How many devs will still keep developing software on Pandora when Pandora successor is out?

[Hồng Thất Công]

Now that Ed has announced the Pandora successor is real even though there's no definite release date, I'm sure lots of Pandora owners including myself will keep on using Pandora even when Pandora successor is here. It would be sad to see, right after the launch of Pandora successor, all development for current Pandora come to a halt. So the question is how many devs (ptitSeb, Exophase, mcobit, etc.) will still keep developing software on Pandora when Pandora successor is out? Why and Why Not?

 

[TrashyMG]

Tough question until we know more about the device, some stated no interest if it's not going to be an ARM based device, some said they have no interest if Android is chosen as the Primary OS. For some it may be a money issue getting a new device.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

For some that don't have money to get the new device, would it be a good idea for ED to set up a donation fund to gather money to donate Pandora successor to them similar to Pre-Order fund now?

(Well, they have to prove themselves worthy devs first.  How?)

I know who are worthy devs now  

 

[EssoAir]

isnt the goal to have backwards compatable PNDs?

that was the main reason people didnt want an x86 processor

 

[vinipsmaker]

isnt the goal to have backwards compatable PNDs?

that was the main reason people didnt want an x86 processor

Maybe a PKGBUILD/SlackBUILD/...-like system would be the solution. Maintain one script to configure and build the software and a machine will generate targeted PNDs...

 

[levi]

Look at how many new releases came out for the GP2X after the Pandora came out. Quite a lot of the early games came out supporting both GP2X/Wiz and Pandora.


Although you could argue that it'll hopefully be a bit different for a P-sucessor - there'll hopefully be more than a few dozen units in the wild a year after initial release.

 

[Exophase]

I probably will..

isnt the goal to have backwards compatable PNDs?

that was the main reason people didnt want an x86 processor

Even if the old PNDs are 100% compatible (tall order) you'll still need to develop specifically for the successor if you want to take advantage of things not present on the Pandora. Like multiple cores and higher resolution screen.

With some good run-time querying we should be able to make Pandora 2-enhanced PNDs that still run on Pandora.

 

[Rockthesmurf]

If developer has P1 and P2 there is a good chance they will release for both. If developer only has P2, I would guess the majority might not worry too much about the P1.

That said, any release that gets lots of attention on P2, may well also have a P1 release, possibly not on launch, but sometime after.

The above isn't based on any evidence, just my gut feeling.

 

[_wb_]

Obviously there will be software that only runs well on the P2 and not on the P1, otherwise we wouldn't need a successor.

But given that ED wants backwards compatibility, I assume that a lot of homebrew stuff and ports will be made to work on both of them. In particular, retro-style games with relatively simple and low-res graphics (e.g. AquaVenture) are typically not too demanding. So for such applications, I would be inclined to release them for both the P1 and the P2. On the P2 you would then still have the advantage of a larger/better screen, better nubs, and longer battery life because something that works on the P1, should run on a P2 while using less power.

 

[commander-beef]

it depends from p2 availibility. Im sure most dev's that recieve p2 will drop support for p1 asap [because theres no fun to dev anything new for old machine, where new one lays on desk ].

Of course it depends from p2 price and waiting time..

 

[elwing]

Just a headup... the 2 Months was a joke...

 

[_wb_]

it depends from p2 availibility. Im sure most dev's that recieve p2 will drop support for p1 asap [because theres no fun to dev anything new for old machine, where new one lays on desk ].

I disagree, I would try to make my new stuff work on both the P1 and the P2. Just like I want my stuff to work on all P1 models (CC, RB and 1GHz).

If it's a game, that might mean the game has less fancy graphics on the P1 than on the P2 - but it would still work. If it's a serious application, it will be faster on the P2 - but it would also work on the P1, just slower. Only in very specific circumstances does it make sense to not support the P1, e.g. if you're making/porting an emulator or game that is so demanding that the P1 would not be capable of anything more than a 1 fps slideshow. Even then it doesn't hurt to make sure that the slideshow works on the P1, for people who are into slideshow emulation

 

[ptitSeb]

I'll probably try to support both, like currently I try to make sure eveyrthing I do is compatible with CC & Rebirth while I develop with a Gigahertz.

But as _wb_ just wrote, it may sometime be tricky (because of some performance differences), or involve to much work because of the screen resolution difference (if it involve some downscaling of graphics art for example).

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Maybe it's time to add some OS field to pnd system.

 

[EvilDragon]

Except for performance, I'd like to keep it as compatible as possible.

It is still Linux, we still have libraries, it will be similar like on PCs: Faster PCs run things faster, but if that horsepower is not needed, it should run on slower PCs as well out of the box. That's what I'd like to have here as well.

 

[rohezal]

PSX Rearmed was released on the Caanoo and on the Pandora, even if the Caanoo had no NEON support. I think some people do backports of their stuff .

 

[ekianjo]

I'm not that much of a developer but I'll continue develop small applications on the successor, sure. Since most of my applications are in python they should run on the Pandora as well.

 

[lunixbochs]

I'll likely do parallel releases unless there's no way it'll run well on the old model. I'll release some of my projects that were stopped for performance reasons for the Pandora 2.

 

[commander-beef]

Im planning to support both as long as my p1 dont break or battery dies. But if i get p2 my main focus will be on p2.

I hope some stuff will be fixed in p2 like nubs . New screen. Matte keys. Os with lxde

 

[mcobit]

I will definately do my best with my limited time and skills to help out bringing software to the successor.


Might have to wait until I can affort one if it will be expensive.