Looking for a game developer


Well, there's OpenVG, and according to Wikipedia the SGX implements it in hardware. The library is present in the firmware, it's about time someone makes use of it.
 
We typically author our assets with the view of targeting a 2400x1600 screen resolution, then during our conversion process assets per platform are generated (by using a Lanczos filter). We find it works pretty well on the whole; obviously if you put lots of fine grained details in the 2400x1600 image they aren't going to come through at lower resolutions; but we find we are able to target many devices running on resolution from 320x240 to 2048x1536 with this method without doing any extra work. Vector graphics do have nice resizing properties, but they also have lots of limits.
 
Can you guess what it is yet?

pictocross.PNG

Now playable on Pandora and will be able to handle normal puzzles upto 30x30. I also plan to add puzzles upto 100x100, but as separate 10x10 pieces (a la 3DPicross on NDS). You can use cursor keys and buttons, nubs (left to move, right to place piece or cross) or touchscreen to play. Swap and change at any time.

Due to the limited screen estate on large puzzles it will show clues for the current row/column on the screen - I just haven't worked out exactly where at the moment... :S

The "Load/Save/Clear" text will not be visible in the full game and the background image/theme will show through so there won't be too much whitespace.
 
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I will certainly need sound and puzzles at some point.

If you (or the community) could create a bunch of puzzles (as many as you want, but at least one of each) - 5x5, 10x10, 15x15, 20x20, 25x25 and 30x30 as a simple .PNG or .BMP (all on one page) I'll enter them in and test. Post them here or by email to mrijprice AT gmail DOT thingy (you know).

Sounds - I will require sfx for placing a block, a cross and erasing a cell. Cursor movement could be good too - just not something that'll get on your nerves if playing with cursor keys). Background musics will also be a must. But there's no rush for these.

Here is a simple test example (with the puzzle above). There are no niceties like title screen or anything - what you see in the screenshot above is exactly what you get.

BTW - The cursor speed has been slowed down to make it accurate. I can speed it up. 

If you wish to create a new puzzle, then press c to clear any old data first. It shouldn't be an issue, but you never know. When creating it doesn't update the row or column counts (as technically this is the game screen and not a specific puzzle editor). S saves your creation and L retrieves it. The file structure might me a bit screwey as it looks in the appdata first. It caught me by surprise when I tried to reload the puzzle above; I'd made a puzzle earlier and that came up rather than the wanted one.

Saving will overwrite any puzzles you've already completed - so don't spend hours doing one then another! I will include a proper puzzle editor which can use puzzle packs later.

The game will tell you if you've completed the puzzle.

Be aware - this is a test PND and not a proper Repo PND. Unzip and place the complete "picross" file on your desktop. Double click to run as normal.

picross.zip
 

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Very nice!  Tried the first level and it was a handheld gaming device :)

Where does the puzzle get saved when I hit S after completing the puzzle?

Also, does not work with SGX Latest Driver 4.10.  Works fine with 4.03.00.02 though.

Would be nice to have some tutorial similar to the DS ones for fist time players who are not familiar with Picocross games.
 
Shenmue said:
Would be nice to have some tutorial similar to the DS ones for fist time players who are not familiar with Picocross games.
Click to expand...
Of course. :)

Was it comfortable to play? Which control method did you use? Would you change this method? How?

Saved images are stores in appdata/iprice.picross if I'm not mistaken. I think. Maybe...
 
I used the touch method as it was the most comfortable for me for this type of games.  I wouldn't recommend using the Pandora stylus though as it would easily scratch the screen as you have to drag the stylus to fill up the pieces quickly.  I used the Tega Note 7 stylus which has a rubber tip so I can drag all I want with no fear of scratching the screen.  I wouldn't change this control method because, well, it works best for me :)   But others may find other control methods to be more comfortable, so I would recommend you keep all the controls method you have now.

Also, how do you load the level that you've already completed and play that level again?

Oh!  And it needs some cool tunes :D as it is so quiet/silent now :)

I tried to look for the save image in appdata/iprice.picross but there's no directory named iprice.picross
 
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Shenmue said:
Oh! And it needs some cool tunes :D as it is so quiet/silent now :)
Click to expand...
This is only the very first test - sound always comes last in my games.

Shenmue said:
I wouldn't recommend using the Pandora stylus though as it would easily scratch the screen as you have to drag the stylus to fill up the pieces quickly.
Click to expand...
I've used my stylus every single day on my Pandora and have no scratches. I play Picross3D every night for about 20minutes. Then there are all my own games that I've used the stylus to create levels and such. I might consider getting one of those stylii though :)

Shenmue said:
I tried to look for the save image in appdata/iprice.picross but there's no directory named iprice.picross
Click to expand...
There is on my card :/ Search for "0.dat" in the "appdata" directory (after you've saved at least once). It might be under your own name and ".picross" though... Maybe it depends on the username entered on your Pandora? It will eventually be a proper path.
 
