IGGS Presents:

Would you purchase a Hardware Backward Compatibility add-on?

2012-02-20T19:00:00.000+01:00

Software compatibility coming late in the platform's life and not supporting all titles or added cost for all gamers when some hardware components are integrated in the new system to offer compatibility with the previous machine's games?

It seems that Sony does understand that previous systems' libraries are indeed a very important asset (Kutaragi docet) and that some users want the most affordable option and do not care about those titles.... yet :).

This is an issue which became apparent to everyone with the way HW compatibility was handled in an already expensive to buy and to manufacture console. PS3 was introduced with both Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer, respectively CPU and GPU of PlayStation 2, when it launched in Japan and the U.S. in 2006. Come March 2007, the EU launch gave us a PS3 with a cost reduction already in place: the system only featured the Graphics Synthesizer instead of the combo EE+GS@90nm SoC. The Cell processor in the PS3 emulated the Emotion Engine.
Successively, to further simplify the console PCB and reduce costs Sony removed the GS chip and two Direct Rambus RDRAM modules used for backward compatibility (BC).
To further reduce manufacturing costs support for hardware assisted BC was completely removed and thus PS3 systems could only play PSOne content which is very well emulated in software by PS3.

Support for PS2 software emulation was long in the works and from the patents you can find on the subject it is clear Sony did a huge amount of work on it: software emulator for various components, synchronization, dynamic re-compilation, GS commands to custom shaders, etc...
Also, they did realize how much money there was on the table by working diligently on a path that would enable older content to live a new life and generate profits in future and current platforms. Even games whose source code might be lost. Apparently, even some very famous games in the past have suffered from such a problem.
This approach eventually birthed two initiatives which are known as PS2 Classics HD line and the PS2 titles available for purchase on PlayStation Network (PSN).

The Classics HD line, of which the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus combo package is one of its best showcases, represents a series of titles which have essentially been ported to PS3 with some assets enhanced, with increased output resolution (ICO in 1080p looks stunning, even compared to some PS3 titles in my opinion), sometimes stereoscopic 3D rendering support, Trophies, etc.. but the most important thing for me is that all those titles have a good chance at being preserved for the future. New code has been written, their data structures have been reviewed, and now it can be kept safe and ported again and again. PS2's architecture was certainly very good for its time, but very different from today's CPU's and especially GPU's which are evolving but on a less exotic path. PS2's graphics chip did not only have, for example, a huge effective bandwidth to its graphics memory, but it also did some operations at a speed that modern GPU's do not. Context switches, flushing depth and texture buffers, and state changes in general are very taxing on modern GPU's while the old GS did them at an incredible speed which allowed mad scientists/game programmers to dig deep in those salt mines and come up with incredibly unique ways of performing a certain task at realtime speed. The current graphics market is driven essentially by PC graphics vendors, players that value BC and software compatibility quite a lot actually. I see them evolving technology without as many breaks from one platform to the next as you could see from NES to SNES to N64 to GCN, for example.
The PS2 titles released on PSN take advantage of a PS2 emulator which has been present in some form or the other inside PS3's Firmware for quite some time, albeit never used so far, but collecting the fruits of many years of work. Such emulator will likely have a very portable generic PC codebase which might not run fast enough on other platforms maybe, but titles would run and once you port the emulator well enough you have also brought over all those titles. I assume modern videogame companies are much better at not losing source code anymore.
Let's go back to the original headline of this post though, would you pay for the ability to play old games on your platform? How would they deliver such a solution to you and give you a good emulation of those titles up to your satisfaction?

