Database Users

Wanted - help beta testing my browser game

Hello fellow XDAers!
I have ported a WinMobile game to Silverlight and I am really desperate for some beta testers – having been immersed in the project now for over 500 hours it's getting hard to see the wood for the trees.
If you're keen, the URL is www.squarepeggame.com
As an (attempt at an) incentive, I will reward useful beta testers with free copies of the game when it's released. Currently, things I would really like to know are:
- Does it load and run on your machine / browser?
- Are you able to create an account, and is your level position saved when you re-start?
- The Level Designer (this'll be the first time anybody has used it, go easy on me) what do you think?
- Comments on useability and interface.
- General bug reports (please be as specific as possible)
- Anyone have access to an Intel-based Mac? Does it run on that?
There are separate forums on the game site to post any questions/bugs, I am of course happy to reply here in this thread too, providing it doesn't get too cluttered.
Thank you in advance!
Carlos
PS: I'll soon be on the look out for paid level designers as well, if this is something that interests you, just sign up in-game as a developer (see the website for more info)
PPS: You might need Silverlight 2, but it only takes 30secs to download & install the plugin

- Does it load and run on your machine / browser?
Yes
- Are you able to create an account,
haven't tried (was not required
and is your level position saved when you re-start?
When I clicked the x i restarted, but when I clicked the x again the screen stayed white, nothing happened
- Comments on useability and interface.
I though the pregame pointers (in training mode) disapeared a bit too quickly
- General bug reports (please be as specific as possible)
see my 2nd comment

Mr_Gee said:
- Does it load and run on your machine / browser?
Yes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there
Thanks very much for this, I'm nearly ready to release it - anybody else fancy giving it a go? http://www.squarepeggame.com
What would be very helpful would be if somebody wanted to use the level designer to make their own level for the game - doesn't have to be anything complex - and let me know how you get on?
C

I will try right now

hmm seems like ppc has a new level to achieve ... will try
quite heavy on my memory eats up a lot of ram; was nice to play it and as been said was able to play without using my email address

Frickin' level 7....AAARRRGGGHHH!!!! Now you have done it. I'll be at this for hours.http://forum.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Runs well on Firefox 3 with Silverlight 2 for me. It allowed me to create an account and login. Haven't tested saving yet. Will do in a moment. Likewise with the level designer. The only thing that could do with altering is that on my 1920 x 1200 monitor (24 inch) the game is as far to the left of the browser as it will go. Would be better in the middle.

Yes, it did save my level when I went back. Just had the signup email. Might be worth obscuring some of the password in it . And volume controls for SFX and music would be good rather than just on or off. Level 9 of the tutorial has a spelling error, Giong instead of Going.

- Does it load and run on your machine / browser?
It runs, I am using my bro's core2duo laptop with firefox 3.0.5
- Are you able to create an account, and is your level position saved when you re-start?
Yes, I used red_hanks also and it says I am logged in with that name. Still waiting for the game to start for 15minutes now, it says "please wait" with a square spinning around. It is not my internet connection because I have a high-speed broadband. Silverlight was installed also and system is up to date with Windows Update.
- The Level Designer (this'll be the first time anybody has used it, go easy on me) what do you think?
Looks clean, like in nurserys... (just the first page where it says START, INSTRUCTIONS...)
- Comments on useability and interface.
None at the moment
- General bug reports (please be as specific as possible)
It is not loading???
Oh it's loading now...Playing it...nice game...hit thr back arrow button and it went back to the first page...playing again...hit the x button and nothin happens..hit it again and everything just went white...

Hmmm... the level editor crashes Firefox for me as soon as I click in the email box. Also happens in IEtab and Internet Explorer 7. My machine is Vista Ultimate with a Core 2 Duo E6600 with 2gb RAM. I've also had it go to a blank screen in the menus but I see this is a listed bug on your forum.

