New Developer Here

[Neonlare]

Ahoyhoy, I've only recently heard of this "Indie-Console" recently, but it seems very interesting, I did not think such a thing had been tried before. Anyhow, I digress, I looked through the FAQ on development for the system and was wondering what the "launch games" are for this system. Can it run only certain programs, or is it compatible with .exe's and the likeness?

For those who need someone to help with development, I can make Sprites, 2D Promotional and Conceptual Artwork, Music Composistion, Writing, a little bit of programming and some website design. I am looking forward to contributing to this system .

 

[ldesnogu]

Welcome!

Can it run only certain programs, or is it compatible with .exe's and the likeness?

No it's not compatible with OpenVMS .exe files, it runs Linux.

Oh wait, you perhaps meant DOS/Windows .exe?
Well, not out the box because:
1. it runs Linux
2. it's not an x86

So basically you need source to port and recompile

 

[Neonlare]

Welcome!

Can it run only certain programs, or is it compatible with .exe's and the likeness?

No it's not compatible with OpenVMS .exe files, it runs Linux.

Oh wait, you perhaps meant DOS/Windows .exe?
Well, not out the box because:
1. it runs Linux
2. it's not an x86

So basically you need source to port and recompile

Aaw, that's a shame. I develop with Windows, so unless it gets the functionality to run Windows-based programs, or if I could convert one into something suitable for Linux, then I could only really work on sprites and such for other people.

I also do 3D models aswell, but I'm still learning the general stuff with that.

 

[sindbad]

If you don't use Windows-specific APIs and no x86-specific ASM it should work with a simple recompilation.

There are plenty options for cross-platform development. Stuff like SDL or SFML instead of DirectX, OpenGL instead of Direct3D should get you set. Winelib might help.

 

[Orkie]

Aaw, that's a shame. I develop with Windows, so unless it gets the functionality to run Windows-based programs, or if I could convert one into something suitable for Linux, then I could only really work on sprites and such for other people.

I also do 3D models aswell, but I'm still learning the general stuff with that.

You could always try and get the Wine libraries working on ARM .

 

[ldesnogu]

You could always try and get the Wine libraries working on ARM .

That can work as long as one has the sources

 

[Orkie]

Yes, and s/he said s/he developed on Windows, so presumably has access to the source of those things .

 

[Neonlare]

Mmm, alright, I'll research into this Wine a bit more. I'm not really an efficient programer yet, so I'll have to talk to other colleagues of mine, thanks for the assist!

 

[sindbad]

You're welcome. Winelib was used for example to port Picasa to linux.

Using cross-platform libraries/APIs/whatever is something you should get used to anyway if you want your software to work on Windows, Linux and OS X

 

[izzie]

is there any chance to run dosbox on the pandora ?

 

[craigix]

Yes, dox box should run about 3.5x faster than the GP2X version with a direct port (no optimisations for the pandora hardware).

 

[Holokauston]

You could always try and get the Wine libraries working on ARM .

That can work as long as one has the sources

Would be some program to validate the work that's needed to make a wine wrapper and optimize both the wrapper and the program for ARM, sounds easier to just fix the source from the program to work on Linux then optimize for ARM?

 

[ldesnogu]

Would be some program to validate the work that's needed to make a wine wrapper and optimize both the wrapper and the program for ARM, sounds easier to just fix the source from the program to work on Linux then optimize for ARM?

It's always better not to stack layer of libraries, so the best thing to do is a real port.
But if no one wants to make a proper port, wine is a good lazy approach

 

[gaterooze]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure assistance with sprites, music etc as you mentioned would be much appreciated. Projects in need should start springing up one the hardware is released.

 

[Svartalf]

Aaw, that's a shame. I develop with Windows, so unless it gets the functionality to run Windows-based programs, or if I could convert one into something suitable for Linux, then I could only really work on sprites and such for other people.

If you work the code the right way, you can make your titles to work on both at the same time. This will reveal things that would lurk as transients. Making the title for both is actually only 10% more work at most in most cases, and you end up finding the nasty gotchas and not spend all the time chasing them or having them go out to the customers. Choose the right libraries and you've opened up a larger world for yourself. Moreover, you'd be surprised at what all doing that makes possible- if you, say, choose OpenGL/OpenGL ES over Direct3D, you now can target Windows, Windows CE, MacOS, Linux (Incl. Pandora...), PS3 and so forth- if you pick sensible things for your sound, input, networking, etc.

If you're uncertain where to start, there's always people willing to help out there as well. Just ask.

 

[canguy247]

WINE is an acronym for Wine Is Not an Emulator (recursive acronyms rock)
Unfortunately porting it would be useless as the .exe must still be executed - wine just replaces the windows API. So unless you have arm windows binaries, you still need the source code.

Canguy

 

[mafia-man]

Yes, dox box should run about 3.5x faster than the GP2X version with a direct port (no optimisations for the pandora hardware).

Does that mean carmageddon playable speed, or at least my old fave System shock?

 

[CoMiKe]

QUOTE
Does that mean carmageddon playable speed, or at least my old fave System shock?

No way. I'm sure you're not telling it seriously.

 

[Vladsharp]

QUOTE
Does that mean carmageddon playable speed, or at least my old fave System shock?

No way. I'm sure you're not telling it seriously.

I'm sure the problem is not lack of harware DX9 support (afair the SBX chip used in the Pandora does OpenGL + Direct3D as well) - it's just the software is simply not there... </rant>

 

[Arialia]

QUOTE
Does that mean carmageddon playable speed, or at least my old fave System shock?

No way. I'm sure you're not telling it seriously.

I'm sure the problem is not lack of harware DX9 support (afair the SBX chip used in the Pandora does OpenGL + Direct3D as well) - it's just the software is simply not there... </rant>

No the SGX including in TI Omap don't support OpenGL only OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and Direct3D