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walsufnir on 21 November 2012
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zarx said:
walsufnir said:
zarx said:
walsufnir said:

 

i think that ibm mainly offers the compilers and not nintendo ;)  they have more knowledge in compilers and know quite good what their cpu should be used like. the rest is well written.


It's still up too Nintendo to supply them with the dev kitts I would think, at least I wouldn't think that devs would have to go to IBM directly to get the compilers. Tho I am sure that IBM engineers worked on the compilers.

 

well, furthermore i think amd is quite involved in the dev-kits, also. interesting topic, i think! would like to know more on this. especially what about contracts to support the devkits? i think they are updated quite often software-wise.

There is a wide veriaty of companies that contributed to the kitts, including many 3rd party companies. AMD, IBM, Nintendo and Green Hills Software are probably the main ones tho. But I wouldn't think AMD and IBM would keep full time support teams arround after the final hardware was in place.

Some interesting info on the kitts

"Wii U dev kit specs

The Wii U dev kit specs first and foremost support everything the regular retail Wii U console supports, and has the same hardware specs — the Wii U CPU and Wii U GPUare the same, as are the other features. However, dev kits usually have more storage and more memory to aid developers in compiling and creating games. The kit includes:

  • Wii U console with added features such as extra ports, connectors, etc. The kit includes all the retail Wii U hardware.
  • Nintendo-made software tools and libraries that can be freely used by developers.
  • Royalty-free third party software and APIs licensed by Nintendo that is free for developers to use.
  • Various tools to take in-game screenshots and in-game videos for trailers etc.
  • Wii U games are usually written in C++. The Wii U dev kit includes a custom compiler.
  • Tech support from Nintendo developers and experts on software, APIs, and theWii U operating system.

Wii U dev kit software

The software included with the Wii U dev kit ranges from Nintendo-made APIs and tools, to third party software that Nintendo has licensed from other companies. Among those, Nintendo has an deal with Autodesk to offer the GameWare tools to developers free of charge. Another partner is Green Hills Software, which will provide advanced code and APIs to Wii U developers. Again, this will come free of charge. There are also numerous third party software suites that support the Wii U, including physics by Havok. Nintendo also includes tools and online code for companies who wish to add online multiplayer components to their Wii U games."

http://wiiudaily.com/wii-u-dev-kit/

 

 

"About MULTI

The MULTI development environment supports more target processors, operating systems, and third-party tools than any other IDE—making it ideal for enterprise-wide deployment. Green Hills Software's MULTI integrated development environment includes the industry's most powerful and proven tools for developing embedded software with maximum reliability, maximum performance, and minimum code size. With the MULTI IDE's sophisticated capabilities, you can develop, debug, and optimize code more quickly, significantly reducing both development cost and time."

 

http://www.ghs.com/news/20120327_ESC_Nintendo_WiiU.html

 

"One developer working on a key AAA franchise port told us anonymously that the Nintendo toolchain is "fighting us every step of the way", suggesting that plenty of work still needs to be done in getting development workflow up to scratch. Will the tools improve in time? Will publishers have the time and the financial incentive to stick with it?"

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/df-hardware-nintendo-wii-u-review

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-19-nintendo-licenses-unity-engine-for-wii-u-both-in-house-and-out


very interesting read, thanks a lot!