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Weird PND - the file named .pnd is an ELF executable, so I had to chmod it +x to get it to run, but then it ran fine even on the SGX driver 4.03.00.02.

I used the button controls exclusively, and found they worked pretty well,  I would like a slightly longer initial delay before the buttons autorepeat though so that I can step across by tapping more reliably - as is it only takes me 8 or 9 presses to get across the 15-wide board.  If you continue to hold it down it can still move at the same speed after the initial pause though, so it should still be a quick way to navigate the board.

Also it'd be nice if crosses acted to protect your board at all.  As is if you click A on a cross it will immediately get replaced by a piece, although since there's no immediate penalty for doing so it can only cause trouble if you're careless, so perhaps that's the way it's designed to be. Surprised me at first, that's all.

I'd say using the controls is better than on the DS games, and I usually use a combination of d-pad and stylus on those which works fine on my DS Lite, but the Pandora digs into my palm as I try to support it's weight plus in my left hand.
 
Levi said:
Weird PND - the file named .pnd is an ELF executable, so I had to chmod it +x to get it to run, but then it ran fine even on the SGX driver 4.03.00.02.
Click to expand...
I did say in my post above that it was a non-Repo standard .PND.   It's quicker to test and update than going through the PNDTools route - I just post one file to my Pandora and it's done. It will be a proper .PND eventually though.

I'm in two minds about the penalty system for Picross. I could either leave it so it's just a race against time, or include lives that are reduced due to mistakes. I love both approaches. I just don't want to piss off users if they accidentally hit a cell (because they were half a pixel out of the target zone) due to inaccuracies in touch screens.

That's why I've not made X "sticky" -

Levi said:
as is it only takes me 8 or 9 presses to get across the 15-wide board
Click to expand...
I don't have this problem myself, but I can see why it might affect you - either you have a higher clocked Pandora (not CC like mine), or you're holding the cursor key slightly longer than I do (or a combination of both :p )  I'll add an in-game option to increase this delay.

Thanks for the feedback so far :)

Another thing I notice is that the timer keeps on counting down even if the level is completed...
Click to expand...
This .PND is only a quick and simple test and proof of concept. The counter isn't important at this point, as you also don't get game over if it runs out.
 
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iprice said:
Levi said:
as is it only takes me 8 or 9 presses to get across the 15-wide board
Click to expand...
I don't have this problem myself, but I can see why it might affect you - either you have a higher clocked Pandora (not CC like mine), or you're holding the cursor key slightly longer than I do (or a combination of both :p ) I'll add an in-game option to increase this delay.
Click to expand...
I do get an error about 'Vsync unsupported on old versions of SDL'. If it were enabled, you should just be able to count frames to get a consistent timing (providing you can render every frame). Alternatively, base your timings on the clock, and ignore how many frames you're drawing.

FWIW, I'm using a defaultly clocked GHz Pandora. I like the speed at which it zips over the board after the initial autorepeat delay, so if that's slower on your machine I might propose you speed that up (after fixing the speed on my machine first!)
 
Letalis Sonus said:
Well, there's OpenVG, and according to Wikipedia the SGX implements it in hardware. The library is present in the firmware, it's about time someone makes use of it.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure it's wise to build anything serious around OpenVG. It's not supported on the OMAP5 from a quick glance and I *wont* be writing a vgshim :p
 
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TI did announce back in 2011 that it would support it. However, there's hardly any reliable information about the final product, we'll pretty much have to wait and see for ourselves if it ships with the driver. One website that claimed OpenVG wasn't supported even said OGLES 2.0 wouldn't be available as well.
 
iprice said:
If you (or the community) could create a bunch of puzzles (as many as you want, but at least one of each) - 5x5, 10x10, 15x15, 20x20, 25x25 and 30x30 as a simple .PNG or .BMP (all on one page) I'll enter them in and test.
Click to expand...
So - one PNG with ALL the puzzles?

Or one PNG per puzzle (would make more sense)

Are only fixed values supported, or stuff like 5x10, 15x7, etc. as well?
 
I just need some images to recreate puzzles - so one .PNG with a number of puzzles on. This won't be the method of inputting puzzle images in the final version.

I have considered other sizes, but the scroll system works better in multiples of 5 (as that's one grid). So 10x5, 5x10 etc. etc. upto a maximum of Xx30 or 30xX.

Here are some early images of the opening screens -

pic01.PNG

pic02.PNG

pic03.PNG
 
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