GDC: PhyreEngine, Sony's new (free) cross-platform engine

Quietly unveiled at yesterday's PSN session was PhyreEngine, a new "free to use graphics engine" from Sony Computer Entertainment. According to the presentation, the package includes full documentation, "70+ samples" and "full source code and artwork" of sample game templates. Working on both OpenGL and Direct3D, this engine will allow developers to more easily develop for the PS3 by using PC environments they're more familiar with. A "simple recompile" is supposedly all that's needed to make the game run on the PS3. Sony is promising "ongoing development and support" for the PhyreEngine.

The ramifications of this subdued announcement are actually quite significant. Three titles have been revealed to have used the PhyreEngine for development: flOw, GripShift and DiRT. Of those three, only one is exclusive to PlayStation. It appears that the PhyreEngine is truly cross platform -- Sony is indirectly contributing to the development of PC (and Xbox 360) games.

[Fishy Fingers]

Interesting to think of Sony helping out the other platforms. But if it can only help to raise the bar for multiplatform games them everyone should welcome this as good news.

[Mr Playboy]

step in the right direction is always good for gamers :)

Lets hope no more $hitty ports by dev especially EA :(

[iMad]

Lame engine. Sony will never be so good in software.

[Blankman]

its a step in the right direction. Its so sony can make ps ps3 development easier so they too can share in 360's pc link. That way more pc games will make it to ps3.

[solidt12]

No excuses now. Use our engine to develop a game if you have no clue developers. It even has pretty pictures and instruction.

[RJ2000]

Mr. Playboy couldn't say it any better. I would boycott EA but it turns out i would have to give up football games which is something that cna't really be done.

This is proof though that SONY isn't JUST in it for the money, but they are in it for the advancement of gaming.

[hfaze]

"How can you create game without 7 PS3's SPU on PC?
Lame engine. Sony will never be so good in software."

So are you saying that DiRT sucked? Seeing a game like that pulled off on PC/X360/PS3 was quite impressive, and it will only get better...

Kudos to Sony for embracing the principles of the Open-source community! ;-)

[V_Ben]

No More "Gimped" Ps3 Ports!

[Tempist]

Yeah, no kidding. Talk about raising the bar on things.

Quite the way to say; "In your face with a can of mace!".

[Rikitatsu]

Thats why DiRT was Better on PS3 graphically, but anyway its good news

[kevoncox]

Actaully it wasn't..
Too date better looking games on Ps3 are..

Oblivion, Burnout and coming soon Lost Planet.

[poopsack]

It's wierd to see that they would support the competition, but I see why, Ps3 based multiplatform development= better multiplatform games.

[The Closing]

So does this also mean something like M$ XNA might be on the way?

[DolphGB]

Whilst this makes it easier for PC-based developers to put their code on the PS3, Sony have been quite clear about their PSN strategy at GDC.

They're going for quality, not quantity. Jonathan Mak's Everyday Shooter is a good example of an indie title that managed to get traction with Sony. There are hundreds of Jonathan Maks in the world, but Sony have made it clear they will only pick the very best titles.

This makes user-created games an unlikelihood on the PSN.

[The Closing]

XNA games are free..FREE! There will be a public ranking system so you can see the best of the best, and play them for free..FREE! Basically so what if there is quantity especially if they're free with a ranking system. How you can turn something like that into a bad thing is beyond me.

I'm ps3 owner, but I gotta admit a good idea is a good idea. It would be wise to follow suite.

[DolphGB]

How on earth did someone click 'disagree' to my statement when Sony already confirmed everything I said only two days ago!!

Don't shoot the messenger, people!

[Skerj]

XNA games won't necessarily be free, it'll be up to the developers to decide what they'll charge. And I'm not totally sure (even though their wording suggests so) but it looks like you'll have to be an XNA developer in order to try out the games and rate them for your peers. If they pass then it gets put up on XBLA for everyone to get. In any case I want the full version of The Dishwasher like yesterday, I'd pay retail prices for it.

[The Closing]

They should just make the XNA games free with the donation system intact with dev, and public ranking systems. If you have to pay for them, and there is no overall ranking system then it would be lame. In that case quality over quantity would be choice.

If anyone has real confirmation on this please post link.

[Skerj]

http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/a...
Announcement link, all the info you need. I'm guessing demos will still be in order before you buy the full game, just like current XBLA games so selling it isn't bad at all. Besides, why should the Dishwasher be free if crap like Cyberball is up for sale? They have to get something for their time and XNA investment.

