Media Molecule wants to share PS3 memory tool with devs

by Xav de Matos { Nov 17th 2009 at 7:14PM }

Media Molecule lead architect Paul Holden said he would like to make a proprietary memory monitoring tool his company developed for the PlayStation 3 available to other studios. Speaking at the Montreal Game Summit, as reported by Develop, Holden said the tool helps map and control memory usage in games, which became necessary during the development of LittleBigPlanet.

"It would be great if we could release it for people to use," Holden told the crowd during a Q&A session following his keynote address. "We could definitely get it released to PS3 developers with little difficulty." The tool, named HeapMon, allows software to make and manage numerous requests of the PS3's hardware memory.

However, before Media Molecule is able to hand the "very simple tool" off to other development teams, Holden clarified that Sony would first need to approve the decision. We suspect an online petition is in the works, because they work.

Tags: development, heapmon, lbp, littlebigplanet, media-molecule, montreal-game-summit, Paul-holden, ps3-memory, tools

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 17th 2009 7:21PM

Sony will probably approve this, if they've got Naughty Dog helping with PS3 development as well.

Anything to stop lazy devs from bitching about 'its too hard!'.

Solace @ Nov 17th 2009 7:29PM

how about MM fixing the save data memory issues! My Luigi costume is gone because of them and so many others also.

sony boy (6 years til sony man child!) @ Nov 17th 2009 7:58PM

isn't that because of copyright issues??

Solace @ Nov 17th 2009 8:03PM

no many of my costumes are screwing up, save data is so messed up and can corrupt easily

Darkfocus @ Nov 17th 2009 8:24PM

I thought they fixed that a long time a ago like 2 weeks after it came out. do you have a ton of outfits saved or something? cause that might be causing it I think theirs a limit before it starts screwing up.

dave @ Nov 18th 2009 12:15AM

I believe that the next LBP patch will vastly increase the amount of space for saving stuff. No idea when it'll be released. Hopefully soon.

I'm just waiting on their water patch. That's when I'll be getting back into LBP.

dave @ Nov 18th 2009 12:31AM

There's supposed to be a patch being released soon, which will vastly increase the amount of space to save objects. There is no specific release date, but hopefully it will be in the next few weeks.

I'm waiting for the water patch. Now that will be awesome. Please let this be an Xmas present!

dave @ Nov 17th 2009 7:53PM

Nice. A good collaborative development community means PS3 programmers will get better, faster. I hope this encourages other PS3 programmers to share code and techniques. Thanks Media Molecule.

I believe Naughty Dog have done a bit of sharing as well. If so, it's only good news for the PS3.

Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Nov 17th 2009 8:10PM

It's why the ps3 always has the best 1st part exclusives. The machine is complex but when master developers share their knowledge, awesome games always result.

useedems @ Nov 17th 2009 10:55PM

I hope someone has Gearbox's phone number. Just played Borderlags co-op and it was a disaster. Made me wanna throw the disc off the balcony.

Darkfocus @ Nov 17th 2009 8:21PM

I love media molecule and its great that they want to share they're tech with other devs I think LittleBigPlanet had a fantastic engine. I mean did you see the shear volume of stuff you could put on screen and still maintain a good framerate!

Leo161 @ Nov 18th 2009 3:17PM

While I respect Media Molecule,
and adore LittleBigPlanet (and it's memory management),
The development aspect of the game needs its finishing touches put on. Um, object too complex? Cannot add material? Why are my wheels rolling like a square? Why did that proximity sensor just fail? Why can't I get this room lit correctly? Material meter full? Wth?! Okay so these are just minor flaws that obviously don't limit people from creating absolutely amazing levels, but sometimes... you just need some help..
And the creator of "The Bunker" isn't there to help you.. So Media Molecule, please just create a dynamic helper, not a clippy clone, but like an in-game encyclopedia of extremely complex contraptions and simple machines alike! Maybe some videos too? :D The video tutorials w/the British dude just aren't deep enough for some things..

Pablo @ Nov 18th 2009 4:56PM

That would be awesome if the developers could start sharing more cool stuff like that so they can start getting the max out of what the PS3 should be capable of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyeemtS1jII

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Media Molecule wants to share PS3 memory tool with devs

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