character said:
eats up a lot of ram.. was nice to play it and as been said was able to play without using my email address
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll look into any ways of further minimising RAM usage, although could be a browser thing too. Lots of sounds and pics to cache too, but will definitely investigate.
ahuskins said:
Frickin' level 7....AAARRRGGGHHH!!!! Now you have done it. I'll be at this for hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Level 7, really??! The one on the tutorial is really easy, so maybe you're talking about the actual "first hundred" playlist? Hope you cracked it! Let me know if you can't get there and want me to developer-enable your account so that you can try out the level designer.
Prof. Yaffle said:
The only thing that could do with altering is that on my 1920 x 1200 monitor (24 inch) the game is as far to the left of the browser as it will go. Would be better in the middle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an interesting comment - I will try to get it to centre in the browser rather than left-aligning. It's funny as I had just assumed that people would move or resize the window rather than maximising it! But I want it to be as helpful as possible to the user so you're right, it should align to the middle of large browser windows.
Prof. Yaffle said:
Yes, it did save my level when I went back. Just had the signup email. Might be worth obscuring some of the password in it . And volume controls for SFX and music would be good rather than just on or off. Level 9 of the tutorial has a spelling error, Giong instead of Going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are all excellent suggestions, thank you - and typo now fixed. (the joy of all the levels coming from a SQL server is that this was a relatively trivial thing to do - if you've ever tried deploying and staging an Azure server site you'll know how long it can take...)
The volume controls might not make it into the beta release but will definitely be added later.
red_hanks said:
Hit the x button and nothin happens..hit it again and everything just went white...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this, red_hanks. Can't replicate the error but could easily have been the webserver being down. Calls to WCF services from Silverlight are a little tricky and I think I need more error handling for when they don't work. I don't think you have tested the level designer by the way, just the game, in answer to your comment.
Thanks everyone! As I said before, if anyone fancies trying to design their own level using the level designer and wants to let me know the name, etc, I'd be interested to (1) play your level and (2) hear how you got on with the level designer!
There's forums over at www.squarepeggame.com too if you need help, tutorials still being made but some are there.
Carlos

Any idea what could cause the level editor to crash in IE7 and Firefox? I've tried Run As Administrator as well but still the same. As soon as I click any of the boxes (including the tickbox) it crashes.

Prof. Yaffle said:
Any idea what could cause the level editor to crash in IE7 and Firefox? I've tried Run As Administrator as well but still the same. As soon as I click any of the boxes (including the tickbox) it crashes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm okay it would certainly be good to get this solved!
When it crashes, does it just white-screen or is there an error message? Can you try (in Firefox), after it's crashed, going to Tools -> Error Console and seeing if there were any error messages?
C
PS: I'm assuming you're running Silverlight v2 and not some earlier beta or something. Perhaps you could try uninstalling and re-installing Silverlight for me as well, making sure of course that all browsers are closed during installation.

Great, but a few issues
It runs along fine with very few issues on my Sony Laptop (Model VGN-CR240E with Windows Vista/7 partitions, 2 gb RAM, 2 gigahertz Centrino Duo, and a 1280x800 LCD screen. I have not actually tried it on Vista, only on Windows 7 and it works wonderfully except when you enter a level and hit the "X" button in the top corner, which crashes IE8 Beta It doesn't crash under those circumstances on FireFox (Windows 7) though. However, these issues could also be attributed to the fact it is a beta OS running a beta Browser. The game seems more stable on FireFox. I will try it on Vista later, and see if that makes a difference using IE7. As for the UI, it's fine but if you added a way to go back to the main menu after you choose the green "Start" button, that would make it even better. Accounts work fine as far as I've used them. And I have not noticed any RAM issues with the game, according to Process Explorer. The game is amazing overall, and you'll have yourself a real winner when this is done. Good luck with the game
Dave

Does it load and run on your machine / browser?
It works fine on my HP laptop. I'm running Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 and using IE 8 Beta 2
Are you able to create an account, and is your level position saved when you re-start?
Yes. I created an account and the level position was saved
The Level Designer (this'll be the first time anybody has used it, go easy on me) what do you think?
I haven't been able to login to it.
Comments on useability and interface.
Nice UI. It's simple and intuitive
General bug reports (please be as specific as possible)
Problem logging into the level designer. It says I need to complete the tutorial though I've finished it.
How did it run on an Intel iMac?
Once I get to my newspaper class 2 days from now, I'll update my post.
Since I couldn't login to the dev portal, I'm just saying: I'm a Silverlight developer and I would be interested in designing levels/improving the code of the game.