[The Closing]

This idea could have been done way better.

1.M$ wants to sell more systems, and free dl'able community games would have been a huge plus because most people me included would only play the games if they were free because we would rather spend our money on AAA titles. So M$ shouldn't make indie devs pay to join some club if all they're doing is help selling systems.
2. Lots of people just want other people to play their games, and with donations if people really enjoy your game you will definitely see some money from it anyhow. You should be investing your time doing this not for money, but because you love it, and you want recognition. There are tons of people out there just like you so why should people automatically give you their money until you've truly earned a name in the biz.
3. free games mean more people will play them, and if they're good with a public ranking system the best top rated ones will get the recognition they deserve, and companies will take note, and look into recruiting those indie devs because your game would really have to be special to come out on top with something as big as a free public system.

[Skerj]

Indie devs already have to pay to join it, it costs $99 a year (for the 360 side). And only spending money on AAA games? I'll tell you now there are going to be some games that come out of this that will smoke some of the percieved AAA games people get. Surely there will be "crap" (subjective) too, I played it before playing the best game to ever hit the marketplace (yes The Dishwasher).

There will be different revenue models so undoubtedly there'll be a few free games, but these people are in it to make games with the hopes of making money doing something they love. And I think developers would be better critics over which games get to the marketplace and which ones need continued development, they'll get far more constructive criticism.

As long as demos are up when the games pass through the processes all should be fine, it works for XBLA already. You could always pony up the 99 to play everything for free though.

[INehalemEXI]

The dishwasher was amazing it was almost like a 2D DMC game. :D

[RJ2000]

As a XNA programmer and user, it is not FREE. They charge you to upgrade so you can send your "game" to the 360. I was hoping Sony would do something in response to XNA, because I hate working for a system that I HATE! Windows games are pretty tight tho.

[DolphGB]

The intention won't be to 'support' other platforms at all.

Sony has clearly gone down this route to make it easier for developers to put their games on the PS3 when they are using PC environments to develop on.

This means that developers who are already creating/planning titles that could have previously only appeared on X360 and PC will now be able to easily included PS3 without a great deal of additional overhead, ensuring Sony don't miss the boat on any exciting titles.

So with this engine, they are aiding themselves and developers who want to stick to the tools they already know - they are not aiding the Xbox 360 and the PC.

[aggh im on fire]

Wasn't Dirt made with the Nuon engine? Or was that coded with sonys tools? Not being up on this stuff i just wondered.

[HeroOfCows]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
According to Wikipedia it was developed in conjunction with SCE. Maybe they developed the tools together or something. Maybe the Neon Engine is just a derivative of it.

[games4fun]

Hey EA still stuck in the past? really? ok here Direct 3d open gl we know how you guys love that stuff

and other people too

[Skerj]

It's just like Sony to release something and not put the word out (with much fanfare anyway). They've got to stop that now since MS just upped the ante with the XNA Creator's Club enhancements. The Dishwasher is the freaking MAN!! In any case I hope this gets out to Indie Devs, it could be more of what Sony needs when it comes to PSN games etc.

[moparful99]

Too many people are giving microsoft too much crdit for their xna. First of all you have to pay $99 a year to use the xna dev tools. Sony obviously took the step first with games like everday shooter and little big planet. Then ut3 came along and we have user created content. Now that these phyre dev tools are hitting I think we will see an insurgence of user created content on the ps3. Sony is avoiding the nintendo bug and releasing a limited supply of high quality games instead a pile of junk that people have to sift through....

[Skerj]

Waiting to see what they do with PSN, Home, and PSP integration for this. Because if this truly is free and they allow you to put your games up, freaking megaton there man. Like having your own little game store in home to peddle your creations to people. Or allowing PSP remote play or just making a copy that transfers directly over to the PSP. This will become the generation of the Indie dev, just when we thought all the megadevs were buying up everything because well they are.

[Iamback]

In this you see difference between MS and Sony. To produce more quality products Sony is ready to go this far and release multi platform engine that will make PS3 multi plat games equal or better than 360 versions.
Even if by doing so they help MS and 360 (this engine can also be used for developing games for those platforms)

[Genki]

Or is it strictly tools to help the PC-centric coder?

Either way, sounds good. Hopefully this signals the onset of cutting down on PS3 delays.

[aggh im on fire]

I think microsofts tools are so easy its not really an issue, but goodwork on Sonys part.

