Guild Wars 2

Anet recently put up a job opening for a lead graphics programmer. It says “Multi-platform experience with interface design against several different platform APIs is a must.”
We might see gw2 on different platforms in the future.

Link: https://www.appone.com/maininforeq.asp?Ad=389217&R_ID=1077798&Refer=https://www.arena.net/&B_ID=44

If you’re thinking it will go to consoles, don’t hold your breath, last I knew that idea was scrapped.
And multiplatform experience against platform APIs doesn’t neccessarily mean gw2 is going to console, or any other platform for that matter, since you need that programming for online gaming anyway.
I do hope they work on the Mac/Linux clients though, I have a PC but not everyone does.

So yeah probably Mac/Linux… Apparently people like those platforms…

Maybe the new guy/girl will have some ideas on how to fix the HoM? Could be something to look forward too.

Very probably not. If anything, they will shift focus to casual mobile gaming, which is an industry trend.

Really wish they’d sit the kitten down and a write Dx 11/12 renderer. Would solve so much of my issues…

Ravenmoon.5318:

Really wish they’d sit the kitten down and a write Dx 11/12 renderer. Would solve so much of my issues…

proceeds to write render

EU Guy.1803:

Anet recently put up a job opening for a lead graphics programmer. It says “Multi-platform experience with interface design against several different platform APIs is a must.”
We might see gw2 on different platforms in the future.

Link: https://www.appone.com/maininforeq.asp?Ad=389217&R_ID=1077798&Refer=https://www.arena.net/&B_ID=44

To make SAB into a mobile app

GW2 for Android and IOS inc.

Please be a real mac client, please be a real mac client …

[Oh, and to PC fans: our ‘beta’ version (which we have had for years) is NOT a mac client, it is a PC version running on an emulation layer. Emulation is why macs have a bad rep in the gaming community.]

I hope it’s work on the Mac/Linux OS as well. I have Windows on my Macbook, so I can play anyways, but I’d rather use the Mac OS whenever possible

EU Guy.1803:

Anet recently put up a job opening for a lead graphics programmer. It says “Multi-platform experience with interface design against several different platform APIs is a must.”
We might see gw2 on different platforms in the future.

Link: https://www.appone.com/maininforeq.asp?Ad=389217&R_ID=1077798&Refer=https://www.arena.net/&B_ID=44

Bad link resolution btw. Only works with a direct link from the ArenaNet homepage. Also, there is at BEST a tenuous link between them having an opening for a lead programming position and GW2 being on another platform, such as consoles, which Anet’s pretty much stated is NOT going to happen, regardless of people taking CJ saying “nothing’s off the table” vastly out of context.

At worst it means whoever is CURRENTLY in that position is looking to step down, retire, etc. At best? Anet’s got another game in the works.

edit: emulation isnt the only reason macs are treated as a laughingstock for gaming.

CureForLiving.5360:

So yeah probably Mac/Linux… Apparently people like those platforms…

Guild Wars 2 is my last Windows dependency. I welcome a Linux version.

Ravenmoon.5318:

Really wish they’d sit the kitten down and a write Dx 11/12 renderer. Would solve so much of my issues…

I don’t agree. So one of us really doesn’t understand how directX coding works. Probably me though, but my opinion on the matter is that simply changing all the references from DX9 to DX11/12 will not fix anything. They’d have to do a proper implementation thereof that would involve a lot more than simply changing a bit of code here and there. I’m assuming to get the most out of DX11/12 would mean implementing additional functionality not found in DX9, and optimizing a lot of code to make full use of DX11/12. At the very least the amount of effort to implement and then optimize for DX11/12 would be a lot more than simply fixing the issues with DX9.

ionix.9054:

CureForLiving.5360:

So yeah probably Mac/Linux… Apparently people like those platforms…

Guild Wars 2 is my last Windows dependency. I welcome a Linux version.

I’ve met too many linux users that have horrible soured my toward the platform… not to mention the amount of hassle that was caused at work when the one guy decided all the coders now need to format their PCs and install linux… because Java?

Oh, Anet. If you finally release a Linux client, I can ditch Windows for good. It doesn’t even matter if it’s unpolished. I have been saving for a new machine anyways and can throw hardware at the client until it runs flawlessly.
A release like that can take some time, but that only means my new PC fund is growing larger.
And even if it’s “just” a SAB standalone, that’s multiplatform, it’s still something.
I wish the best of luck to the graphics programmer, who gets the position.

The listing really isn’t hinting at other platforms. GW2 supports both Windows and Mac already, so the job is a multi-platform experience. Although the Mac client isn’t native, they have to ensure that the code works, which requires knowledge of that platform.

Considering they want someone with knowledge of current-gen APIs however, perhaps they’re finally looking at moving forward.

The notable line from the description is

“The role is about API design that bridges gameplay needs and low-level graphics libraries, and exposes functionality at the appropriate level of abstraction for multiple kinds of game systems.”

Game systems does NOT mean game platforms. Chat is a game system. UI overlay is a game system. The renderer is a game system. They are looking for someone who can help develop a better game engine, at least one that could handle additional graphic APIs.

“Expert knowledge of current-gen graphics APIs (DirectX 9/10/11/OpenGL 4.X and DirectX12/Metal/Vulkan).”

