CONSOLE PROGRAMMING

1
CONSOLE PROGRAMMING

• Abdennour El Rhalibi
• -
• Notes courtesy
• Sarah Ewen - SCEE
• Adam Bertsch SCEA
• Nintendo User Manual
• SNSystems Websites

2
Agenda

• Platforms Available
• PS2 Linux
• Architecture
• Software Development
• NGC Prodigy Plus SDK
• Architecture
• Software Development

3
Platforms Available

• PS2 Linux SDK
• http//playstation2-linux.com/
• NGC SNSystems SDK
• http//www.snsystems.com/

4
What are SCEs goals for Linux?

• Expose developers to PlayStation
• Investigate the uses of Linux on a game console
• Respond to consumer demand
• Allow game enthusiasts to create game content for
  the PlayStation 2

5
Kit Contents

• Linux (for PlayStation 2) software 1.0
• Monitor Cable Adaptor (for PlayStation 2)(with
  Audio Connectors)
• Internal Hard Disk Drive (40GB)(for PlayStation
  2)
• Network Adaptor (Ethernet Only)(for PlayStation
  2) 10/100 Base-T
• USB Keyboard (for PlayStation 2)
• USB Mouse (for PlayStation 2)

6
Additional Requirements

• PlayStation 2 Computer Entertainment System
• Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2)
• Sync-on-Green Monitor (recommended)

7
Hardware

• Emotion Engine
• MIPS R5900
• Vector Units
• Graphics Synthesizer
• I/O Processor
• Sound Processing Unit
• 32MB RAM

8
The Kernel

• 2.2.1 MIPS (Linux/MIPS is a port of Linux to the
  MIPS architecture. )
• 2.2.18 USB
• Binary device driver modules
• xRhino and 2.2.19

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The Distro

• Kondara (Red Hat 5)
• Source-compatible
• Not binary-compatible with x86 distros
• Some updates from website
• Linux for PlayStation 2 Community
• CFYC (ready-compiled)
• http//playstation2-linux.com/projects/cfyc

10
Potential Uses

• Software Development
• Games
• Development tools
• Productivity apps
• Home entertainment appliance
• Digital music
• Digital video
• Cluster applications
• Scientific computing
• Graphics processing

11
Licensing Issues

• DVD 1 SCE Proprietary
• Boot Loader
• Runtime Environment
• Hardware Manuals
• DVD 2 GPL / Various
• Linux for PlayStation 2 software
• General Public License

12
PS2 Software Development

• http//www.linuxplay.com/
• http//playstation2-linux.com/
• http//www.hsfortuna.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
• SPS2 tutorial

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Development

• What are my options using the Linux kit?

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Linux kit - development

• Higher level
• PS2GL
• Mesa (Linux 3D programming library)
• SDL port (Simple DirectMedia Library)
• PS2 Approach
• Libps2dev
• Bundled with examples and some documentation
• /usr/doc/PlayStation2
• Additionally
• ps2stuff SPS2 projects available on
  playstation2-linux.com

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Linux kit - development

• Access to the Vector Units
• Unaffected by Linux
• Write applications in C/C and assembly
• Development environment
• Libraries to access devices under Linux
• A vu0math library
• Your favourite text editor
• A cross compiler
• Limited debugging capability

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A comparison

• Linux kit vs professional development hardware
• Whats the difference?

• Hardware
• Software
• Development
• Tools
• Libraries
• Docs support

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Hardware

• PS2 Linux
• Standard PS2
• 32M main memory
• 2M IOP memory
• HDD
• Network adapter
• Can be used directly using a keyboard and mouse

• T10000
• Expanded PS2
• 128M main memory
• 8M IOP memory
• Host-PC
• Controlled via network

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Software

• T10000
• Host-PC controls PS2 hardware
• PS2 hardware resources unrestricted
• Thin kernel
• manages I/O
• debugging features
• IOP exposed to developers

• PS2 Linux
• PS2 runs Linux
• PS2 hardware exposed through devices
• No direct IOP access or SPU2 access to protect
  MagicGate (encryption used in memory card)
• Linux eats memory and CPU time

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Development

• T10000
• Cross development
• compilation of code done on users PC
• downloaded to PS2 via host-PC interface
• debugger runs on users PC, talks to host-PC over
  network, which then talks to PS2 hardware

• PS2 Linux
• Direct development
• compilation of code done on Linux kit itself
• debugger runs on PS2 Linux, taking up extra
  resources

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Tools

• T10000
• Supplied with custom toolchain
• GCC based compiler
• EE and IOP debuggers
• All tools know about PS2 hardware
• Several commercial development packages
• Fully visual IDEs etc.

