Going Laptop Hunting by Thomas Ward
Everyone who programs for a living or even as a hobby knows its pretty hard to keep up with current PC specifications because the technology changes so fast. No sooner does a developer outfit his/her home or office with the latest computer hardware and software the technology standards change requiring yet another expensive upgrade. For big name game studios like EA Games this is really no big deal as they have millions to spend on hardware and software upgrades. For a small independantly owned game studio like USA Games it is a financial concern, and it is more difficult to make sure that we stay up to date in regards to trends and changes in the wider PC market at large. For instance, back in early 2008 we purchased a couple of Compaq C500 series notebooks for home and office use that had a 32-bit Intel Pentium 3.6 GHZ processor, 1 GB of ram, 120 GB hard drive, and Windows Vista Home Premium installed. Were we going to buy a new laptop today we might pick something like the Toshiba L755 series notebook that has a 64-bit Intel I3 2.1 duel core GHZ processor, 4 GB of ram, a 640 GB hard drive, and of course Windows 7 Home Premium. Its not just that the Toshiba L755 is newer, has more memory, is faster, but that the changes in technology are so drastic that it effects the kinds of games we can and might choose to develop in the future. The big concern here for us is 32-bit vs 64-bit operating systems. As I write this article its difficult to even find and purchase a 32-bit desktop or laptop as all the major U.S. stores like Best Buy, Staples, Office Max, and Wal-Mart only carry 64-bit computers preloaded with Windows 7, and Microsoft has already stated that the next version of Windows will strictly be a 64-bit OS. In other words, when we, as developers look ahead of what our customers might be using in the next five years or so, it is clear the industry as a whole is rapidly moving to a 64-bit platform and that developing 32-bit software isn't going to be in our best interests long term. So at this point USA Games is going to have to be able to create versions for both older 32-bit platforms as well as prepare for newer 64-bit platforms at the same time. That requires a hardware and software upgrade on our part. So recognizing that this change is coming and that USA Games would be better off getting started on developing 64-bit games and software sooner than later we've decided to do a little shopping. At the moment we have not decided on anything, but we are comparing a number of newer 64-bit laptops preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium, and we hope to purchase a couple of new laptops that will keep us developing state of the art software for the next three to five years. One of the laptops we have under consideration is the previously mentioned Toshiba L755 which seems to have everything we need and is under $600. This will allow us to use a relatively state of the art machine to design or redesign our Genesis 3D engine not only for the hardware/software of today but tomorrow as well. I might add that its not just the hardware that has changed but software standards and specifications have changed as well. particularly in the area of PC gaming. Back in 2008 most mainstream game developers were still using DirectInput, DirectSound, and various other DirectX 8.1/9.0C core components. However, since then Microsoft's new XAudio2 API for Windows Vista and Windows 7 has replaced DirectSound as the Windows audio mixer for cutting edge mainstream games for the PC. Microsoft's XInput library has largely replaced DirectInput for new joysticks, game pads, racing wheels, and various other game controllers. Bottom line, things are very different now than they were 3.5 years ago, and we need to begin thinking of how to upgrade our software to meet these changes in software sooner or later. As with the hardware changes above it seems perfectly logical to prepare for these changes in software specification sooner than later. Which is exactly what we plan to do. So over the next couple of months we will be out shopping for some new laptops. Once we have acquired our new PCs we'll be in a better position to look at what needs to be done in order to bring Mysteries of the Ancients, Raceway, and any other projects up to current standards and specifications. Perhaps by Christmas we'll be in a position to produce 32-bit versions for people still running say Windows XP or 32-bit versions of Windows Vista/7 as well as produced cutting edge versions for brand new laptops and desktops running Windows 64-bit software. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
