Qbix 3d Game News!!!! Read Please!!

[ilarri]

xan_vision,main programmer of this little company, speaks about the actual situation,passed some time from the last info,REALLY INTERESTING INFO.
Sorry, i havent many time so i traslate it with a online translator,sorry for that.

Xan_vision

Qbix's reappearance

Hello to all:

I have decided to break the silence that initially me habia raised with regard to this topic up to not having important innovations, to clarify certain aspects that till now it seems that some not habeis understood perfectly. This way that we give you again little mas of information and news on us:

The direction(address) of our page is: www.qbix-net.com, and not other one.

That the link of the demo does not work and that the page podria to define as "simple"?, both problems are for the same reason: Because the page still not this one destined to the public, it has never been presented not publicized(advertised) (you teneis the sole right of being the first "public" who sees her). Till now only it(she) has been destined for companies with which we contact punctually, and temporarily it is allowed to which accede to the demo (normally, like now, not accessible this one).

With regard to a demo for GP32: I have never said that ALREADY tuvieramos the engine in GP32. What we have is: An environment of development (own(proper) and the only(unique) in his(her,your) category), tools, engine, prototypes (of several games), demos and up to a game finished (CHILDRENS PLAY), but all that for: SYMBIAN and GBA.

What happens is that, as the GP32, both machines work on ARM, and with our system of programming and development, to do conversions for the GP is relatively easy. But to give the step of really(exactly) doing these conversions, it(he,she) depends on other factors as the time and resources which we have in this moment, the royal(real) need to do them, etc... For that when we do a conversion, we take very seriously the work, and the type of engine and I play requeire that though we have a few exceptional tools, is impossible a "direct" conversion, and always there is algun additional work in order that this one stays in perfect conditions.

With this I do not want that now someone interprets: " ah, bony(osseous) that these uncles the only(unique) thing that they want to do are conversions of gba and mobile!, not? ": Roundly NOT.

When we do something for the GP32 sera TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE POWER OF THE GP32, and this cannot be done simply turning of a gba, since the first one is slightly like that as 5 times mas powerfully that the second one (or more).

Only will be an exception to this rule: In this moment we are studying like to carry the DEMO (not the entire game) of " CHILDREN'S PLAY ", but one of the reasons of which we are not sure on it is that this demo NOT shows all the power of our engine, since this game was created for these other devices that, since already I have said previously, are much less powerful than the GP32.

And certainly to re-do everything in order that he(she) takes advantage to the maximum of the power of the console is too much work. Only it(he,she) was getting improved in the apecto of which everything better side, mas soft, with major quality of sound and colors, and that the console "totally "wide" ire executing.

This way that, in order that you hagais an idea, this conversion for us vendria to being something like that as what happens with the conversions from PS2 to PC or XBOX, entendeis?. We are perfectionists: When we take(catch) a machine, we like " to squeeze her " up to the last cycle of usable clock in order that us of results that to priori parecian impossible.

Nonetheless(Though), we decide to carry it because, though it is not our level "it"(he",she") "runs", it continues being a style of game (both for technology and for subject matter) that till now he(she) could not have enjoyed in this platform. This way that, if still teneis desire and you give us your support, hariamos this gift to the community with the major pleasure and attention in order that it is the best possible experience.

Also it(he,she) wanted to give them thanks to the numerous samples of support and the initiatives that habeis tackled in different pages. It is an enclosed mas of what esperabamos of you, and for it, that us estan giving this vital support, recibiran a " special treatment(deal) " when his(her,your) moment comes.

Though the numbers(figures) of the surveys could seem pequenas, relatively they turn out to be very significant for us, and the aims(lenses) for those who were done estan fulfilled fully (though not as(like) esperabamos before).

Gustaria to clarify that the numbers(figures) of sales that in his(her,your) day it(he,she) you should announce that Virginplay was estimating (between(among) 200 and 2000 units), hacian HAVING IN COUNTS(TELLS) THE GREAT QUANTITY OF PIRACY THAT THIS PLATFORM IS GOING TO SUFFER (according to them), and his(her) that it(he,she) should provoke that alone a percentage very pequeno of the users buys itself the original games. What llevaria to justifying his(her,your) position(attitude) of treating to the console principally as a " device multimedia " with games, for what these cannot be his(her,your) point of support, on having supposed (always according to his(her,your) reasoning) an investment with a mas that probable commercial failure and in the bottom(fund), something not strictly necessary. ("... God mio: excuse them, because they do not know what they do ")

With regard to this, only I still have a chink of doubt that me gustaria to appear: is It absolutely impossible to prevent a game from copying? There is some application or game that till now has been avoided to practise piracy? Thank you in advance for your answers.

