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Geek Culture / Homebrew Console Development

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AutoBot
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Posted: 27th Apr 2011 20:19
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I found this on wikipedia not too long ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_(video_games)

At first I thought homebrew was just a small way to hack games to some extent, but it appears to be quite a bit more than that. Its possible, with some risk, to MAKE games on these consoles, as well as install ports of linux on them. Has anyone here done this before? For some reason this sounds cool to me.

Here's GCN/Wii linux as an example: http://www.gc-linux.org/wiki/Main_Page


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Accoun
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Posted: 27th Apr 2011 21:15
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Quote: "MAKE games on these consoles"

Yeah, especially PSP has a small (but still existing) scene dedicated to modding of the HB port of Quake 1...

Make games, not war.
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uzi idiot
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Posted: 27th Apr 2011 22:06
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Aren't Homebrews illegal?

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Posted: 27th Apr 2011 22:12
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Yeah, sort of, but I think its okay if you use it as a hobby and limit it to home use. Don't quote me on that, though.


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crispex
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Posted: 28th Apr 2011 04:03
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Quote: "Aren't Homebrews illegal?"


No. They aren't authorized by the companies who own the patents and copyrights for the devices, but it's not illegal (unless it features games not own by the distributor). It's like jailbreaking your iPod.

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 28th Apr 2011 13:08
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Homebrew is not illegal - the process of compromising your device (in most cases) so that you can install the homebrew is illegal. But it's nothing you can get in trouble for - it just voids your warranty that's all.


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bitJericho
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Posted: 28th Apr 2011 14:39 Edited at: 28th Apr 2011 14:40
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Quote: "Homebrew is not illegal - the process of compromising your device (in most cases) so that you can install the homebrew is illegal"


In the US, it is something you can get in trouble for if it's encrypted and therefore falls under the DMCA.

For example, ripping DVD for personal use is illegal if it's an encrypted DVD.

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 28th Apr 2011 14:56
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Quote: "In the US, it is something you can get in trouble for if it's encrypted and therefore falls under the DMCA."


What I mean is that the police do not go round actively searching for people because of this - unless of course someone is making profit from it.


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Ocho Geek
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Posted: 28th Apr 2011 20:07
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Remember the forum line, stay above the line

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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 29th Apr 2011 06:44
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there was this console back in the day. which was built so people could develop games for it i think it even had an SDK or something. it was like an open sourse console. it even had internet connection so people could share and sell their games on the console network. but the thing just failed... i wish there was more stuff like this. Why are all the major games these days all directx? why arent there any large Open GL projects out there? I think its because if you do it in direct x, microsoft will publish more of these games. its always about profit. I mean Open gl is just as good as direct x from what i have seen and its faster and more efficient too.

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 29th Apr 2011 10:46
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Very few cross-platform games are written solely in DirectX - in fact any game that is on anything other than the PC and Xbox will have parts written with OpenGL. Out of all the consoles (portable and non) the Xbox is the only platform which does not support OpenGL. But I do agree with you, it would be nice to see more projects use this API.


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Interplanetary Funk
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Posted: 29th Apr 2011 14:26
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From my understanding, directx was the standard simply because of the initial inertia that MS gave it, now it sounds like it's simply a better choice than OGL (for pc and xbox), even John Carmack (of ID software) agrees.

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 29th Apr 2011 17:01
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I read an interesting article recently that was saying how developers wanted to have lower-level access without the obstruction of an API - that would make DirectX and OpenGL obsolete in AAA titles. Though I can't imagine the hell of trying to support all this different hardware without the use of an API.


Blitzwerks | Indie Development Team
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AutoBot
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Posted: 29th Apr 2011 18:41
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Quote: "developers wanted to have lower-level access without the obstruction of an API"

I think thats just so that they can expand the API in an easier manner without much obstruction from it, if anything. I couldn't imagine writing a whole game without assistance from an API/game engine.

The whole concept of having Linux on a console is cool and everything, but what benefit is there for having it in the first place? Are there tools for it that help porting the game to the console or something?


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bitJericho
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Posted: 30th Apr 2011 18:34
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This thing looks mighty nice:

http://www.ashens.com/post/4875015361/boxing-clever

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Libervurto
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Posted: 30th Apr 2011 20:03
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That does look beautiful, but I think a handheld would be far more expensive to make. I like the emulation idea though, maybe that's something your system could have?

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Posted: 1st May 2011 00:11
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Just started watching the video, but it looks pretty awesome after looking it up too. I like the idea of putting linux on for OpenGL compatability.


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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 1st May 2011 09:25
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i want it

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Cliff Mellangard 3DEGS
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Posted: 1st May 2011 13:55
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Quote: "This thing looks mighty nice:"


That whas extremely cool !!!!
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zzz
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Posted: 1st May 2011 18:28
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I made a small 2d platformer for the open GP2X handheld(linux) a while ago. Image GP2X/PC Download
It was a lot of fun!


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Cliff Mellangard 3DEGS
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Posted: 1st May 2011 19:02
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Quote: "I made a small 2d platformer for the open GP2X handheld(linux) a while ago. Image GP2X/PC Download
It was a lot of fun!"

Looks extremely cool!
You are some kind of wonderboy when it comes to cool indi games
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