iPhone/iPod Touch Thread

[WiteWulf]

I was thinking of the AG apps and are any games that actually look much better using the beefier OpenGL?

[Misfit]

Anyone else noticed the very Hover Bovver-esque free game 'Sunday Lawn' in the App store?

Not tried it for long enough to know if it's any good yet.

[teamonkey]

Yeah, I downloaded it. It's OK. It fills a gap. I wish Jeff had got there first though.

[sack]

Just got me a shiny new 16GB 3GS in the post. RMD some shiny apps to show off the 3GS specific stuff, please...

Erm...

Everything just works better.

I suppose you could go into maps and switch to compass mode and see the map rotate as you move?

That and shader support in the graphics chip. Not sure if anyone actually uses it to avoid cutting off a big chunk of the users though

[Marius]

Transformers G1 is finally out. Yay!

[Misfit]

Transformers G1 is finally out. Yay!

Is that a good thing?

[Deckard]

That Brothers in Arms 2 is rather good
although sad git that I am I just wanna play PacMan CE on my iPad

[Misfit]

That Brothers in Arms 2 is rather good

Until we get some sort of hardware controls I've had it with FPS games controlled by touch.

although sad git that I am I just wanna play PacMan CE on my iPad

Vector tanks (or the new extreme version due) for me. Apparently they are ready to upscale properly to the iPad resolution.

[juice]

Just got me a shiny new 16GB 3GS in the post. RMD some shiny apps to show off the 3GS specific stuff, please...

Erm...

Everything just works better.

I suppose you could go into maps and switch to compass mode and see the map rotate as you move?

That and shader support in the graphics chip. Not sure if anyone actually uses it to avoid cutting off a big chunk of the users though

Heh. On a related tangent: I got trolled on Arstechnica for asking some questions around the various iPhone/iPod Touch models and the potential need to test against each variation, plus the debate of "targetting the high end vs lowest common denominator". Several fan-bois decreed that there's no need to worry about things like the 20% clock-speed difference between the 1st gen/2nd gen models, nor the speed variations seen between theoretically equivalent iPhone and iPod touch models.

As a result, I was mildly entertained to see the Super Monkey Ball 2 post-mortem on Gamasutra...

Back when the iPhone App Store launched, developers only had to worry about three types of hardware (Edge iPhone, 3G iPhone, and iPod Touch Gen 1) and one firmware platform.

By the time SMB2 launched, there were iPhone handsets available with different capabilities (notably the 3GS vs. 3G), and firmware updates meant that some consumers would be up to date (with 3.0 firmware), while other users lagged behind (sticking to 2.21 firmware).

We didn't want to let any of our audience have a sub-par experience, so we ensured that Super Monkey Ball 2 ran perfectly on all platforms. The finished product looks cutting edge on any iPhone device, including the launch machines. This was also critical for multiplayer gaming (race mode); in the final version of the game, no advantage is provided to players with more powerful handsets.

Vindication, methinks. Can haz internet-debate-won award plz?

More seriously, it does back up Misfit's comment: with such a huge "Oldschool" install base and low margins, there's little incentive for developers to try and use the high-end features on newer models.

[Misfit]

Apparently iControlPad is in mass production. Of course this is coming from the people bringing us the Pandora, so don't hold you breath!

Two versions coming, one with battery. More info and a sign up for updates here:

http://bath.stonefish.co.uk/

It's not as pretty as the original ideas, but might be worth having one in the bag whilst travelling. Hopefully it can eventually be used with App store stuff and not just jailbreak stuff. Although it does look good with the PSX emulator...

[benedictw]

Thats very neat. Its a shame apple haven't done something similar - the touchscreen controls don't work for most games for me.

[Ollie]

You sure about that link?

This is the TESTING/TRAINING site for the University of Bath's Jobs website.

[PVB]

You sure about that link?

This is the TESTING/TRAINING site for the University of Bath's Jobs website.

I'm guessing he meant this one:

http://www.icontrolpad.com/

[Misfit]

You sure about that link?

This is the TESTING/TRAINING site for the University of Bath's Jobs website.

Doh!

I guess that was still in my paste buffer and I didn't copy very well.

Embarrassing site, for what was supposed to be a flagship for us. Sadly their web team insisted on doing the graphic design rather than letting us our in house designer.

[Deckard]

Looks nice http://www.9to5mac.com/redeye-mini-4359035 and Go Apple Go ! http://www.9to5mac.com/apple-sues-HTC-453456306