Hello,
The game runs well on my Mac Book Pro with Firefox.
I was able to create an account with no issues.
UI is simple. Makes the games easy to learn.
Crashed to a white screen on level 9 of the tutorial after several moves. Was able to restart from the beginning. This was prior to creating a login. After creating a login and then finishing level 8 of the tutorial I got a pleas wait icon. It then crashed to a white screen after about 30 seconds.
Do you want us to post in the squarepeg forum instead of here?

carlosp_uk said:
Hmm okay it would certainly be good to get this solved!
When it crashes, does it just white-screen or is there an error message? Can you try (in Firefox), after it's crashed, going to Tools -> Error Console and seeing if there were any error messages?
C
PS: I'm assuming you're running Silverlight v2 and not some earlier beta or something. Perhaps you could try uninstalling and re-installing Silverlight for me as well, making sure of course that all browsers are closed during installation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it crashes it actually kills Firefox and I get the Mozilla Crash Reporter asking if I wish to report details of what I was doing. I've tried several times looking in the Error Console and there's nothing other than a couple of dead RSS feeds. If I clear it still nothing at all related. I have V2 of Silverlight installed but have just tried rebooting, removing it, rebooting again, re-installing it and still the same.

Had to d/l silverlight- plays just fine
Created account and didnt have to log in as it remembered me and where I was
Nice game, looks good and is easy to use, though the levels get tough
No bugs that I have found
Using this on my HP 17" laptop running Windows XP
Thanks for this

Everything works perfectly using Silverlight 2 on an (intel) Macbook. The levels are tough, most definitely.

DaveTheTytnIIGuy said:
On Windows 7 and it works wonderfully except when you enter a level and hit the "X" button in the top corner, which crashes IE8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Dave, and also for your kind comments / feeback on the game - all noted. I have not been able to reproduce this bug (IE8 beta 1 or 2?) so I'm going to put it down as a win7/ie8 quirk for now, unless I get multiple reports. How did you get on with Vista?
ND4SPD said:
Problem logging into the level designer. It says I need to complete the tutorial though I've finished it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks this worries me as if the game is not correctly developer-enabling accounts at all times we're in trouble. Did anything happen when you completed the tutorial? Any sort of message at all? I cannot reproduce the error as when I complete the tutorial on my machine a message box appears telling me "Congratulations!..." and my account is upgraded to developer status.
ND4SPD said:
Since I couldn't login to the dev portal, I'm just saying: I'm a Silverlight developer and I would be interested in designing levels/improving the code of the game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, that sounds very interesting, if we can't get this problem sorted quickly let me know and I can manually developer-enable your account so you can have a crack at the level designer. In the next phase of the launch, we (ie me) will be paying out cash for levels as well.
blazingwolf said:
Crashed to a white screen on level 9 of the tutorial after several moves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this - this sounds like an error in code rather than comms. Can you remember what moves you made in the level? If you're able to reproduce this error and then (in firefox) go to Tools -> Error Console, hopefully there will be an error message that could help me to fix this bug. The other error you mention is a known comms exception that I'll be looking at.
Prof. Yaffle said:
When it crashes it actually kills Firefox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously? Whoa! And this happens when you click anything in the login screen of the level designer, right? (I'm assuming you got the logo and login textboxes appearing with no issues) Does the Mozilla crash reporter give you any additional info that you could send me about the crash?
Thanks so much for re-installing, by the way, sorry this didn't help. This doesn't sound like it's something that's going to be easy to diagnose, in fact I already have a headache just thinking about it. Possibly a silverlight bug, a browser bug, or both. Do you have javascript enabled in Firefox, by the way? And have you tried logging in with Internet Explorer, does that work?
blazingwolf said:
Do you want us to post in the squarepeg forum instead of here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know people, as we're now discussing multiple issues, and I don't want to abuse the charity of xda-developers for hosting this discussion, it might actually be better to gradually move things to the squarepeg forums. (http://forums.squarepeggame.com) I'll disable email account activation for a few days to make it quicker for you to set up accounts.
Of course if people would prefer to post here, that's understandable, I'll still gladly answer posts in this thread.
On a general note, thanks for all the testing so far (eg stanglifemike) - and I'm really pleased that the general impression of the game itself seems to be a good one... ...oh, and @elazullizard - thanks for the feedback... are the levels really that tough? Are you talking about "The First Hundred" or the tutorial?.. ..if it's the tutorial I'm now worried that I've made it too hard!
Carlos

Eclipse and Android SDK

Hey all, i am starting to find out about creating apps. I have started with creating a simple webview app that shows a website.
What i am having trouble with is after editing the files in eclipse i hit run an in the SDK emulator all i get is a black screen wit android write on it.
Any ideas?
NOTE: i am very new to this

Be patient it takes like 10 mins or more for the emulator to load

Novice here.
Yes, it will take sometime. Here it starts quickly (core i5 notebook). But it may take a long long time.
You can also use your phone to debug and deploy. It's very very quick, takes virtually no time to load, like the emulator. At least here.
Good luck!

