So I'm wanting to make a Scrabble like game, but using a different dictionary that only list computer science related words and software development terms. So you can use proper nouns like PHP (And most common acronyms will be supported) or Java, pretty much any word that has to do with computing, megabyte, Macintosh, Ubuntu, URL and such. You can also use popular lines of code, say the first player plays the word system the next player could then play .out (you get one period per turn, but they aren't worth any points) and then the next player could play .println and so forth. Would anyone else be interested in a game like this or am I a super geek?
Haha i think thats actually a pretty cool idea. My only concern is that the regular dictionary has 100,000+ words, so it might be hard for people to get a tile set that has a valid computer term in it
Related
Are there are any DIVX players for the G1?
I am surprised there isnt any search results for DIVX on this, isnt anyone interested in using the G1 to watch movies?
Ok, I noticed a new software (oops a new APP) called Cinema on the market today and I downloaded it. It is supposed to play h.264 and MP4 files, which I have some regular movies (700MB ones) and it does not play those but I have a few low-res ones (160x120) that it does play but jittery. The screen actually looks beautiful and the sound is not jittery but the screen jerks and pauses and you cant get to crop, zoom, aspect ratio, or any of that good stuff to make it fit nicely on the screen. The file extension HAS to be .mp4 for it to show on the list to open. Not too easy for me where my entire collection has a .avi extension.
It is a good start though and a long way from the two original Video players, PLAYS VIDEO and Video Player that played nothing for me at all, not even SHOWED files with .mp4 extension.
Video Player worked perfectly for me but Cinema doesn't detect the same .mp4... We will see much better things in the coming months. I am sure we can even ask DIVX to think about making a player, that would be cool.
4 Months into Andriod and I am losing hopes that we will ever see any support other than the mp4 format. No Divx or any other formats.... I think Google has made it either impossible or very difficult to do anything other than mp4s.
brooklynite said:
4 Months into Andriod and I am losing hopes that we will ever see any support other than the mp4 format. No Divx or any other formats.... I think Google has made it either impossible or very difficult to do anything other than mp4s.
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Google keeps as much of the Android source under the BSD license as it can. There's some LGPL stuff in there like parts of Webkit and, of course, the linux kernel but that code has to be kept separate from the BSD licensed code. They do this to entice companies to use it because the BSD license allows any one to use the source code without requiring them to release the source of any changes they made to it. However, if a phone manufacturer has to modify the linux kernel, or any other LGPL code, to get it to work on their hardware then they are required to make the source available for those changes. Most companies would not be happy with having to make their source code available so making the Android platform available under BSD makes it much more attractive.
To that end Android needed to have as much of its core components under the BSD license as it possibly could, and that includes the multimedia subsystem. The multimedia system is called OpenCORE and was contributed by PacketVideo. They and other contributing members of the OHA have all agreed to license their code under BSD meaning that any one can take their work and use it in their own projects without having to contribute any thing back. That's no small thing to ask when those OHA members could have licensed that software for a fee instead of giving it away for free.
The reason we can't play some formats like DivX and WMV is because there is no BSD licensed software available that can be included in the Android core. There's plenty of LGPL projects around but an Android developer recently posted on their android-platform group that dealing with licensing issues for Webkit and bluez was extremely painful so I doubt we'll be seeing any of those making it into the core platform.
Another problem is that Google still has not made a native code SDK available. Everything has to be written using the Java SDK and although they attempt to optimize it as much as possible it's still not a fast as native code. Their security model depends on sandboxing applications using the Dalvik VM and native code applications would break that model. Unfortunately, most video decoders would suffer from poor performance if they had to run through the VM. A native SDK is essential for getting these and other CPU intensive tasks (like emulators! I long for a good SNES emulator on this phone) to run well.
So yes Google has made it hard to play video that's not MP4 but it's not because they're trying to be dicks about it.
numerik said:
Google keeps as much of the Android source under the BSD license as it can. There's some LGPL stuff in there like parts of Webkit and, of course, the linux kernel but that code has to be kept separate from the BSD licensed code. They do this to entice companies to use it because the BSD license allows any one to use the source code without requiring them to release the source of any changes they made to it. However, if a phone manufacturer has to modify the linux kernel, or any other LGPL code, to get it to work on their hardware then they are required to make the source available for those changes. Most companies would not be happy with having to make their source code available so making the Android platform available under BSD makes it much more attractive.
To that end Android needed to have as much of its core components under the BSD license as it possibly could, and that includes the multimedia subsystem. The multimedia system is called OpenCORE and was contributed by PacketVideo. They and other contributing members of the OHA have all agreed to license their code under BSD meaning that any one can take their work and use it in their own projects without having to contribute any thing back. That's no small thing to ask when those OHA members could have licensed that software for a fee instead of giving it away for free.
