MS creating 'open source' framework for gaming, formed new team for iOS/WP/Android

[ballowers100]

MS creating 'open source' framework for gaming, formed new team for iOS/WP/Android

So I read this today.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=777716

Microsoft is creating a open source framework for gaming and formed a new team for platforms including Andriod, iOS, and Windows Phone.

Could VALVe developing SteamOS and pushing hard for OpenGL and Linux for the PC and Andriod phones and iOS phones being relatively open and AMD releasing Mantle to be open source sometime in 2014, SONY not charging video game developers for patches on the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation 4 (PS4) finally push Microsoft to make DirectX, Xbox, Windows, and Windows phones more open?

It clearly says this is their goal

“We will create a modern framework that is open source, light-weight, extensible and scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS and Android.”

“…win back our game developers from our competitors”

Now I know it talks about the Xbox and the phones but it says platforms including Android, iOS, Windows phone, and Windows store. Could DirectX and WIndows be included as well and possibly Microsoft trying to make them open source or somewhat open source? Discuss your opinions.

Imagine Microsoft making DirectX and Windows open source.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

They also consider releasing a free (as beer) version of Windows. Must be fear of Linux really took them lately, which is a good thing. I guess Valve played a key role here indeed. Except that I wouldn't trust them a bit and wouldn't take that bait. So far DirectX and whatever else they propose to use (XNA?) is all patent encumbered and can't compare to OpenGL which is really free to use. Will MS go as far as opening DirectX and making it patent free? Time will tell.

 

[ballowers100]

They also consider releasing a free (as beer) version of Windows. Must be fear of Linux took them lately. I guess Valve played a key role here indeed. Except that I wouldn't trust them a bit and wouldn't take that bait. So far DirectX and whatever else they propose to use (XNA?) is all patent encumbered and can't compare to OpenGL which is really free to use. Will MS go as far as opening DirectX and making it patent free? Time will tell.

Yep Microsoft is releasing a free version of Windows.

I am definitley trusting Microsoft to listen to PC gamers now. Because Microsoft is permanently getting rid of Games for Windows Live (GFWL) by July 2014. Every single PC versions of video games that have Games for Windows Live (GFWL) is getting it patched out and moving to Steam, Steam Works, and gog.com.

Hidden Path Entertainment got Microsoft to bring all of the Ensemble Studios video games to be released on Steam with Steam Works, Steamworkshop, and to have the old Age of Empires and Age of Mythology video games to get released to work on modern hardware and Operating Systems (OS's) and have those old video games have a lot of new things added in them as well.

Microsoft also lets video game development companies to develop the PC versions of their video games for Linux and MAC and OpenGL. Did you know that?

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

You mean when MS serves as a publisher? Yes, that happens. What's more surprising is that they even agree to DRM-free releases now (like Shadowrun Returns and Dust). Competition really does wonders. MS realize that if they'll continue their jerky anti competitive behavior they'll end up in the oblivion. Not that I think their changes are sincere - I'd never trust a company like MS, they are just scared of competition.

 

[dragonbird]

Being scared of the competition IS a sincere reason.

 

[ballowers100]

You mean when MS serves as a publisher? Yes, that happens. What's more surprising is that they even agree to DRM-free releases now (like Shadowrun). Competition really does wonders. MS realize that if they'll continue their jerky anti competitive behavior they'll end up in the oblivion. Not that I think their changes are sincere, they are just scared of competition.

What's funny is that Microsoft said in 2013 that they are not afraid of VALVe's SteamOS and push for OpenGL and Linux but I think Microsoft secretly is and also is afraid of SONY. Because the PlayStation 4 (PS4) is outselling the Xbox One LOL.

 

[Garrison72]

Microsoft: innovating only when they really have to.

 

[ballowers100]

Microsoft: innovating only when they really have to.

Yep. Microsoft only innovates when their competition gets harder.

Isn't that the same thing that happened in the 1990's? Video game development companies needed a better graphics API to work with so Microsoft stopped using DOS-BOX and developed DirectX. At least that's what I heard. Is this true? The first PC version of a video game I played was in 1998 and that video game was Unreal. So I don't really know what happened in the 1990's. Only from 1998 but very little.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Being scared of the competition IS a sincere reason.

It's a forced reason for their change. Sincere reason means that they don't want to be crooks anymore and there is zero indication of that yet.

Microsoft: innovating only when they really have to.

Exactly. And they stop being crooks when forced by competition as well. Remember what happened to Internet Explorer? They started following standards (painfully and slowly) only when competing browsers have beaten them into the dust.

 

[GuyNwah]

Yep. Microsoft only innovates when their competition gets harder.

Or they lose a lawsuit, like the EC antitrust suit that forced them to disclose their server protocols to the Samba team, or the i4i patent suit that forced them to take Office off the market until they removed the features they stole from i4i.

Or, more charitably, sacking Ballmer may have been just the kick in the arse they needed. Sometimes new blood opens new doors.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Or, more charitably, sacking Ballmer may have been just the kick in the arse they needed. Sometimes new blood opens new doors.