[The Closing]

I think it would have been wise for Sony to have quickly added some pointers in that this can also be used for indie devs to put their games on psn for users to dl for free, and rank accordingly.

[stuntman_mike]

PhyreEngine lol, nee naw, nee naw.

[gnothe1]

sony had to do something to ease the burden on developers, it was already harder an more expensive to build games on the PS3 an they werent selling all that great. so this is a good move on sony's part. an devs that use this can no longer talk about the hardships of working with the PS3!!

[Doctor Strange]

I agree, the easier it is for developers the better games we get. No more delays either.

[TheMART]

Too little, too late.

Microsoft got their developing environment and stuff like XNA out way, way earlier. A lot of stuff even before the 360 launched. That's why most devs use those packages now and then port stuff to the PS3.

Its like always. Sony is late. Sony delays. People keep waiting. Sony makes up excuses. Ah well lets say its good that at last they understand how things work and lets hope their arrogance has gone.

[The Closing]

and make sure everything is in working order instead of rushing out faulty systems, and hardware to the public? Unlike another company I know of...

How dare they!

[pwnsause]

???^

[The Killer]

its suppose to make things easier for pc and 360 games to be ported adn those who are expert in 360 games will feel at home with this new engine!

this engine is not suppose to show the ps3 power as u can see small titles used it so far except DIRT!

the engine that will kill all engines r killzone 2 engine!

better late then never i say!

[moparful99]

Mart I laugh at every comment you post. I dont take you seriously anymore. Seriously how can I take you seriously when its obvious how much your bias weighs in your comments. Claiming that sony makes excuses when the very company you support sold you a broken product, blamed it on you, then stepped in like some sort of hero to save the day with their 3 year warranty. Next piece of evidence I bring forth is the great xbl live server crash of 07'. Wasnt microsoft the same company that came forward and gave the "excuse" that unforseen demand caused the crash. Next they release a report a few days before the npd numbers officially landed. In this report they say that unusually high demand has caused a shortage, then the numbers are revealed showing that the ps3 outsold the 360. Convenient. But microsofts pr department also said they knew demand was high as far back as november but they couldnt increase production to ensure that any unforseen demand was met after christmas? HMMM an unusually high amount of PR blunders from your perfect company mart...

[TheMART]

To the one above.

Listen. I dislike Sony for their arrogance and because the PS3 ain't optimal for gaming, but optimal for BluRay (pushing their format).

I own the 360: best home console
I own the PSP: best handheld (at least with the upcoming games like God of War and Patapon etc.)

That's a Sony product, but on that one they're late with a lot also.

[DrWan]

I dont know what you are talking about Mart, u spit out BS sometimes. PS3 has in fact not been arrogant ever after it launch, every company has PRs that opens their mouth and yap and does not reflect the company as a whole with its cross-continental employee of 30,000 not including factory lines. Disliking a compnay base on some PR spin of the past is childish, we, the consumers buy products that are WORTH OUR MONEY. X360 we all know is not worth our money at all, breaks all the time just scares me from even touching one. PS3 speaks values, BluRay is a positive, not a negative, stop spinning that BS. Also PS3 is not optimal for gaming, you make me laugh, go play COD4 on the PS3, no different thatn X360, Burnout? even better, Uncharted (best optimized). New hardware does not mean Not optimal, it just means MSFT is too lazy to even attempt multi core, and even they know multicore PC is the future as Vista is going to support software written for mulitcore processors.

So you can give it a rest before everyone starts hating you which I think they already have.

Just get a damn PS3, and u won't be talking crap, because u will start liking it and dont get the insurance stuff..u wont need it for the PS3. Save ur money for a game.

[gambare]

I think someone is getting pissed off by the growing success of the PS3

[PirateThom]

The Mart's just bitter that this means PS3 development can easily overtaken 360 development, considering the results they were getting without tools like this.

[phony force slayer]

:)

[heyheyhey]

seems like this tool works, because DiRT was a multi-plat game that ran better on the PS3

[TheMART]

Nah that was just because they had almost a half year extra dev time to make the code run optimal. If the 360 version was released that late, I bet it would have run better then the PS3 version again.

Like it is with 95% of the multiplatform games.

