[ Thanks to Bob
Burton for this link. ]
“Apple recently took a major step to combat this
platform-centric concept of game network technology by releasing a
new version of their OpenPlay networking technology, and releasing
the open source code to NetSprockets 1.7.1, a key component of
Apple’s Game Sprockets software.”
“While neither release has any immediate benefit for Macintosh
gamers, the long-term effects could be profound — it’s technology
that’s specifically tailored to enable games to communicate with
one another on the Internet, and it’s one that works with both
Windows and Mac OS. It also incorporates what Apple refers to as
“preliminary support” for Linux.”
“OpenPlay started life under the code name Uber. It was tooled
by Apple and Bungie Software to serve as the networking component
for Bungie’s award-winning realtime strategy game Myth II:
Soulblighter. Shortly thereafter, the product was shelved by Apple,
but after Apple announced its Darwin open source code initiative
early this year, the future of Uber, now renamed OpenPlay, became
much clearer. With OpenPlay 1.2’s release, Apple has released
refined source code to the programming community which incorporates
“numerous portability fixes” and Linux support.”
“Apple has gone a step further, as well. The company
indicates that NetSprockets 1.7.1 source code is also available for
downloading.“