Southway Corporation Ltd announced on their MultiIE web site that a Windows Mobile 5 version is to be released soon.
MultiIE is a great Pocket Internet Explorer plug-in that adds a load of great features to the great PIE rendering engine. I personally prefer it over Netfront because PIE is fast, light-weight, and has better small-screen rendering.
MultiIE can be found at http://www.multiie.com/
If anyone notices the new version, please post here.
Hardware
There’s a really interesting article comparing the built-in camera of the four most widely discussed new Windows Mobile phones: HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, Samsung Omnia, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. There is also a dedicated PPCT thread HERE, with some of my comments.
Games
(game announcement heads-up source: PocketGamer.org)
1. Xassar's Quest is a new RPG from ClimbWalls. I’ve played it a bit. Unfortunately, the developers’ being a newcomer definitely shows: it’s quite bug-ridden. It’s really slow on my VGA HTC Universal while it offers no high-resolution VGA support. It isn’t faster on my HTC Wizard either. Also, it very often shows just a white screen to the gamer, which, fortunately, goes away after a screen tap. I could only make it faster by disabling both the sound engine and the “high graphics”. The latter, fortunately, only resulted in a much uglier “fog of war” effect and had no effect on the character / enemy / object sprites. After this, I wasn’t able to re-enable sounds / music to see whether it’s the sound engine that really slows the game down.
On the other hand, it has nice, stereo music; might be worth a try if you’re into top-view RPG’s. Otherwise, forget it and wait for a heavily bugfixed, optimized version – currently, it’s just too slow. There’re several other RPG’s for Windows Mobile offering much better playability. Or, if you have a (preferably high-res) Palm or a sufficiently powerful VGA Pocket PC, go for EDGE (on Pocket PC’s, with the Palm emulator StyleTao), the probably best RPG ever released for PDA platforms.
2. There’s a new adventure game, Igor, from a new Windows Mobile gaming publisher company, Summer Goth Studios. I’ve played the demo through (it took me about 10 minutes – yes, the demo is VERY short). I’ve requested a review copy; the developers promised it, along with a lot of enhancements, would be sent to me in about a week. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I manage to play it though. At a first glance, it seems to be better than some of the anti-adventure games like Lost in the Pyramid. As the demo was really short, making it impossible to get a real picture of the quality and abundance of the in-game sounds (the demo was pretty bad in this respect), music (if any – I haven’t encountered any) and whether the storyline is (any) good, I can’t say more about the title.
3. It was some three months ago that GameZoneProject has released Towers Trap for multiple smart phone platforms (both Windows Mobile platforms, Symbian and desktop Windows), a real-time strategy game. A new, 1.1 version with a sound bugfix has recently been released.
It’s looks a bit like PocketMoreGames’ Tower Defence and is highly recommended, the most recommended game of the bunch. Make sure you give it a try. Note that it makes use of the high resolution of VGA screens, which is pretty much welcome in games like this. Unfortunately, the tutorial message boxes don’t display the end of several messages; fortunately, you can still do some guesswork, which means you can easily absorb the tutorial. This isn’t a problem on QVGA devices, where, in addition, the game is MUCH faster than on VGA ones.
4. ConcreteSoft has come out with another camera-controlled (remember their 3D Lawn Darts?) game, PBA Bowling, for both Windows Mobile platforms and, in addition, the BlackBerry. As I am not a big fan of bowling titles, I don’t really want to review it. I’m not a big fan of camera-based control either. However, as some other people have had much more success with the 3D Lawn Darts’s camera control than me, I think with some patience you’ll learn how to control the swung / force.
5. Rowanvale Software's Danger Dan is a platformer game. It’s certainly worth checking out if you like light, entertaining puzzle / platformers - you most probably will like it. It also has a great tracked scene music.
Hacks, projects
Some people have been trying to make the add-on applications coming with the HTC Diamond work on other devices. So far, without success. The dedicated threads are as follows:
- the Diamond YouTube player. I, as the author of the YouTube Bible, am especially interested in this project. So far, very few people have managed to make it work. See THIS for more info.
- the new (v. 3.3.5) JBlend MIDlet Manager coming with the Diamond is stated to render Opera Mini with large fonts on VGA devices, which is a must on (W)VGA phones with a physically small screen. See THIS.
There is also a thread on hacking the RMVB decoder from the Samsung i780 HERE. I haven’t managed to make it run on my HP iPAQ 210; hope you have more luck.
The XDA-Devs ROM hackers have managed to release a decent WM 6.1 ROM for the HTC Oxygen (s310). I haven’t tested it before making absolutely sure the ROM upgrade won’t kill my call recording capabilities – currently, the main reason for my sticking with the s310 as my main phone. Feel free to provide any feedback on this issue.
