+- Xonotic Forums (https://forums.xonotic.org)
+-- Forum: Community (https://forums.xonotic.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=6)
+--- Forum: Off Topic (https://forums.xonotic.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=15)
+--- Thread: Ouya anybody? (/showthread.php?tid=3276)
Pages:
1
2
Ouya anybody? - anark10n - 07-16-2012
An android-based console
Got a whiff of this floating around the internet today. My thoughts on this haven't settled just yet, mostly due to lack of evidence beyond the developers saying there's a working prototype.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Cyber Killer - 07-16-2012
I think it's not good that it's android. A normal GNU/Linux machine would be better.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Mr. Bougo - 07-16-2012
If it's open, I'm sure you would be able to install GNU/Linux on it. Android must already have a ton of games, I guess it kind of makes sense to pick that? We're not talking about desktop computers here.
RE: Ouya anybody? - rocknroll237 - 07-16-2012
I'm looking forward to seeing what critics/buyers say about it.
I might buy one if there is proper keyboard/mouse support.
There's something tempting about having a put-it-in-and-play gaming system. PC gaming can be fiddly and frustrating and it would be nice to just sit and play instead of tweak all the bloody time!
RE: Ouya anybody? - Evropi - 07-16-2012
Note: this post has been adapted from a post I made on another forum for a game which doesn't even run on Linux unfortunately.
That's why I include lengthy contextual descriptions (everyone here knows Linux is the best).I like its open source ideals and I think they will contribute to its success--but I doubt it will meet much success at all.
My reasoning is that the specs are outdated even by 7th generation console standards. Just to think the 8th generation of stationary consoles is coming out soon with the debut of the Wii U. This will get left very far behind.
As for other aspects, I think it's a brilliant idea, and the Android operating system is a good choice. It's very lightweight and it's based on Linux, arguably the most technologically advanced operating system in existence. Yes, it's better than microkernel-based OSs Mr Tannenbaum.
The fact Android is based on Linux is a big strength of the OUYA. Many pre-existing game libraries and some engines work on Linux and porting them to Android should be a piece of cake. Therefore, I don't think that there will be much of a fuss for developers to get their games to run on the OUYA. The specs remain a limiting factor and I think that's why this will fail.
One thing I don't like about commentators in the media is how they claim that this increases the fragmentation of Android (it is true that Android is fragmented, I agree fully as an HTC phone owner)... which is a load of bullcrap! Games written for Android phones and tablets won't work for this... because the input just won't be right and the games won't feel right! The software will run on it, as long as the right drivers are included. So please stop thinking in terms of Android, think in terms of OUYA! I love the name by the way, however American it might be (I can only imagine a Texan pronouncing that correctly).
But yeah, the specification might change. Probably won't! I'd stick 4GB RAM in there and bump the price to $120 if that was me--small price raise, massive difference. Then again, as it is (essentially) Linux, it could use swap space (the system uses a portion of the hard drive as RAM, awesome feature).
Still, if the hardware of the OUYA is improved, this has the potential to become a big player. And thanks to its nature, game developers would be all the way behind it. That's my judgement on it as a gaming platform.
As a media center PC (a use everyone seems to ignore)... hell yes. This would be amazing with LinuxMCE or XBMC (though I prefer the former as a KDE fan).
And the box is smaller than the Wii, can play HD video flawlessly, can connect to all sorts of TV cards... what more could one ask for?!
RE: Ouya anybody? - edh - 07-16-2012
Android is close to Linux but not quite 100% compatible. Things are moving that way through and patches do hit Linux all of the time which improve support for Android. Still, if you can get Android working on any given platform, you can almost certainly get Linux working on that platform. I would expect that a platform like this could improve support too as you'll find people trying to get it working as a media centre, webserver, router, nuclear missile control system, etc.
Hope the hardware remains upgradable and that development is open enough for GPL software to be ported.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Cyber Killer - 07-17-2012
Quote:Many pre-existing game libraries and some engines work on Linux and porting them to Android should be a piece of cake.
Wrong. This is the perception problem that RMS keeps talking about... You wrongly assume that the kernel is the operating system. GNU/Linux is not compatible with Dalvik/Linux (aka Android). They both have the same kernel but the rest (as in the whole user space) is completely different. An Android app will not run on *buntu/suse/fedora/debian/whetever and the other way around too.
It's a different software platform. Android is 'Linux', but it's not the same 'Linux' that your run on your desktop.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Mr. Bougo - 07-17-2012
Cyber Killer, to clarify things for me, how does Linux to Android porting compare to Linux -> Windows porting?
RE: Ouya anybody? - frostwyrm333 - 07-17-2012
I don't get the whole thing, why would they develop a crappy console that can potentially play android games. Best smartphone games are crappy ripoffs or remakes with crappy controls. Things like external controllers for phones are much better idea.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Mr. Bougo - 07-17-2012
You seem to treat "android games" and "smartphone games" as synonymous. This is a problem.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Cyber Killer - 07-17-2012
(07-17-2012, 03:24 AM)Mr. Bougo Wrote: Cyber Killer, to clarify things for me, how does Linux to Android porting compare to Linux -> Windows porting?