Already to end me gustaria to say to you that the presentation, both of our company and of our games, hara in his(her,your) due moment and of the form mas suitable. I am working on this and ojala a surprise could give you very soon that I am sure you were charmed with, so(then,since) tendra that to see even with a live broadcast appearance of ... (good, I sit(feel) it but for the present, hitherto I can read)

Only I ask you a bit of patience and confidence, we continue believing in the platform and are so much or mas anxious that you for proving to be slightly tangible that podais to play and to enjoy (and of step, to silence the mouths of some users of other platforms who seem neither know nor to respect adequately to this machine, I believe that already sabeis of it(he,she) exceeds to whom I refer).

We will try to send more news as soon as possible, meanwhile, a greeting to all and up to near(next).

Xan.
read in spanish HERE:
http://www.gp32spain.com/foros/showthread....=&threadid=8013

and maybe soon i will add some many info, stay ON!!

 

[Octavious]

can I get a summery in english thats short, I didnt get much out of all that , cept that it would be easy to port the engine to the '32

~Octavious

 

[Mark]

Erm?

 

[sammster001]

what an article........part spanish yet part english.......quick is there a linguist in the house?!!!!!!!

 

[Alpha2]

Sounds to me like:


There was som confusion about their projects and they have an engine demo but not a game(?), that was only to be shown to specific people and not for an open display. Nothing immdiately planned, they dont have a GP32 version, only that it might be portable to it if the need arraises and if it does it'd need to be optimized to use the most of the GP32's hardware.

They might port a demo specifically. And they hope for our support.

They also seem to be saying something about the fear of pirated games killing the profitability of the consumer base...(are they talking about pirated GP32 games? is there a such thing?) Like they fear pirating will put the GP32 out of buisness as no one buy's the games... :blink: ...seems to want to know if there anyway to make sure they can't be bootlegged (maybe talking about another platform?)

They'll sho somthing when they have something great to show I guess, and ask for patience. More news when they have something to say.



That's my take on it anyway.

 

[Takashi]

Hm, let's brush of my Spanish:

Hello everybody

I decided to break the silence I had resorted due to the fact I had no important news relating this topic, just so I can clear some aspects that you don't have quite grasped. So, here goes some more information and news about us.

Our webpage is www.qbix-net.com.

Yes, the link to the demo doesn't work, and the page is, let's say, "primitive". And they are both due to the same reason: The page is not officially open to the public (actually, you were the first "public" to ever seen it) So far we only used it for empresarial contact info, that are allowed to download the demo for a while (so, normally, the demo isn't acessible).

About a GP32 (tech) demo: I never said that we ALREADY had the engine running under GP32. What we have is, a building enviorment (proprietary and unique in its category), tools, engine, prototypes (of several games), demos and even a finished game (Childen's Play), all that for : Symbian and GBA.

What happens, is that both machines run under ARM, and with our programming and compiling system, making conversions to GP is _somewhat_ easy. But, for us to actually make sutch conversions, we have to take into account, the time and resources available at the moment, if we really have do to sutch things, etc... That's because when we make a conversion, we take it very seriouslly, and the kind of engine and game involved(even if we have exeptional tools), can't be simply object of a "direct port", and hence some extra job so that it renders fully functional.

With this i don't what someone to interpret as: "Oh, so you guys only want to make conversions of GBA games and Mobile!, Right?": NO, definitively NO.

When we'll do something for the GP32, we will use all the power of the GP3, and that can't just be made converting from GBA, since the first one is 5 times more powerfull (or more). (ED : Yes, yes. We all heard that)

We are only making one exception to this rule: Right now we're studing how we'll port a Demo (not the game) of "Children's Play", but one of the reasons we're not sure about this is because it won't know the whole power of our engine, since the game was created for devices, that as I said previously, are mutch less powerfull than the GP32.

So, remaking everything to make the best possible use of the console's power, is a lot of work. We would only improve it only to make everything better, smoother, and give better colour and sound quality, the console would still run it without giving a hitch.

So, for an idea, this conversion would be something like what happens with the PS2 to PC or XBOX ports, you see? We are perfectionists : When we pick a machine, we want to squeeze everything out of it, to the last clock cycle, so it would give us results that looked impossible in the beginning.

Even so, we decided to port it because, even if's not our top level, it's still a kind of game (both in technology and in theme) that so fas hasn't been available on this platform. So, as we are incoraged and supported, we would offer this to the comunity with great pleasure and care so you all can have the best possible experience.

I also want to thank all the nunorous supports and initatives you have created in the diferent websites. It's even more than we'd expect from yourselfs, and so, those who are giving us their "vital support" we'll recieve a special treat when the moment comes.

I'd also would like to remark that the games sales that I once said Virgin Play was expecting (around 200 and 2000 units), were made taking in account the large amount of pirating this platform is suffering (or so they say), and that would produce only a small precentage of the users to buy original games. That would justify their position to treat the machine mainly as a "multimedia device" with games, since they can't rely on them for support (according to them, again) and heading for a more than likely commercial faliure, that wasn't really necessary ("Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do.")