The reason we can't play some formats like DivX and WMV is because there is no BSD licensed software available that can be included in the Android core. There's plenty of LGPL projects around but an Android developer recently posted on their android-platform group that dealing with licensing issues for Webkit and bluez was extremely painful so I doubt we'll be seeing any of those making it into the core platform.
Another problem is that Google still has not made a native code SDK available. Everything has to be written using the Java SDK and although they attempt to optimize it as much as possible it's still not a fast as native code. Their security model depends on sandboxing applications using the Dalvik VM and native code applications would break that model. Unfortunately, most video decoders would suffer from poor performance if they had to run through the VM. A native SDK is essential for getting these and other CPU intensive tasks (like emulators! I long for a good SNES emulator on this phone) to run well.
So yes Google has made it hard to play video that's not MP4 but it's not because they're trying to be dicks about it.
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WOW this is probably the best answer I have received on this site since I became a member. I guess I was just naive when I thought Google claiming "open source" means easy programming. What I didnt know is that the Google version of open sourse is nothing like Microsoft Windows which is truly open and free to programmers. I wish Google would just charge $50 for the OS and leave it truly OPEN to write programs, or I guess, apps. This whole applet, app, gadget and supposed simplifying thing on the internet is just making it dumber. It seems like Google "open source" means if you want to write a map program with Google maps, its extremely easy and ready made, if you want to use Yahoo maps, mapquest, Microsoft maps etc, its practically impossible. Sooner or later, people would know and stop using andriod.
brooklynite said:
I guess I was just naive when I thought Google claiming "open source" means easy programming. What I didnt know is that the Google version of open sourse is nothing like Microsoft Windows which is truly open and free to programmers. I wish Google would just charge $50 for the OS and leave it truly OPEN to write programs, or I guess, apps.
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Once upon a time I decided to replace my faithful Treo 650 with a Sprint Mogul. When I looked at the specs of the Mogul from an HTC press release I saw that it had an ATI GPU for 3d acceleration so I thought it was going to be a decent phone. When I got it and started playing with it I noticed that it had really poor performance when playing video. I've played DivX movies using TCPMP without having to re-encode them to lower bit rates or scaled down and that was on a 312Mhz CPU with 32MB of RAM (only 23 of which was actually available). All of those same files were unwatchable on the Mogul. We know now, of course, that the reason was in HTC's poor driver support. Some were able to hack together some drivers for phones like the Kaiser using files ripped from other devices but the Mogul never did get working drivers. The funny thing is that in one of the threads discussing this someone mentioned that the Android source code repository had a linux kernel driver for the same ATI chip and wondered if it could be used to write a working Windows Mobile driver. Windows Mobile truly open and free? Are you sure about that?
brooklynite said:
This whole applet, app, gadget and supposed simplifying thing on the internet is just making it dumber. It seems like Google "open source" means if you want to write a map program with Google maps, its extremely easy and ready made, if you want to use Yahoo maps, mapquest, Microsoft maps etc, its practically impossible. Sooner or later, people would know and stop using andriod.
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Writing a map program using Google Maps is easy to do because Google built the API into the SDK. You might just as well complain that Microsoft doesn't make writing a map program in Windows Mobile using Google Maps easy. Nothing stops Microsoft, Yahoo, or Mapquest from writing software for the Android OS or providing an API for their services.
I wouldn't give up on it just yet. Adobe announced that Android will have Flash and there's zero chance of them releasing it under BSD as part of Android OS and unless they've discovered some way to massively speed up the Dalvik VM that means that Google is allowing native code to execute within the Android environment; and plugged in to the browser no less. My guess for the reason we haven't seen Flash yet is that Adobe is waiting on Google to make the necessary changes to the underlying architecture that will allow this to happen. The good news is that if its available to Adobe, then native code execution will be available to all and you'll start seeing more interesting apps.
Hi, I never did that, but I was playing to Anthelion 2 on my PPC and I thank that it could be great to port Homeworld 1 or Cataclysm to the PPC, and I would like to know how to do that, I think that I could "recompiler" it, but I don't know how, and I would like to know if a tutorial has been created somewhere on the net?...
I'm not sure if it would be even technically possible. Well, the newest pdas _might_ be powerful enough to run something like HW1 but i'm not sure if it's such a good idea. Did you try to run homeworld in 640x480 resolution? Most of the time you'll see ships as groups of two to eight pixels. Now imagine it all squished on a phone three-inch screen: try ordering your corvettes to smash that annoying bomber on a screen that small I think that a bit better idea would be porting really old games, that were designed to run in VGA or even lower resolutions (SubCulture, Command&Conquer, I-War, Dark Forces are some of the titles i'd pay for ).
Anyway, back to porting subject.