Thanks all it did take a while was juts me being inpatient.

Follow-up question: When debugging an app in eclipse, if you change your source during a debug session, it should restart my app/activity/whatsis, right?
Yeah.. not getting that at all, and my current dev box leaves something to be desired in the horsepower department. Those emulator restarts are killing my interest in working on this pet project of mine.
I found a link that should let me use my Evo directly, hopefully that will do the trick.
--Mark
Sent from my PC36100(Evo) using XDA App

Update:
Grr. I installed the HTC Sync 2.blah, so I can actually connect to my Evo now from within Eclipse but I'm still running into problems. Eclipse still isn't automagically updating my app when I change-n-save. Am I just expecting too much here?
Oddly enough, it DID update the changed app when I unplugged my evo from my laptop and plugged it back in. This took several seconds to catch up, but it beats the hell out of waiting for a new emulator to boot. Ouch. We need some way to freeze/save the emulator state so we can relaunch it with it's memory and so forth already in place.
I'd mangled my first hand-rolled "hello world" app (started monkeying with stuff without knowing what did what), so it no longer ran. Note To Self: "Test Only" flag seems to mean "emulator only". That was a snag.
So I whipped up a demo app (the "Skeleton App" for 2.1) project. Installed and ran fine. I changed a couple buttons to Log.d(...) instead of What They Did, and after the unplug-plugin trick, the app updated. The buttons no longer performed their original tasks... instead they now do what looks like NOTHING! LogCat isn't showing my debug messages at all (which wasn't a problem previously when I was just using the emulator).
Am I just missing the boat here or what?

I love windows 8 but...

I have the rtm of pro activated with a legit key for vlsc and when you consider this is supposed to be finished I have found it almost more buggy than release preview. It took ages to get AMD Catalyst installed and it required me to go into device manager to install the driver manually first and that's the windows 8 software. That could be excused its not MS its just beta software. The thing I don't get though is my music plays in media player yet the new metro music app bombs out about 1-2 seconds in on any track and I have tested a few now. The email is almost impossible to work out how to add new email accounts and you can still only have metro apps on one screen and that includes the start menu. This means that even though I have 3 screens if I want to put my email to one side I then have to use that screen for any other work im doing. Yes the multio monitor support has some cool tweeks ie the toolbar on all 3 screens (eyefinity did this anyway) it still ties me to one screen working arg. Also for some reason my ocz agility 3 hard drive only score 6.9 booo something wrong there. Rant over! There is many little bugs crashes but I love the os overall so don't want to look to negative but I was expecting more from rtm.

lumpaywk said:
I have the rtm of pro activated with a legit key for vlsc and when you consider this is supposed to be finished I have found it almost more buggy than release preview. It took ages to get AMD Catalyst installed and it required me to go into device manager to install the driver manually first and that's the windows 8 software. That could be excused its not MS its just beta software. The thing I don't get though is my music plays in media player yet the new metro music app bombs out about 1-2 seconds in on any track and I have tested a few now. The email is almost impossible to work out how to add new email accounts and you can still only have metro apps on one screen and that includes the start menu. This means that even though I have 3 screens if I want to put my email to one side I then have to use that screen for any other work im doing. Yes the multio monitor support has some cool tweeks ie the toolbar on all 3 screens (eyefinity did this anyway) it still ties me to one screen working arg. Also for some reason my ocz agility 3 hard drive only score 6.9 booo something wrong there. Rant over! There is many little bugs crashes but I love the os overall so don't want to look to negative but I was expecting more from rtm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you cant really hold MS to blame for shoddy driver support on an unreleased product from manufactures who haven't released final drivers (graphics and HDD) the multi monitor thing is a bit of a pain, and the email accounts couldn't be simpler, Media player bombing out sounds like a pretty serious issue and I suspect yet another driver related issue given that its not widespread and so far as I can tell, user specific, which is likely hardware specific
What is lost upon Mac users is that Windows must support a near limitless set of hardware combos, the mere fact it works on most computers is a huge achievement, unfortunately it can have its problems, I have audio issues as well, I very much doubt my sound card manufacture will get new drivers out and will more than likely force me to change hardware, that's a pain, but it is also good business sense

