Linux on Microsoft's Xbox video game console
Sunday, February 23, 2003 by joetheblow | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
What is the big deal? Why would you want to run Linux on Microsoft's Xbox video game console? Anybody know?
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kthxbye
Reply #22 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 12:58 PM
Reply #22 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 12:58 PM
Hmmmm... I started typing stuff about the differences between PCs and console systems - about not having to constantly download patches, or worry if your hardware will work, and all sorts of things - but in the end, the differences boil down to two things:
1. You pop the game in and you go.
2. The entire experience, is just... -different- when you're playing a game on a console as opposed to on a PC. A good example is Morrowind. I have both the PC and XBox versions of Morrowind - and understandably, the PC version beats the Xbox version hands down: higher resolution, more detailed graphics, better controls, all the customizability of the game... yet - I play the Xbox version /way/ more often than I play the PC version - and I really can't seem to explain /why/.
Console gaming is just a different experience from computer gaming.
Personally - I'll stick with both of them.
1. You pop the game in and you go.
2. The entire experience, is just... -different- when you're playing a game on a console as opposed to on a PC. A good example is Morrowind. I have both the PC and XBox versions of Morrowind - and understandably, the PC version beats the Xbox version hands down: higher resolution, more detailed graphics, better controls, all the customizability of the game... yet - I play the Xbox version /way/ more often than I play the PC version - and I really can't seem to explain /why/.
Console gaming is just a different experience from computer gaming.
Personally - I'll stick with both of them.
The DJ
Reply #23 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:13 PM
Reply #23 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:13 PM
Yeah kthxbye, Morrowind is most definetly a great game. Can't say I have the pc version.
I wish Morrowind had a hook for the 2 add-ons the pc version is getting/has. Some games do have the hook.
I'll tell you one thing, Morrowind sure will keep you occupied for a couple of months
.
One question kthxbye, have you experienced the dirty disc errors and freezing from Morrowind on the Xbox like I and many others have?
Also, did you hear about Sea Dogs II from Bethesda that is coming to the Xbox first?
I wish Morrowind had a hook for the 2 add-ons the pc version is getting/has. Some games do have the hook.
I'll tell you one thing, Morrowind sure will keep you occupied for a couple of months
.One question kthxbye, have you experienced the dirty disc errors and freezing from Morrowind on the Xbox like I and many others have?
Also, did you hear about Sea Dogs II from Bethesda that is coming to the Xbox first?
paxx
Reply #24 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:13 PM
Reply #24 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:13 PM
My favorite type of games is the RPG type. Baldurs Gate kind of games, and Diablo and Myst. Among my favorite are also Warcraft, and Civilisation. I am really not a fan of first person shooters. Really not.
Am I wrong to think that those types of games play better on a PC with a mouse and a keyboard?
Am I wrong to think that those types of games play better on a PC with a mouse and a keyboard?
The DJ
Reply #25 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:25 PM
Reply #25 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:25 PM
Well paxx, many prefer playing FPS on a pc instead of a console. One reason is because on a high end pc, you can lock in at 60fps with no problem. It's possible on the Xbox and depends on the developer. Some just like using a keyboard and mouse instead.
With a RPG, I guess it depends on one's preferences. Kthxbye and I would prefer just a paddle and sittin on the couch. Online play comes into play also but the Xbox has a great online service takin care of that.
Another reason I prefer the Xbox over a pc is like I mentioned before, surround sound. The immersion is much better and gives you a better experience all around.
Do I think you're wrong, certainly not.
With a RPG, I guess it depends on one's preferences. Kthxbye and I would prefer just a paddle and sittin on the couch. Online play comes into play also but the Xbox has a great online service takin care of that.
Another reason I prefer the Xbox over a pc is like I mentioned before, surround sound. The immersion is much better and gives you a better experience all around.
Do I think you're wrong, certainly not.
paxx
Reply #26 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:44 PM
Reply #26 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:44 PM
Hum... But how does one play Baldurs Gate for example on a console. Or Diablo. Or Warcraft. I use the mouse and keyboard all the time, with keyboard shortcuts and all. I don't see using only a joystick. But then again maybe if I tryied I'd understand.
