Hey, Got myself a jtag console recently with the intention of having a play with homebrew and general fun/hobby/education/tinkering. Have setup VS2005 and SDK, all setup fine, and have been looking through the SDK documentation checking out the samples etc, all very VERY interesting. Now... I understand any SDK talk might be a bit close to the line legally speaking, and have seen a fair few threads ending in flames for this reason. I also understand that the legality of the overall situation with the SDK/XeDKs means people don't shout about the kind of things I'm looking for, or chat about it too openly on public forums.... So I will try and tread carefully... I understand the SDK documentation is probably the best place to learn and tinker with the samples, but I was wondering if anyone could suggest any other resources for learning, coding samples, tutorials, , projects, bouncing ideas around with like minded people etc..? I know this place has that too, but it's silly to limit your knowledgebase so I'm just looking to find any forums/sites/docs/irc etc to aid the learning process, and if anyone who has already been in my position could help, that would be a great time saver :nod: Anyway, PMs welcome for links not postable on the open forum. Thanks in advance :thumbsup:
1) Im assuming you know C/C++? if not learn it before you proceed. 2) get a book on DirectX9. You want to make sure it contains information/samples about the programmable pipeline and *not* the fixed pipeline - which is not supported on the 360. Might i recommend - Introduction to 3D Game Programming with Direct X 9.0c: A Shader Approach. Theres also lots of directx9 websites around with lots of samples too that will help. 3) More Advanced - Read up on PPC architecture. Learn how it works, understand how pipelining works, the load-store architecture, VMX (Altivec) etc. When your code runs like shit and you wonder why this information will help you
ASSEMbler: I've seen this a lot whilst reading through the entire 360 forums yesterday. Can I ask why I'll be flamed? I don't think I could have put it any more eloquently given the subject matter? XboxGamer23: 1) Yes mate I do, not by any means an expert, but I did Computer Games Software Development at uni and can code in C++. 2) Excellent info! I actually have the Advanced DX9 book. Didn't know about the pipeline issue on 360 though, so thanks for that! 3) I know no PPC except reading a few beginner texts, so will be sure to get that looked into. -- On a side note, last night I found xbox-scene has a XeDK forum with lots of good info and code, and also xbox-hacker (you guys probs already know this, I knew the sites but thought the XeDK forums were dedicated to proper Devkits)
This is quite possibly the best website for learning DirectX9 It helped me alot. http://directxtutorial.com/ Also I would suggest you get a developers kit, Trust me there is a world of difference between developing on a Jtag vs a developers kit. Just the ease of creating something with a bug and fixing it within 2 seconds vs all the crap with a jtag. I know quite a few people who wanted to develop on a jtag then quickly figured out that a kit is what they needed.
Cheers for the info KiwiDoggie. I will look into getting a DevKit, but thought I'd test the water on a Jtag (so to speak) as it costs a lot less and I'd be able to do 75% of the same pipeline that way. If I get comfortable and want to start producing anything that will require heavy debugging I'll deffo look into a DevKit, as the whole process sounds very slick It's kind of hard because even though people have the XeDK / SDK, nobody seems to want or be able to talk about it (legal issues no doubt). What would be great is a dedicated forum (with security) that operates behind closed doors so to speak, so this stuff can be discussed openly without fears of repercussions and people jumping on their high horses - which I have seen a lot on various forums the last few days. What makes me laugh is the people getting uppity about the SDK, are people who also have illegally obtained XeDKs....pot -> kettle -> black! Cheers for the info guys, I have more than enough to be getting on with
