Project Spark looks amazing

Jas00555

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Smartglass might be able to do SOMETHING even on RT devices.. but I didnt really expect to run this at least on my first gen Surface RT

I'm not sure, but based on the system requirements, I would assume RT would be very limited. Maybe just playing a level through streaming via smartglass? Idk, but it would be cool if we could do whatever smartglass trick on Windows Phone too. Now THAT would be something.
 

Keith Wallace

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That tweet's not very descriptive. For starters, why are they rating the requirements by mobile GPUs? That's dumb for those with desktops. Also, all they say is "i5" or "i7," but they don't mention the generation. Intel started releasing the "Core ix" CPUs back in 2009, so when they don't specify the generation (or even if they mean mobile- or desktop-class), it's very confusing. Oh, and if they can't get it running on ANY RT devices, it furthers my point that RT is a colossal waste of time and money--for both Microsoft and consumers.
 

Jas00555

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That tweet's not very descriptive. For starters, why are they rating the requirements by mobile GPUs? That's dumb for those with desktops. Also, all they say is "i5" or "i7," but they don't mention the generation. Intel started releasing the "Core ix" CPUs back in 2009, so when they don't specify the generation (or even if they mean mobile- or desktop-class), it's very confusing. Oh, and if they can't get it running on ANY RT devices, it furthers my point that RT is a colossal waste of time and money--for both Microsoft and consumers.

1) I think they're making the assumption that since this is a touch-based game, there's a very good chance you're not using it on a desktop, so no need to include desktop-class GPUs.

2) I agree on the CPU, but its still in beta and they probably still have some last minute details to iron out.

3) I also agree on why is this not available on RT. I mean, I thought the 360 was getting this game so why can't the Surface 2 play it?
 

Keith Wallace

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I was talking to a developer about bringing a WP8 game to Windows 8, and he said that for it to happen, you HAVE to have a non-touch solution for the controls. That likely means that Project Sparks plays like an MMO on a non-touch PC, and I'd even argue that a non-touch PC is a better option than having a small tablet for the game. WASD walking and all of that and Roller Coaster Tycoon-like menu navigation (not really sure how it goes, in reality) sound like they'd work just fine.

The issue is, they're not really aiming this at the touch-based stuff, per se. They're aiming it at laptops and hybrids in general, which run on the same hardware (on the x86 front). Not having a guideline for desktop gaming sucks because many won't want to get it on a desktop when the requirements don't specify non-mobile needs. For example, I have a Radeon 5850 in my desktop. This calls for an 8850M. That normally is a 3-generation gap in performance, from 5000 series to 8000 series, but if you actually look at the specifications between the two, my desktop video card basically wins out in everything but memory quantity. Just looking at the recommendation though, it sounds like my card is 2 or 3 years behind what's needed. The same could go for the CPU, where it generically asks for an "i5" CPU.

I simply don't believe this needs even a Sandy Bridge i5, though. We're talking about a fairly-casual game that's asking (vaguely) for hardware needed to run a game like Battlefield, depending on the Core CPU's generation. On top of that, just saying "Core i7" in the mobile space makes little sense, because they run through several variants of that, with "M" and "U" versions being a couple of examples. Maybe it's just the not-yet-ready nature of the game, but they'd better REALLY tighten up the specifications before release, because it's 10 times more confusing than it should be.
 

Jas00555

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On your first point though, would those rules still apply in this scenario? Your developer will be bringing a game from WP8 to W8, but Project Spark was shown off at E3 and is technically an Xbox game, which have a different set of standards. I would imagine that Xbox --> W8 would be different than WP8 --> W8 so that might have something to do with it.
 

Keith Wallace

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I doubt there would be anything different. They wouldn't want to **** people off by releasing a MAJOR Windows 8 game with such a massive chunk of fragmentation. Requiring touch input would be a terrible strategy, because I imagine mouse-and-keyboard controls would work really well for building in this game. Yeah, it's coming from Xbox, but they'd get a ton of bad attention if they started fragmenting Windows 8 users based on displays.
 

Coreldan

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It's crazy what some people have managed to do with the game. I don't quite have the brains (pun intended.. :p) to come up with all this cool stuff, let alone execute it.
 

polomint

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Oops.. I knew that. I don't think the Spark beta for XBone has started yet so at least you're not out on that part. :smile:

The latest twitch.tv/project-spark stream stated that they are looking and pushing for a mid February XboxOne beta release... Also, when you register for a beta key, it should be mailed to you within a couple of days, and the beta key works both for Win8.1 and XboxOne. :)
 

MobileVortex

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Looks like if you already have a key you will get another next month when the xbone beta goes live.

I will have another 2 codes at that time if anyone is interested.
 

Jf.Vigor

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The latest twitch.tv/project-spark stream stated that they are looking and pushing for a mid February XboxOne beta release... Also, when you register for a beta key, it should be mailed to you within a couple of days, and the beta key works both for Win8.1 and XboxOne. :)
oh cool so I'll hold onto my win 8.1 key for the Xbox one version
 

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