Don't worry bro. I have the same problems. Release Preview is buggy as all hell.
My WMP won't even open without instantly freezing. I've tried both 32 and 64-bit versions. They do open separately without having to use hacks, which I will give it to MS, it's about time.
The mail app barely opens. You have to restart the whole computer to get it working again.
W8 HATES Google Chrome browser. Constantly locking up. Google needs to get it together with that one. I've always hated IE, but since it's 64-bit native, it seems to perform quite nicely. Just need to find some sort of extension to block ads and I'd be good to go. They seem to have made quite the number of improvements to it since last I used it.
Menu options such as "Print" and "delete" have disappeared from the PDF app. They were present in the Consumer and Developers previews.
I have an HP Presario DV7-6165us Notebook, and believe it or not, I think the graphics work better with W8 built-in drivers than the AMD Catalyst ones I later decided to install. It was the same story when I used CP and DP. All the built-in drivers seem to have better performance. Especially the Wifi ones. Bluetooth stock drivers even run everything I need and connect my devices flawlessly, but when I install drivers from HP designed for W7 64-bit, we have problems.
Normal, 3rd party applications freeze on a regular basis. Can't blame MS for that. It's the devs of the applications we have to complain to in order to get them to develop compatibility with W8.

I personally haven't had any compatibility issues with my software, and I had already ironed out a way to install my modded graphics drivers in CP and RP. Chrome works great. Bear in mind I'm running the x86 version as oppose to the x64 one. Overall it runs even better than the previews and the only let down for me was the lack of new features from preview to rtm.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using xda app-developers app

I feel really stupid in the fact that I accidentally did an upgrade install. *facepalm*
Did a custom after "refreshing" the OS, which was a nightmare to complete anyways... but now that's it's pretty much stock, everything works again. XD

dazza9075 said:
you cant really hold MS to blame for shoddy driver support on an unreleased product from manufactures who haven't released final drivers (graphics and HDD) the multi monitor thing is a bit of a pain, and the email accounts couldn't be simpler, Media player bombing out sounds like a pretty serious issue and I suspect yet another driver related issue given that its not widespread and so far as I can tell, user specific, which is likely hardware specific
What is lost upon Mac users is that Windows must support a near limitless set of hardware combos, the mere fact it works on most computers is a huge achievement, unfortunately it can have its problems, I have audio issues as well, I very much doubt my sound card manufacture will get new drivers out and will more than likely force me to change hardware, that's a pain, but it is also good business sense
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhhh, yes, the "Mac hardware is easy" fable. I love this one. I would type more, but apple patented something I'm doing on my Android phone, so I'll be arrested any moment...

Most of my issues are driver based and so not down to MS directly. My gripe is that this stuff was working in the preview so whatever changes MS made has now brocken almost half of the drivers that did work. Getting my Catalyst to work was a pain but it now does though it took me to manually install the driver then install the software. I will swap out my Asrock motherboard for a sabertooth r2 but i cant see many people wanting to make such changes.
My main MS gripe is the multi monitor support after they made such a big deal about it and it does not do the most basic of functions. this is not an early build driver issue this is a problem with the OS. Plus its one that cant be fixed with a link on the taskbar like the lack of start button. TBH im wandaring what AMD has up its sleaves for eyefinity and how they can get around hot corners(at the mo i turn off outside of games windows+p). Another issue is the music app, this is a bug, i dont know how widespread and once again will be down to some 3rd party but there is nothing that any normal user would not have and media player works so its not down to mp3 drivers or currupt files etc.
As for Macs they have tons of issues themselves and the new OS hardly works on anything. Apple is miles behind and its just thanks to a great marketing dept and the easy peer presure of the modern word that they have become so huge.

Apparently the amd v9 driver works better than the 1 designed for RP

ohgood said:
Ahhhhh, yes, the "Mac hardware is easy" fable. I love this one. I would type more, but apple patented something I'm doing on my Android phone, so I'll be arrested any moment...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no one said it was easy as such, but if you design an OS around a piece of hardware then it will (you would hope) have been run through the grinder a lot more. Until this last decade trying to get most 3rd party hardware to run on a mac was a pain in the arse, made much easier with the move to x86 I might add but still, its not a fable, unless Apples testing programs are as crap as its customer service!

