Re: Game console devel under Linux

[Al Riddoch <ajr@ecs.soton.ac.uk>]

On Sun, Jan 13, 2002 at 01:45:11PM +0000, Adam D. Moss wrote:
> 
> Hi!
> 
> Is anyone here using Linux as their preferred development
> platform for (in decreasing order of interest) PS2, Gamecube,
> XBox, PSX or Dreamcast?

I am in the early days of looking into PS2 development under Linux myself.
There are two sourceforge projects devoted to this subject.

PS2 Dev		- http://ps2dev.sourceforge.net/
PS2 Hacking	- http://ps2hacking.sourceforge.net/

Both have mailing lists which currently have fairly lively discusions
on various issues.

> 
> Does anyone have experience of development for these platforms
> (on Linux or not) and wish to share some tips on unexpected
> (ie. not speed-related) considerations/limitations/strengths
> of these platforms in relation to a Linux PC with a low-frills
> 3D card?
> 
> I'll tell you why I ask -- I'm currently in the early stages
> of technical and production design on a pitch for backing for
> a commercial title and I wish to stick with Linux/GCC as my
> preferred development environment.  (Currently also OpenGL for
> transformation and rendering and SDL for input and display
> initialisation, but those parts are fairly well-isolated in the
> code.)
> 
> So, how are the console SDKs to work with in general and how well
> is console development supported under Linux (either via official
> SDKs or 'guerilla' to-the-metal docs)?  What are the legal
> implications of /not/ using the official SDKs?
> 

My interest is in trying to develop for the PS2 without using the official
SDKs, though whether this can be achieved legally remains to be seen.
As far as I am aware, the community does not currently have sufficient
knowledge to drive the 3D hardware without the SDK.

Al Riddoch