(formerly)tangentmind.org

From openal.org: " OpenAL is a cross-platform 3D audio API appropriate for use with gaming applications and many other types of audio applications."

OpenAL was originally created by the now defunct Loki Games, with the help of Creative(who created the original SoundBlaster, and is generally the biggest innovator in the Desktop Sound world). Loki Games used to create Linux ports of video games about 4-5 years ago before going bankrupt. Before going bankrupt however, they ported at least 20 high quality games to Linux, created the SDL library, OpenAL, and a few other Open Source libraries and programs(the Loki installer is still in use in many commercial games). SDL stands for Simple DirectMedia Library. What it is, is a library that provides a layer of abstraction between video, audio and networking, very similar to Microsoft's DirectX. However, SDL is multilpatform which means that and program made using SDL could very possibly work on Windows, Linux, MacOS X, and BeOS. When SDL is combined with OpenGL, and OpenAL, that creates a very poweful layer that creates a complete next generation environment for hardware accelerated video games.

Many of the employess of Loki Games did not quit programming when Loki Games went bankrupt. On individual is Ryan "Icculus" Gordon. He is very much responsible for a geat deal of the new Linux(and MacOS X) ports, including just about everything that uses the Unreal Tournament engine. Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 uses OpenAL, SDL, and has an OpenGL renderer...it even uses the Loki installer.

Here's the kicker. Microsoft is going to be using OpenAL for 3d audio in Longhorn, the next version of their operating system. This probably means that the Xbox 360 will too. Does anyone see the irony in that? Granted, it's essentially Creative's OpenAL, but it has it's roots in Linux Game porting. So, OpenAL will be the defacto standard for 3d audio in games accross pretty much every platform, and a standard that covers all platforms doesn't really happen very often. It's kind of awe inspiring. It might be frightening, but you can't really call OpenAL a monopoly. I mean, it's open, and it's free. OpenAL is neat.

That's not all on the 3d audio front though. Creative is coming out with new graphics technology which boasts performance like no one on earth has ever seen. The difference in performanc of today's sound cards and Creative's new X-Fi is not a small gap, it's a huge chasm. We're talking something like 24X faster.

You can read more on OpenAL and Creative X-Fi here.

The X-Fi is one sign that next-gen computer gaming might be able to compete with next-gen console gaming(Xbox 360 and PS3 mainly), but if the cost of the X-Fi soundcard is comparable to the cost of the consoles, then I don't know. As it stands, the anounced statistics for the Xbox 360 and PS3 looks like the consoles will the ludicrously expensive, but we'll just have to say. I'll probably have more to say on the console hardware later.

But for the moment:

Heroes of Might and Magic 5
Heroes of Might and Magic is a fantasty turn based strategy franchise based on the Might and Magic Franchise. I have enjoyed playing many hours of Heroes of Might and Magic(mostly II, III, and IV). 3do bought the developer who made them long, long ago, and then went bankrupt shortly after releasing HoMM IV. After that Ubisoft bought the rights to the franchises and they have recently anounced the next in the HoMM series. The developer, Nival Interactive, has been making Strategy games for a while, but I have never played any of them. What has been released so far about the game makes it sound like it will be very different from the former games, but maybe that won't be a bad thing(HoMM IV didn't do particularly well). I'm just not sure it will really feel like a Heroes of Might and Magic game. Tycho at PennyArcade seems to be a big fan of Nival, so hopefully that's good tidings. We will have to wait and see.