PS2 Programming Enthusiasts

I\'m not sure if Fast (or anyone else) already posted this, but as some of you might know, Sony is going to ship the Linuxkit for PlayStation 2 in May this year. The linuxkit will contain the following:

• HDD (40 GBs)
• BBA
• Computer Monitor cable
• USB Keyboard and Mouse
• Linux Runtime Environment
• System manuals
• Linux Software Packages

I think Sony already announced a while back that the price would be set at 199 US-dollars and for Europe it\'s 249 Euro. That is a great price, especially for those hobby programmers and enthusiasts who have been waiting for this. This Linuxkit is only for those who want to use the PS2 as a PC (not much sense in that) or those who want to program executable PS2 applications. This might also help those who want to eventually get into the game development industry such as me. Anyway, you got to start somewhere right, so I am making this thread to see if their are any other enthusiasts around here. If so, please post here and perhaps also mention if you\'re getting the PS2 Linux kit or not.

I have also opened a forum on my site that will be devoted to PS2 programming since I figure that PSX2central might not be the place for such technical stuff (I think the hardware forum clearly shows this).

For those who are still uncertain about the Linuxkit, perhaps you should check out the following link which may help your decision:

https://playstation2-linux.com/faq.php

Okay, guess I\'ll see you guys around &  thanks in advance

Phil

Do you do any programming, seven?

The link is dying on me right now but I\'d like to find out if it ships with a C compiler(gcc) and what kind of documentation comes with it or is available.

yes, I have programming experience, especially in C, Java, Visual Basic and a bit of Assembly. I\'ll be taking a closer look at C++ the next few weeks. I work in the IT-Industry as a software engineer and hope to get into the game development industry in a few years.

Yes, the GCC compiler is included in the kit, including the official manuals of the Emotion Engine, Graphics Synthesizer, Vector Units 0 and 1 etc and some sample code. As explained in the FAQ in the link that seems to be down, the PS2 linux kit will allow you to code PS2 games and get you almost to the same results of those games you buy which are programmed on the developerkits which the official licenced developers get.

I have not coded many 3d apps as of yet (some, but none that are relevant to 3d games), so I can be considered a newbie.

If you want to take a look at those manuals, I have them on my site, which you can find under "Development" and then access the section "PS2 Development" over the pulldownmenu.

Actually, I hate programming but I must admit that it\'s very cool. If you like programming it\'s the best "plug-in" for your PS2.

[MPTheory]

Yes, I aswell hate programing... I used to major in it, and then I figured out how much I really hate it! I want to design Video games though... do you know of any programs that they use?

Originally posted by seven
I have not coded many 3d apps as of yet (some, but none that are relevant to 3d games), so I can be considered a newbie.

Ha!  If you know assembly  you\'re still ahead of me.  I did check out your site and I like it.  I don\'t think I\'ll be able to do too much on the PS2 kit though at least not any time soon.

Time being the key word.  I don\'t know where I would squeeze the time in to read the docs and test some stuff out on it.  But maybe once the economy picks up and I get that fat raise I\'ll blow some money on one of these.

I dunno, if I can pick up a used PS2 for around 200 then I might just go ahead and buy the Linux kit. Reason being, that even tho I don\'t know the first thing about programming, I\'ll be able to enjoy the fruits of other people\'s labors. In less lamer terms. I wanna download all the COOOL shiznit people are going to make for it that runs on Linux.

There\'s alotta neat crap out for the DC that underground programmers have created. Xbox is already being hacked so that people can install their own OS\'s/proggys.. so I can just imagine all the neat stuff people will be able to make with a fully licencened OS for the PS2 and PLENTY of documentation.

I\'d already have Linux on my Dreamcast.. but without a harddrive it kinda defeats the purpose dosen\'t it??

[nO-One]

I haven\'y done much programming, I used to dabble in it a long while back, but then I concintraded my efforts on some of the many other aspects of computing.

Anyhoo, this thing sounds pretty interested and it might be the right thing to get me back into the programmers arena.

Yes, I aswell hate programing... I used to major in it, and then I figured out how much I really hate it! I want to design Video games though... do you know of any programs that they use?

That\'s a good question. I would have to ask a few developers, but I do know that they use intense C/C++ and MIPS Assembler stuff. But what tools and programs... mmh, I think I heard once that Square uses Adobe Photoshop for editing their textures, but I would have to do some research. I am also hoping to find out more once I get the Linuxkit with the runtime environment. If I find more news, I\'ll post \'em here.

Ha! If you know assembly you\'re still ahead of me. I did check out your site and I like it. I don\'t think I\'ll be able to do too much on the PS2 kit though at least not any time soon.

Well, my assembly knowledge is fairly basic as we just programmed on some microprocessors and uploaded our programs into the little RAM and controlled the CPU unit from there. It was pretty cool, especially since it\'s pretty complex to do the easiest stuff (like if statements).
As I said, we are being trained in Java, but I honestly think it sucks and I will speak to work to get me into some C or C++ division as this is definately the stuff that interests me.

BTW: I noticed that you\'re also a software engineer. In what field/industry do you work and what programming languages do you use?

Well I work in technology division of a marketing company.  It\'s actually a pretty nice setup for me.

To take care of issues at work I use mainly perl or some complex bash shell scripts.  I\'m also learning to use XML the hard way.  When I have free time I\'ve got a C program I\'m trying to write.  Most of my work is on either UNIX or LINUX now so if I could could some more practice I might be able to write something decent.

Personally I\'m a programming enthusiast, but I really have little knowledge as of yet.  I\'m currently working in the IT field, for some weird messed up company (translated: I\'m quitting soon and heading back to the states where I belong).  I\'ve done a few stuff in java, perl, php, VB, jsp, yadi yadi.  Pretty much I\'ve done nothing.  Supposedly companies in Japan take you through these rigorous training courses, but this one has taught me diddly squat, and everything I know, I learned on my own on my spare time. (currently I\'m working on a project using Oracle Applications, but the management has absolutely no clue as to what Oracle is, so the project is lost before it even began).

Anyways, enough ranting and back to the point.  I\'ve always been very interested in programming for game consoles, and hopefully the Linux kit will give me something to start with.  Anyways, what I\'d really like to see is if there\'s enough people interested in these things, I\'d like to see a Forums that are specific to this.  That would be grand.  Actually, I think those links you posted at the beginning had them... in which case all this was pretty much meaningless, but none the less, I guess I got my point across

Yeah, every once in a while someone will ask me when I\'m going for my  masters.  I don\'t see the point.  In 6 months after graduation, I\'ve learned more than 4 years in college.  But maybe if my employer pays for it and then gives me a raise I might do it.

That\'s dissappointing to hear about Japan.  But maybe the economy went down over there, too.