As for the sound, it's not something I care much about cause I usually only get to play when the kids are in bed, and therefore I usually have the sound super low or put y headphones are if I want to hear it loud.
As for the sound, it's not something I care much about cause I usually only get to play when the kids are in bed, and therefore I usually have the sound super low or put y headphones are if I want to hear it loud.
spinal
Reply #27 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:57 PM
Reply #27 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:57 PM
I dont get it, as far as i can tell, ecks-bocks is just a pc looking like a console, dont at least 50% of pc users only play games in the first place? sinse its a micro$oft product, ita has to be (at lease indirectly) compatible with windows, so an emulator cant be far away, so why buy a second pc just to play games?
The DJ
Reply #28 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 3:02 PM
Reply #28 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 3:02 PM
You replied as soon as I came back...
With the paddle, there are 2 analog sticks. One would be for up, down, left and right (left stick). The other would be for turning around or your perspective (right). The other buttons are laid out on the right side. There is also a directional pad on the left side which could replace the left analog stick or be used as something else in the game.
I've played and beaten Baldurs Gate on Ps2 with my brother and rented it on the Xbox. Another advantage of consoles, especially with the Xbox, is split screen co-op on one tv. Xbox games are more commonly implementing 4 player split screen.
Then with the Xbox there is also system link. That is, like with a pc, different consoles in different rooms playing a multiplayer game together.
Some say the Xbox paddle is too big but I think it's perfect. I think you would be better off with a paddle and not a joystick. If you find the paddle is too big there is an offical smaller one which I think they will be releasing with the Xbox as the official paddle. From what I understand, a keyboard and mouse is available or will be available for the Xbox.
The smaller paddle is laid out a little different from the original one.
With Baldurs Gate, I find the controls to be much more smoother on a console. But that's my opinion and I prefer a paddle over a keyboard and mouse.
Here's a pic of the Xbox paddle
http://users.skynet.be/xbox4fun/pad.gif
With the paddle, there are 2 analog sticks. One would be for up, down, left and right (left stick). The other would be for turning around or your perspective (right). The other buttons are laid out on the right side. There is also a directional pad on the left side which could replace the left analog stick or be used as something else in the game.
I've played and beaten Baldurs Gate on Ps2 with my brother and rented it on the Xbox. Another advantage of consoles, especially with the Xbox, is split screen co-op on one tv. Xbox games are more commonly implementing 4 player split screen.
Then with the Xbox there is also system link. That is, like with a pc, different consoles in different rooms playing a multiplayer game together.
Some say the Xbox paddle is too big but I think it's perfect. I think you would be better off with a paddle and not a joystick. If you find the paddle is too big there is an offical smaller one which I think they will be releasing with the Xbox as the official paddle. From what I understand, a keyboard and mouse is available or will be available for the Xbox.
The smaller paddle is laid out a little different from the original one.
With Baldurs Gate, I find the controls to be much more smoother on a console. But that's my opinion and I prefer a paddle over a keyboard and mouse.
Here's a pic of the Xbox paddle
http://users.skynet.be/xbox4fun/pad.gif
kthxbye
Reply #29 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 5:13 PM
Reply #29 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 5:13 PM
"ne question kthxbye, have you experienced the dirty disc errors and freezing from Morrowind on the Xbox like I and many others have?"
Uhm... No? I sure haven't. Wasn't even aware that people were getting those errors - it runs beautifully on my Xbox!
Yeah - I heard about SeaDogs II - the Xbox version being released before the PC version. -That- is one I'm going to wait on though! I'll probably wind up getting both, but I definitely want the PC version first! (I was a /huge/ fan of Sea Dogs... in fact, I just recently reinstalled it on my PC and am playing through it again!)
Uhm... No? I sure haven't. Wasn't even aware that people were getting those errors - it runs beautifully on my Xbox!
Yeah - I heard about SeaDogs II - the Xbox version being released before the PC version. -That- is one I'm going to wait on though! I'll probably wind up getting both, but I definitely want the PC version first! (I was a /huge/ fan of Sea Dogs... in fact, I just recently reinstalled it on my PC and am playing through it again!