[heyheyhey]

wow your a pretty defensive guy Mart- seems like if theres a prospect of better ports on ps3 you instantly put your :( on

face it, the time of crappy ports on PS3 is over, now everything is pretty much the same- and i know that makes you hurt inside so dry your eyes

it's all down to the exclusives now

[Pain]

No longer dose PS3 get pish posh ports from old gen 360 XNA tools but newer more user friendly sony tools that will make PS3 version's Same if not beter and made on PS3 first and Free to boot.

yikes sucks to be a M$ butt lover

[gEnKiE]

This is neato. Does this mean no sh** coming from devs that don't want to work with the PS3 architecture?

[TheHater]

Well those Valves guys should shut up now. Oh and all the EA developers that has been complaining over the past year.

[bung tickler]

how do you even know that these tools are any good? all you people make me laugh... i mean there are three whole games listed that used this crap and one of them (dirt) probably didn't even really use it since codemasters already stated many times before that they used their own neon engine for that game so... whatever if it WAS all the great companies like EA and Valve i'm sure would have already jumped on this long ago (how long has dirt been out now) in order to avoid the massive quality gap and delays that they have suffered becuase of the bass ackwordness of the ps3

[Coffin87]

WOW this is AMAZING!!!!!!!

can't wait for this baby!!! i'll test it out for sure!!!!!!

[JoelR]

1) still requires Sony PS3 debug platform
2) yes it does work with Edge (Edge can be used after the intial porting)
3) Is not meant to create an XNA user community but more of a real Indie Developer community.

[Mr Tretton]

TheMart: Listen. I dislike Sony for their arrogance

um.....have you not read Microsoft statements lately?

[felidae]

problem is .. i don't like most of the games for the 360.

[TheMART]

Then you're simply not a gamer but a BluRay movielover

[darthv72]

If everyone develops games using these cross platform tools there will be no need for exclusives.

[AceLuby]

Think about it. How many internal studios does M$ own? How many does Sony own? Sony kills in this dept. Now how many 'exclusive' third party games have been put out compared to multiplats? There are FAR more multiplats and except for some fantastic games and programmers the system to get multiplats on was the 360.

Fact is that most devs want to go multiplat because there is so much more money in supporting both the 360 and PS3 (look at the GTA or DMC franchises). If multiplats are looking as good on the PS3 then we have to look at exclusives. Sony has all those 1st party devs and M$ has a lot of money to purchase exclusive IP's. Now w/ an easy transition from '360' code to PS3 code it is going to cost a lot more to get those exclusive IP's, especially as the userbase of the PS3 gains on the 360.

[chaosatom333]

thank you sony, now the development on ps3 as a lead platform can begin. phyre engine-- never even noticed that it was suppose to be read as free engine. i am glad that sony listened to the problems of bad ports.

[DJ]

The more PC developers they can pull into the PS3 platform, the better. This will probably help out Valve as well. And who says Sony doesn't provide tools. =P

[darthv72]

square's white engine = multiplat, UE3 = multiplat, now "free" engine = multiplat.

[Salvadore]

The more they support 3rd party developers with tools and etc, the better games will run on the console.... and everybody becomes happy in the end :)

[phony force slayer]

is your avatar about. please tell.i cant make it out

[GETPWNED]

lol. xna's better

[tk]

Back in the basement I see.
Listen kid... you need to pick your wars better. This was a Good Thing (c) (TM).

You are just looking stupid attacking this.

They quietly release something that benefits all gamers, and you try and knock it. Wow. Just how dumb can you get? This is not a bad thing. They did not beat their chest about it, made claims about it. They just said... here devs... have some nice tools... and use it for PC or XB360 as well if you like. What is bad about this? The only bad thing is that it shows clearly that MS is a monopolist who will never do something like this... and this just highlights it. And for that MS viral marketers and trolls have to say something, anything, to try and downplay it. Just sad really.

[akaFullMetal]

I agree, this is nothing but good news,
bubbles for you man

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

In all truthfulness I think its because of the lackluster performance of multiplat titles on ps3. I think they are trying to make PS3 the lead platform with a free cross engine system(enticing devs) so that games will be more similar in quality for 360 and ps3. It has been proven that games which lead platform is PS3 have closer similarities to their cross platform counterparts on the 360.

Remember I'm a ps3 owner, you can't say that that was a biased opinion.

[TwissT]

I hope that this engine will make it easier for 3rd party devs to develop for the PS3.

[texism]

I wish 360 could do something like they could allow an indie dev to make something on the PC, and then just let you recompile it for 360 and use remapping to remap PC keys to the 360 controlers.

So like your game uses S to jump and D to attack. All you have to do is process it what that program, and just map S to the X button, D to the a button, and directional keys to dpad.

