Develop Terragen for Playstation?

[ArchitekOGP]

Hi all, now I know alot will think this is a bad idea as it may take away from the pc's development but its just an idea. The PS3 isnt upgradeable like PC's which kind of rules out PC versions of Terragen being used on the platform however the PS3 I think could cope well enough with rendering landscapes? Anyway the PS3 user base is not just kids, the majority of users are over 18 years old, and obviously gaming is usually a 3D enviroment so this kind of software shouldnt be to strange for new users. I just figured if a version of Terragen was released onto the PS3 it would not only make quite a bit on money for the developers but it would also attract alot of new users interest. Im not sure of the PS3's spec and Cell would work well but even Terragen 1 would do, saying that the PS3 uses a controller although most of the basic funtions could still easily be implemented. I just think it would do well on the PS store with the ablilty to share your renders with other users which would look great on their HD TVs. So do you think Terragen could work on PS3?

[gregsandor]

You really have no idea what this software is for or how it is used, do you?

edit:  I'm sure someone will be along shortly to say something nice about this idea, but sheesh.

[ArchitekOGP]

I understand its used to create photo realistic images, and realistic scenes. But not all users need to use it that way, a lightened down version I personally believe would be nice for creating artist scenes. The idea was just to introduce new users to working in 3D.

Edit** By the way im not suggesting to make games or anything, just render images out using the PS3's spec as alot of people dont have PC's with the spec of PS3 and a PS3 version surely would bring in a whole new generation of users who get into the proper PC version once they have a better spec PC. Im not really looking for people to say thats a good idea I just think this could be a good way for Planetside to grow in popularity as I know to many people who have no idea this software exists even in the art and 3D community.

[airflamesred]

I'm not sure what your getting at. Would I use Terragen with a dual shock? No. Would I play Richard Burns Rally with a mouse? No.

[ArchitekOGP]

I'm not sure what your getting at. Would I use Terragen with a dual shock? No. Would I play Richard Burns Rally with a mouse? No.

Well I figured for most 3D software its very important for a mouse and keyboard but aside from using the node network all you really need to use is the sliders to change a variables. Actually I guess the camera needs some form of control although the analogues could actually work well with that. I guess if people dont see the point there is no point of it coming to a console but I still believe the software could be adapted well and make some good returns. 

[Upon Infinity]

Personally, I think its an interesting idea, but not a viable one.  And yes, it would take away from the PC's development, considering Planetside (as I understand it) is essentially a four person team, only really two of which are programmers, and only really one of those (Matt) who really work on the base programming for Terragen.  So he must focus on creating updates for Terragen 2, and very likely is beginning the framework for Terragen 3.  Certainly he could hire some people to port it over, but it is unlikely to be very profitable.  Terragen is a professional product, and probably not likely to attract a lot of people willing to plunk down a couple hundred bucks just to make images to 'share with their friends'.  Not to mention, people use their PS3 for gaming, movies, the internet, and would have to not use those features for as long as the render goes through (several hours or days).

Really, the bottom line is, the PS3 is a publishing platform, not a development one.  Same reason you wouldn't use an ipad to do Photoshop work.  Also, these gaming platforms run on very watered down operating systems to make more resources for the games they run.  So the Terragen version would also be quite watered down.  We already have that.  It's called Terragen Classic.  If you really want to tinker with it, you could probably get a PC from five years ago for practically free that will run it just fine.

But, like I said, interesting, yet impractical.

[reck]

I was thinking about a version for the iphone as well, what do you think? You can use the touchscreen to move the sliders up and down.

My only concern would be how long the battery would last though.

[ArchitekOGP]

Personally, I think its an interesting idea, but not a viable one.  And yes, it would take away from the PC's development, considering Planetside (as I understand it) is essentially a four person team, only really two of which are programmers, and only really one of those (Matt) who really work on the base programming for Terragen.  So he must focus on creating updates for Terragen 2, and very likely is beginning the framework for Terragen 3.  Certainly he could hire some people to port it over, but it is unlikely to be very profitable.  Terragen is a professional product, and probably not likely to attract a lot of people willing to plunk down a couple hundred bucks just to make images to 'share with their friends'.  Not to mention, people use their PS3 for gaming, movies, the internet, and would have to not use those features for as long as the render goes through (several hours or days).

Really, the bottom line is, the PS3 is a publishing platform, not a development one.  Same reason you wouldn't use an ipad to do Photoshop work.  Also, these gaming platforms run on very watered down operating systems to make more resources for the games they run.  So the Terragen version would also be quite watered down.  We already have that.  It's called Terragen Classic.  If you really want to tinker with it, you could probably get a PC from five years ago for practically free that will run it just fine.

But, like I said, interesting, yet impractical.

Ok i see what your saying and your right, thanks for atleast considering the idea instead of trying to make a joke out of it. Even though its not viable i still beleive one day perhaps in the future there will be a place for this concept, perhaps a game that allows you to create a sandbox game from a created level. To anyone thinking this is a stupid idea there are already a few console games with map editors. Yes they are not nowhere near as technical or even photo realistic but it shows that creating a 3D landscape on a console is possible! Also yes you can use sliders to change settings and even move objects so I dont see why the person above see's that as such a far fetched idea. The render time issue and cost definatly make the idea not viable, perhaps in the future when both of those aspects are more suitable to the console hardware. Thanks though I never considered some of those points.

[airflamesred]

My appologies if I offended you. Merely trying to find out what you were getting at.

[ArchitekOGP]

My appologies if I offended you. Merely trying to find out what you were getting at.

I wasnt offended by anyone, I just thought Recks joke about using the software on an IPhone was a little immature though I understand what he was getting at.

Anyway I kind of solved my own question in the posts above, instead of Terragen it would be alot easier to produce a game which is focused soley on the map editor, although the scenes would not look as realistic the game could allow for decent enough graphics and even the ability to create a 3d enviroment for the user to navigate within. This would obviously be a much more logical way of making this idea work and although the scenes wouldnt be as realistic, the fact that there is none of the other aspects such as story or multiplayer to worry about it could allow for alot better realism compared to other console games.

[airflamesred]

There was a fishing game for the PS2 once (complete with rod) which always struck me as a rather bizzare idea. How well it sold I don't know so who knows what might sell.

[Upon Infinity]

Certainly, there might be a 3D render program that could be developed for what you're thinking of - to just create neat images on the PS3, but it would be very different and streamlined for that system and it wouldn't be Terragen.  But it might be fun.  It could do for modern platforms what Mario Paint did for the SNES.  I think I remember one old playstation game that was essentially just growing a plant so, you never know.

[Oshyan]

I think a more realtime rendering oriented Terragen-like product might be interesting at the right price point, but the development time issue vs. income makes it pretty impractical I think. I'm sure some people would enjoy it, but we would need 10s of 1000s of people buying it at say $10 or $20 to make it worthwhile.

- Oshyan

[Mandrake]

I thought about a year back some were going to loop or cluster many PS3 together and run linux for a kick butt computer.

[gregsandor]

The idea of having a landscape program for other platforms like the PS3 is actually a good one.   Putting Terragen on a game console would be like putting a Porsche engine in a Volkswagen.  You could write a simpler program to do what you talk about on the PS3, just one that is suited to the abilities of that kind of machine.