lumpaywk said:
I have the rtm of pro activated with a legit key for vlsc and when you consider this is supposed to be finished I have found it almost more buggy than release preview. It took ages to get AMD Catalyst installed and it required me to go into device manager to install the driver manually first and that's the windows 8 software. That could be excused its not MS its just beta software. The thing I don't get though is my music plays in media player yet the new metro music app bombs out about 1-2 seconds in on any track and I have tested a few now. The email is almost impossible to work out how to add new email accounts and you can still only have metro apps on one screen and that includes the start menu. This means that even though I have 3 screens if I want to put my email to one side I then have to use that screen for any other work im doing. Yes the multio monitor support has some cool tweeks ie the toolbar on all 3 screens (eyefinity did this anyway) it still ties me to one screen working arg. Also for some reason my ocz agility 3 hard drive only score 6.9 booo something wrong there. Rant over! There is many little bugs crashes but I love the os overall so don't want to look to negative but I was expecting more from rtm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have problems to with amd proc and.ati video drivers
Sent from my LG-P970 using xda premium

If it's an ati mobility card then Google search mobility modder, that's how I got mine to work.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using xda app-developers app

ArchangelRenzoku said:
W8 HATES Google Chrome browser. Constantly locking up. Google needs to get it together with that one. I've always hated IE, but since it's 64-bit native, it seems to perform quite nicely. Just need to find some sort of extension to block ads and I'd be good to go. They seem to have made quite the number of improvements to it since last I used it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.bing.com/search?q=tracking+protection+lists&src=IE-TopResult&FORM=IE10TR

Well, that all is the reason why RTM is getting available today to Technet and MSDN subscribers and only gets released to regular consumers in October. Developers at hardware companies need to adapt some of their drivers and many things they have to do can only be done now that Microsoft has finished development.
Most of those issues will likely be resolved before Windows 8 hits the streets. I guess most people will get it with a new PC anyway and at least there I expect it to work without problems.

StevieBallz said:
Well, that all is the reason why RTM is getting available today to Technet and MSDN subscribers and only gets released to regular consumers in October. Developers at hardware companies need to adapt some of their drivers and many things they have to do can only be done now that Microsoft has finished development.
Most of those issues will likely be resolved before Windows 8 hits the streets. I guess most people will get it with a new PC anyway and at least there I expect it to work without problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes just hours now from my Technet download The metro screen issue is still bugging me and i dont see that getting fixed untill blue/windows 8.5. I dont think MS even sees it as an issue yet. My Graphics are working like a charm now bar it seems my fan runs between 80-100% all the time even with low temps so i dont see it being long before thats fixed. Asus has there official drivers out already (gutted now i chose asrock over them but you live and learn). I hope meia center goes live today aswell, i dont really use it much now as my pc is in my living room not the bedroom but its nice to have. just hope music app now works as i really like the look of it and useing zune now just feels old school (shame they droped the zune line would of been good to see an update on the player and had everything work together)
ps love the choice of phone the titan rocks \m/

Windows phone 8 multitasking?

So after searching google and pretty much everywhere, I STILL haven't been able to find a clear answer on multitasking.
In wp7 I hated the fact that every single time I would open an app, it would restart from the beginning. Yes, I know you could hold the back button and then click on an app to go back to where you were, but I don't like doing that. I'm used to android where I can just click on any app from the home screen and it'll take me right back to where I left off.
A month ago I tried the lumia 900 and took it back after 2 days because of this. In WP8, I heard they brought real multitasking, but I still haven't been able to find a clear answer to my question...if I'm in an app, go back to homescreen, and then click on the app from the homescreen again, will it restart the app (where it looks like you opened it for the first time after a reboot), or will it put me right back where I left off?
Also, is there a good google voice or youtube app yet? I was using govoice but hated the fact that I actually had to open the app to see if I had any new messages.
Thanks.

I believe apps can be coded to fast resume from the home screen. I think the Facebook app does this but I havent tried it. Apps would need to be updated to add this support tho

from what ive read its possible but the current apps that are out have to be updated to add that feature

It depends on the app.
There is really no way around it.
The Android multitasking is unnatural. In windows/linux/whatever, when you press the icon of an application, it usually opens a new window.

WP8 has a feature Fast App resume, the app needs to be updated to make this feature work, you can read about it here
http://mindre.net/Article/Windows_Phone_8_Fast_app_resume
There is no true multitasking in WP8 except for Navigational apps AFAIK.

Well then, no wp8 for me. Thanks guys.

DirectX games also do not stop updating in the background.