• PS2 Linux
• Supplied with GCC
• Not fully PS2
• Ports to other platforms possible for cross
  compilation

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Libraries

• T10000
• Has several low-level libraries
• GS
• DMAC
• VU0
• And some higher level ones
• Mpeg
• Network

• PS2 Linux
• Has device interfaces to some features
• VU/VIF
• GS expand
• Has some helper libraries to get you going
• LibPS2Dev

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Docs and Support

• T10000
• Full hardware manuals
• Except IOP
• But including SPU
• Printed and PDF
• Many additional documents on professional website
• Private newsgroups and email support

• PS2 Linux
• Full hardware manuals
• Except IO Processor, sound chip
• PDF only
• Public website
• Public projects
• Discussion forums
• Limited direct support
• Sarah, Adam
• Tech group staff in their own time

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Performance

• What level of performance can be achieved on the
  Linux kit?
• What affects it?

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Performance

• Linux architecture not designed for PS2
• Large CPU overhead (EE only 2.95 GHz)
• Kernel is not cache friendly
• Does not use ScratchPad memory
• Does not use Vector Units
• Software rendering is far from optimal
• But you have access to all unused resources

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Performance

• Pretty good performance is achievable
• One of the samples displays 560k polys at 60fps
• Thats 33.6M polys/sec
• Theoretical max is 35
• Aided by SPS2 module
• Direct Access Environment

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SPS2 Direct Access Environment

• Developed by PS2Linux developer community
• What is it?
• Why use it?
• How do I use it?
• Are there disadvantages?

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What is SPS2?

• Kernel module loaded at runtime
• Gives direct access to the hardware
• Has been used to create samples requiring lots of
  processing power
• Linux friendly

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Advantages

• Required for DMA transfers
• Guarantee to have unswappable/unmovable memory
• Only 4kb continuous memory is guaranteed
• Physical address of memory
• You fill the buffers using Linux virtual
  addresses and sends the data using physical
  addresses
• Direct access to the hardware registers
• EE
• GS

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More advantages

• DMA packet checker
• Set of functions for debugging purposes
• Helps prevent crashes
• Easy to crash the system
• Very good documentation
• Samples to illustrate usage
• Currently being developed and improved
• The module can be installed/uninstalled at
  runtime
• No need to recompile the kernel
• No memory is reserved
• No need to even reboot

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SPS2 Project Framework

• Written by members of the community
• Professional developers
• Takes cares of display initialisation
• Deals with DMA packet building
• Provides a solid base for your code
• Samples of advanced techniques used in a game
• Bump mapping

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PS2 - Conclusion

• Linux kit provides
• Hardware Manuals
• Access to PS2 at a low level
• VCL (Vector unit Command Line)
• ps2dev.org/ps2/Tools/Misc_tools/VCL_Vector_Unit_Pr
  eprocessor
• Everything you learn through the Linux kit is of
  value on professional development tool
• SPS2 even makes your code more portable
• Amateur developer community is growing
• playstation2-linux.com
• Sourceforge approach to helping developers

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NGC - Hardware

• SN-TDEV is a cost-effective hardware platform for
  developing games for the Nintendo GameCube.
• When used with ProDG, game programmers can debug
  their code on the new TDEV console, which is the
  closest development hardware to a retail console,
  with the additional benefit of 48 MB of RAM.
• Optical disc emulation is supported, using
  Nintendo's standard DVD functions and without any
  modifications to source code.
• SN-TDEV uses SN Systems USB2 connection with peak
  read and write speeds of 3 MB/s (24 Mbits/s).

