Could it be possible to make an XBOX 360 (or other console) release of Magicka?

[larienna]

I look at your game footage, and I think this game would make an excellent replacement for Torchlite 2 that will not be released on XBOX.

Supporting local Multiplayer would also be nice. I know you released defenders of Arcadia on XBOX, so I don't know if the conversion from PC to XBOX is easy or if it demands a lot of recoding. Considering that an XBOX is a disguised PC, it should not be that hard.

 

[zenstar]

Local multiplayer (using an xbox controller) is already supported in Magicka.

They've looked at creating an Xbox version and have put it on hold for now as they needed to iron out all the bugs and work out all the kinks. While they haven't said there will be no xbox version they also haven't said that there will be an xbox version.

This has been requested often but I think a solid control scheme would need to be worked out first (try the controller on pc vs keyboard and see how different it feels).

Hopefully it'll happen one day, but don't get your hopes up too high. Maybe when they do Magicka 2?

 

[Dikharz]

... but I think a solid control scheme would need to be worked out first (try the controller on pc vs keyboard and see how different it feels).

Hmm, I agree. The control scheme seems a bit clunky.
If however you do want to play with a controller, I've tried my way by remapping the controller keys to keyboard keys using AutoHotkey.
Its still not perfect, but I think it'll do its job.

This is the controller layout I use:


For those which like to try it out, here's what to do:
1. Download and install AutoHotkey. (Link: http://www.autohotkey.com/).
2. Download XboxToMagickaMapping.zip from the attachment of this post and extract it to anywhere (for example to your desktop).
3. Plugin your Xbox controller, start XboxToMagickaMapping.ahk, start Magicka and have fun!

A few notes which apply to this AutoHotkey script:
- Note that this remaps controller keys to keyboard keys. Which means you cant use it for local multiplayer.
- Note that the element layout is a bit scrambled, I've put some thought into this, making sure you can cast important spells and Magicks as quickly as possible.
- Make sure to use your mouse in the Magicka menus to start a game. Then, when ingame, use the controller.
- This script works when full-screen, though, when playing Magicka windowed, it will display a small tooltip with the elements in the bottom left corner.
- I also mapped the F9-F12 keys on the keyboard to control the script:

• F9 stops timers (which are used for left/right stick, d-pad and trigger input)
• F10 starts timers if they where stopped previously
• F11 reloads the script, useful if it ever fails on you
• F12 completely stops the script and AutoHotkey (if no other script is running)

Oh, and if things annoy you, or you'd like things otherwise. Feel free to modify the script to your liking.
With one exception! You are not allowed to use this script for macro-ing!
(Although the script is already in some way, but you know exactly what I mean.)
Macro-ing in Magicka is as simple as cheating and I do not support them in any way!

Anyho, have it a go (if you like) and tell me your thoughts.

Your fellow fireball catcher,
Dikharz

 

[whitebear]

While Magicka is highly demanding game and current console generation has hard time supporting the requirements to run game like this, The issue with Xbox 360 is not only technical side of things.
Microsoft's program for "Quality Validation" is costly and so is development kit for 360. After release the first update gets free "Quality Validation" but every update after that cost a lot to "Validate".
Notice the quotation marks? Considering the crap that gets released on the console, I doubt they make any more validation than making sure program contains no malicious code. And not to mention "validation" may fail for some very odd reasons. So ye, releasing stuff on 360 is big risk and usually brings more losses than it's worth.
I spouse if OUYA comes soon enough they might be able to get it there but I doubt it considering the facts that, they use XMA libraries in magicka (XMA is owned by Microsoft) and OUYA's system specifications look quite low quality (unless you hack and upgrade it)

 

[Psyflash]

Thanks for the script, though, Dikharz. I was fiddling with something similar, wanting to have the 8 directions on one of my controllers be the elements, but this seems workable too. I was thinking: if you can have autohotkey (or similar) do a sequence of analog stick movements (like required to conjure any one element with a gamepad righ now) you are almost there.

 

[Dikharz]

Hey Psy, thanks for the heads up

If you can have autohotkey (or similar) do a sequence of analog stick movements you are almost there.

Actually that was my initial idea of the script. Though, this seemed not possible with AutoHotkey so I dropped the idea and decided I would map the keys to the keyboard instead.
(For some reason AutoHotkey just cant send controller keys outwards. I even tried setting the elements to the ABXY keys on the controller, but even those keys AutoHotkey can't send.)
Also, there's another problem at which if you press a key on the controller, the key will be mapped to another by AutoHotkey, but Magicka will also 'see' this key.

I was fiddling with something similar, wanting to have the 8 directions on one of my controllers be the elements.

If you want to have the elements like: Left=Water, Left/Up=Life, Up=Shield, etc... then you could edit the AutoHotkey script (at "; D-Pad Handler"). It currently only uses 4 directions (0-3) up,right,down,left but you could easily rewrite it for 8 directions.
Though, if you want like: Left+Down=Water, Left+Up=Life, etc... (you know, like the right joystick by default), that is actually possible by changing the button configuration ingame.

Do remember though, using the keyboard allows you to press multiple elements at once. The reason I'm using ABXY is that it also allows you to do so (to a certain extend). This is also the reason I mapped the elements to the buttons this way. It allows faster casting important spells since this way you can simultaneously press the buttons you need at once. Using the d-pad for casting gets rid of that, it only allows you to add 1 element to your spellbar at a time.

Anyhow, if you need any help, give me a heads up
And have fun!

Your fellow fireball catcher,
Dikharz

 

[larienna]

I spouse if OUYA comes soon enough they might be able to get it there but I doubt it considering the facts that, they use XMA libraries in magicka (XMA is owned by Microsoft) and OUYA's system specifications look quite low quality (unless you hack and upgrade it)

So Magika already use XNA, it sure makes it a good candidate for xbox porting. I am not aware of the quality control. Considering that there are indie games, I was not sure if they actually had quality control.

I am interested in the OUYA too, but it might not be easy to convert since OUYA works on Android.

The quality of the game feed reminded of torch lite, this is why I thought this game could run on XBOX. I'll wait, like the first poster said, there is a possibility that they can do it, but it's not guaranteed.

 

[whitebear]

while the processor of 360 should be enough for the game to run on low quality, the problem is that 360 simply does not have enough memory or powerful enough graphics processor to work with the requirements. 360 has only directx 9.0c capable graphics chip. compared to consoles, pc is light years ahead.

 

[XenoLair]

As far as I'm aware, XNA is built for 360 and has a flexible content pipeline that would help in porting to more limited hardware. I could be wrong though.
Maybe they have other priorities like completing the game -> release all DLC and fix all existing bugs before a 360 release can occur. Since updates on the 360 cost $30k a pop, this would be smart ^^.