If you got a rooted android device then you can have gnu userland installed and it boils down to recompiling (all the libs too) for a different hardware arch (and running requires that userland & rooted device). But if not then you need to rewrite the code to the supported android sdk (java basically, but not the normal java - android has it's own unique java vm with specifics etc, which is hell to use for normal java developers) in order to compile and run it.
Actually porting from GNU/Linux to Windows can be easier than porting to Android cause you have a lot more language and framework freedom on windows than on android. (I'm talking about the full raw code, not if you got a ready to use engine like Unity that does different platform support for you.)
Android is generally speaking a 'Linux' that is not compatible with all the other 'Linuxes' out there, for which you write your apps in java that is not compatible with all other javas (sun/oracle and openjdk) out there - job good done, Google, on breaking compatibility in order to be unique for the sake of being unique! ;-P
RE: Ouya anybody? - Evropi - 07-17-2012
Well the filesystem is identical. Apart from the interface libraries (I think Android uses the EFL and some of its own), I thought Linux applications would be very easy to port to Android and vice versa.
Also, don't forget that a lot of apps on the Android Market (GoEar, I'm looking at you!) don't use Android's native interface and are straight ports from iOS. I don't think there's much harm in using non-native interfaces as long as the software (or better yet, games) work.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Cyber Killer - 07-17-2012
I think you missed my whole point ;-).
RE: Ouya anybody? - machine! - 07-20-2012
(07-17-2012, 12:56 AM)Cyber Killer Wrote:Quote:Many pre-existing game libraries and some engines work on Linux and porting them to Android should be a piece of cake.
Wrong. This is the perception problem that RMS keeps talking about... You wrongly assume that the kernel is the operating system. GNU/Linux is not compatible with Dalvik/Linux (aka Android). They both have the same kernel but the rest (as in the whole user space) is completely different. An Android app will not run on *buntu/suse/fedora/debian/whetever and the other way around too.
It's a different software platform. Android is 'Linux', but it's not the same 'Linux' that your run on your desktop.
This is why it's bad to say "Linux" when one talks about GNU/Linux. Android's Linux is the same as the one on the desktop(GNU/Linux) you can run both android and gnu on the same linux. This is was the conacial(ubuntu company) is working on, running 2 os
on the same kernel. Linux is a kernel, nothing more, nothing less. Saying GNU/Linux instead of just Linux will disallow confusion.
RE: Ouya anybody? - edh - 07-20-2012
Not this crap again. Everyone can call it what they want.
RE: Ouya anybody? - Mr. Bougo - 07-20-2012
@edh: Not this crap again. Stop responding
@machine: I consider this trolling, because you know what happens when such a discussion is started. So, quit trolling, at least in threads that aren't dedicated to the subject.
If you want to discuss GNU/Linux vs. Linux, do that in PM. Not here.
RE: Ouya anybody? - machine! - 07-20-2012
RE: Ouya anybody? - Evropi - 07-21-2012
Apparently Unity Game Engine will be ported to the OUYA, as I found out from the Kickstarter page of Super Retro Squad which I'm very excited about.
BTW, if you have Flash on your system and haven't played Super Mario Bros Crossover yet, do it now. You won't be disappointed, and it's by the same guy.
RE: Ouya anybody? - machine! - 07-21-2012
This Ouya device seem quite nice, is all software on it Free Software(not the game ofc
) ?
RE: Ouya anybody? - anark10n - 07-22-2012
After looking long and hard at this bit of hardware, I have decided I will accept it if i can install any kind of Linux I'd want on it. It would be interesting to see how open source games might take to a controller. It's said that it's going to be released early next year. Now the only problem is availability here, way down south of the equator where I happen to reside ...
RE: Ouya anybody? - Squigger - 10-01-2012
Just wondering, how possible would it be to import Xonotic into this system?
It would be cool if it were possible to add xonotic to the growing number of games this console has in it's library.
RE: Ouya anybody? - edh - 10-01-2012
Not being pedantic but this isn't strictly a Xonotic thing, but more a Darkplaces engine change. With all of the games that Darkplaces is used for there would be an obvious demand. If Darkplaces did get ported then all of the Darkplaces games would run if packaged accordingly for the system.
RE: Ouya anybody? - hutty - 10-01-2012
if it can run minecraft ... im not worried about its specs ...
RE: Ouya anybody? - neXus - 10-02-2012
There's another Android console, but it's too damn old - Sony Xperia PLAY
RE: Ouya anybody? - Friskydingo - 10-07-2012
Do you think that this (along with Steam for Linux) may bring other games to start porting to Linux-based operating systems? I think it could if it's successful enough, and I think that Ouya has lots of backers. Just take a look at the Kickstarter page: $950,000 goal, earned nearly $8.6 million!