Their new CEO (Satya Nadella) should be better than Ballmer who called Linux a "cancer". It might be his influence already. He was behind MS Azure which started supporting Linux a while ago.

 

[volsung]

You mean when MS serves as a publisher? Yes, that happens. What's more surprising is that they even agree to DRM-free releases now (like Shadowrun Returns and Dust). Competition really does wonders. MS realize that if they'll continue their jerky anti competitive behavior they'll end up in the oblivion. Not that I think their changes are sincere - I'd never trust a company like MS, they are just scared of competition.

Maybe a M$ employee played Shadowrun Returns and saw what Redmond became in post apocalyptic Washington. It's not that they were afraid of the gangs or the prostitutes but probably just regretted not being in control of those gangs and prostitutes Now they may want to do their best to survive until then.

Isn't that the same thing that happened in the 1990's? Video game development companies needed a better graphics API to work with so Microsoft stopped using DOS-BOX and developed DirectX. At least that's what I heard. Is this true? The first PC version of a video game I played was in 1998 and that video game was Unreal. So I don't really know what happened in the 1990's. Only from 1998 but very little.

Do you mean MS-DOS? DOS were a family of operating systems for IBM PC's that existed all throughout the 90's, and even Windows (up until XP) was still DOS-based. Back in the day DOS was the best choice for running IBM PC games, since Windows was basically a burdening front end. DOS could run applications addressing up to 64 MB RAM thanks to memory address extenders like DOS/4GW.

DirectX appeared somewhere in the mid 90s when Win 95 took over, and several games started using DirectDraw and things like that for graphics. However, at the time the leading API was 3Dfx's Glide, present in the most visually impressive games like, yes, Unreal. It was until the 2000's that OpenGL and DirectX took over, after the demise of 3Dfx, and only after M$ introduced the (Direct) X-Box that companies adopted DirectX widely. Curiously enough, even Microsoft's own implementation of OpenGL was faster than DirectX, but they needed to place their product regardless right?

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

@.Volsung.: Well, MS as a main villain in dystopian settings isn't something unimaginable Reminds me Beneath a Steel Sky more than Shadowrun Returns though.

 

[ballowers100]

Maybe a M$ employee played Shadowrun Returns and saw what Redmond became in post apocalyptic Washington. It's not that they were afraid of the gangs or the prostitutes but probably just regretted not being in control of those gangs and prostitutes Now they may want to do their best to survive until then.



Do you mean MS-DOS? DOS were a family of operating systems for IBM PC's that existed all throughout the 90's, and even Windows (up until XP) was still DOS-based. Back in the day DOS was the best choice for running IBM PC games, since Windows was basically a burdening front end. DOS could run applications addressing up to 64 MB RAM thanks to memory address extenders like DOS/4GW.

DirectX appeared somewhere in the mid 90s when Win 95 took over, and several games started using DirectDraw and things like that for graphics. However, at the time the leading API was 3Dfx's Glide, present in the most visually impressive games like, yes, Unreal. It was until the 2000's that OpenGL and DirectX took over, after the demise of 3Dfx, and only after M$ introduced the (Direct) X-Box that companies adopted DirectX widely. Curiously enough, even Microsoft's own implementation of OpenGL was faster than DirectX, but they needed to place their product regardless right?

As I said I started playing PC in 1998 and know Unreal uses 3Dfx's Glide API. It was only in around the year 2000 I saw DirectX take off and in 2013 I heard that video game development companies were looking for a easier API to use.

I also heard that Microsoft used OpenGL for a while. In fact I think Microsoft still uses OpenGL for some other applications.

Anyways at GDC 2014 Microsoft has a event to show that they have a new DirectX that will be like Mantle a low-level access API and Nvidia is showing the Mantle low-level version of OpenGL at GDC 2014.

AMD developed Mantle so that they can finally have a API that can squeeze out more performance for PC versions of video games. So with this announcment that Microsoft will do at GDC 2014 might end up making Mantle be Dead on Arrival (DoA). AMD said that Mantle is not to replace DirectX in any way anyways.

So I think AMD decided to develop Mantle and release it in 2014 so Microsoft can step it up with DirectX. Then after 1 year AMD will shelve Mantle like how Glide got shelved.

Now the websites I linked in this topic talk about Microsoft forming a team to make a open source framework that works on all platforms so this could mean we might see Windows and DirectX becoming open source or some what open source. Maybe Microsoft will make DirectX work on Linux and MAC. I mean OpenGL works on Windows and so does Mantle and Microsoft does not care that OpenGL and Mantle work on Windows. Microsoft also lets the video game development companies they publish for to develop their PC versions of video games on Linux and MAC and to use OpenGL as well if they want to.

 

[cdred]

Sound like this could be Visual Studio / Xamarin C# thingy.

https://xamarin.com/ - "Create Native iOS, Android, Mac and Windows apps in C#"

Open source on totally closed environments and tools. Well, let's see what is coming but I'm not too excited yet.