@imGua Using WAVs should have no impact on sound playback quality or looping / delays. Some sounds may actually sound better as WAVs since OGG is a lossy compression format.
@LuckyLurcher On Android you might be right. The way we load assets from APKs on Android is less than optimal. This is one of the reasons why we're looking at tackling the virtual file system code sooner rather than later.
In general though, how we turn PNGs into textures is much slower than it needs to be. TGAs seem to be significantly faster in our internal tests. Can't wait to get feedback from folks once it's in the nightly builds.
@SnapFireStudios Think of the "virtual file system" as a compressed and obfuscated archive where your app will be stored when published. This will make your app take up less space on iOS and allows us to more rapidly pull assets out of APKs for Android. At least that's the thinking.
So, more project security in the wild, smaller app sizes on device and faster loading.
@kinzua We're not removing overscan. Resurrection of "stretch" will be an option for you to take advantage of if you like.
Thanks.. phew.. #:-S
@FViMagination I plan on replacing the current wheel with the OS native loading wheel. Some time in the future we are planning on letting you provide a custom loading wheel
This one's going to be good.. Kind of have a gut about it.. :-B
@CodeWizard What about using JPG instead of PNG? It is possible to change the images in the project folder and change them from PNG into JPG. It makes the project a lot smaller in terms of total download size from the App Store, which is a big deal when we are trying to stay under 50 MB, but what about loading times when we use JPG images? JPG images are compressed, right?
@viking JPEGs have the same issue as PNGs when it comes to loading. They require time to decompress. That is where most of the time is spent loading images. It becomes a balancing act you trade faster loading for larger download or longer load time with smaller downloads. We are trying to put that power in your hands.
@kinzua We're not removing overscan. Resurrection of "stretch" will be an option for you to take advantage of if you like.
Will it be possible to only stretch certain images or actors? for example I want to make my game fit iPhone 5 so I stretch out the background but not the hud controls they stay put and same size.
One thing that I would LOVE as a feature on Creator is the ability to see when your Pro Subscription expires. There have been so many changes to my own account from adding months due to major bugs, to winning a year's subscription, to a pricing change that resulted in months being added onto accounts which were paid for under the old price structure...
I have personally tried my best to keep up with these changes to know when it will expire, but it shouldn't be a guessing game. You have to be logged in and a Pro to access Pro features, how hard would it be to add in an expiration date for our subscriptions so we can see how much time we have left?
@FViMagination I plan on replacing the current wheel with the OS native loading wheel. Some time in the future we are planning on letting you provide a custom loading wheel
Woohoooo! <:-P Loving the state of GameSalad for this week, but this one really hits home for me. Can't wait!
If I am a PRO user, how do i get the latest "nightly build". I assume this is the latest iteration of 10.3. Can you please direct me to how to do this, thanks.
The nightly builds are not out for pro users yet. As he said in the post they are out for line cooks an sous chefs and will soon be available for pro users.
@BlackCloakGS A lot of games on mobile load levels without a loading screen or a loading wheel -- they just fade out and fade in 3 seconds later. We should have the same in GameSalad. Just drag a 3 second timer into the code and make a rule where the loading wheel only appear after 3 seconds if the game is still loading. Should be pretty easy, right?
It would be a huge incentive for us users to keep loading times short
@viking just a thought but once we are able to add a custom loading wheel, I don't see why we won't be able to just insert a load of transparent frames, rendering the wheel invisible, or to make each frame a solid colour that matches the background colour. I'm sure this will open up a few workarounds!
Hi,I have a question for you guys. I'm currently working on a new app which would use async multiplayer. I know that this feature isn't available now,but my question is:can I start developing it as a normal game and then just add the multiplayer when it's gonna be available,or should I wait for it,as it will probably be a particular way of developing,and need to be built from scratch?
@viking just a thought but once we are able to add a custom loading wheel, I don't see why we won't be able to just insert a load of transparent frames, rendering the wheel invisible, or to make each frame a solid colour that matches the background colour. I'm sure this will open up a few workarounds!
Apple has requirements for a loading wheel, or some indication of loading. - Thomas
@CodeWizard I have a suggestion: You can publish a feature comparision table for all supported platforms? The table should contain all the features, all the behaviors, sub-feature (eg. AD Behavior has sub-features as Mobclix, iAD,... and many banner size)... and, for each platform, the indication yes (supported), no (not supported), scheduled, ...
For us it would be very useful, especially, during the porting of our games on other platforms.
This table could be maintained by the GS user community (if you give us write access).
@codewizard I noticed going forward you are working on improvements to the creator workflow having something like backstage on the Mac version would be awesome! That would save so much going back and forth. Can you give us an peek of what you have in minds in regards to improving workflow?
Please guys something on Overscan...we need a better way for our projects to run on multiple formats. If you've got a long or wide scene that moves the camera around it renders overscan totally useless. Coupled with the fact that we have no choice now that we can no longer letterbox, we need a better solution.
In the two games that I am developing using two techniques (in conjunction with the crop-mode): 1 - use the camera behavior to climb the stage to the exact size of the screen. 2 - I manually set the coordinates and the size of the actors according to the size of the screen.
Both methods require writing a lot of code.
to enhance the development of cross-platform applications, I'd like to have:
1 - strech / automatic scaling of the scenes to the exact size of the screen. You lose aspetc-ratio ... but this is not essential to keep it in all the games... before the introduction of the overscanning feature, the iOSViewer did it automatically. I think re-enable this feature (and provide it as an alternative all'overscanning) does not require too much work.... and it would be really useful.