First of all you would need the source code of the program you want to port - in case of homewrld1 it's not a problem.
Secondly, you would have to make sure that all libraries (graphic, sound, input, etc) used by a game have windows mobile/windowsCE versions. Again, homeworld1 seems lucky since it has been ported to SDL - a multiplatform opensource graphic/sound/input library.
But that's where good news end. Porting a game is not just a matter of grabbing the PC version source and recompiling it. If it was as easy, we would have hundreds of PC games already ported You need considerable programming skills to actually create a port because usualy not all libraries used by a game a compatible with WindowsCE. An example - the opensource version of homeworld uses OpenGL for graphic rendering. The pocket version would have to use OpenGL's "little brother" - OpenGLES. As far as i know, they're not 100% identical, so to put it simply, you would have to make the game talk in OGLES language, instead of standard OGL. And doing changes in graphic rendering routines usually breaks something else, so you'd have to go and fix it.
I'm not trying to discourage you here but i'd suggest learning to program for WindowsCE (or at least for PC) _before_ attempting to port anything - doing it the other way around will be just a waste of time and a source of frustration.
There are some development resources that can help start the adventure with programming here on xda. You could also search for some general C/C++ tutorials targeting PC's. If you consider getting into programming, i suggest checking out SDL - Many games use it, and thanks to this library you can skip the OS-specific part of coding and get right to the fun stuff - a program that actually does/displays anything For an even easier start, you might want to check out QuickCG - a SDL wrapper simplifying the coding even further.
Oki, thanks for your answer, I've a friend who is learning to program in C++, so, I'll ask him if he can help me to do that, it would be great to have this game on a PPC (perhaps the Diamond, because it has D3D and OpenGL Drivers, or of the iPhone, but I guess that the programming language is not the same as the PPC...
[EDIT] STARCRAFT would be great to, and easier to port on PPC, because of his age and that he uses 2d Graphisms...
You should look into the stratagus engine.
antrak said:
You should look into the stratagus engine.
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Nice Engine, but it's not Starcraft, but I can't find the Source Code on the net, they could give the source code with the game when you buy it
Psycho said:
Hey, it's Calvin, I found him
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Stargus a starcraft's clone, I'm trying to download it, but I don't know if it works for PPC...
You might want to check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=497086&highlight=starcraft
I am not to sure if this is the correct area for this. But I am wondering how hard it is to make a Android game? This isn't something I want to just jump into, but learn while I am doing it and take my time.
So how challenging is it to someone who has no experience?
Thank You
Do you have any programming experience at all?
If you know languages like C++ or Java you're pretty close already. Android is programmed in Java, and you need to be familiar with Java's memory management to understand what happens behind the scenes since memory is critical on a mobile device. Also you should get some experience with multithreaded programming, since most times you'll need threads to complete tasks without getting the UI stuck.
Android uses a component based architecture that might be a bit unfamiliar in the beginning, since there's no 'main' entrypoint and you have to split your app into 'activities' that talk to each other through 'intents'.
Games present additional challenges, since they often require you to take care of several things involved with graphics and audio, so maybe they're not the ideal first step into programming.
I started programming for my phone on my Touch HD (windows mobile 6.5, using c#). I'd done some java (not a lot, really, and I hated it), some c (a bit, liked it much more) and quite a few script languages.
I have to say, I got into c# with the compact .NET framework VERY easily. It was very straightforwards, nicely syntaxed ... it was just programming as I'd known it. I've made some office apps, one or two games (just for fun, although the apps were meant to be sold ... **** MS for going wp7 and incompatible!; they were solid pieces of software engineering, if I say so myself)
Two weeks ago I got my Desire HD and a few books on programming Android ( O'Reilly, Sam's) and went looking through developer.android.com .
And I have to say, I find it hard! The concepts and how they work together are a bit ... uhm ... distributed. Good software design, but hard on the programmer (and ****ing verbose to actually type in the porgamming! Sheesh!). It took me a while to grok how all these systems are fitting together: to be honest, I'm still trying to make it all jell. All these intents, services, activities, broadcast receivers ... very interesting, but just thinking of the best (or even correct!) way of setting up your porgram is kinda difficult.
But, that's just me, in two weeks time in my spare time. I am getting it now and it is interesting (and, actually, very well set up for what they want android to do/be). c# was just easier, friendlier and faster to get into.
Sorry if this sounds negative: learning a new language isn't EASY, but it is FUN And very informative. If you have a few hours to start off with and then an hour a day, go for it ... but keep in mind there are easier/more straightforwards programming languages/environments than android (or so I think).
I would like to know this too because I got my HTC Wildfire for a few months now and I just rooted my phone yesterday to get into the whole development and modding.