Never seen the fuss around multitasking. The multitasking model works as far as I can see on most devices. You background a music player and it carries on playing.
iOS's system used to annoy, double clicking, touch and hold followed by repeatedly closing apps.
On Windows Mobile people used to complain about the close button not closing the application (it would run in the background). Now when you do close an application people are moaning it doesn't run in the background.

deadwrong03 said:
from what ive read its possible but the current apps that are out have to be updated to add that feature
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this confused me... why does the app need any update, when its the OS that does all the fore/back ground stuff? did I misunderstand you?
I'll agree with the op , Microsoft needs to clarify what its new OS does in the commercials instead of a dance routine.

ohgood said:
this confused me... why does the app need any update, when its the OS that does all the fore/back ground stuff? did I misunderstand you?
I'll agree with the op , Microsoft needs to clarify what its new OS does in the commercials instead of a dance routine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple, a phone is a battery operated device which needs a more careful considered approach to multitasking.
When you background a game that is running what should happen? (a) it carries on running, (b) it pauses or (c) it saves its state and closes down.
You have to ask yourself these sort of questions when building the application for a phone, the OS can't make that decision since it doesn't know what is the correct answer. So profiles are added to the OS and the developer of the OS selects one of these profiles.
So a downloading tool would continue to download, a music player would play music in the background, a game would pause or save state and an IM client would either carry on being connected or switch to push notification.

ohgood said:
this confused me... why does the app need any update, when its the OS that does all the fore/back ground stuff? did I misunderstand you?
I'll agree with the op , Microsoft needs to clarify what its new OS does in the commercials instead of a dance routine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the reason you are even considering the WP vs Android fight is due to multitasking.
Android has "real multitasking" and that makes it unstable, prone to random crashes, and generally not as smooth as WP.
On top of that, the WP environment does not allow for applications to do things behind your back. Your privacy is more secure with WP than it is with Android, and i like that.

mcosmin222 said:
Android has "real multitasking" and that makes it unstable, prone to random crashes, and generally not as smooth as WP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do people still actually believe this?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

vetvito said:
Do people still actually believe this?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those who have a clue...yes.

The correct answer is "both"
Regarding the question about resume vs relaunch, to the best of my recollection from reading the WP8 SDK notes 12 days ago, the answer is as follows:
1. Existing apps written for WP7 will continue to work as-is. That is, launching the app tosses away the app's back stack and gives the user a "fresh" copy of the app.
2. Apps written for WP8 can indicate that they support resume on relaunch in their "manifest" file. When this is NOT indicated, the WP8 app behaves as the WP7 apps do: launching an app launches a fresh copy; backing into an app reconnects you to that app's back stack/history.
3. When a WP8 app indicates that it can handle resume on relaunch, the already running app is brought to the front, reconnected to its back stack, and has the main page of the app pushed on to the back stack. It is up to the developer of the app to decide which of three things happen at this point:
3a. Blow away the previous back stack (to simulate WP7 behavior);
3b. Pop off the "main page" item that the OS just pushed onto the back stack to effectively return the user to the last viewed page in the app;
3c. Neither, leaving a fresh copy of the main page in screen and the old back stack still present. This is a bad idea because it looks like the user restarted, but the old context is still there.
I'm at an airport now and don't have access to my dev box or SDK docs. Someone with such access can likley find the information in the WP8 SDK documentation (although not on the "What's New" page).

thanks manicotti.. that's the best explanation yet.
that other guy that above that wanted to argue about stuff... I just don't know what to say.

Look here...
http://mindre.net/Article/Windows_Phone_8_Fast_app_resume
This might be the answer to you're question
Sent from my HTC Titan on Deepshining 2.0 Rom using Board Express

gilesjuk said:
On Windows Mobile people used to complain about the close button not closing the application (it would run in the background). Now when you do close an application people are moaning it doesn't run in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So true, so true.... I can still hear the HD2 user pool complaining...those were the golden days...

Side note: the "fast app resume" when launched from Start was actually possible on WP7, but its use wasn't permitted in the Marketplace (it's an option in one of the manifest files). Apparently that restriction is now lifted for WP8, but Marketplace apps that want to use it will need to be updated (very simple change, though) to set that option.

