Friday Facts #370 - The journey to Nintendo Switch

[ezekiel]

I don't think they ever found one. it doesn't support the Metal API etc.

They don't have any active job listings, at the moment. That being said, Metal API isn't needed to support Apple Silicon, since the issue is the CPU – not the GPU (although yes, Apple Silicon does replace the GPU as well).

Typically, if they're using a backend (I've heard they use SDL?) that supports Metal, they get it "for free." For example, Minecraft uses Metal because LWJGL supports it.

[posila]

Typically, if they're using a backend (I've heard they use SDL?) that supports Metal, they get it "for free." For example, Minecraft uses Metal because LWJGL supports it.

We don't use SDL for any rendering and have our own D3D and OGL rendering backends. At the time we were migrating to SDL2, it didn't even have all capabilities of Allegro 5 (which we used before) and they were just working on batching draw calls. It seems they added some features since then, but the whole point of creating our own rendering backend was to get access to shaders (which are still not available in SDL) and be able to optimize for exactly what Factorio needs.

[ezekiel]

We don't use SDL for any rendering and have our own D3D and OGL rendering backends.

Gotcha - yeah I wasn't sure about my assertion there...Good to know.

[Sopenas]

I agree to wait for expansion 1.5 years and pay in advance 30-40$ if you promise that there will be train tunnels or ramps in the expansion.

[Gergely]

I agree to wait for expansion 1.5 years and pay in advance 30-40$ if you promise that there will be train tunnels or ramps in the expansion.

Slopes!

[KatherineOfSky]

I was really disturbed to see the additional of custom "rumbles" added to "enhance the experience".

I can't deal AT ALL with rumble. Because of my neuropathy in my hands, it feels like an electric shock It literally hurts, and I drop the controller.

So I ask please that you put in an option to turn it off completely.

[Loewchen]

I can't deal AT ALL with rumble.

You can disable it generally in System settings.

[KatherineOfSky]

Thanks,
Yes, you're right, there is a setting there. Just used to PC games where they have to be disabled individually for every game... >.>

[KatherineOfSky]

Question:
Will Switch users be able to use shared blueprints?

I donät know of a copy & paste function, but there is the removable SD card where files have the potential to be transferred.

[Alan T Wolf]

So let me get this straight... Using individual player profiles, you can have a LAN game between PCs and Switches???

[Twinsen]

Question:
Will Switch users be able to use shared blueprints?

I donät know of a copy & paste function, but there is the removable SD card where files have the potential to be transferred.

The SD Card can not be used directly by the game. It can only be used by the Nintendo Switch operating system to add extra storage.

[factoriouzr]

The expansion has taken more than a year to this point, hasn't it? Wasn't it promised to be done in about 1 year from initial announcement? Now it's going to be at least another year.

This is disappointing. No news on the expansion, just delays.

You would think that will all the resources spent on porting this game to other platforms like switch (much different than pc, different control scheme, less powerful, architecture, etc) and mac, that could have been spent working on the actual expansion. Don't get me wrong, it's nice for the people on those platforms who were not able to play the game to play it now if they actually want to on those platforms, but it's hard not to think that they could have had the expansion done or closer to finished with more resources on it.

[FuryoftheStars]

The expansion has taken more than a year to this point, hasn't it? Wasn't it promised to be done in about 1 year from initial announcement?

No, it wasn't. I made a similar mistake with the timeline, but if you reread the FFF, they said it wouldn't take less than a year.

[Silari]

You would think that will all the resources spent on porting this game to other platforms like switch (much different than pc, different control scheme, less powerful, architecture, etc) and mac, that could have been spent working on the actual expansion.

If you actually read the FFF you'd know that 'all the resources' was one guy. Rest of the team was still working on other stuff minus the occasional playtesting and random help here and there, and he specifically calls out not wanting to distract people from their work on the expansion.


And as mentioned 'won't take less than a year' does not in any way mean 'done in one year'. The exact opposite really.