Jubii.. Considering the blazing rate they release new content in , I hope not they start to port it to other platforms as I so love gw2 for not being a crappy console port as many new games these days. Dragon age 3 – i am looking at you. Luckily they used DirectX and that ports like kitten

You guys read too much into simple job ads. Arenanet creates a game for PC platform, PC platform comes in many different platforms itself from different windows versions to different hardware systems, all of which are unique platforms – also, in the context of the job ad, platform simply means PC and server. 99% of the game engine is on the server, your pc is just a rendering and input machine for the data sent to and from the server. Multi-platform means pc/server. You’re not going to get a native anything but windows client, sorry. Also, HR likes to just toss as many buzzwords as possible on job ads to get the best possible candidates, so don’t read too much into the directX line Oh, and Anet, DirectX 9 is not a current-gen graphics api.

Except Lil Puppy that the position is for Lead Graphics Programmer which I think is fairly safe to say has little or nothing to do with the server side of things, since, graphics. So it’s client development.

Menadena.7482:

[Oh, and to PC fans: our ‘beta’ version (which we have had for years) is NOT a mac client, it is a PC version running on an emulation layer. Emulation is why macs have a bad rep in the gaming community.]

No. Macs have bad hardware at premium price. That’s why they have bad rep in gaming community. Even Alienware does better at the same price tag.

This looks more like they are want to update the graphics engine.

Ravenmoon.5318:

No. Macs have bad hardware at premium price. That’s why they have bad rep in gaming community. Even Alienware does better at the same price tag.

Actually, when you look at cost over time macs are cheaper. Not only are they more durable but they last longer, generally you replace them when you want to upgrade. I have only had one mac die on me over the decades.

Even then, I was able to trace symptoms of the problem back a couple years but assumed it was normal for that model and that was where the heat sink was. It turns out the fan there had gone kaput but it had no problems without it for a long time. Since that machine was well past its EOL anyway I figured I would just upgrade it to the latest model.

One of my macs was in use for more than a decade. My chief complaint? Having to replace the clock battery every 5 years or so.

As to gaming reps … look no further than ‘clients’ like what we have on the mac for guild wars 2. It is running on an emulation layer for windows. I guarantee you if your windows box did the same to run mac programs you would have the same problems.

Which is why many of us hope this person is a sign of a real mac client coming. Looking at the numbers my mac would blow away all but the most customized PCs designed for extreme gaming and would have no problem being superior to what 99% of people use for games.

I’ve been happily running GW2 on Linux for well over 9 months now, aside from the slightly lower performance I don’t get many of the issues Windows users do.

Mac and Linux gaming got a nice boost in recent years, many engines have also started to support all 3 PC OS’s. It’s still a bit early to say it’s a standard but we’re heading there.

A proper Mac and Linux client for GW2 would be very welcome for many people.

You can find a screenshot attached of how GW2 runs on Linux (i5 CPU / GTX 960 / Wine-Staging 1.7.48)

This is the most exciting news I have heard this year so far! I’m holding my breath a little, but if this means they could be looking into a linux client… Man would I be a happy camper!

Menadena.7482:

Please be a real mac client, please be a real mac client …

[Oh, and to PC fans: our ‘beta’ version (which we have had for years) is NOT a mac client, it is a PC version running on an emulation layer. Emulation is why macs have a bad rep in the gaming community.]

[It’s an actual unavailability of most games for the platform. Emulation is making that issue less visible, because at least some games are available, even though they usually perform much worse, having some bugs…]

Menadena.7482:

Please be a real mac client, please be a real mac client …

[Oh, and to PC fans: our ‘beta’ version (which we have had for years) is NOT a mac client, it is a PC version running on an emulation layer. Emulation is why macs have a bad rep in the gaming community.]

We know. Blame Apple for not encouraging game development for the Mac. Bootcamp was a great idea for gamers while it lasted. Now Mac and Linux users will be stuck in emulation hell from now on unless a developer acknowledges Mac and Linux platforms on day one or cross platform tools support those platforms as well as the PC.

Seriously though, why are you all concern about who ANET is hiring? If they hire a programmer with experience with Mobile Android platform gaming, are you going speculate that ANET is making a mobile GW2 or GW mobile ?

they need to solve their engine performance issue before thinking about multi platform…

The idea behind knowing multiple 3D APIs is that knowledge can be used to create a neutral API at the render level that requires minimal massaging of data for each specific API. The current rendering code may be pretty entangled with Dx9. Therefore if you want to eventually support additional 3D APIs other than Dx9, you have to tease the Dx9 specific code out of the renderer and replace it with abstract function calls that at first could simply translate to Dx9 API calls.

Also during this process they can look at making the various data structures and classes thread safe which is the first step toward dividing the workload across multiple threads with a balanced workload. That would allow it to scale across multiple cores better.

Like I said earlier, games systems does not mean game platforms.

Menadena.7482:

Please be a real mac client, please be a real mac client …

[Oh, and to PC fans: our ‘beta’ version (which we have had for years) is NOT a mac client, it is a PC version running on an emulation layer. Emulation is why macs have a bad rep in the gaming community.]

They also have crap GPU for an outrageous cost. Pretty much certain this is why they have a bad reputation when it’s come to gaming.

papry.8096:

They also have crap GPU for an outrageous cost. Pretty much certain this is why they have a bad reputation when it’s come to gaming.

They use laptop GPUs, yes. Then again, many PC gamers game on laptops anyway. I always buy the best one apple sells whenever I buy a new mac (actually, I tend to max out almost every spec then get some 3rd party goodies).

Not that it matters to GW2. It is CPU-bound rather than GPU-bound. Currently I use a 3.5 Ghz i7. Between GW2, firefox with plenty of tabs, itunes, various other stuff … all told more than half of the CPU is idle.