Jayel

When iPod touch was first released, it didn't have volume buttons either. I hope whoever came up with that decision got fired. edit: This may be old news to most of you, but the newest iphone developer agreement bans apps developed using languages other than c/c++/objective-c. This is so fucking stupid and childish I refuse to believe a rational minded adult wrote it. To non-developers, it's like saying you can't sell music on itunes unless it was made in garageband, or can't sell a video on itunes unless it was edited using final cut pro. Maybe not quite as dramatic because most people use do use c/c++/objective-c for iphone development (nor do apple have any stake in c/c++) but you get the idea. Apple so far hasn't acted on this new agreement yet (and can't, since os4 isn't out yet), so I'll try to reserve my outrage until they start banning apps written using flash/monotouch/unity3d/etc.

I wonder why they decided to save the worst news for the last. It's like "Free iced cream!!! But not for you." I'm guessing there's no technical reason why older hardware can't do multitasking. I think they just don't want users complaining multitasking is too slow on their old hardware. lame.

Not sure where you got that from... granted I've only read a handful of reviews of nexus one, but every review seems to praise its speed and snappiness. Sure, the same apps that are running with java bytecode would be slower than native code with a slower processor, but for stuff like web browsing: http://blogs.computerworld.com/15875/ipad_vs_nexus_one_vs_iphone_3g?source=rss_blogs Plus I've seen (slower) motorola droid running against 3gs in real life. seemed faster for most sites. For what it's worth, i'm a tech junkie and I think HP Slate will be a failure. It's the kind of device I'd actually find more useful, but i'm not deluded enough to think that it has any sort of mass appeal that ipad has. For example I'd probably buy Pandora over DS given the choice, but i would never think that Pandora would be more successful than DS.

That's the most ridiculously overfeatured slate pc I've ever seen. I'd be surprised if it's affordable.

Of course this is different from app to app, but as a game developer, you can simply develop on other platform and port it later. I stick to opengl es 1.1 standards (ie no immediate mode, no shaders, no glu, etc) and use bare minimal openAL for audio, so that they are cross-compilable on 4 different platforms (though there are some platform-specific code as well). I'd totally recommend that route if you want to get into iphone game development and don't want to make big initial investment (i regret doing that). Porting job shouldn't be that difficult... Optimizing and re-thinking controls is another story... I don't really have a lot of valuable opinions because I haven't published anything on the appstore yet (i lose motivation very quickly ). But I work with a quite a few programmers who have, and their opinions reflect SiN's. Tools aren't as nice as MS's but much better than Android's (their NDK doesn't even support STL). Appstore approval process sucks, and how apple chooses the lucky few to feature on front page sucks, but they are minor nuisance. But I don't know... looking at the problems they had getting their apps approved (rejected because of screenshot, rejected because of description, rejected because interface looks like apple's, rejected because it has the word "gay" in the title, etc etc etc), I don't know how they are not bothered more by it. It's very discouraging looking at it as an outsider who wants in on it. I suppose it's easy to overlook its problems when it makes you 200k richer. "Walmart of mobile apps" they say. I personally want in because, frankly, the standards are far lower in terms of production value (kinda like a dollar store). It gives me a fighting chance at an audience as a one-man team who's doing this as a pure hobby in his spare time. Not saying it's impossible on PC or anything, but well, I'm lazy. edit: I forgot to mention that there are game engines out there (like Unity3d) that's free and cross-platform including iphone/ipad. I suppose it's a very valid option if you're serious about iphone game development but not want to buy apple hardware just yet. Not sure about e-tailers like steam, but there are quite a few online services that handle transactions/registrations/downloads for a reasonable fee if you simply want to sell it on your own without a lot of hassle. For some reason I can only think of esellerate, but I know there are many more...

I consider myself a PC gamer but I have purchased wiiware/XBLA/PSN games in the past - I hope I don't come off as a bit of hypocrite... Wasn't it in one of the thumbs podcast that said that two things that are the same, presented in different lights have different responses? I think that people accept the same sort of restrictions they impose on indie console market because they see the consoles as "video game machine, with extra features added" but they see iPad (even though it's the same thing!!!) as "a computer, but features taken out." They measure it with a different ruler, because as somebody said in the thread already, most people don't know what it is yet. Hell, I didn't mind the same damn thing with iPhone and I even signed up for the development program, because I see iPhone as a "cell phone, but with a bunch of features added!" (edit: it's a bit of a lie... I did mind it, but not enough to shy away from developing on the platform ) it's in apple's full right to allow or reject apps from their store. I wish it wasn't like that (want to try out that mobile opera!) but I do understand.