)
kthxbye
Reply #30 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 5:17 PM
Reply #30 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 5:17 PM
Well - the first thing Paxx, Baldur's Gate on PS2 & Xbox != Baldur's Gate on PC.
The only thing the two games have in common is the name and taking place in the Forgotten Realms. The console version is /much/ more a game along the lines of Gauntlet or Diablo than it is a role playing game.
That said - the controls for it I thought, made the game tons more fun than the mouse control does in the diablo series.
In fact - I find the old PSX version of Diablo to be far superior to the PC version because it has gamepad support. It's surprisingly intuitive.
The only thing the two games have in common is the name and taking place in the Forgotten Realms. The console version is /much/ more a game along the lines of Gauntlet or Diablo than it is a role playing game.
That said - the controls for it I thought, made the game tons more fun than the mouse control does in the diablo series.
In fact - I find the old PSX version of Diablo to be far superior to the PC version because it has gamepad support. It's surprisingly intuitive.
The DJ
Reply #31 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 6:13 PM
Reply #31 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 6:13 PM
Consider youself lucky kthxbye. I remember goin on the forums when Morrowind first hit the Xbox. Just about EVERYBODY had those problems.
Problems goin to the map near certain places, freezing in certain places, dirty disc errors, items and weapons disappearing. They got soooo many emails and never admitted it. It was most definetly a problem with their disc...maybe they fixed the later ones...?
As for Sea Dogs II, yeah I'm anticipating it too. I also just installed the first one and haven't really done anything yet.
I'm lookin to pick up Apex and World Racing on the Xbox.
Problems goin to the map near certain places, freezing in certain places, dirty disc errors, items and weapons disappearing. They got soooo many emails and never admitted it. It was most definetly a problem with their disc...maybe they fixed the later ones...?
As for Sea Dogs II, yeah I'm anticipating it too. I also just installed the first one and haven't really done anything yet.
I'm lookin to pick up Apex and World Racing on the Xbox.
kthxbye
Reply #32 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 7:03 PM
Reply #32 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 7:03 PM
"maybe they fixed the later ones...? "
I couldn't say if they have or haven't - I bought it in the first couple of days after its release however. I guess I've just been lucky!
I couldn't say if they have or haven't - I bought it in the first couple of days after its release however. I guess I've just been lucky!
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Reply #21 Tuesday, February 25, 2003 12:48 PM
The fact is, the Xbox is like a pc and different from a pc.
Here are some qoutes from a different source
For example, there does not exist an XGPU-level graphics processor available for PC combined with unified memory architecture (UMA) and a stripped down Windows 2000 kernel optimized for a game console. PlayStation 2 and GameCube are even more different from a PC design.
Unlike a traditional PC, Xbox uses a unified memory architecture where all processors access the same 64 Mbytes of DDR memory. A 128-bit, 6.4-Gbyte/s bus connects the DDR memory bank to the XGPU, where memory-access traffic is managed. Additionally, an AMD HyperTransport bus connects the XGPU and MCPX, and a 64-bit, 1-Gbyte/s bus links the Pentium III CPU and Nvidia XGPU.
More conventional PC-like touches include a single, daisychained flat-ribbon cable to connect the hard-disk and DVD-ROM drives to the motherboard. A separate internal power supply assembly provides power to the board via a 12-wire cable assembly.
Nearly 1,300 components populate the Xbox, exclusive of the DVD assembly, hard drive and controllers-pretty fancy pieces of design by themselves. Spread across seven separate circuit-board assemblies are 29 ICs and 1,248 discretes, passives and connectors. Yet the total semiconductor die area is 5.3 cm2-less than some cell phones and PDAs.
So, when it comes down to it, these consoles are built like a pc and then differ from a pc optmized for gaming.
I, like many other people, prefer sittin down on a big screen playing on a console pc like or not, with surround sound and the comfort of your couch/chair.
I'm not sure by your last post if you were considering buying a console.
There is also the fact that with consoles, they become outdated because of the rapid technology with pcs, with new graphic cards, etc., coming out every 6 months or so however like I said these consoles are optimized for gaming.
And also like I said before, because of the similarities between the Xbox and a pc, games are easier to develop for the Xbox. Pc developers are already familiar with the architecture and can therefore use this advantage and make better games.