Uncompatible apps with S10+

A friend of mine has found that on Play Store there are some apps that aren't "compatible" with the S10+. I too myself have checked and yes, it appears like it isn't compatible.
Can anyone else on other Regions check if this apps appear too like that? I am from Puerto Rico
Apps:
1. Adobe Premier Clip
2. Slice Package Tracker

In Poland (central Europe):
- APClip - same as yours
- Slice - doesn't even show up in results

Explanation
@atrix_noob
If it's any consolation, the applications install just fine if you download the APK directly (e.g., APKPure).
The best thing to do is to reach to the Developers and inquire when your device will be 'officially' supported. They hold the key.
I'll explain why this happens:
When an application is built, a unique file called a 'Manifest' is created alongside it.
The 'Manifest' lists what the application CAN and CANNOT do when used with a specific device.
When the application is searched via Google Play and the result loaded, the 'Manifest' determines whether or not the device IS or ISN'T compatible.
If the Application is, it will install.
And if it isn't, it won't.
Given the popular of Samsung as a whole, you'll likely see availability soon but given the amount of devices released every month, one can only imagine how many updates a Developer must have to prepare.
If you'd like to learn more, take a look at this:
https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/compatibility

Yeah, i've had it with a few runtastic apps. Had to download them manually and install the apk.

piotrkruczek said:
In Poland (central Europe):
- APClip - same as yours
- Slice - doesn't even show up in results
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, I aprecciate your help.

AHE_XDA said:
@atrix_noob
If it's any consolation, the applications install just fine if you download the APK directly (e.g., APKPure).
The best thing to do is to reach to the Developers and inquire when your device will be 'officially' supported. They hold the key.
I'll explain why this happens:
When an application is built, a unique file called a 'Manifest' is created alongside it.
The 'Manifest' lists what the application CAN and CANNOT do when used with a specific device.
When the application is searched via Google Play and the result loaded, the 'Manifest' determines whether or not the device IS or ISN'T compatible.
If the Application is, it will install.
And if it isn't, it won't.
Given the popular of Samsung as a whole, you'll likely see availability soon but given the amount of devices released every month, one can only imagine how many updates a Developer must have to prepare.
If you'd like to learn more, take a look at this:
https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/compatibility
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, gotcha, I'll be giving that thread a look, thanks for the explanation I really apreciate your patience. I'll try manually installing the APK and wait till updates for fix the compatibility issuses on the app.

Valinorian said:
Yeah, i've had it with a few runtastic apps. Had to download them manually and install the apk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be giving that a shot and test if they install

atrix_noob said:
Hey, gotcha, I'll be giving that thread a look, thanks for the explanation I really apreciate your patience. I'll try manually installing the APK and wait till updates for fix the compatibility issuses on the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure. Anytime.

atrix_noob said:
I'll be giving that a shot and test if they install
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- runtastic six pack
- Runtastic leg trainer
- Runtastic butt trainer.
They dont show up in appstore but work fine when you install it through apk,

Valinorian said:
- runtastic six pack
- Runtastic leg trainer
- Runtastic butt trainer.
They dont show up in appstore but work fine when you install it through apk,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the headsup there.
I installed the apps of my original post thru APK amd all work flawlessly

AHE_XDA said:
@atrix_noob
If it's any consolation, the applications install just fine if you download the APK directly (e.g., APKPure).
The best thing to do is to reach to the Developers and inquire when your device will be 'officially' supported. They hold the key.
I'll explain why this happens:
When an application is built, a unique file called a 'Manifest' is created alongside it.
The 'Manifest' lists what the application CAN and CANNOT do when used with a specific device.
When the application is searched via Google Play and the result loaded, the 'Manifest' determines whether or not the device IS or ISN'T compatible.
If the Application is, it will install.
And if it isn't, it won't.
Given the popular of Samsung as a whole, you'll likely see availability soon but given the amount of devices released every month, one can only imagine how many updates a Developer must have to prepare.
If you'd like to learn more, take a look at this:
https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/compatibility
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is that not each device is manually included in the manifest. New devices are released all the time and unless you exclude something specifically, apps are always made available for distribution. This happens with one of the apps my company runs as well. Whenever a new Galaxy device comes out, its always incompatible with the app and its not because of anything we have done with it.

@Blaaargh
'The thing is that not each device is manually included in the manifest.'
No one said every device is included in the manifest. In fact no devices are listed in the manifest; only declarations.
'New devices are released all the time and unless you exclude something specifically, apps are always made available for distribution. Whenever a new Galaxy device comes out, its always incompatible with the app and its not because of anything we have done with it.'
OP wanted to know why APK X and Y weren't working. I provided him with a generalized explanation of why it MAY happen. It could very well be a Samsung issue but without breaking down the APKs in question, there's no way to be certain.