I did a bit of shopping around for a distributor when I was trying to get into pocketpc/smartphone development 6~7 years ago (before I abandoned it as I always do), but I don't recall it being as bad as 30/70 split... There weren't that many outlets, as I recall, so maybe they started a cartel? But in any case, yeah, Apple did a lot of things right with its appstore. Thanks to it, the whole mobile app market, not just apple's, is looking up (though some might argue since they can't charge $20 for a mobile game anymore). I can't think of a better analogy than a shopping mall - perhaps because me and my family had dealings with it: Having and maintaining a store on your own is a lot of headache. Not so much if you have a store in a shopping mall. It's comfy, you get free security, and a substantial foot traffic. Sure, the mall officials treat you like dirt and the security guards act like thugs. They'll slap you with random charges and fees, take a cut of your profits, and you don't get to decide on the work hours or any mall policies for that matter... but ultimately, it's a beneficial arrangement for both parties. The only thing that cost you as a tenant is a bit of dignity and freedom.

SiN: but but but... Steam is one of many outlets. Appstore is one of one. If Steam was the only store where I could get gaming fix from, I'd probably quit pc gaming. Anyway, the bigger issue is, HOW DID YOU GET ONE??? It's not out in Canada yet! I really don't have much problem with ipad's what i perceive to be shortcomings. Yeah, I don't really need it because I already have a dozen pcs/laptops/netbooks or so, but it's pretty, simple, and has unique content that I want right now (sam & max s3!!). I genuinely think that this device could improve the quality of my life somewhat. I just wish that Apple wasn't the one to make it, because to be honest, I don't like them. edit: removed unnecessary whining about apple that might derail the conversation off topic.

JonCole: Sorry, I think you misunderstood me about ipad and flash - I never meant to imply that ipad supports flash. what I was trying to say is that if you want to watch video content on flash-heavy sites, then you have to get separate app published by those sites specifically for streaming video to ipad. hulu app, for example. Anyway, what you suspect is correct - i never touched or even seen ipad in real life. I'm just making blind assumptions based on what little specs apple disclosed. I know it's running on single-core cortex a8 that's "customized" to 1ghz. Plus it only has 256mb of ram. For comparison, arm's later model cortex a9, dual-core, and clocked at 2ghz can barely beat the processor in your netbook, n270. Unless mobile safari is pulling the same speed tricks that mobile opera is pulling with its Turbo feature (it's not), your netbook should be able to crush the ipad on browsing front easily, despite the heavy OS overhead. The only outside equation here is of course the omission of flash on ipad. BUT i've been wrong about stuff like this before. I have a tendency to grossly underestimate the ingenuity of apple engineers. I'd be curious to see how you find the browsing experience on your ipad. Please tell us when/if you get it.

Have you tried flash beta? (10.1) It actually takes advantage of GPU when streaming h264 flash video, so even my aging 600mhz netbook can comfortably stream youtube videos. (or any flash video sites for that matter, something ipad can't do without a separate application for specific site) if browsing web is slow on your netbook (shouldn't be, 1000he has good hardware), I'd recommend getting a fast browser like opera or chrome and turn off flash. If it's too slow for multi-tasking, you could simply upgrade ram. Alternatively there are better netbooks out there with dual-core processors and faster gpus that are cheaper than ipad. I can understand wanting an ipad because of its looks, exclusive apps, and being able to show it off.... but because it can do things better than a netbook? no way.

I agree with you. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to have it, hold it, do stuff to with it, but at the same time very apprehensive about it invading our living rooms. As Jake said, it's more open than any portable gaming device except maybe OpenPandora and their earlier GPXX (with their almost non-existent market). But it's dangerously close to a home computing device and it's about infinity times more restrictive than any desktop. edit: in addition, I hate what's happening to mobile phone market. It used to be that whenever you got a smart phone, yeah even windows mobile, you could install whatever apps you felt like it. Now the companies are looking at Apple and realizing how much money they'd been leaving on table, starting to ape apple.

