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curl-6 on 30 May 2013
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ViktorBKK said:
curl-6 said:
ViktorBKK said:
The Wii U architecture is very similar to the Xbox 360.

It's not all that similar. There's more emphasis on memory subsystem management on Wii U, with large CPU caches (3MB versus 1 MB in 360) and a large EDRAM on the GPU (32MB versus 10MB on 360) intended to balance out a lower clockspeeds and main RAM bandwidth.  The GPU and CPU are quite different in architecture too; even ignoring the cache differences, the Wii U CPU is out-of-order-execution compared to 360's in-order-execution CPU, while the Wii U GPU is so weird that even after getting detailed pics the tech-heads still can't work it out.

The architecture is very similar actually. Both systems have 3 general purpose PowerPC cores in terms of CPU power. Out-of-order simply means that the CPU can execute commands in a different order than what is written in the code. From the developer's standpoint, no significant changes need to be made to the code, and it makes things faster if anything. More cache and more EDRAM, also dont make things "different", they actually make things easier. If i add another 8 GBs of RAM on my PC, it doesn't "change" the architecture. Regarding the GPU being "weird", I am not sure what you mean. It's an AMD Radeon part, so it can't be all that exotic. And considering its DX11 compatible, it should be a lot easier to program for than the DX9 GPU of the 360.

Of course, nobody claims that you should be able to port the 360 code and things would run faster without any work. But with all things considered, within 12 months from launch, this system should be 100% figured out by developers.

No system is ever "100% figured out by developers" only 6 months from launch. Did the 360 show its full power within 6 months? Did they PS3? No. These things take time. There are fundamental differences between the Wii U and the 360 that negate an instant understanding of the underlying design differences. Everything from the CPU design to the memory architecture to the GPU design is different enough that a multiplatform engine will not be able to extract the extra performance without extensive modification. So far, the only devs that have even TRIED to offer said modification are devs like Frozenbyte and Criterion, devs who have SUCCEEDED in getting more performance out of Wi U than PS3/360 could offer.