What you see there is a concept Sony is exploring in a recent patent application in which a very pragmatic approach to the solution is to allow gamers to actually vote with their wallet about BC with previous generation titles or just jump to the leanest and meanest game machine just launched on the market without paying for a feature they are not planning to use (maybe they already own a working previous generation console).
The idea would be to connect a compatibility add-on that would connect to the new generation game console and provide the HW necessary to run the old software on while allowing the user to use the game controls, the output connection, and other resources such as the storage space provided by the new generation device.
This approach would allow one compatibility add-on to power one or more compatibility platforms: a PS3 compatibility add-on for PS4, for example, could help PS4 to play PS3 games as well as PS2 and PSOne titles taking advantage of the software emulators for PS2 and PSOne running on PS3 today and that could run on this kind of add-on.
What do you think? I personally feel that it is a huge opportunity for Sony, but read the patent application yourself and tell me what your thoughts are.

USPTO link

Used games sales... money back to publishers?

2012-02-04T08:30:00.000+01:00

I wanted to make a small followup to a previous post about the used market as driver of new sales and point out this interesting Ars' Technica article and a very interesting new initiative in the used game market. More money for people selling their games, money to developers for each copy sold to other users by the store, and a profitable business model. Does it sound impossible to you? Well, I think this article is for you then!

View original source on Ars' Technica.

Snow and cleaner air

2012-01-29T18:15:00.001+01:00

After a month or two without rain and especially without a much prettier white mantle on top of polluted streets, we can safely enjoy the gentle curves and sights a good snowfall brings.

Snow has the property of being able to make the landscape more uniform while at the same time strengthening its own dominant outline. It can certainly bring a sense of calm and quietness that I find always so unique.

2012-01-18T07:45:00.002+01:00

Il mercato delll'usato non serve solo ad oliare gli ingranaggi degli intermediari :).
Used market can have its advantages for the device makers :)!

(MacRumors.com): Robust Market for Used iPhones Benefits Users, Carriers, and Apple: AllThingsD reports on new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) analyzing the impact of the secondary market for the iPhone, the portion of used iPhones that are resold or given away when users upgrade to the latest models. The survey looked at customers purchasing new iPhones beginning with the iPhone 4S launch last October, finding that 53% of those users had returned their old phones to the secondary market.
Of those old phones being put back onto the secondary market, the survey found that 49% were older iPhones, while 21% were BlackBerry smartphones and 15% were Android devices. Approximately two-thirds of those devices returned to the market were given away, with the remaining third having been sold.

Breakdown of old devices reentering secondary market following new iPhone purchases
According to the survey, 87% of those who sold or gave away their old iPhones expected the recipients to activate them for use, which CIRP estimates as representing 11% of carrier activations since last October. That number represents a boon for carriers, who do not have to pay subsidies to Apple on the used devices.

The research firm believes that, for every used iPhone that carriers activate, they save around $400. In the fourth quarter of 2011 alone, CIRP figures that secondary-market activations saved AT&T and Verizon between $400 million and $800 million in subsidy costs.

And while the strong market for used iPhones may seem like a detriment to Apple given that those users may be purchasing a used device offering no revenue for Apple rather than a new one, CIRP suggests that those low-priced used handsets are a common way to introduce new users to the iPhone ecosystem. That introduction then sets the users up for future purchases of new iPhones and other Apple products.

“It hurts Apple because it creates competition for new iPhones, which we see in the relatively modest sales of reduced-price iPhone 4 and free iPhone 3G units. But it also benefits the company because used iPhone customers aspire to own the newest and best iPhone, so they are likely future new phone customers. In fact, they are likely new entrants to the Apple ecosystem, who otherwise would not have found a way in.”

Beyond future hardware sales, the used iPhone market also increases the user base and market for apps and other iTunes Store content, with the device's able to serve more good than if they had been discarded or forgotten in a drawer.

2011 Faber contest winners announced!

2011-10-24T10:49:00.001+01:00

I am very pleased to announce that AddictiveColors is one of the winners of the 2011 Faber-meeting contest with Pocket Boy!

Thanks to everyone who helped us make it happen!

Prevalentemente Anime e Manga: Pocket Boy - C’è un omino nelle tasche

2011-10-03T16:36:00.000+01:00

Prevalentemente Anime e Manga: Pocket Boy - C’è un omino nelle tasche: Ecco l'omino delle tasche Il post di oggi esula leggermente dagli argomenti solitamente trattati su questo blog e punta a presentare un p...