About that, I just have one single question. Is it completely impossible to avoid a game to be copied. Is there some application so far that has avoided being "pirated"(ED: ripped, decoded)? Thanks in advance for your replys.

the rest is just more "thank you", some incomplete "soon, you'll see ... ups, can't tell you yet", and I'm too beat up to do that.

 

[NiN^_^NiN]

Virgin Play was expecting (around 200 and 2000 units), were made taking in account the large amount of pirating this platform is suffering (or so they say)

Thats total ......crap

serious i dont think hardly any people have pirated software on the gp32 (commercial games that is doom etc dont count ) thats just stupid the secureMAX encoding thing not many people have hacked it and the community really wants to support gamepark and developers cause we want more commercial games.

only fool proof thing i can see so far is having it encoded to a GP32 PUID (its puid isnt it?)

thats the only way i can see it working.

With the new euro ppl coming who knows we could get alot of idiots who try to hack the games n spread them across the internet.

but the encoding the game to the GP is a good idea i think and cause this game would cost more than a few $$ it should be available for download always once u brought the game.

but hey thats just what i think B)

h34r:

 

[Alpha2]

I have to agree is sounds like crap to me.

I'd also would like to remark that the games sales that I once said Virgin Play was expecting (around 200 and 2000 units), were made taking in account the large amount of pirating this platform is suffering (or so they say), and that would produce only a small precentage of the users to buy original games. That would justify their position to treat the machine mainly as a "multimedia device" with games, since they can't rely on them for support (according to them, again) and heading for a more than likely commercial faliure, that wasn't really necessary ("Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do.")

It sounds like he's saying gamepark only expects so many game sales because of piracy but there arent even enough consumer game WORTH pirating for it to be a factor, unless he's trying to say that will all the Emulation we're doing, it makes the comsumer games less worth while which is equally crap because people are clamoring for original GP32 games without question.

 

[Takashi]

It sounds like he's saying gamepark only expects so many game sales because of piracy but there arent even enough consumer game WORTH pirating for it to be a factor, unless he's trying to say that will all the Emulation we're doing, it makes the comsumer games less worth while which is equally crap because people are clamoring for original GP32 games without question.

Don't mix Gamepark with Virgin Play, or the author of the text. He disagrees with this point of view. Virgin Play has been retailing the device as a multimedia player, and this is the "offical explaination" they gave for not betting on games.

It is true, however, that games in SMC are relatively insecure. As far as I can tell, most, if not all, safetys have been defeated with a single "unlocking" program and no hacking to speak of. Programmers need to deal with that fact, and create self-aware techniques, like PSX coders did. GP32 have a unique identifier on all consoles. this is a remarkably safe way to ensure all programs can be diferent at runtime. Constant hash checks of the code is also possible. Mess with FAT allocations. Tie checks to parts of the game, rendering it unplayable (ie, create a specific door only if the checksum of important file X is correct). Eventually, the program can be hacked (like all N-Gage games are), but an important "3 month window" must exist (3/4 of a game's revenue is made on the first 3 months, with the first one being the one with most sales).

This article on Gamasutra(free registration required), about the Spyro:YOTD protection scheme for PSX, is quite insightful in these aspects.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20011017/dodd_01.htm

 

[ilarri]

thnks takashi for the translation =)

 

[Alpha2]

Yeah sorry if I made it sound as if the author felt that way. But It seems odd that Gamepark wouldn't fight to prove to VP that is a viable game platform.

 

[DaveC]

Virgin Play was expecting (around 200 and 2000 units), were made taking in account the large amount of pirating this platform is suffering (or so they say)

Thats total ......crap

serious i dont think hardly any people have pirated software on the gp32 (commercial games that is doom etc dont count ) thats just stupid the secureMAX encoding thing not many people have hacked it and the community really wants to support gamepark and developers cause we want more commercial games.

only fool proof thing i can see so far is having it encoded to a GP32 PUID (its puid isnt it?)

thats the only way i can see it working.

With the new euro ppl coming who knows we could get alot of idiots who try to hack the games n spread them across the internet.

but the encoding the game to the GP is a good idea i think and cause this game would cost more than a few $$ it should be available for download always once u brought the game.

but hey thats just what i think B)

h34r:

Actually this encoding to a specific unit is a BAD IDEA. The big reason is this: what if your GP32 breaks and you buy a new one? The games that you PAID for become useless. Especially when the day comes that Gamepark and or the game company is no longer in business. Also what if for example you have more than one GP32 (a non FLU and a BLU for example) then you would need to buy the same game twice? no thanks.

A better way would to have a special read only SMC that the game is sold on that has a code in IT that the game is locked to. This way you have the freedom to use the game in any unit you want without any registering crap, just like a GBA.

As far as pirating of GP32 specific games on the GP32 I don't know of any. I think they are confusing homebrew and emulation with piracy. Those are completely different.