Getting away from game development @ my desk
polycounter lvl 17
Just wondering if anyone has any ideas for me, I'm looking to get into game development away from my desk.
I'd rather be sitting on the couch, sitting outside on the deck etc, but still be writing code / messing with the editor / scripting etc and being able to draw bits and pieces when I need to.
I haven't yet seriously looked in to tablets of any kind but about to - is anyone else currently tackling game dev in this manner ? what kinda gear are you using?
I'd rather be sitting on the couch, sitting outside on the deck etc, but still be writing code / messing with the editor / scripting etc and being able to draw bits and pieces when I need to.
I haven't yet seriously looked in to tablets of any kind but about to - is anyone else currently tackling game dev in this manner ? what kinda gear are you using?
Replies
http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/tablet-pcs/XE700T1C-A01US
I'd probably pick up something similar to that. Beefy laptops are just not for me, throw a Wacom tablet into that situation and it's crazy cumbersome to move around.
The whole detachable keyboard thing is rad, and apparently it has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity which is even better.
Anyone had any experience with this piece of kit?
http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-AU
Should have mentioned, not looking for a big beefy laptop, already have one, thats still pretty chunky to lug around like Curt said. Looking for something lighter, pretty compact, doesnt necessarily have to be too powerful.
Think..... something I can lay in my hammock outside on the deck working on my games.
The Surface Pro looks really tempting, especially with the wacom pen. Anyone tried that yet for real world work?
PC tablets are really good but some things aren't too great on them. Modelling on them is best at a desk I feel but sculpting, doodling and typing is alot more fun. Low battery life is a common issue but the samsung gets 6 hours easy on the high settings so if you run an optimised setup with low brightness it does last longer. The light sensitivity setting is rubbish so don't use it. The memory is also not great, ssd drive is awesome but at only 64gb you are best using it for system stuff and then micro sd the rest, i got a 32gb card super cheap, the surface pro has 128gb memory though which solves it. 4gb of ram means it runs real nice too. Screen resolution is mad on the latest samsung, not sure what the surface has but this has 1920xsomething haha. The main thing is how much nicer it is to sit on the couch and relax whilst doing and not be completely anti social with it too. My lady can watch whatever crap she wants on the tele and I can get my sculpt on haha.
They are all very pricey though, you could probably buy a nice desktop for the same money but the added freedom of taking it anywhere outweighs this, again it's still no replacement for a desktop, best for ideas and throwaways.
Am I being dumb?
Lenovo Thinkvision 1423p - wireless monitor. not out yet and looks as though it may have more drawbacks than i can use but interesting none the less. of course you would need a laptop/desktop to pair this with http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/lenovo-thinkvision-lt1423p-mobile-monitor/
OpenPandora - I have one these and it's a pretty cool little linux powered box if a little quirky, but its open and has a qwerty keyboard which can definitely be useful. not sure if it would help with anytthing other than coding/scripting however(someone recently tried porting blender and it worked but blech slow software rendering.)
http://www.openpandora.org/
http://boards.openpandora.org/
hope that helps
Yeah, most reviewers have been blaming it for, well, not being an iPad.. despite the fact that it's built with content creation instead of pure consumption in mind. But 4 hours of battery life are admittedly quite weak.
Thinkpad Helix
Product page:
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tablet/thinkpad/thinkpad-helix/
Design and Engineering video put out by an advertising firm:
[vv]59572808[/vv]
Slated for early March release - was supposed to be in February originally, so who knows exactly when. Pre orders haven't started yet.
Thanks for that breakdown crazyfool, thats awesome. At the moment its kinda the one im leaning towards, as it appears the surface pro isnt out in australia yet and there is no release date set yet - DOH!
Will keep updated on how this pans out
And doing this in a place like a coffee shop has worked magical for me
The haswell? core series supposedly will have an igp 2x the performance of the current.
If you are going to use things like 3d coat, you will need the best ipu you can get. ipu/igpu(same thing).
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2013/02/22/the-ms-surface-pro
not yet I'm afraid, i would of thought they would run fine though,
I can't seem to find a pro 128gb online or off.
I also read something about wacom releasing a new tablet style bit of kit later this year.... i wonder what thats going to be like and if i should wait for that....
Microsoft is apparently working with wacom on a driver solution, so I'm sure its just a matter of time (who knows how long).
If you're really looking to do most of your serious work on a tablet (and don't mind putting down some serious cash), I think the thinkpad helix is your best bet. You can customize it to be very powerful and hopefully it has wintab support on release (who knows though, this is almost always an issue with tablet pcs that's only been made more complicated by windows 8 )
As for wacom making a tablet pc type thing, I remember reading a long time ago that they weren't interested in getting into the pc hardware market. I'd love to be wrong, but even if they do release such a device, I can't imagine how expensive it will be considering how expensive the rest of their products are. I'd assume it would be priced somewhere as hilariously high as modbook pro's.
Edit: just saw the facebook post from wacom saying they're working on a tablet of some kind... Interesting. Like I said above though, I imagine it being insanely expensive. Here's the link if anyones curious
http://www.facebook.com/Wacom/posts/10151269211541691
If you are looking for something "alternative" , my advice would be a surface tablet. Why because it runs on Windows and believe me; if you are developing a game, do it on Windows. ANd the tablet itself should provide you with enough firepower and mobility.
Maybe it was keeping watch for the missing PC mouse...
I've been drawing and scanning all of my artwork for a new project. This is something I've never done before so I'm still working things out.
Video of rough WIP:
[ame="
I couldnt agree more!
Edit. I see that the post was from yesterday. take your time then, thought it was an older post
My current laptop is over 5 years old and ran like dying dog even back then. Currently it has trouble having more than 6 google chrome tabs open and running a photoshop file. Gods forbid I want to listen to music, open reference and work in a 3D app!
The desktop I have is OK, also about 2-3 yrs old, but it has an ATI/AMD card and my main software package has become Modo (along with GiMP & Sculptris, as I cannot afford to buy Photoshop and Zbrush currently) which runs quite poorly on my PC, and I hear it's because ATI cards don't play nice with Modo.
So I was hoping to get some advice on what people have found is a good size/weight/power laptop? Or what components I should look for in a laptop for mostly 3d app work and 2d work with my tablet. I'm not as keen to get away from the desk, I just want to get a powerful laptop I can take to places that doesn't weigh almost 6kgs like my current one.
If this IS poor forum practice, or I've missed a good hardware guide thread, please let me know, I tried searching but was unable to find anything!