Hi Shaun, Well, it is my experience most blind users will hang on to their XP and Vista machines for several years yet. Just because Windows 7 is bringing in a bunch of new changes it won't spell the end of blind audio gaming, because blind computer users have always been slow to change to the latest software releases. Part of it is lack of money and part is simply feeling no need to change when what they have is working fine already. Some of the developers such as myself have been looking at what we can do to prepare for changes in technology trends. As for myself I am currently working with C-Sharp and the .NET 2.0 platform since it is universally supported on Mac, Linux, and Windows. I also have decided to drop DirectX and XNA altogether and use SDL.NET as an alternative. It just may be that open source technologies will prove more stable than commercial APIs driven by Microsoft's desire to make everything compatible with the XBox 360. Also do remember some game companies like 7128 are using Java as their core game language. I suspect their games will work fine on Windows 7 as it is Sun's job to make sure the Java runtime specifications run correctly on Windows 7 while at the same time making sure the same Java application runs the same on every operating system Java is supported on. What I am saying is some day the VB 6 programers that wish to write games specifically for Windows 7 will need to change the APIs and programming languages they use. I suspect most will switch to something like VB 2008 and SDL.NET which works very nicely together. Though, I haven't been able to write something quite as complex as Shades of Doom using SDL as there are some limitations in 3d audio support in SDL right now. I am hoping to write a 3d wrapper for the pan controls to at least fake it. Smile.
shaun everiss wrote: > you'd think so. > Unfortunately most devs, excluding the new ones that have come in the last > year or 2 and even then some of those including the old ones use old tech. > Some are trying to upgrade others are not bothered to do that right now and > others can't be bothered at all. > Its the nature of the beast. > We have been able to use old tech for ages and we can see no point of > changing it. > ANd if we are forced to, we generally find ways to well do that lagit or > otherwise. > But if the libs go, well it will get harder and harder for the stuff to go on. > Much of the reason that the old guys have not been left in the dust is there > are vary few newbys round that are willing to start from the ground up in > some of the advanced languages and new tech. > I am not taking this out on any dev rather am using the general mood of the > list over the years. > Its my opinion that we will never be quite ahead with the tech that exists. > Understandable but still. > So what is the worse that can happen? > Well a load of companies will either have to upgrade or dissapear alltogether. > I have invisioned sometime dreamed about what the blind gaming industry would > be in 100 years. > Then I think of the freenet revolution. > Companies thinking of having free networks for the internet, etc. > The moddel didn't work, additional costs and other things made it really a > non proffit thing probably costing more than it should or could and no way to > recoop even with payed support, adds, etc. > I think there is a danger that blind gaming will die all together if > something is not done and soon. > Ok I aggree that in the shortfall we may see a reduction but unless something > happens soon well no gaming market. > its not really a money maker most should know this by now. > In the short term there may be a way with older hardware and coppys of old > oses, ebay and other things, I hope myself to buy large quantities of systems > at some stage so I can still use things. > However xp drivers will not come as readily as needed and new drivers for new > hardware, well good luck for that now. > So we are left with old hardware. > That means that its eventually going to get almost impossible to get it. > I have a couple systems meaning I probably can continue for a number of years. > If I play my cards right i probably can get an old desktop I have with the > required system loaded on it. > But that is not going to last me all my life, well it may do but still. > So at some point something will have to give or we will have to do something. > Truth is we don't need much to crash the entire market. > We don't get much stimulation, I mean when has the last game come out which > is not the same as all the others and when one has how long has it all lasted. > I hoped that we would manage to get longside the sighted gaming industry but > that may never happen. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