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NGC - Hardware

• Components
• SN-TDEV consists of
• TDEV console and controller
• Host and target software (CD-ROM and Mini Optical
  Disc)
• USB2 adapter and cable (custom)
• USB2 PCI card
• System requirements
• Windows NT4 SP6, Windows 2000 or Windows XP
• Nintendo GameCube Software Development Kit (SDK)

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NGC - Software

• SN-TDEV hardware is compatible with the following
  SN products
• ProDG and ProDG PLUS - Full Debugging solution
• Tuner - Game optimization tool
• SN-TDEV consists of the TDEV console itself, a
  PCI USB 2.0 Adapter, a custom USB 2.0 cable
  (formerly the DevLink cable), target software in
  NR DVD-ROM format and PC host software. It also
  include the Target Manager SDK.
• Codewarrior / MetroWerks Compilers

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NGC - Architecture

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NGC - Architecture

• SN-TDEV is supplied with host and target
  software.
• The host software, Target Manager, provides
  facilities for loading and running ELFs.
• The target software (supplied on a DVD-ROM) is
  used to boot the console and control
  communications with the host software.

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NGC - ProDG

• ProDG for Nintendo GameCube is SN Systems' suite
  of fully featured tools that enable you to build
  and debug your game titles for the Nintendo
  GameCube.
• http//www.snsys.com/GameCube/ProDG.htm
• It consists of
• build tools (assembler, C/C compiler, linker),
• a fast and dedicated source-level debugger and a
  target manager for loading and running
  executables and monitoring target status.
• Target manager allows developers to remotely
  share a development system over a network.
• ProDG is also bundled with optional Microsoft
  Visual Studio 6.0 and .NET integration.

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NGC - ProDG

• Build Tools
• Enhanced C/C Build Tools specifically for the
  GameCube
• SN Compiler Driver for complete control of the
  build process
• Fast, specialised linkers, with data stripping
  and Relocatable capabilities
• Dedicated Gekko Assemblers, for function-level,
  inline and standalone assembly.
• Assemblers support additional SN directives.
• Compiler supports automatic use of the GameCube's
  fast-cast feature.
• Optimise inline assembler into compiler generated
  code

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NGC - ProDG

• Debugger
• Full Gekko debugging support
• Gekko profiler
• Kernel pane displaying thread information
• Workspace pane allows easy project navigation
• Supports conditional/counted breakpoints
• Mixed-mode Source/Disassembly pane
• Display List (GX) Pane
• Register pane, with custom templates
• Regular expressions
• Pop-up expression evaluation
• Integrated TTY pane
• Flexible pane and window system
• Save/load data to/from various panes
• User-configurable accelerator keys/bindings and
  color schemes
• Fast update and display
• Uses the industry standard ELF file format

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NGC - ProDG

• Visual Studio Integration (Visual Studio 6.0 and
  now .NET!)
• Build, edit and manage your project using the
  Visual Studio IDE
• Tight integration between the IDE and the ProDG
  Debugger
• ProDG build tool integration
• Source browsing
• Use Visual Studio's built in source browsing
  capability in your GameCube project, just as you
  would in a Win32 build.
• Project dependencies

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NGC - ProDG

• Target Manager
• Load/Run ELF filesManage all development
  hardware from your own PC
• Full file serving, including named pipes
• Output pane
• Target Manager Software Development Kit (SDK)

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NGC - TUNER

• Overview
• SN Systems' Tuner lets you capture and visualize
  program behavior so that you can eliminate
  conflicts and bottlenecks in your code. High
  performance games can now be achieved with less
  guesswork.
• You can save your captured data and easily
  compare it with previous captures. Finally, a
  quick and efficient way to see if your code
  changes have improved game execution or not!
• Features and Benefits
• No source modification required
• Multiple compatible debug formats (SN and
  CodeWarrior compatible)
• Real-time data capture
• Frame by frame analysis
• Extensive data capture
• Multiple user markers
• Visualise code performance bottlenecks

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NGC - SDK

• The Nintendo GameCube Software Development Kit
  (SDK) contains the following development system
• libraries and software
• Operating System libraries.
• Graphics libraries.
• Character Pipeline libraries and source code,
  including 3D Studio MAX databases used in some of
  the
• Demos.
• Other device libraries such as the Optical Disc
  (DVD), Controller (PAD), and other libraries.
• Many programs to demonstrate the usage of the SDK
  libraries.
• MusyX Audio Tools for Nintendo GameCube

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NGC Platforms - Information

• SNSystems
• http//www.snsys.com/GameCube/SN-TDEV.htm
• NGC Linux
• http//www.gc-linux.org/wiki/Main_Page
• http//www.gc-linux.org/docs/yagcd/
• http//www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/04/
  01/warp_pipe.html