AddictiveColors and Pocket Boy at the View Conference 2011

2011-09-30T13:31:00.001+01:00

You should have seen a new link on the right of this blog, it's the Pocket Boy's blog, the app from AddictiveColors (my girlfriend and talented artist Clyo Parecchini and I). Well, I guess I am late for reporting such news to this sometimes neglected page, but Pocket Boy is now also on the iPhone and iPod touch.

If you have one of the newer models with the famous Retina display, you can enjoy crisp visuals as we have properly optimized assets for that screen too.
AddictiveColors is going to be at this year's View Conference in Turin: we are scheduled to talk about our app and AddictiveColors at 4:30 P.M. on the 27th of October.

Here is the official site: http://www.viewconference.it/

Follow updates about Pocket Boy and AddictiveColors over at the official Pocket Boy's blog and the official AddictiveColors' website.

Thank you!

2011-09-27T10:32:00.002+01:00

For those still using Makefiles, we all know there's no better place than computing to see that there is no problem simple enough that does not deserve a complex solution (--Dario Roccati), I thought I'd share something that Makefile artists know all too well, that might find trivial and misleading and full of traps... but something which might fit the Makefile YOU are writing. Computing, like many problems, is a set of problems which is best dealt with if you have an ever growing bag of tricks and tools to your disposal, so... one more will not hurt :).

Say, that someone just gave you a list of .cpp and .c files and you had to generate a simple static library to use in the rest of the makefile.
To make the makefile target simple and avoid a lot of unnecessary typing you might want to collect the C and C++ files and the .o files they generate once you compile them.
Let's see an example:

L_BASELIB := $(filter %.c,$(L_BASELIB_SOURCES))
L_BASELIB_OBJ := $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(L_BASELIB))

L_BASELIB_SOURCES is defined as a list of .cpp and .c files earlier on in the makefile. In this example, we take a two steps solutions to get out list of object files only for the .c files (just to make a small example you can adapt to your needs).

The filter and patsubst commands are quite powerful and to use their regular expression powered syntax the best way possible you might want to read more on regular expressions, gnu make, etc...
The way I have used them in this example is to first filter the files with a .c extension out of the list of files I have been passed by this environment variable and then produce another list of files with the extension changed to .o from .c and so on.

2011-05-26T23:56:00.001+01:00

Screen shot 2010-09-07 at 1.30.42 PM

2010-09-07T12:35:00.002+01:00

Screen shot 2010-09-06 at 5.20.53 PM

2010-09-06T16:26:00.002+01:00

Yes, it is floating :P

2010-08-27T14:14:00.002+01:00

You know whoo you are... and it is your fault :P...

2010-08-11T15:29:00.001+01:00

#define VEC3toSIMD(v1,v2) v2.fields.x=(v1).x; v2.fields.y=(v1).y; v2.fields.z=(v1).z;
#define VEC4toSIMD(v1,v2) v2.fields.x=(v1).x; v2.fields.y=(v1).y; v2.fields.z=(v1).z; v2.fields.w=(v1).w;
#define COPYVEC3(v1,v2) (v2)->x=(v1)->x; (v2)->y=(v1)->y; (v2)->z=(v1)->z;
#define COPYVEC4(v1,v2) (v2)->x=(v1)->x; (v2)->y=(v1)->y; (v2)->z=(v1).z; (v2)->w=(v1)->w;

