What would people prefer...?

[Coldbird]

I've been playing with two possible ideas of mine for a Pandora Application...


And I wanted to know what people think about it, depending on this poll I will work on one or the other thing.


1. Idea: PCSX2 Remote-Control


We all know that PS2 emulation on the Pandora is quite a farfetched idea... even if it was doable the results would be awful due to lack of processing power... however... livestreaming contents might be different.


Due to PCSX2's modular setup, I could handcraft a custom version of the Disc, Graphic, Sound and Input plugin, which would in turn, allow one to manually set the PS2 iso image via Pandora Remote Control, stream the graphics to the Pandora screen, do the same for the sound and transfer Pandora-Controls to the input plugin for controlling the game...


If I was to do this, I would add a backdoor-control to the PCSX2 main source... to allow Pandora users to do savestates, start / stop / reboot games, etc. via a emulator-like main screen.


Hopefully, the resulting code would be accepted into the PCSX2 mainstream repository to ensure compatiblity with upcoming versions of PCSX2.


The Result: PS2 gaming on Pandora, Emulation done via a strong enough x86/x64 computer in the background, connectivity via WiFi.


2. Idea: Sticks of Styx (temporary project name)


It's a idea that has been floating around in my head for a long time, it's a simplistic 3D dungeon crawler with a very unique graphic concept...


Every enemy you encounter is a stick figure, so are NPCs, you and your friends, every stick figure is made up of 17 parts.

• Headgear
  
• Head
  
• Neck
  
• Torso
  
• Beltline
  
• Left Upper Arm
  
• Left Lower Arm
  
• Left Hand
  
• Right Upper Arm
  
• Right Lower Arm
  
• Right Hand
  
• Left Upper Leg
  
• Left Lower Leg
  
• Left Foot
  
• Right Upper Leg
  
• Right Lower Leg
  
• Right Foot
  

As you defeat enemies, you have the chance of collecting some of their body parts, eventually making them your own... building your own 3D "Stick of Styx", the ultimate Stick-Warrior.


In addition to that the usual weaponry would be available, swords, shields, etc.


The idea of the graphics style would be that each of those 3D meshes is a static mesh, giving it a Lego-Style, the only animations being done via rotation / translation of body parts, similiar to the graphic System used in games like Shining Lore.


... Now... pick your weapon / discuss.

 

[moz]

Both really epic ideas, I'm having trouble deciding..

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Frankly the pcsx 2 remote client is by far the best option. It would be interesting to see such a thing done on the pandora and having access to ps2 games would be another awesome feather in the pandoras cap. I think such an application would generate more interest in the Pandora also.

 

[Wootson]

If PlayStation 2 is possible on the Pandora, it would be a really big deal for some people to buy the device. I'd say go for it and make yourself legendary!


You could even go to your neighbors or something and stream PS2 content to the Pandora.


I also love the second idea of an entirely new homebrew game. But PS2 on Pandora could mean a huge turning point in positive reviews/articles and also a possible sales explosion. The upcoming PS Vita does not have this functionality and maybe even won't have it in the future. Also, an x68 system could render things more smoothly, compared to the PS Vita.

 

[Coldbird]

Indeed, however it would limit the portability of the device as it requires you to be within your own network wifi reach and have a dedicated strong enough computer to do the emulation.


It would be a lot like RemotePlay on PS3 / PSP.

 

[scoobydoo]

I love the styx idea!!

 

[Prometheus]

Sticks of Styx catches my interest, as there was never any software on the PS2 that was of interest to me.

 

[milkshake]

id say the second option is the best as its something that can be played away from you local PC/laptop i.e. when your not home.

 

[moxie]

I'm also definitely partial to the Styx idea. Partly because I usually use the pandora on the go, where I have no access to a stable wifi connection, and partly because it sounds FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!!

 

[WizardStan]

A new game seems like a much more intriguing idea than a video streaming application. I mean, if I want to play PS2 games (which really I don't, but if I did) then I'd just play them on my PC. I considered being able to pair the Pandora with a TV cable to get PS2 games on my TV, but then I realized that if I wanted to play PS2 games on my TV I could just get a PS2: they're pretty cheap used now. So yeah, playing PS2 games on the Pandora doesn't seem like it brings anything new, so long as you're tethered to your local network.


A new game brings an entirely new game!

 

[Coldbird]

I myself am very intrigued by the idea myself, because I've seen what kind of cool animations one can do with nothing but rotation / translation, besides I always loved the death animations on Lego Starwars (where they fall apart into lego pieces), which gave me the original idea of collecting enemy pieces to puzzle yourself together.


I guess I know what I will be starting next weekend then...


I will need to gather some OGLES information first though to pull this off, this will be a interesting adventure.

 

[GiraffeeDreams]

There is a service available similar to OnLive available for Linux, Windows, iOS and OSX, but instead of connecting to some companies game servers or what not, it directly connects to your computer, so say you have a nice beefy PC and you're happily running Battlefield 3 at full spec, you could stream the video to whatever device can use it (saw a video of Crysis running full spec on an iPhone for example) and you stream nothing but the control inputs to the machine, over Wifi and they actually advertise that you can log into your computer and play from anywhere in the world.


I'm not sure what the service was called now but it was unfortunately a paid service (to use your own machines), it never occurred to me that that could be a possibility for the Pandora, I don't know if it would work on the Pandy or if it could do ROMS or anything like that though.


Personally I love both ideas, I'd love to play PS2 games via the Pandora and it would certainly add to the multitude of reasons to get one, but like WizardStan said, a new game is a new game and that I will be sitting patiently for the PND, good luck dude I look forward to whichever you do

 

[Hoodoo]

Cannibalism forever dude! I like the second idea. Tear a hand out of some monster then bunch him to death with it.

 

[Korlithiel]

Both are awesome sounding, but I'm much more fond of not needing other hardware to enjoy my Pandora at any given time and so much prefer to have a native game.

 

[Darkknight512]

I'm wondering if the wifi link to the computer will be fast and low latency enough to stream video and control data back and fourth. My wifi never goes above 100 kb/s, and remote desktop/vnc stuggles when anything moves, but I do like the onlive type concept.

 

[GiraffeeDreams]

There are apps that allow an iPhone or iPad or any number of Android phones to a computer, it might be worth seeing if anyone has tried playing games like this.

 

[Coldbird]

Bout the WiFi link... if pspdisp can do it with a artificially limited 2mbit/s wifi fluently, im sure it should be possible with Pandora too.


And hell yes, Cannibalism Lego.

 

[bagmouse7]

I vote for #1 PCSX2 Remote-Control


It sounds GREAT to me!


I am a big fan of remote play on the PSP/PS3. It is barely supported by any games these days, but streaming video/audio to my PSP was something I did a lot before I had a tablet.


Go for it!

 

[pmprog]

WizardStan basically summed up my thoughts.

 

[Neelix]

I have to say I love the lego games, so this Sticks of Styx concept sounds really intriguing.


-Neelix