Sony Unveils PhyreEngine for Free Cross-Platform Development

February 21, 2008

PhyreEngine

In what could be one of the biggest quiet announcements of GDC, Sony is making their PhyreEngine free to all developers. In case you don’t know, the PhyreEngine is a graphics optimized for multi-core systems that run on OpenGL or Direct3D.

According the presentation, the package includes full documentation, “70+ samples” and “full source code and artwork” for a few sample game templates. And all that’s required to get your game running on the PS3 is a “simple recompile.” It works with standard tools like Maya & Max exporters as well as Bullet, Havok, and Ageia Physics engines. There’s already a few games on the market using the PhyreEngine cross-platform, including DiRT, fl0w, and GripShift.

So what does this really mean? Well, Sony’s free development tools are aiding the development of games for PC and Xbox 360, as well as their own console. Since a lot of developers have been neglecting PS3, making it easier for them to develop games in a single environment for release on all platforms is a great idea.

More news is expected in the coming days, weeks, and months on PhyreEngine as Sony is dubbing it “the new hotness.”

[via Joystiq]

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Rumor Mill: Halo Wars Coming to PC with Cross-Platform Play

January 30, 2008

halo-wars.jpg

Everyone knows about Halo Wars, the RTS set in the Halo universe being developed for the Xbox 360. Well rumor has it that the game will be coming to PC as well. That’s not all folks, as the rumors say there will be cross platform play between the PC and Xbox 360.

We haven’t seen many cross-platform games. In fact, UNO and Shadowrun are the only two. It looks like Halo Wars might be the third.

I have to see, I see an insane advantage to the PC here. Even though the game is set to use a simplified control scheme, using a keyboard and mouse for RTS games is a big plus over a controller. If the rumors turn out to be true, there better be either keyboard and mouse support for the Xbox 360 or some way to balance the playing field.

We’ll keep you posted on any concrete news that comes out surrounding the game.

[via The Angry Pixel]

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)

GameSpy Brings Cross Platform Multiplayer to Unreal Engine 3

August 15, 2007

GameSpy LogoEpic and GameSpy (owned by IGN) today announced a deal where GameSpy’s multiplayer technology will be incorporated into Unreal Engine 3. The deal affects PS3 to PC cross-platform play. Other features being included in the engine are communication tools, competition apps, matchmaking, stat tools, community features, leaderboards, and unannounced new features that may turn up down the line.

The kicker is that GameSpy says this could work for brining cross platform play in a single game to the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. How cool would that be?

GameSpy has the technology to actually connect gamers across virtually any platform for multiplayer play, even Xbox 360 to PS3 to PC. “We’re huge believers in cross-platform play,” said [Todd] Northcutt [GameSpy Technologies Director]. But he said it’s ultimately up to Microsoft and other game companies to realize the dream of total cross-platform gameplay.

I have a tingling feeling that Microsoft will want no part of this. They have their own Games for Windows Live stuff for cross platform play. Hang this one up there with your dream of the next Duke Nukem game dropping this decade.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)