#define PRINT_VEC(v) printf("\n(vector) x= %f, y= %f, z = %f\n", (v).x, (v).y, (v).z);
#define PRINT_SVEC(str,v) printf("\n%s x= %f, y= %f, z = %f\n", str, (v).x, (v).y, (v).z);
#define PRINT_VEC2(v) printf("\n(vector) x= %f, y= %f\n", (v).x, (v).y);
#define PRINT_SVEC2(str,v) printf("\n%s x= %f, y= %f\n", str, (v).x, (v).y);
#define PRINT_VEC4(v) printf("\n(vector) x= %f, y= %f, z = %f, w = %f\n", (v).x, (v).y, (v).z, (v).w);
#define PRINT_SVEC4(str,v) printf("\n%s x= %f, y= %f, z = %f, w = %f\n", str, (v).x, (v).y, (v).z, (v).w);
#define PRINT_BULLETVEC(str,v) printf("\n%s x= %f, y= %f, z = %f, w = %f\n", str, (v).x(), (v).y(), (v).z(), (v).w());

#define MUL_FVEC3(t,v) (v)->x *= t; (v)->y *=t; (v)->z *= t;
#define MUL_FVEC4(t,v) (v)->x *= t; (v)->y *=t; (v)->z *= t, (v)->w *= t;

#define ADD_FVEC3(t,v) (v)->x += t; (v)->y +=t; (v)->z += t;
#define ADD_FVEC4(t,v) (v)->x += t; (v)->y +=t; (v)->z += t, (v)->w += t;

#define SUB_FVEC3(t,v) (v)->x -= t; (v)->y -=t; (v)->z -= t;
#define SUB_FVEC4(t,v) (v)->x -= t; (v)->y -=t; (v)->z -= t, (v)->w -= t;

#define INIT_OBJ_ARR_NULL(arr, len) {for(int i=0; i<len; i++) {arr[i] = NULL;}}

Little rendering steps... shadow projection works (better than before) :)!

2010-08-10T14:03:00.000+01:00

Ombre disco... ma la proiezione c'è ;).

You know when pointers give you too much rope to hang yourself with when...

2010-08-09T15:55:00.001+01:00

... you see this in your console's log:

malloc: *** error for object 0xd663fb0: incorrect checksum for freed object - object was probably modified after being freed.
*** set a breakpoint in malloc_error_break to debug

That's neat ;).

LLVM news... Xcode finally leaving Eclipse in the dust ;).

2010-08-02T11:58:00.001+01:00

I am watching a presentation on Xcode 4 and that got me thinking about the revolution that the LLVM project keeps bringing to the table as it matures. It's not the C++ support or other features per-se, but how integrating it with the IDE brings a revolution to compiled languages like Objective-C, C, and C++... kind of levelling the playing field with Interpreted and bytecode based languages (like Java) as well as languages that are supported by the .NET runtime.

If you have ever used Eclipse to develop Java applications, you are accustomed to how much the IDE knows about your project and how it can help you fix your mistakes as well as double check what you type in real time. This is the next step after code completion arrived. With Java you do not do a big BUILD phase after writing your code, the bytecode is produced when you save each file and the Java compiler working alongside the IDE can tap into a very information rich soup the Java bytecode provides for your whole application at any given time.

In short, having a VM based language (like you have with Java and .NET), allows you not only to get closer to the "write once, run anywhere" mantra and to have lots of info available when the app runs on the target platform, but it helps you with development as well... you have direct and real-time feedback after every change you make in the application's source code and of the implications of a change in one file can have in other files... before you debug it on a simulator or a device... and we freed ourselves from header files :P (well, going from C to Java, you will appreciate not to have to declare any function before implementing it and using it without fear of "oops, I need to use function f2 inside function f1... how do I do that?" situations). Ok... ok... there are good things about header files :). The disadvantage about those kind of languages is the same VM that helps us in other occasions, it is the thing that can keep managed languages behind purely compiled languages behind in terms of efficiency and speed. The more you do at runtime in addition to the work your app tries to do, the lesser you can do in your own app as CPU time is a fixed quantity.

In OSS implementations, Java already gained the ability to compile the code ahead of time (AOT) and the same can be done with managed languages running on the .NET platform, thus effectively giving developers better and smarter tools that can assist their development work (which should lead to less bugs in their source code). The exciting thing is doing the opposite, bringing the features of VM based languages to languages designed to be statically compiled (as opposed to dynamically compiled... JIT is a form of dynamic "just in time" compilation).

