OK, first off, DaveC-- I apologize for my typo in a prior comment where I directed a little rant of mine to you rather than to its intended target, Craig. That was entirely a blunder on my part.
We chose the GP2X because of the ease of development in writing multiplatform code (on my part), lack of limitation on graphical aspects (screen resolution, color palette, RAM) and most of all, that it was not a 'closed off' machine that requires expensive hardware to get into developing for. I have extensive experience working with the C programming language so I chose it for the engine. SDL compatibility meant that it would be simple to perform testing on PC or other X86 platforms (e.g. X86 Macs), in Linux, Windows or other OS'es, and run the code on many platforms, and be assured of the same experience each time.
On PAPER the GP2X is a fine machine. It has a powerful ARM9 processor, capable of incredible accomplishments in game development. That sort of power on tap, with over 45 MB of free RAM to utilize, a 320x240 display and a massive color palette, and '2D acceleration' is an incredible combination. However, we began to learn the longer we went into the development process that things were not going to continue as smoothly as they began.
The problems I encountered did not stem from code efficiency, and we did not utilize Fenix or any other crutch, we worked from the ground up-- nothing else would be sufficient to take advantage of the system. My engine and all primary and secondary game logic ran at full speed with the CPU dramatically UNDERclocked below its 200 MHz spec. Problems began to arise where, when drawing the large and complex multi-layer graphical scenery, the blitter's weakness showed-- it was not truly a form of '2D acceleration', just the bare minimum-- and only added a few tiny boosts to the game's framerate. While I was able to maintain a rather staggering 140-190 FPS in my engine tests with a high degree of graphical complexity, problems cropped up one after the other. Memory bottlenecks and the intense load on the ARM920T caused by the mediocre blitter began to take a toll on performance when I brought things to the required intensity level. SD-DMA being fully broken resulted in long load time and the need for strange hacks to play audio. Attempting to run an audio decoding engine on the ARM940T cut performance in half instead of helping it. Strange crashes and sporadic unexplained behavior plagued the process and could not be repeated on any other platform. A lot of these issues might have been able to be worked around, with much aggravation, but two issues could not.
We approached a publisher who expressed interest in releasing our game commercially when it was completed. He bought a GP2X MK2 with the sole intention of playing our prototype versions. Upon getting the machine, he was disgusted. He said it felt like a cheap toy, the build quality was abysmal, and he wanted nothing to do with the system but to play our game on it. He has no interest in emulation of any sort and did not want to TOUCH the machine. This problem was compounded by that there was no documentation to indicate his need for high capacity NiMH batteries, so he believed the machine was broken until he bought an AC adapter, when it failed to boot/crashed repeatedly using Alkaline AAs. I and HydraLancer's confidence in the GP2X rapidly waned and it became more and more clear the probability of us releasing a finished game for the GP2X as an exclusive was more and more far-fetched.
The other issue was the stick, which you've all heard me speak out against before. It wouldn't be so big a problem if anything I worked on didn't feel unplayable using it. I found I had a perfect experience using a keyboard or a USB gamepad in my tests on x86 builds, while whenever I fired up the GP2X, I liked how most things ran and HydraLancer's graphics always looked spectacular, but everything felt wooden and clunky. I was, and still am, confident that I could work to help produce a masterpiece and it would still feel like an abomination and a waste of time, and I'd never want to show it to anyone anywhere but on another platform with acceptable controls. Anyone who tried it would pick up the GP2X and hand it back to me, saying "It's broken," when they tried to control the game. I cannot imagine anything more frustrating than being unable to control, and therefore enjoy, your hard work.
This isn't to say that we're giving up on our work, by no means is that true. However, we feel we have better opportunities with the XGP. When I spoke to Craig about a new machine tentatively planned for release by GPH after the GP2X, I gave him my input on what would make for the best development platform, a machine with superior 2D acceleration most notably, using Samsung's S3C2460 chipset. I was blown off, told that high CPU clock speeds were all that mattered because they are easier to market to people who like big numbers (a 'trucks with big engines' analogy was made) and my opinions refused, later resulting in Craig denying the whole discussion and sparking off the little feud you've seen come to a head in recent weeks.
I approached GP about how development of their XGP systems was going, and made the same suggestions I did to Craig; most notably the use of the S3C2460 instead of the VRender-3D since they wished to use more advanced hardware due to the delay time in developing the XGP series. They didn't blow off my ideas, they even stated they were already working on a platform using the very chip I suggested. They've even asked for my opinions and have been shaping the design of their systems to suit the desires of the persons who intend to buy the units, including this forum. Combined with their patient, more careful and methodical approach to design and prototyping of their consoles compared to the circus that was the GP2X's design/release, GP's approach is more confidence-inspiring, and we therefore believe the XGP/XGPmini will be a better target platform for our works.
Now, as I've stated, a big thing with me is compatibility and crossplatform code and graphical interoperability. I'd love to release a version that'll run on any PC built in the past oh .. 8 or 9 years, a Dreamcast version, a Mac and Linux compatible version, and possibly even one that'll run on the XBox, and it should be very easy to do so, and add enhancements for each particular version. For the same reason, I don't have a problem scaling back the final game to run on the GP2X, I just won't pour my heart and soul into it, and I can't really say I'd choose to play it on one if I had other, superior platforms to do so with.
It's not a matter of loyalty, it's not a matter of being on a 'team' for the GP2X or XGP or DS or PSP or PC or Mac or anything of that sort. A developer goes where his heart takes him, not where he feels he's bound with a chain. If you can respect that... thank you. You have a mature and sensible outlook. If not, that's your choice as well, but you will not accomplish anything by becoming angry over how we choose to express our full vision.
If you feel that's greedy in some way ... it's not. We may very likely end up releasing some incarnation of our work for free. We're not trying to get rich. It's flattering if someone is willing to pay for your mental emotional and physical investment in producing something that is truly fun to play and immersive, but it's not about 'striking it big' and selling 20 million copies of a DS game, and that's why we're not taking that sort of an approach.
My apologies if I've offended anyone on this forum with my behavior, but my patience with much of the input I've recieved, often rude, inconsiderate, ungrateful and downright vicious-- everyone can tolerate a certain amount, well, I've tolerated a hell of a lot, and beyond that point, it's quite difficult to stay rational. If you look through my post history, you can find my good days and my bad days quite easily. I'll do my best to be the person I've been complimented for being; e.g. informative and helpful. You likely won't see me posting in any GP2X section much at all in the future, I'm just not interested anymore. I'll continue to post here, but I'd prefer if it didn't invite personal attacks on me from persons like Craig.
That's all, and if you read this far, thanks. I appreciate it.