That would rock!

[Silver Bull3t]

Maybe someone can figure out how to recompile the "exclusive" 360 games that get released for the PC a year later?!

Gears and Mass Effect on the PS3... I'm in.

[ThaToNeKiiDKaBaW]

@DrWan - "Just get a damn PS3, and u won't be talking crap, because u will start liking it" : Then explain to me why their are so many ƒuckin PS3 Diehard Fanboys on here dissing everything besides Sony? Shouldn't they just be enjoying their console?? The way it seems the ones doing the most trash talking don't even play their PS3..

[captainjy]

Agreed. If you look and you don't have to look hard, any story that is submitted about the PSFree is usually left alone because we don't have to talk crap. Anything posted about the 360, all the PSFreeites feel this strange urge to get involved. Uh, guess what, we don't really care what you movie watchers have to say!

[Kugar77]

unselfishness: look at the phyreengine and the nocturnal thing that insomniac announced. sony is trying to gain some ground but they seem to get the picture of advancing the whole industry instead of just their system. of course sony cares a lot about the ps3 and wants it to win but i give kudos to sony's efforts atm in incorporating everyone. plus its not like the phyre engine hurts 360 games, its been reported that games which have the lead platform on the ps3 often look better on 360 then games that have the lead platform on the 360 so its a win-win

[zapass]

'I don't like sony cuz...' dude, just go see a shrink, you'll save us some bandwidth and yourself some embarrassment.

my bluray player has a better game line up than your xtoaster and now it's even going to be easy to code for so that kiddicoders aren't stuck on an unreliable POS box to start their career.

'ps3 not optimal for gaming'
woahahahahaha!

[DarkSniper]

Sony definately has secured the upper hand in the console wars by announcing this great news.

Q: Is Microsoft's XBOX 360 lineup that terrible that it needs Sony's help and development tools to make better games on their own platform?

A: Apparently so, next Microsoft will be asking Sony for assistance in changing their console from a red light back to a green light.

$niper

[captainjy]

Once again, Bright Diaper, you are grasping and overhyping Phony. Phony can't even get the PSN right so what makes you think they will get this platform even in the same ballpark as something like XNA? XNA not only promotes game development, it encourages people from everywhere to use VS, which is so common in the world today, not some unknown engine like Phyre. Lame.

[pwnsause]

somehow that engine made games like Dirt run awesome on the PS3 and its free, go figure.

[Rice]

Very simple.... i like it...

[rCrysis]

for us indie game developers like myself Sony is giving us great tools. This tool will be one of the ones I use for developing my video games to come.

rCrysis

[hfaze]

Is if Sony would add Linux support to the engine. Even if it was only x86 Linux support, that could mean that a lot more games start coming out natively for Linux.

So far only ID Software and Epic show some love to the Linux gaming community. I would love to see that become far more common.

[captainjy]

HA! First Trophies now this! Next they will paint their black box green! hahahahahha! Geezus. And on top of that they are using Direct3D, an MS API. Go Phony, Go!!!!

[JoelR]

Sony is allowing the system to recompile D3D to OpenGL ES
It does not use D3D in and of itself.

[toaboa]

Providing true cross-platform libraries and lovering the cost of development and licensing tools like the ps3 debug kit. Comparisons to Microsoft's XNA and community system is clear to about - so here's a take on the differences:

PS3 PhyreEngine:
- 3D library only (as reported), Developers will still need to invest in remaning development tools
- Ccross platform PC and PS3.
- Will need licencing still from Sony, and acceptance as a certified PS3 developer
- Will need debug PS3 kits
- Given that DiRT was build on it, has the ability to access the real strength of the PS3 and provide cur-gen capabilities
- C++ based

Microsoft XNA:
- Complete development kit - all included, libraries, compilers, IDE's
- Windows, xbox360 and Zune cross platform.
- Readily available for anyone, no licencing/approval needed - a nominal fee is required.
- Can be executed, debuged and developed on retail 360s.
- Reports and experiments shows that the current 360 XNA libraries have roughly the power of the last-gen xbox.
- C# based

In my opinion the XNA and community initiative is clearly oriented toward the smallest possible indie more likely hobbiest setup, while PhyreEngine is IMO oriented towards the regular devlopment studio setup, that can readily invest in debug PS3 kits and have the ability to gain acces to Sony NDA covered materials through a regular Sony licencing agreement.

[she00win99]

kicking MS ass while they are still in the ground is a great move on Sony..