New Console Developer? Ian Bell Announces 'Mad Box'

[Paul Jeffrey]

Slightly Mad Studios Ian Bell has confirmed on Twitter that the developers behind Project CARS are working on a new and super powerful console.

Intending to pitch right into the fight for console supremacy with the likes of Microsoft and Sony, Bell has confirmed that SMS are working on the provisionally titled 'Mad Box' device, with plans to significantly move the console marketplace forward with what has been described as "the most powerful console ever built...".

Although plans are in the infancy at this moment in time, Bell has stated that the new Mad Box console should be VR compatible from the off, with a proposed 90fps per eye, 180 FPS internally expected at the point of the consoles release - expected to be two or three years away at this stage.

Although much of the internal spec is still under consideration by Slightly Mad Studios, the overall design of the console has surfaced earlier today, as can be evidenced by the screenshots in this article, and Bell has been in very bullish mood during much of initial reveal discussions on social media - coming straight out of the blocks with some very impressive statements about the consoles capabilities once launched - easily putting the new Mad Box in the frame as a potential Xbox and PlayStation 4 beating piece of hardware.

Of course it is still early days in the development of the new Mad Box, but if the initial plans for the console do come to fruition this will be a very impressive piece of kit indeed. One of the key features mentioned briefly by Ian is the desire to open up the game engine to developers, presumably allowing game developers to access the engine platform in which to develop new games. Furthermore, Bell has stated that this will be a free facility for developers, which should be a powerful incentive for game studios to create content that works well with the new console.

All in all this is certainly a surprise move from SMS, and one very interesting topic to keep an eye on in the coming months..

 

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Hey, I'm no moderator, I'm a guy that does not like to see others insulted on the internet - hence my attempts to try and clean up this thread. I'm still working backwards through the posts, however I've had to have a break as my indian takeaway has just arrived... (it was lovely thanks).

So now I'm coming back the moderating once again (BTW, this is something I hate doing, and frankly don't have the time to do).

 

[CC]

Hey, I'm no moderator, I'm a guy that does like to see others insulted on the internet - hence my attempts to try and clean up this thread. I'm still working backwards through the posts, however I've had to have a break as my indian takeaway has just arrived... (it was lovely thanks).

So now I'm coming back the moderating once again (BTW, this is something I hate doing, and frankly don't have the time to do).

Better order another take away Paul, youll be hungry again by the time you read through these last 9 pages, some tasty comments for sure.

 

[AJ McDaddy]

You'll all stop mocking this when Zuckerberg buys them out and takes the project over...

 

[kondor999]

BUT CAN IT RUN CRYSIS

 

[snyperal]

Not enough time to keep up with this thread I knew it was going to be epic!

 

[Caton XII]

BWOAH !

 

[Mascot]

Upgradable GPU?

 

[M D Gourley]

Interesting concept design.. unfortunately this is not something I am interested in or is it possibly targeted at me anyway, as I am more than happy with my PC and Triple Screen set up...but I wish them all the best with this project and will keep an eye on how things turn out...I may even be surprised

 

[apex11]

Hey, I'm no moderator, I'm a guy that does not like to see others insulted on the internet - hence my attempts to try and clean up this thread. I'm still working backwards through the posts, however I've had to have a break as my indian takeaway has just arrived... (it was lovely thanks).

So now I'm coming back the moderating once again (BTW, this is something I hate doing, and frankly don't have the time to do).

In fairness you run a site that relies on clickbait so don't be surprised if you need to moderate a bit.... RD lives for this drama and the divisive topics.

 

[MarkR]

Hey guys,

Ok I know SMS based topics often result in some.... heated opinions... however please try to stay civil in here, and steer well clear of personal insults. Come on, I don't want to have to spend time debating if I post SMS related news in future for fear of the way the comments will go - so work with me here please and keep it respectful!

Cheers

P

Thanks Paul, I have to agree. It’s understandable people feel let down after pcars, and less so PCARS2, but behaving in the same toxic way people say they dislike solves nothing. Many of us felt the same about the state of console version of AC (all forgotten now, no need to repeat) but I also praise their great work on AC on PC and ACC so far. None of the game devs - even Hello Games - are all good or bad in my experience.

I agree with a lot of the disbelief about this ‘console’ and Ian Bell’s twitter is frankly unbelievable for a CEO with investors and makes me wonder if all this is just a wind up. The comments on RD about him and SMS often go well beyond reasonable criticism in my opinion. No other individual or studio gets the same treatment.

Just my opinion of course but I think RD could do with reducing the tribalism and arguments between fans of one product or another. For a true niche within a niche, with limited numbers of players there is just too much arguing about opinions. I still think RD allows people with an agenda (eg to promote one game or brand) and who are quite likely paid to do so without declaring that direct interest, it means it’s difficult to reason if what is being said is biased or worth reading.

I like your RD news articles and often pick up on updates etc I’d otherwise miss such as the recent RF2 packs. On the other hand I’m enjoying my racing games a lot more again now I ignore 90% of the nonsense posted here and elsewhere, especially that posted by the usual suspects but it takes a while to work out who they are.

 

[Nick Gregory]

*snip*

I think you missed the entire point of my post.

 

[randMracer]

Megalomaniac
noun
noun: megalomaniac; plural noun: megalomaniacs

1. 1.
   a person who is obsessed with their own power.
   • a person who suffers delusions of their own power or importance.