Inserting the LLVM block in the middle of the road between source code and binary form allows this "best of both world" kind of proposition to happen. Instead of compiling your code to a binary form directly, a form which might lose several information that would help you to find and fix bugs in your program, your code is analyzed, decomposed, and adapted to a form designed to run on this simpler low level universal target (the virtual machine). Here, the compiler carries on as much information on the original file and what it tries to achieve as possible as well as knowing the intricate details of this virtual machine our "intermediate" representation of the code we wrote was "compiled" for. In theory, if you developed a C++ "for Fedora Core 12 as released on launch day" runtime you might develop a very similar solution without the help of any VM, but chances are that you do not want to do this much effort every time a piece of the OS changes and that you might want to run your program on several systems... maybe just by compiling it again without porting the complex and tightly system coupled runtime to every different mix of kernel, system libraries, etc... you find. Don't get me wrong, the C++ runtime is not exactly platform agnostic now (the libc you got on your system was compiled to run on it, for example), but it is much more of a lightweight approach than what Java wants for example.

When you take advantage of LLVM in one of the supported languages you allow the compiler to do a much richer optimization and error checking work because it has a lot of information on not only each single file, but on the program as a whole as well as the source code which created it (as you can clearly see by using the Clang's static analyzer integrated into Xcode 3.x).

Example of one thing that changed in Objective-C thanks to the use of LLVM and the modern Objective-C runtime:

Instead of adding an ivar in your class declaration, then declaring the property for it, then synthesize it in the implementation file... you can simply declare a property and the other two steps will be done for you (@synthesize by default).

Now, imagine the IDE having full access to that information by using LLVM technology inside all its code completion, code checking, code editing, etc... needs and what such an integration can yield.Xcode 4's Fix-it is one of those features. I basically gave up on having smart code completion and troubleshooting tools when not dealing with Java... seeing Xcode 4's code highlighting that warned of an error and a pop-over with details about the error and a solution or a workaround to it was something that made my jaw drop :D!

I will stop now with the huge list of inaccurate comments and technical explanations I have probably built up so far and I cannot wait to be able to write more without hitting NDA issues (all I have talked about is available in the public domain).

Good afternoon everyone :)!

No more UV's?

2010-07-29T17:13:00.001+01:00

Ptex 3D texturing becomes a reality at SIGGRAPH

It is encouraging when several professional grade 3D packages add support for what seemed "magic" a few years before... one less thing that Pixar artists can mock you for not using it yet ;).

Bonus: http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/mari/ (just how many texture painting tools are there?)

test

2010-07-29T13:46:00.001+01:00

Test

Un po' di Java

2009-11-22T15:19:00.003+01:00

Non ho mai bevuto del caffé di quella marca, ma il linguaggio di programmazione con lo stesso nome lo trovo potente e molto utile per sviluppare applicazioni in maniera veloce senza sacrificare la qualità di sviluppo e l'usabilità.

http://code.google.com/p/wap-testing-tool/source/browse/branches/0.9.3#0.9.3/src

I due programmi che si trovano su Google Code a quel indirizzo, ed i tool di aiuto a cui si appoggiano, sono stati costruiti per aiutarmi nel lavoro... devo commentarli meglio, ma la struttura del codice e l'organizzazione del programma dovrebbero renderlo facile da leggere e capire :).
Poi... licenza BSD ;).

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

2008-03-12T18:33:00.007+01:00

Panajev's journal, Entry #02

Day 9: Bleak Flats Cave? First she does not remember she sent him there then she gives me a fireball spell just in case?!? Is she trying to tell me something? Eathor should be there anyway: I bring him back to the Mages Guild and I get my recommendation... simple as that.

Day 10: Not too simple... that inept wizard probably managed to fill the cave with zombies with all his conjuration experiments... I fail to see how that does not classify as Necromancy, but that is the Guild's internal regulation problem...

