GP2X Devs Please Underclock Your Apps

[A_SN]

I noticed something obvious recently, you can run your GP2X on batteries for much much longer at 50 MHz than at 200 MHz. Which made me think, why do most developers think it's fine if their game runs at 200 MHz, as it could run just as fine with a lower CPU frequency? Well it's not because the GP2X is by default clocked at 200 MHz that everything must run at 200 MHz.

I'm sure NetHack could run just fine at 25 MHz (correct me if I'm wrong but apps can run as low as 25 Mhz on the GP2X, lower makes the screen have black frames, but maybe it's just with the app I tested, so I'd need confirmation) and if so it just could run for so much longer than at 200 MHz.

So here's what I'd like you developpers to do. Take every app you have released on the GP2X, even ports, and look for the lowest CPU frequency you can use for your app, and inside your code, make your app switch the GP2X to that low CPU frequency you deem decent, and release. And while you code please remember to always optimize stuff so that you can run it at an even lower CPU frequency, don't content yourself with a "it runs at 30 FPS at 200 MHz, why bother?" thought.

Because I find it aberrating to have simple ass homebrew SDL games run at 200 MHz and drain batteries much faster and they just don't need that, and that by giving the user the same experience while making batteries last longer, it gives the user a much nice overall GP2X experience, and it probably makes the user want to play your game more if he knows it'll drain batteries less than something else.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

Yeh devs - pull your fingers out!

...and while you're at it can you come round and wash my car?

A_SN - I assume you have contributed to all the devs that are wasting your batteries for you?

 

[ruckage]

Not sure that all of that is true. While some programs may run fine at a lower clock speed I bet the majority wouldn't run any where near as well. Personally I find that the batteries last for quite a while at 200MHz (i'd estimate about 4 hours in mine with 2500 mAh batteries) Even running at 240MHz plus the battery life doesn't seem to be shortened too much. Remember even at a lower clock speed the screen and everything else will still be consuminig the same ammount of power so I can't really see that you will gain that much extra battery life.
Have you done any tests to compare the difference in battery life when underclocked to this degree?

 

[cowai]

Gmenu2x

 

[craigix]

Just write a script to do this, maybe you could check everything and release a database showing the needed speed.

 

[ruckage]

Yeh devs - pull your fingers out!

...and while you're at it can you come round and wash my car?

A_SN - I assume you have contributed to all the devs that are wasting your batteries for you?

LOL :lol:

 

[sensible GP32]

Yeh devs - pull your fingers out!

...and while you're at it can you come round and wash my car?

A_SN - I assume you have contributed to all the devs that are wasting your batteries for you?

my thoughts exactly,

i think the line

"what i want you to do" wound me up the most

 

[ruckage]

There does seem to be a lot of demanding people on here who think the available software is there right and not a privelege. I for one think that all developers on the GP2X deserve gratitude for all the work they put in. I'm not a developer myself yet but I do plan to be (however basic my efforts may be) and I know topics like this would annoy me.

 

[saehn]

The old adage "you can catch more flies with honey..." applies here. You have some very good points that you presented very badly. In the future, you'll get better results if you write as though the developers are doing you a favor (which they are). They don't owe us anything.

 

[ryosaeba]

If the devs underclock automatically when the app starts, you won't be able anymore to choose the clock via a script or gmenu2x.
I think the way things are now is fine.

 

[PokeParadox]

I agree, I think it should be user choice about what clockspeed to run at. But maybe Devs should state a minimum clock speed where the app runs fine.
GP2X Standards do have a clock settings table, but it needs further user input to expand it.

 

[andyB911]

So here's what I'd like you developpers to do. Take every app you have released on the GP2X, even ports, and look for the lowest CPU frequency you can use for your app, and inside your code, make your app switch the GP2X to that low CPU frequency you deem decent, and release. And while you code please remember to always optimize stuff so that you can run it at an even lower CPU frequency, don't content yourself with a "it runs at 30 FPS at 200 MHz, why bother?" thought.

Because I find it aberrating to have simple ass homebrew SDL games run at 200 MHz and drain batteries much faster and they just don't need that, and that by giving the user the same experience while making batteries last longer, it gives the user a much nice overall GP2X experience, and it probably makes the user want to play your game more if he knows it'll drain batteries less than something else.