 

[Pixelchaser]

Upgradable GPU?

they just stuck the card in the side on the 3d model, that panel cant be removable and have those ports on it. sloppy engineering render, If this was serious then the renders should be too.

 

[ermo]

My take:

- It likely won't have a Windows licence and SMS has kept its engine working on SteamOS. Do the math.

- SMS won't be compute limited by mundane console hardware when it comes to their Finite Element tyre simulation, VR etc.

- NVidia might be a designated hardware partner in this. They have had no presence in the console space in recent times and are likely hungry for it.

- If SMS can pull this off, they can target both their consumer and pro VR experiences to the baseline of this hardware. Yes, more expensive custom PC builds can be faster, but this will likely hit the sweet spot in terms of price/performance.

- If SMS partners with e.g. Valve/Steam for distribution, they will be able to iterate and deliver updates much faster. They will also be able to implement their own network backends, which will mean that they aren't bound by 3rd party T&Cs in the way they likely were with Sony and MS. That in turn means that they can tailor the connected aspects of the experience to the needs of different titles.

- If it works with Steam, it'll have access to the entire Steam catalog now that the Vulkan + Proton DirectX translation layer is a thing.

- It'll be interesting to see which kind of CPU this thing will have. Unless NVidia has an x86-compatible ace up its sleeve, it'll likely be a high-end intel type of deal.

- It'll basically be a PC with a console plug'n'play experience. Best of both worlds (if you're the glass half full type, that is).

- I hope the current design isn't final. The RGB LED stuff is par for the course these days, but it really does look like a weird mix of old hat and gaudy Taiwan lighting. Not exactly a winner out of the box in the looks department to this particular middle-aged European.

EDIT: Ian Bell has stated "Yes, (we are developing a proprietary CPU and GPU) just as Microsoft and Sony do. Nothing else makes sense." (source). Unless it's a custom x86 design that can run other x86 PC and Proton (=DirectX over Vulkan) emulated Windows titles, I'm not sure how this will play out. Given that NVidia doesn't (to my knowledge) hold an x86 license, I can only imagine that it will be a custom-spec intel x86 + custom-spec NVidia thing. But I may have too shallow an imagination, mind you.

EDIT2: Some more quotes:

"I have five thousand LBE boxes to make for a large Chinese company for a huge project. The Mad Box is flowing organically from that." (source)

"We're aiming to be multiplatform." (source)

"It will be competitive." (source)

Taken in concert, this could also lead one to speculate that the CPU might be a Chinese-licenced, AMD Zen-derived "Hygon Dhyana" x86 CPU, which is supported by Linux (source). That would probably be *very* competitive if AMD were to license Zen2 and Zen2+ as well, which would then be manufactured on TSMC's 7nm node (TSMC is Taiwan-based, and Taiwan is a province of China). And if you're doing a Custom SOC on TSMC's process, you might as well throw in Navi (which was purportedly co-developed by AMD with heavy input from Sony for the PS5) on top? Certainly food for thought.

 

[Leynad777]

To me this Mad Box is related to the recent news that Steam is planning to implement and optimized Wine-Engine called Proton to their Steam Play under Linux, which already supports about 3500 game titles including The Witcher 3 or Hitman 2 with very little performance-hit and the upcoming Proton will support SteamVR as well. My best guess is that Bell is "just" hoping on this train respectively supporting it with 'his' Madness-Engine and concept. SMS was working for the SteamOS for a while. He was very furious about the chickening out of Valve from the project and it seems, Valve have changed their mind and there is something going on to make Linux-gaming more popular in the future.

My Windows 10 licence was less than 4 Euro, but since the Microsoft store-concept is likely not as popular as Google Play or Steam, they will become more greedy in the future and with their forced updates, Windows 10 will not last as long as Windows 7.

Bell lost his mind or wants to support the Linux-platform in his way. Certainly he doesn't plan to develop another OS in competition with Steam on Linux. Providing 'his' engine to developers 'for free' is a huge support for Gaming under Linux and so far it's just a rendering and some sharing of ideas what could be in the future...

 

[randMracer]

And what type of response did you expect @Paul Jeffrey from a developer that by the majority of people have felt like they have been short changed? Was I edited for the reference to the incompetent leader, and his defunct university and the factitious offspring of it. Or was it implying that Mr. Bell attended the made up lower level of business acumen?

self imposed indefinite timeout from RD

It's because you went political. You should be old enough to know that certain topics are best left alone in a forum, especially a racing forum. Such as politics, religion, sexuality, race, etc... Once you allow any of these topics to start, it would be a constant battle to moderate. So it's best just to nip them in the bud before they even get started. I'm sure it was nothing personal, so nothing to get butt hurt about. Cheers!

 

[mesa]

If it's open to developers, then it's basically a PC.

Consoles are open for developers, without it they wouldn't be able to develop games for them.

 

[randMracer]

Upgradable GPU?

GPU's don't plug in that way, so you'd have to have a proprietary GPU. Or a special module that the GPU plugged into, and then that plugged into the machine. I know these are concept pictures, but it appears there are no engineering guidelines involved whatsoever. I hope it's water cooled, because the imaginary Ian Bell specs of this system will not thrive in this box.

 

[Mascot]

old hat

I see what you did there.

 

[LoeVG]

deleted