down the code immensely since .NET is a very high level implementation of code where the framework does the compiling usually before sending it to the OS to do it's part of handing the IO and processing.

THe compiler itself may be .NET, but this is more likely because the most common compiler to use is Visual Studio. Builds themselves though will not have any .net code.

It's very possible that LLVM can compile to .NET code, but I doubt it's doing that for any kind of game.

In that vein, it would be pretty rare for a resource intensive game on the X1 or the PC to use .NET, although on PC, there are times when some cursory items may use it, but certainly not for the display or processing of high end graphics. X1 could use it as well, but MS has their own protocols for handling those cursory routines on their console, and I don't know if they're based off .NET or not.