Day 10: Saved him! Back at the Skingrad's Mages Guild. Ready to leave for Kvatch finally! I do feel stronger and better prepared.

Day 10: I should be in Kvatch by Nightfall at the latest, maybe earlier if I do not waste time exploring the surroundings, but the adventurous side of me wants to fight zombies, goblins, and daedra as well as finding new artifacts!

Day 10: WOW, what is that gate?!?

Day 10: The city is under siege! The dark lords of Oblivion are once again invading our plane of reality... this must be connected with the murder of the Emperor and of all the known heirs to the throne of Tamriel. Martin is hiding inside the city's church. The guards are courageously taking a last stand against the invading demonic forces: I need to get inside that gate and close it shut!

(Disclaimer: everything in this blog post is purely fictional: no reference to actual people or events is implied or meant.
The use of "I" refers to the "thoughts" the fictional character I play in the video game Oblivion for PS3)

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

2008-03-10T20:59:00.011+01:00

Panajev's journal, Entry #02

Day 8: Glarthir is crazy indeed! He really thinks everyone is out to get him: he means to have David Surille murdered!

Day 9: He attacked me... Glarthir is now dead: together with the captain of the guards of Skingrad I had no choice but to defend myself... I got a key from him though, does it mean I can use his house as base in Skingrad? What should I do?

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

2008-03-09T11:57:00.004+01:00

Panajev's journal, Entry #01

Day 1: still in the castle's dungeons, following the emperor Uriel Septim who just freed me.

Day 1: the Emperor was murdered by strange assassins, the Blades were unable to protect him! I have been entrusted by the Emperor with an important mission: I ought to find his illegitimate son.

Day 2: finally out of the sewers! The sun is beautiful!

Day 2: I have to reach Chorrol ASAP: Jauffre awaits.

Day 3: Martin, Uriel's son, is in Kvatch and he might be in danger. I have got to reach him, but I cannot afford to make a straight journey through the wilderness: I have to make a stop in Skingrad first and work on my skills. I do not know if I am ready for what lies ahead, but I have given my word to Uriel and to the Nines and I won't take it back.

Day 4: reached Skingrad!

Day 4: met a strange Elf... he might have gotten himself in some sort of trouble. People tell me he is sort of the town's lunatic: crazy, but harmless. He tells me that someone closely watches over every step he makes and wants him silenced because he discovered some important secret. It is kind of believable: if everyone thinks he is crazy, who will believe anything he says? The captain of the guards asks me to report any strange request I could be asked to fulfill.

Day 5-7: I am starting to suspect he might have some mental problems myself: the people he points out as conspirators against him (and on which I investigate) mean absolutely no harm to him. What's next ? Why am I not leaving for Kvatch already ?

Notes from the lands of Cyrodiil

2008-03-09T11:48:00.003+01:00

I decided to start a sort of personal diary here. I do know nobody in their right mind reads this blog so what better place to have a secret diary right in the open where everyone could see it ?

Of course, I am not going to really talk about myself: I will be live blogging as an adventurer inside the game Oblivion... in a way that is talking about something I am doing (narrating the adventures of my Olbivion character).

I will be talking, more like blogging twitter style, about adventures in Bethesda's latest masterpiece Oblivion, sometimes adding pictures to my posts, sometimes just posting a brief message. It is intended to be more of an exercise for myself, to self-impose a daily routine, and will have the form of brief notes taken a bit in a hurry by a character inside the game world. Most of the time it will be a daily message (as in game world days not real life days), but it might also become multiple messages per game day.

Original size digital photos (as shot by the camera)

2007-05-01T16:47:00.000+01:00

Dashboard at 480p:

Dashboard at 720p:

XMB at 1080i:

XMB at 720p:

But... but.... someone still knows how to make proper flashlights then !

2007-04-30T11:50:00.000+01:00

Enjoy some quite noisy pics hehe: