RipTen Videogame Blog » port

BioWare Looks to Bring SWTOR to Mac

Catherine Cai — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:00:12 +0000

According to Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare, bringing Star Wars: The Old Republic to Mac fans is a possibility. When asked if BioWare would port the game over to Mac OSes by Joystiq’s Ben Gilbert, he responded:

“We know there’s a big Mac audience of BioWare fans … we know that’s an important and large audience. And we want to serve that audience,

Dr. Greg Zeschuk, also a co-founder of Bioware, said something to the same effect:

“We’ve done a lot of Mac ports before of our games. We haven’t announced any details yet for The Old Republic, but we know that’s an important and large audience.

“That’s definitely one of the things we’re looking at next. We want to get this launch under our belt and everything stabilized and happy, and then we’ll look at other platforms, and that’s obviously one of the first ones.”

I wouldn’t start getting your hopes up just yet, Mac users who are eager to play SWTOR since neither Muzyka or Zeschuk have given a definite response or a time table about bringing The Old Republic to the Mac OS. Still, the fact that two heads of BioWare want to see the port happen is a good thing, right?

[Via Joystiq]

Rockstar Has No Plans for PC Version of LA Noire

Bryce Wilson — Sat, 07 May 2011 07:23:49 +0000

With L.A. Noire having such a strong emphasis on graphical presentation, it’d be a bit of a no brainer that the title would eventually end up on PC, you know, the place with the best graphics.

Well that might not be the case however, with a representative from Rockstar saying “we do not have any plans for a PC/Mac version of L.A. Noire at this time”.

While that isn’t a definite ruling to say that the game isn’t coming to our favorite platform, it’s definitely not a step in the right direction.

Stay tuned for more.

Source: [TheGamerBuzz]

Direct X 11 Support Coming For Crysis 2… Tomorrow?!

Bryce Wilson — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:32:14 +0000

For those PC enthusiasts who broke their computers backs over Crysis time and time again, it was of great shock when Crytek and EA confirmed that Crysis 2 wouldn’t be shipping with support for the groundbreaking DX 11 technology.

Well fret no longer as PC Games is reporting that a Direct X 11 patch for Crysis 2 is shipping tomorrow alongside an enhanced graphics options menu similar to that of the original groundbreaking FPS title.

PC Max, the original writers of the article have said;

It’s official: the full version of Crysis 2 will contain the time being no DirectX 11 mode. Am 28.3. is supposed to follow another patch which will not only bring with it DirectX 11, but also integrate an expanded graphics menu is later. Those who want to experience the game that is in full bloom, which should wait a couple of days.

Whilst there’s no ‘official’ source as of yet, we will be sure to keep you updated on the happenings of Crysis 2 – however chalk this one down as a rumor for now…

Do you think this is real? Let me know in the comments below or via Twitter – @DrjftGaming.

Source: [PC Games] via [PC-Max]

Yoshida – Porting PS3 Games to NGP is “Simple and Quick”

Garrett Hartman — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:43:25 +0000

Accoring to Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida, porting games from the PS3 to Sony’s upcoming hand held, code named NGP, is “simple and quick”.

In a recent conversation with Edge magazine Yoshida discussed the importance of making development for the NGP easy and that although porting games are easy, they’ll be much more than just PS3 ports for the NGP.

“We were very focused on this area from the start. This is, again, a lesson learnt from the PS3. We had to make the development environment for NGP as ‘easy’ as possible. Today, many teams are familiar with the PS3 and are used to including a variety of effects in their titles.

“Based on this expertise – and also the working habits they developed working on the PS3 – we had to make development on the NGP as natural as possible – an extension of the PS3, if you will.

“So the three demos you’ve seen – Lost Planet 2, Ryu Ga Gotoku [Yakuza] and MGS4 – they prove porting is simple and quick, but it doesn’t mean that’s all you can expect. My view of NGP isn’t just as a platform for porting PS3 titles.”

Sony’s NPG promises to be a powerful handheld contender.

Source: Edge via CVG

Diablo “Investigated” for a Console Port

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:42:38 +0000

Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime brought up the possibilty of a console version of Diablo at DICE late yesterday. While noting Blizzard’s preference for the PC’s flexibilty he stated,

“I think you could make an argument that a game like Diablo might play very well on a console. It’s something that we’re actually doing an investigation into to see if that could make sense.”

Morhaime also discussed a “number of issues” that Blizzard would have to solve before bringing Diablo to consoles. Among his major concerns include the ability to patch effectively and add expansions.

When asked if he felt Diablo could be ported to consoles, he nodded “yes”!

Source: Joystiq

Thor: The Video Game Hammering Home

Dylan Duarte — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:59:57 +0000

Thor, Marvel’s resident Norse God, is bringing his big bad hammer to consoles in how own self-titled videogame, scheduled to be released alongside the movie in 2011.

In Thor, you’ll be fighting to save Asgard from trolls, giants, and other wonderful creatures. You’ll be wielding all the magic befit to a God, as well as Thor’s legendary hammer Mjölnir, which you couldn’t pronounce if you tried.

The various consoles differ a bit. The PS3 and Xbox 360 get a third-person action game with RPG elements. The Wii port, as usual, will have motion support crammed in there, but this version and the PSP version will feature a comic book look.

And then the DS version is just a completely different sidescrolling adventure.

No word yet on whether it’s an actual adaption of the movie. As Cinema Blend points out, it could be similar to Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, whereas it’s a promotional tie-in but features an entirely separate story.

As a kid, I hated Thor. The comics featured more words than I found acceptable for a comic book. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve gained more of an appreciation for the character. Here’s to hoping that the game is good and not just a PG God of War.

Dragon Age: Origins Coming to Mac

Dylan Duarte — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:07:25 +0000

BioWare has teamed with TransGaming Technologies, a company that specializes in porting games to Mac and Linux, to bring its acclaimed RPG Dragon Age: Origins to Mac later this month. Read on for the full press release, ripe with juicy details.

Edmonton and Toronto, Canada – December 14, 2009 – BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), and TransGaming, Inc. (TSX-V: TNG) today announced plans to release Dragon Age™: Origins for the Mac® on December 21. The critically acclaimed, dark fantasy epic will be available to Mac Players as a digital download where they can choose between the Standard or Digital Deluxe version.

The Digital Deluxe version will feature additional content including: a collection of wallpapers, in-game bonus items, the game’s soundtrack and the Warden’s Keep additional content. Warden’s Keep provides players with a new dungeon-exploring adventure, new loot including a set of ancient Grey Warden armor, a chance to gain two of six mysterious new abilities, a new base complete with merchants and a party chest to store their hard-earned items. The Standard and Digital Deluxe versions are available now for pre-order through many popular online digital retailers.

“We are very excited to bring this award-winning title to the Mac community” commented Vikas Gupta, President and CEO of TransGaming. “Our Cider technology allows us to rapidly enable and deploy high quality titles like Dragon Age, and we are pleased to be delivering this exceptional caliber of gaming to the ever growing Mac gaming community.”

Each version of Dragon Age: Origins for the Mac will also include The Stone Prisoner and the Blood Dragon Armor. The Stone Prisoner gives players access to new environments, items, hours of additional gameplay and the mighty stone golem, Shale, who can become one of the most powerful party members in the game. In addition, players will receive the Blood Dragon Armor, a set of themed armor that gives players additional protection in combat and will be available for use in both Dragon Age: Origins on the Mac and in Mass Effect™ 2 on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC.

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take on the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians. Now, as an evil blight threatens to destroy all life, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon. To restore peace, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind. Whether you’re a new or veteran gamer, Dragon Age: Origins reinvents the fantasy experience, combining a great story with raw emotion and brutal action.

Dragon Age: Origins is now available on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3 console and will be available on December 21 on The Mac at popular online digital retailers.

Sega May Be Working On Bayonetta PS3 Fix

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:30:37 +0000

It seems that the previously announced price difference between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version of Bayonetta was not enough to temper the PS3 owners of the game who continue to cite slow loading time, lesser graphic quality, and frame rate issues with the port. Well, a fix may be on the way.

A recently translated post on French gaming site Gamekyo, claims the following:

“Sega and Platinum Games have taken responsibility for the bad port before deciding to work with the assistance of an engineering team from Sony to guarantee a PS3 version equal to the level of the console’s power.”

I’ve emailed Sega in hopes of getting an official word on the matter and will keep you posted as soon as I’m able to confirm or deny the information.

I feel it’s important to note that while reading several of the translated comments myself, I did see a fair amount of individuals who stated that the port issues were not as bad as some were making it out to be. I haven’t played it on the PS3 personally, so if you have and would like to share your thoughts in the comment section below please do so.

[Thanks Wearetheinternetz]

Bayonetta PS3 Port $5 Cheaper than 360 Version

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:47:50 +0000

According to GameStop’s online pricing, the much discussed PlayStation 3 port of Bayonetta will apparently be available to consumers at a discounted price of five dollars ($54.99) over its Xbox 360 counterpart ($59.99).

If you are late in joining the conversation, Sega’s Bayonetta title was developed for the Xbox 360 and then ported over to the PlayStation 3. The pixel crunching scrutiny then began, and arguments as to which version was “better” ensued.

A slightly discounted price (if true) may help those who are on the fence about purchasing a ported title, however it may also reaffirm their notion that the port is inferior.

I’m personally not a big fan of ports knowing first-hand that there are many companies out there that take the time to develop a title individually with dedicated teams. That said, I am a big fan of Bayonetta and look forward to picking it up when it hits stores on January 5th (January 8th in Europe).

What do you think? Would discounted prices on ported titles make you happy in the end or is a better solution needed?

Source: Siliconera

God of War I and II coming to PS3

Sam Naylor — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:21:57 +0000

Good news, everyone! Well, at least to the people who haven’t yet played the God of War games on the PS2. Sony today announced that they will be releasing anti-aliased and 720p-resolution updated versions of both God of War I and God of War II. Also included is a set of trophies for those who care about their e-peen.

I’m going with this being a good thing, despite the fact that it’s milking a franchise, simply because I was told about how good these games are just after I put my PS2 away, and I am quite lazy. This saves me the trouble of not only getting out the PS2, but buying two discs to put in it. Laziness wins in the end.

Final Fantasy XIII 360 Disc Space Limitations Won’t Compromise PS3 Version

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:50:40 +0000

Some PS3 Final Fantasy players (like myself) were shocked the day that the latest title was announced for the 360, in fact I almost ran up to the stage and started screaming at the conference, but once the shock faded, concerns started to come into play.

The biggest concern most PS3 owners had surrounded the potential “middle ground” that may have to be reached in order to have the game port successfully onto the 360 console. Namingly, the lack of disc space when comparing a Blu-ray discs to the traditional format.

Well, in one statement, FFXIII Producer, Yoshinori Kitase, put that fear to bed.

“The team is targeting to create an equal experience on both the 360 and the PS3 … right now we’re working on the PS3 version first, and once we’ve completed that we’ll really know how much game there will be to fit onto the Xbox 360 discs.

So we don’t know how many discs it’ll be housed on for 360, but there won’t be a chance that we’ll compromise anything because, oh it didn’t fit in the 360 discs so we’ll have to take it out of the PS3 version, or vice versa.”

Seems pretty clear and straight forward to me. While the end result may mean a multiple of discs for 360 owners, which has already been the case with other 360 MMOs, it appears that the integrity and creative vision of the game will not be tweaked in any way to accommodate lesser disc space. Hooray!

Source: VideoGamer

Gundam Senjou no Kizuna PSP Port Gets Lost in Translation

Sean Mitchuson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:16:54 +0000

One of the greatest arcade games of all time (at least in my mind) is being ported to the PSP. For some reason, I don’t think it’s going to be quite the same game.

That’s right, the arcade Gundam game that costs about five dollars a play but really gives a great immersion factor is being made portable for the PSP in Japan on March 26th. With really no way to redo the cockpit design or control scheme for a portable device, the game takes a big hit. Halving team play from 8v8 to 4v4 probably won’t be a deal breaker for probably anyone, though.

Last time I checked, you can’t sit inside a PSP.

I used to play this game a bit too much. Every Friday I would spend about 20 or 30 bucks just hopping in the cockpit for around 10 to 15 minutes a go and really just getting my tail handed to me by much, much better pilots. The crazy part is that I wasn’t alone. There was a line at my arcade to even play it — it was a real classy setup of put your card down behind everyone else and wait for their cards to disappear. The reason I really got into this game probably has something to do with my love of MMORPG’s. Your pilot grows the more you play the game and is allowed access to better gundam’s and parts, your stats are also stored so you can compare with people all over Japan. That in itself kept me coming back.

The friend I played with on those Friday nights when I should have been out socializing loved the feeling of really flying a gundam. There are two foot pedals and two joysticks that you have to use to pilot the gundam. The seat isn’t made for an adult really but those are the only people I ever saw playing. It didn’t matter how tight the fit is, having that giant screen display like I’m inside the Gundam is an experience in itself. Sitting in a room with a PSP is nowhere near the same thing.

Who knows — the game may still sell like hot cakes because it’s Gundam, but it just won’t be the same in my eyes.

Source: Famitsu

FFXIII 360 Already In Development? In-Game Renders Surface Online

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:34:40 +0000

We have gotten a hold of several images depicting Crystal Tools in-game renders from Final Fantasy XIII, and may have visual proof that the Xbox 360 version of the game is already being developed.

Several Final Fantasy XIII in game renders utilizing the Crystal Tools engine surfaced online after apparently first appearing on the Japanese television channel TV Tokyo.

While this great news for Final Fantasy junkies like myself looking to drool over anything remotely associated to the game, the even bigger news is that a 360 controller was spotted on the desk of what appears to be one of the games developers.

Could the 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII already be underway despite Square Enix stating otherwise? Have a look at the images after the jump.

The image shown above clearly has Final Fantasy XIII content displayed on-screen while a 360 controller lays visible on the desk. It’s possible that this guy is draws inspiration from the 360 controller’s mere presence, however it is also possible that the 360 version is already being tinkered with. What do you think?

Source: ffworld.com

PS3 “Left 4 Dead” by Valve? EA to the Rescue!

Chad Lakkis — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:48:44 +0000

The Official Playstation Magazine reports that Valve’s Left 4 Dead survival-horror game will be making its way to the PS3 console as a port courtesy of Electronic Arts. This is the second time in recent history that Valve is partnering with EA to port one of their titles to the PS3 — the first being Orange Box.

Will this port be any better than the last, and will Valve once again shun responsibility if it isn’t. Those are the million dollar questions. Stay tuned for the sixty dollar answers.

Update: Valve’s Doug Lombardi was recently asked about the PS3 port of Left 4 Dead and stated the following “There is no PS3 version of Left 4 Dead currently in production.” Read the entire update here.

Source: N4G

Uncharted on the 360? Not Bloody Likely

Patrick Steen — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:42:56 +0000

It’s quite funny what rumors can start in gaming forums, all from the poor comprehension of the few. So now, here’s a good one. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, developed by Naugthy Dog for the Playstation 3, could be ported to the Xbox360. We like this. Just as moronic as PS3 fanboys screaming about Bioshock coming over to their little baby.

So it all starts in an innocent interview with Evan Wells, Naughty Dog’s co-president, at Eurogamer. The question in question is this one, “How hard would it be to port Uncharted to the Xbox 360?” I will cut down Evan’s response into manageable chunks, and we’ll see what we can discern from it.

Firstly, he says “I won’t say that it would be impossible, but it would be very difficult and we most certainly would have to make enough concessions that it would start to feel like a different game”. Naturally, of course it isn’t impossible, or at least it would be hard to say it’s impossible without actually attempting to port the game. And since Naughty Dog developed the game exclusively for the PS3, it would indeed be very difficult.

We’ve already seen how third party developers are struggling with porting to the PS3 from the Xbox360. Quite simply, porting is a bitch. However, it’d be even more difficult in this case. Naughty Dog have used the SPU’s (mini processors on the PS3′s Cell) in their animation system, calculating physics and more. They have perfected this so much, that at this moment, much of the game relies on the specific nature of Cell. For example, Christophe Balestra (Naughty Dog’s co-Vice President) states; “We developed a brand new animation system that took full advantage of the SPU’s. Nathan Drake’s final animation is made of different layers like running, breathing, reloading weapons, shooting, facial expression, etc; we end up decompressing and blending up to 30 animations every frame on the SPU’s.”

Whether this animation system will translate over to the Xbox360 is hard to say. It’s certainly not impossible, but since the game was made with Cell in mind, some concessions would need to be made. Furthermore, since Uncharted is the best looking PS3 game, Naughty Dog have had to work very close to the PS3′s hardware to get the visuals they have achieved, and would need to work just as hard to achieve them on the 360 – meaning a port might take over a year.

Evan then gives an example of what might be conceded in the port: “One thing that would be particularly difficult would be keeping the game load-free. The HDD really came in handy and allowed us to have pretty big open levels with lots of detail.” Yes Uncharted is one of the very few games that has zero loading throughout the whole game. The game is completely streamed, and this is only possible with the PS3′s Hard Drive, which not every Xbox360 has. Not game breaking perhaps, but it would make it a very different game, making it less of the movie experience that it is trying to achieve.

Furthermore, the game takes up 22GB of a Blu-ray disc, whereas an Xbox360 DVD is only 9GB. Lets not get into a fanboy war about the advantage of Blu-ray, since the Xbox has Mass Effect, a huge game, in fact far longer than Uncharted in game length. But that somewhat misses the point, could Naughty Dog have compressed the game to fit into 9gb? Perhaps. However, once again they would need to make a lot of concessions, and spend money doing so, removing resources from making the visuals and gameplay as good as they are. The high quality surround sound, the hundreds of minutes of HD cutscenes, and the high-res textures all take up space. As Christophe says, “To get such high-resolution textures and movies, a Blu-ray was indispensable to achieve the graphic quality of Uncharted. We fill the disc at 91 percent and it’s optimized, meaning we don’t duplicate any data. That includes all our game data, sounds, 7 spoken languages and 102 minutes of movie.”

Some how Evan’s reply drew this response from a particular gaming blog: “In order to have those huge levels, it has to be installed on the hard drive, because the Blu-Ray drive is far too slow to load quickly (which is why in many PlayStation 3 games have repeated content on the discs.)” No the game doesn’t have to be installed on to the hard drive because the Blu-ray drive is too slow. There is no loading in Uncharted, none, and the hard drive helps with this yes, but the game isn’t actually installed onto the PS3: “We’re only using the hard drive as a cache, the game doesn’t need to be installed, but the fact the hard drive is on every PlayStation 3 helped our streaming technology dramatically.”

Moreover, the PS3′s blu-ray drive is not slower than the Xbox360′s drive when the 360 is reading a double-layer DVD, and let’s face it, most if not all games are on a double-layer DVD. Read speeds are approximately equal. And no, many PS3 games do not have repeated content on the discs. Oblivion is said to do this, for unknown reasons, but I can assure you that the 22GB’s of Uncharted does not include any duplicated data, though of course much of it will be extras and HD cutscene movies.

And so, does Evan’s comment mean Uncharted could be ported to the Xbox360? I don’t bloody know! Both consoles have not hit the roof of their capabilities yet, they both have a long way to go with developers squeezing more and more out of them each year. What I do know, is that they are very different beasts, and if you develop exclusively for the PS3 you have to think very differently about your game engine. Using the SPU’s means you have to program to the specificity of the PS3 hardware and this can result in very specific things, like Nariko’s hair (Heavenly Sword) or Naughty Dog’s animation system. Porting this over to the Xbox360 might just be more trouble than its worth. Let alone Naughty Dog is owned by Sony and anything they make will only be on a Sony console…

So in celebration of this gloriously absurd rumor I present to you Nathan Drake dancing in this hilarious little video:

[youtube width="425" height="335"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7b-vaCW5o[/youtube]