2 - Adaptive user interface layout - feature as implemented in Handheld Designer (tools for application development in jquery mobile) http://handhelddesigner.com/blog/archive/2012/06/25/version-1.2.0.html from this site "When designing your app, simply select a device and orientation in the design view and adjust the size and position of your objects as you wish. Then, at runtime, Handheld Designer determines the device being used to view your app and automatically repositions and resizes the objects to match your design. Creating a web app that looks great on both iPhones and iPads has never been easier." I use this function for the development of applications for my customers... and allows me to develop in half the time ... because they do not have to worry too much about the screen size.
3 - the management mode of the screen used in CODEA (http://twolivesleft.com/Codea/). I do not know how it works ... but the generated applications for the iPhone and iPad automatically adapt to the screen size.
@CodeWizard - Has the bug been fixed where interpolations have an annoying "kick" at the end? If not, could you guys look into it? (not sure if you would call it a bug, since it just works this way all the time. But it's definitely a problem.) It's frustrating to have a fading actor just kind of disappear at the end of the interpolation instead of smoothly fading out. It would make a lot of people happy
I believe this applies to all interpolations, not just alpha. If you haven't heard about this yet, you can find it on page 2 of the "Spare Code? Dump it here" thread.
@CodeWizard - Has the bug been fixed where interpolations have an annoying "kick" at the end? If not, could you guys look into it? (not sure if you would call it a bug, since it just works this way all the time. But it's definitely a problem.) It's frustrating to have a fading actor just kind of disappear at the end of the interpolation instead of smoothly fading out. It would make a lot of people happy
I'm sure you might already know, but if you don't . . . .
You can get around this issue (using an alpha channel fade as an example) by either fading to something like 0.2 or by dividing the fading value into finer increments so the 'kick' at the end of the interpolation is hidden.
Comments
Using WAVs should have no impact on sound playback quality or looping / delays. Some sounds may actually sound better as WAVs since OGG is a lossy compression format.
On Android you might be right. The way we load assets from APKs on Android is less than optimal. This is one of the reasons why we're looking at tackling the virtual file system code sooner rather than later.
In general though, how we turn PNGs into textures is much slower than it needs to be. TGAs seem to be significantly faster in our internal tests. Can't wait to get feedback from folks once it's in the nightly builds.
Think of the "virtual file system" as a compressed and obfuscated archive where your app will be stored when published. This will make your app take up less space on iOS and allows us to more rapidly pull assets out of APKs for Android. At least that's the thinking.
So, more project security in the wild, smaller app sizes on device and faster loading.
It becomes a balancing act you trade faster loading for larger download or longer load time with smaller downloads. We are trying to put that power in your hands.
I have personally tried my best to keep up with these changes to know when it will expire, but it shouldn't be a guessing game. You have to be logged in and a Pro to access Pro features, how hard would it be to add in an expiration date for our subscriptions so we can see how much time we have left?
Big Smile Games Play Happy!
Check out our other GameSalad exclusives.
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
- Thomas
Shame on me boy.. shame on me.. :-S :-S :-S :-S :-S
It would be a huge incentive for us users to keep loading times short
I'm currently working on a new app which would use async multiplayer.
I know that this feature isn't available now,but my question is:can I start developing it as a normal game and then just add the multiplayer when it's gonna be available,or should I wait for it,as it will probably be a particular way of developing,and need to be built from scratch?
Nahh, I reckon it'll be in the 100s after a few more of these threads...oh, and it's 14 now
Chakku
- Thomas
@CodeWizard I have a suggestion: You can publish a feature comparision table for all supported platforms?
The table should contain all the features, all the behaviors, sub-feature (eg. AD Behavior has sub-features as Mobclix, iAD,... and many banner size)... and, for each platform, the indication yes (supported), no (not supported), scheduled, ...
For us it would be very useful, especially, during the porting of our games on other platforms.
This table could be maintained by the GS user community (if you give us write access).
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
1 - use the camera behavior to climb the stage to the exact size of the screen.
2 - I manually set the coordinates and the size of the actors according to the size of the screen.
Both methods require writing a lot of code.
to enhance the development of cross-platform applications, I'd like to have:
1 - strech / automatic scaling of the scenes to the exact size of the screen. You lose aspetc-ratio ... but this is not essential to keep it in all the games... before the introduction of the overscanning feature, the iOSViewer did it automatically. I think re-enable this feature (and provide it as an alternative all'overscanning) does not require too much work.... and it would be really useful.
2 - Adaptive user interface layout - feature as implemented in Handheld Designer (tools for application development in jquery mobile) http://handhelddesigner.com/blog/archive/2012/06/25/version-1.2.0.html
from this site "When designing your app, simply select a device and orientation in the design view and adjust the size and position of your objects as you wish. Then, at runtime, Handheld Designer determines the device being used to view your app and automatically repositions and resizes the objects to match your design. Creating a web app that looks great on both iPhones and iPads has never been easier."
I use this function for the development of applications for my customers... and allows me to develop in half the time ... because they do not have to worry too much about the screen size.
3 - the management mode of the screen used in CODEA (http://twolivesleft.com/Codea/). I do not know how it works ... but the generated applications for the iPhone and iPad automatically adapt to the screen size.
I believe this applies to all interpolations, not just alpha. If you haven't heard about this yet, you can find it on page 2 of the "Spare Code? Dump it here" thread.
I'm sure you might already know, but if you don't . . . .
You can get around this issue (using an alpha channel fade as an example) by either fading to something like 0.2 or by dividing the fading value into finer increments so the 'kick' at the end of the interpolation is hidden.