You can access the nvidia control panel from your desktop and override per-application settings from "Manage 3D settings" section. V-sync might not be a problem though. Does it overheat in other games as well? Mobile G80 series cards are infamous for heat problems... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_8_Series#Problems Even if you don't experience the problem in other games, I'd recommend trying out some gpu intensive benchmarks anyway just to rule out hardware problem.

You might try turning v-sync on (override it from the driver if there are no in-game option to do it). Since there's no framerate cap without v-sync, it may cause your gpu to overwork and overheat.

LOTR Online has 10-day free trial already, so I suppose if you hurry, you could have a taste for a day or two before the deal expires. I personally didn't like it because the world felt empty, bland and definitely not as colourful as ones in WoW or Warhammer Online. Other than that, felt like a very standard MMO. Not a fan of LOTR at all (or MMOs even), so maybe fans would enjoy it a lot more than I did. The Witcher for $10 at Impulse. tempting. Though I feel very uncomfortable spending money at Impulse these days.

I'm partial to Grado headphones myself, although they're not really gamer headphones.... I like them mostly because they look so awesomely retro!

I think it's best to tell somebody about it (through a blog, or just your mom even) so that there's somebody out there to shame you if you lose motivation and stopped working on it. I don't follow that practice myself because, well, I don't want that kind of pressure. But if you're determined to see it through the end....

I want it! It would have to have a beefy hardware to attract the kind of games that's best presented in 3D. Not to mention that stereo render needs twice the fillrate... Somehow seems a bit at odds with Nintendo's whole "low-power, low-cost" strategy thing.

I spent almost 2 anda half hours on the demo already. this is quiet possibly the most time i've spent playing a demo since... maybe the original Diablo? i really dig it. It just came out of nowhere.

I always get slapped with customs... I once ordered a $25 TV antenna that came in a tiny box (from the US) and got charged $8. gah. edit: can't believe I've been doing nothing but complaining about buying the game so far. I should be jumping up and down in joy that there's another sam & max coming out, not whining in forums. the past me would be greatly disappointed.

oh man, you live in UK. I have no idea how much things cost outside north america. you might end up spending a bit more. I don't really have a shopping list handy, but as a very rough guideline: get a fast CPU, a fast GPU, and don't cheap out on the power supply. Any CPU and GPU that cost less than $100 aren't probably very good for gaming. Don't bother with fast motherboard/ram/harddrive because they won't affect your gaming in any significant way (and anybody who tells you otherwise isn't your friend). Amount of RAM isn't all that important either actually. 2GB is good enough for a budget gaming rig. If you don't want to assemble your own PC then look for one with decent CPU (if you want to say safe... intel core2duo, around 3Ghz?) and a PCIE expansion slot so you can slap in a nice $100 video card in there like GTS250 or something. (though I'd probably spend a little more and get radeon hd 5770) some helpful benchmarks: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1920x1200,1702.html http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-desktop-cpu-charts-update-1/benchmarks,60.html

maybe the WoW evolution thing is meant to reference its development process where Blizzard makes random changes until people stop complaining. hahaha I'll shut up now.

I didn't notice the free shipping thing until I had already placed the order. Instead of manning up and paying that $16 shipping charge on the dvd, put $50 worth of other crap (t-shirt, dvd, etc) into the shopping cart just to get free shipping. But I'll probably end up paying extra $20 or so for customs/duty fee. Curses, why are Canadians discriminated against so.

i find RTSs to be more computationally demanding than shooters nowadays, possibly because they aren't as cross platform-y and designed to run on 4 year old hardware (ie xbox). The machine you linked to will disappoint. guaranteed. You can put together an awesome brand new gaming machine for $500~600 so if you can spare some more I'd totally recommend that route.

Heh, you're probably right. I only checked how often the engine was being updated. the animations are probably running at lower speeds. I wonder why LEC keeps releasing the SE screenshots side-by-side with the classic version's? It only leads to comparisons which, really, isn't in SE edition's favour. I ain't buying it for the graphics though... I'm more interested in listening to the developer commentaries (oh who am I kidding - I would buy it even without them). Hey, you think maybe the commentaries will touch on the subject of concrete walls turning into a natural sinkhole?

scummvm seems to indicate they're running at 15fps, but don't know if I'm seeing it right. Even if I am, there's no telling if the old games did actually run at 15fps (i thought it would be 18fps or something).