Surely nobody is really this rude or stupid. If you are... can I suggest you buy some additional batteries, learn to underclock yourself and shut up before you alienate all the great programmers that make this scene what it is.

I can only hope its a piss-take and as such should be moved to the LOL files. Perhaps you can get those sh*t hot Japanese programmers to do this for you...

 

[fawny]

Write your own

simple ass homebrew SDL games

and set them to whatever clockspeed you want.

 

[A_SN]

The old adage "you can catch more flies with honey..." applies here. You have some very good points that you presented very badly. In the future, you'll get better results if you write as though the developers are doing you a favor (which they are). They don't owe us anything.

What can I say, I'm an arrogant frenchman and can't help it ;-). And by the way gruntfuggly I actually am contributing knowledge and ideas to developpers, you'd know it if you ever spent time in #gp2xdev, I also contributed a super awesome rotation function and I'm currently developping GP2X games.

And sensible_GP32, I didn't say "what i want you to do" but "what I'd like you [...] to do". Can you feel the nuance?

Anyways, I understand that you might like to have scripts better, but note that apps could take in an argument at launch to avoid reclocking or clocking to a specified frequency. I guess that's a thing something like GP2X Standards could help with.

This being said, make me better free games, and fuck all y'all

 

[sensible GP32]

ha, for a retort that rocked

misquoted son of a bitch!, i think my view of you changed!

 

[A_SN]

Surely nobody is really this rude or stupid. If you are... can I suggest you buy some additional batteries, learn to underclock yourself and shut up before you alienate all the great programmers that make this scene what it is.

I can only hope its a piss-take and as such should be moved to the LOL files. Perhaps you can get those sh*t hot Japanese programmers to do this for you...

Thanks, I greatly appreciate the insult. Please be offended by considering I insulted your intelligence back. I mean really, my original post wasn't that bad, what's wrong with all you people acting like I just hurt your feelings?

 

[A_SN]

A_SN - I assume you have contributed to all the devs that are wasting your batteries for you?

lol, as Anppa just told me, is stopping to waste batteries with unnecessarily high clock speeds a stupid idea because I haven't released a game?

 

[Racemaniac]

Surely nobody is really this rude or stupid. If you are... can I suggest you buy some additional batteries, learn to underclock yourself and shut up before you alienate all the great programmers that make this scene what it is.

I can only hope its a piss-take and as such should be moved to the LOL files. Perhaps you can get those sh*t hot Japanese programmers to do this for you...

Thanks, I greatly appreciate the insult. Please be offended by considering I insulted your intelligence back. I mean really, my original post wasn't that bad, what's wrong with all you people acting like I just hurt your feelings?

you're so right. i once started a thread asking devs to group their files (was for gp32, some progs of 3Mb took 20 Mb of your smc due to lots of tiny files, and with cards up to 128Mb that's a lot). i got the exact same flaming and overreacting you got...
i know we should be greatful for devs etc, but why on earth shoot down all (even constructive like this) critisism??? it's not because we critise that we're not greatful or that all the devs suck

 

[A_SN]

Surely nobody is really this rude or stupid. If you are... can I suggest you buy some additional batteries, learn to underclock yourself and shut up before you alienate all the great programmers that make this scene what it is.

I can only hope its a piss-take and as such should be moved to the LOL files. Perhaps you can get those sh*t hot Japanese programmers to do this for you...

Thanks, I greatly appreciate the insult. Please be offended by considering I insulted your intelligence back. I mean really, my original post wasn't that bad, what's wrong with all you people acting like I just hurt your feelings?

you're so right. i once started a thread asking devs to group their files (was for gp32, some progs of 3Mb took 20 Mb of your smc due to lots of tiny files, and with cards up to 128Mb that's a lot). i got the exact same flaming and overreacting you got...
i know we should be greatful for devs etc, but why on earth shoot down all (even constructive like this) critisism??? it's not because we critise that we're not greatful or that all the devs suck

That's right, I'm not saying "ZOMG you guys are suckers for making games that run at 400 FPS", I'm being constructive, even if it's in a way you guys don't like. My criticism, althought not as much of a suggestion as you guys wish it was, aims towards making the GP2X world a better place. Take that in your face, you over-reactive fanboys (just kidding, just kidding, don't hit)

 

[ruckage]

So back on topic, how much extra battery life would this much underclocking provide, you still haven't said what you've done to test this out. If you had some figures you would be more likely to convince people.