5 ms·

Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go

16 points by hachiya 17y ago

riobard 17y ago
I always have the feeling that battery technology is holding back mobile computing. I can only play about two hours of Plants vs Zombies on my iPhone when it's fully charged, and it's not 3D at all. Imagine how long this Windows Phone can stand 3D gaming ...
- reitzensteinm 17y ago
  It's not 3d, but it could well be consuming as much resources as a 3d game would (I don't know for certain, but I imagine that it's hardware rendered 2D). It's not hard at all for a game to consume close to the maximum power.
  - bad_user 17y ago
    Then how come portable consoles from Nintendo / Playstation can support like 5-10 hours of usage?
    - rbanffy 17y ago
      2 to 5 times more battery plus no cell radios?
    - reitzensteinm 17y ago
      I was saying only that the fact that Plants vs Zombies is 2D doesn't necessarily mean it consumes less resources. Nothing more.
    - pmjordan 17y ago
      In fairness, the DS' CPU runs at only 67MHz (DSi: 133) and has access to only 4MB RAM (DSi: 16MB); the GPU pales in comparison to the iPhone's. We're talking around an order of magnitude difference; the physical dimensions are also larger than an iPhone although it's hard to say if the extra space is mostly taken up by the second screen and the hinge mechanism. The PSP is somewhat larger than an iPhone and also less powerful. I also suspect the iPhone has been optimised for standby and audio playback battery consumption, not necessarily for max CPU/GPU utilisation and active screen.
- roc 17y ago
  Of course the battery is a limiter, but not many people are doing mobile gaming on their phones for 2 hours a day either.
stcredzero 17y ago
If I were Apple, I'd add some nice APIs to help integrate Steam games with the iPhone. MMO integration with the iPhone too. (Must be an App for controlling training and trading in Eve.)
justindz 17y ago
Nothing could be more exciting than "porting" traditional arcade/console concepts to this new world of location-aware devices. Hope I'm not going too off topic here, but where are the games that overlay, for example, an MMO experience on the physical location of the user. In the Smithsonian? Good luck fighting that T-Rex statue that just decided to make you lunch. Outclassed? Somewhere in the building is "Sephiroth1994lolz" and you can push a button to see if they want to join for a split of the loot. Or, perhaps you need a new item and you've been saving up, so you go to the local grocery store and see what people have listed there in virtual space? PK? Awesome. Hang out at the mall and see who shows up. I'd rather play in the world. Sorry for ranting.

16 points by hachiya 17y ago

I always have the feeling that battery technology is holding back mobile computing. I can only play about two hours of Plants vs Zombies on my iPhone when it's fully charged, and it's not 3D at all. Imagine how long this Windows Phone can stand 3D gaming ...

reitzensteinm 17y ago
It's not 3d, but it could well be consuming as much resources as a 3d game would (I don't know for certain, but I imagine that it's hardware rendered 2D). It's not hard at all for a game to consume close to the maximum power.
- bad_user 17y ago
  Then how come portable consoles from Nintendo / Playstation can support like 5-10 hours of usage?
  - rbanffy 17y ago
    2 to 5 times more battery plus no cell radios?
  - reitzensteinm 17y ago
    I was saying only that the fact that Plants vs Zombies is 2D doesn't necessarily mean it consumes less resources. Nothing more.
  - pmjordan 17y ago
    In fairness, the DS' CPU runs at only 67MHz (DSi: 133) and has access to only 4MB RAM (DSi: 16MB); the GPU pales in comparison to the iPhone's. We're talking around an order of magnitude difference; the physical dimensions are also larger than an iPhone although it's hard to say if the extra space is mostly taken up by the second screen and the hinge mechanism. The PSP is somewhat larger than an iPhone and also less powerful. I also suspect the iPhone has been optimised for standby and audio playback battery consumption, not necessarily for max CPU/GPU utilisation and active screen.
roc 17y ago
Of course the battery is a limiter, but not many people are doing mobile gaming on their phones for 2 hours a day either.

stcredzero 17y ago

If I were Apple, I'd add some nice APIs to help integrate Steam games with the iPhone. MMO integration with the iPhone too. (Must be an App for controlling training and trading in Eve.)

justindz 17y ago

Nothing could be more exciting than "porting" traditional arcade/console concepts to this new world of location-aware devices. Hope I'm not going too off topic here, but where are the games that overlay, for example, an MMO experience on the physical location of the user. In the Smithsonian? Good luck fighting that T-Rex statue that just decided to make you lunch. Outclassed? Somewhere in the building is "Sephiroth1994lolz" and you can push a button to see if they want to join for a split of the loot. Or, perhaps you need a new item and you've been saving up, so you go to the local grocery store and see what people have listed there in virtual space? PK? Awesome. Hang out at the mall and see who shows up. I'd rather play in the world. Sorry for ranting.