Stppc2X - News On The Next Version

[ledow]

This is just a heads-up that I am working on a new update to STPPC2x for the GP2X. The new version has four new games (Keen, Magnets, Singles and Towers) and a number of little fixes and enhancements including extra difficulty levels and modes for some of the existing games.

You can get a preview of the new games on the original collection website: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/ (just click on the pictures of each game on that page to play an online java version of them - note that the original collection doesn't include Maze 3D, Mosco, Slide or Sokoban which are only in this STPPC2x collection).

I'll release it precisely when the damn original collection stops changing and settles for a bit - in the last week or so it's been updated every single day with new games and fixes but when it calms down again, I now have enough new changes to warrant a new release which I'll call STPPC2x 1.2 and announce on this website and in the archives.

If someone wants to step forward and recompile this for Wiz when it's finished, I have a Google code project and SVN repository for all my code here: http://code.google.com/p/stppc2x I'm afraid I don't have a Wiz, though, so I can't recompile it or check if it works... people have reported success with doing that in the past though, probably with only minor tweaks. Also, someone made a Dingoo A320 version of my last release using the same code without any changes, so that's a possibility too. Volunteers are welcome!

 

[LineOf7s]

Thankyou for your continued work on this project. Always nice to have a shiny new version of anything.

 

[slaanesh]

I love Stppc2X - one of my favorites. I can make a Dingoo A320 build when v1.2 is ready to go.

In fact I'll make a GP32 version too.

 

[senquack]

I love Stppc2X - one of my favorites. I can make a Dingoo A320 build when v1.2 is ready to go.

In fact I'll make a GP32 version too.

Dang it's gettin crazy up in this hizzy!

 

[Farox]

Good
Stppc is one of my favourites on GP2X ..and one of a few games that i like to play with the stylus .....thank you ledow !

 

[hitbyambulance]

good to hear

 

[slaanesh]

I love Stppc2X - one of my favorites. I can make a Dingoo A320 build when v1.2 is ready to go.

In fact I'll make a GP32 version too.

Turns out the GP32 version of SDL only supports a single timer. And stppc2x uses multiple timers. I can make a work around but i'll have to work on it.
Otherwise I see no reason for it not to work.
I've got the Dingoo A320 version up and running with a few improvements to the emulated mouse cursor drawing code so that there is no flicker.

 

[ledow]

Turns out the GP32 version of SDL only supports a single timer. And stppc2x uses multiple timers. I can make a work around but i'll have to work on it.
Otherwise I see no reason for it not to work.
I've got the Dingoo A320 version up and running with a few improvements to the emulated mouse cursor drawing code so that there is no flicker.

The timers are a pain in the arse - the game has its own idea of a timer (for minesweeper, animations, etc.) that you can't really deny it, the "mouse emulator" code for the GP2X joystick has its own timer that is a little time-critical for user-interaction with the D-pad/joystick, and there's a crappy one-second timer in the background to handle things like the menus, statusbar and music - bits like that. I apologise in advance for the crappiness of that code. It should be quite easy to just extend everything to a single timer callback that is called with different arguments, though (that's basically what it does anyway, and did in previous versions), and depending on the argument, it fires whichever "timer callback" is necessary (i.e. the game one every time, the mouse one if so many timer events have passed, and the other one whenever it feels it's been too long).

Also, I've just updated the code to add the new "Signpost" game in, so you might want to check those changes out - should be just a matter of updating the list in list.c, modifying your Makefile to include the relevant lines and then dropping the signpost.c file into the folder (example savegame, help text, "quick description" on the menu, and thumbnail image are all there too if you want it to be "pretty"). I just cleaned up some little bits too, like the way Signpost handles "keyboard" mode, the way the statusbar blanks and various silly things that won't affect anything critical. The changes in sdl.c (the only file you really need worry about) are extremely minor and you'd barely notice their absence, really... some whitespace changes and a small change to the way the statusbar blanks.

I told you it's always worth waiting until the SVN settles for a while - new game out of nowhere! Currently up to 36 games, and if there aren't a million bug-fix commits for Signpost, I'll be putting out 1.2 quite soon.

 

[slaanesh]

Yes, I was thinking about using one timer selecting the correct callback for the GP32. Should be pretty do-able.
Looking forward to this next release.

I've been playing Tents now for a bit. Lots of fun!

 

[ledow]

I've been playing Tents now for a bit. Lots of fun!

I can complete all the games (36 of them!) on the default settings - I have had to play them all so much in order to make sure they work properly. The hardest to do for me was Cube, Netslide and Pegs (HATE THAT GAME!).

It's amazing the subtle tiny bugs I found before I released 1.0 that could affect things like the final completion "flash" in one particular game, but nothing else, so I had to force myself to complete each game at least once to check they worked okay. I have completed a game of every single one on the list on default settings (even the new ones... I'd completed a game of Signpost within about 2 hours of it being up on the SVN) and my favourites are normally played now on some ludicrous settings - thank God I put in a save feature! Tents is a good game, though, but I like things like Net and Untangle best.