I would like to learn how to make a widget first and then move onto a app/game. My goal would be to know how to create a 2D based side scroller, I would like to recreate "Bio Menace" for the Android. (I have the sprites and maps, now I only need to learn to make it into a game). (Bio Menace was my all-time favorite game when I was a child and I sometimes still play it on dosbox, but I would like to take it with me on transits to work)
I have no experience in Programming at all, I only did graphical stuff (Photoshop, 3DS Max) I know a little html for basic websites, but this was also more in Dreamweaver with the layout to designer.
So I found these books on android, but before I begin to read any of them. Can somebody tell me which book is best to start on first or which book to skip? I also like a video tutorial, but has anybody seen it? Is it any good?
Ebooks
Apress: Beginning Android 2 http://apress.com/book/view/9781430226291
Apress: Pro Android Games http://apress.com/book/view/9781430226475
Apress: Pro Android 2 http://apress.com/book/view/9781430226598
CommonsWare LLC The Busy Coders Guide to Android Development http://commonsware.com/Android/
Sam's Sams Teach Yourself Android Application Development in 24 Hours http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-Android-Application-Development/dp/0321673352
O'Reilly Media: Building Android Apps with HTML CSS and JavaScript http://oreilly.com/catalog/0636920010067
O'Reilly Media: Hello Android 3rd Edition http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781934356562
Video tutorial
O'Reilly Media: Developing Android Applications with Java, Part 1 http://oreilly.com/catalog/0636920001690
Sorry to threadjack you, but it made no sense to me to start a new thread on the same topic. There really should be an own section for noobs or a good sticky with this kind of information for noobs.
lol Im in the process of learning java right now, basic java though.
Mathods
Interfaces
Static Methods
Im pretty interested in what I need to know for development on the andriod platform. By mid/late spring I should know quite a bit more. Taking an Advanced java course. Current I only know C#, C++, and Visual Basics.
Never worked on a GUI before =(.
I think I want to try to make a mobile game.
I made a browser game a while ago for a collage class that was very similar to kingdom of loathing. I want to port this to more of a "web app" style to be multi platform for mobile phones.
I'm not asking questions on coding specific questions, though I do need to know, other then the web development code (html, php, database(sql, mysql), javascript that I either know or have enough basic knowledge and reference material to make good use of, what other languages should I know.
So thats question one, will I really need to delve down into java to be able to make a web app game for android (iphone, winmo, etc maybe)
Secondly, when writing, should I get a browser version of the game working first, and then port it, or should I start mobile from the ground up?
If I posted this in the wrong section or If I'm completely in the wrong frame of mind here let me know.
Your question is not very clear. Are you planning to make a web app or an android app? Because they are two different things for me.
Sorry about that
I guess both, A game that you can play from a web browser but also android... Though I've started to actually answer my own question...
And an example of a similar concept is with facebook.
There is facebook for web browser, but there is also a mobile app.
What I need to do is develop an API for the game and be able to show it on both.
hmm. actually facebook is an application not a game so this is not related with your concept but you can make a game application and create a web based game istatistic page.
or you can create android game and create a web page which include episode tricks or riddles. when you get true answers from user then you can switch him/ her to new episode. etc.
i just want to give you an idea in order to use them together.
I have this idea for a mobile game, and on the surface, it's fairly simplistic in nature. I have very little experience working with code, and it's never been something I've done well at grasping even when I tried to learn about it. I did take a basic class in Android app development, but that was nearly two years ago, and I remember very little of it. So, anyway, I'm on to using GameSalad, and I'm trying to "teach" myself how to use it as best I can, but I could really use a lot of specific assistance with how things work, and how to set things up properly.
So, the idea for the game is difficult to describe properly; right now, since I'm just trying to make a bit of a "prototype", here's a very barebones explanation of what I'm trying to accomplish in the main portion of the game:
It's essentially a Madlibs-like "fill in the blank" style game. There are two random pools for the game; the first is the "phrase" the player is filling in the blank(s) for, and the other pool is a random assortment of different answers. There's one "phrase" per turn, and the player is randomly given, say, five "answers" from the pool.
The thing is, eventually, I want to get this to a point where it's a multiplayer game; in other words, I want the game to consist of a handful of players getting their own set of "answers" to plug into the phrase, with the winning player getting a "point" for that round, then everyone getting a new "answer" item to replace the one they used.
But for right now, I'm trying to get a basic idea of how to make the game work. I've been playing around with the "actors" and their rules, but I can't figure out how to use the "rules" to make the "actors" interact with each other, and whatnot, and I can't figure out how to create the random pools of phrases and answers, nor how to discard both the phrases and answers that have already been used.
I'm probably going to need a bit of assistance with this project, if anyone is willing to answer my constant technical questions all the time. I'm hoping that once I get going, I'll start picking up on it more and more and won't need to constantly ask for help.