My projects
I’ll attend a three-day lecture series of Osman Nuri Ucan (Istanbul Unversity) on "New approaches in turbo codes and their applications" in a week. I’ll report on it in my (hopefully) really soon-to-be-published Digital TV Bible, which will heavily discuss turbo and other kinds of coding. (Only for die-hard Electric Engineers - that is, not for the faint-hearted!)
I’ve also written a full Multiplatform Modem Bible for three smart phone operating systems. A preview version is available HERE. I plan to publish it as soon as I get feedback from the Joiku folks (and cleaning up the style / the English a bit). If you really want to check it out even in its half-baked state, feel free to do it / comment on the factual contents (but not the structure / English – they will still be fixed) - hopefully in 16-20 hours.
A quick update: Towers Trap is 6,47 € instead of 9,95 € (that is, about 10 US$) until 07/13/2008 at http://www.mobile2day.com/en/product_1018501_details.html
Well worth the price, I'd say.
BiggiFi is a revolutionary mobile content enrichment platform that converges small screen mobile platforms with large screen display devices. Today's casual gaming, web browsing and applications are often accessed using smartphone and tablets. BiggiFi brings the rich mobile ecosystem to the big screen displays in the home, on the go and at work.
BiggiFi changes the user experience paradigm, takes advantage of a new landscape and drives latency-free communications between consumer appliances. With BiggiFi, a user can play games alone or in a group, just as they would with a Nintendo Wii or a Microsoft XBOX Kinect using smartphones, tablets and a large display, making it possible to reach a broader base of consumers than with the traditional console gaming platforms. The same applies for web browsing, social networking experiences and other mobile applications.
youtu.be/cVinMEM_2NU
I'll maintain this thread so long as there's interest. In order for an emulator to be listed here, it needs to meet the following criteria
-must be able to open the app with the OFFICIAL Nexus Player gamepad (NPGP)
-must be able to exit the app with the official NPGP
-Must be able to configure all in-app options, to include gamepad button assignments, with the NPGP.
-Must be installable from the Nexus Player (waivable if installable from Play Store on PC)
-Must have a leanback launcher shortcut
Basically, if the emulator requires root, ADB, third party peripherals (for use or configuration), sideloading, etc., it won't be on this list.
NES:
NES.emu ($3.99)
Open the Play Store on your Nexus Player, and scroll up to search. Type or speak "Nintendo" or "emulator" and this will be one of the options that comes up. Alternatively, you can purchased and push install from the web-based Play Store. Open installation and first run, you should go to the settings and configure the gamepad for in-game actions (specifically, to exit the app).
SNES:
Snes9x EX+ (FREE)
Same as above (same developer and menu system).
I'd advise using the SNES emu first (as it's free) to learn how his menu/control setup works, then move on to his other paid emulators. You can see his other emulators at this page here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Robert Broglia&hl=en
Alternatively, you can open the Play Store on the Nexus Player, scroll up to search, and type/speak "emulator." Pretty much all of those are his. As I purchase his other emulators I'll add them to the above list when confirmed. If others wants to try them and report back, I'll also update the list based on that. If you find other emulators that meet the above criteria, please share.
Won't they get removed from the store soon? Emulators are banned quickly on Google Play, aren't they?
Magnesus said:
Won't they get removed from the store soon? Emulators are banned quickly on Google Play, aren't they?
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Most emulators on Google Play have been there for years. Nesoid and the other emulators made by that developer were removed for a specific violation. Here's a good article on the subject.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...nded-are-emulators-soon-to-be-banned-content/
Also, I'm going to go out on limb here. It's normally bad form to distribute links of ROM distribution website (and I won't post it here unless a moderator explicitly tells me that it's ok). However, there's one website that is actually legal (and as such, don't expect to find the best games here). Basically, the ESA has set up a way of protecting the rights of gaming companies and their work, while also offering some ROMs to gamers. Read more on the ESA here:
http://www.theesa.com/ (NOTE: Not a ROM distribution site)
Due to this, one website is completely ESA compliant and has, at the request of Nintendo (and other parties) intentionally set up dead links that will usually be at or near the top of Google results. If you search for a specific ROM on a Nintendo platform, and you click on the link for this specific website, all you get is a link that says "This page has been removed due to copyrights." What few ROMs are available on this website are legally freely distributed. Have at it.
The only problem I have with console emulators has always been the controller lag. This has been true even on my gaming PCs. Playing Super Mario 3 for example, on my SNES (bought one just for this game - lol) it's smooth and does what I expect it to. On my PCs, ADT-1, etc., there's always a minor lag that's just enough to throw timing off.
Mame for the most part on the PC has worked very well for fighting games. Chankast with MvsC2 was damn smooth for me. I'd love to see Android get to this level of emulation.
Mi|enko said:
The only problem I have with console emulators has always been the controller lag. This has been true even on my gaming PCs. Playing Super Mario 3 for example, on my SNES (bought one just for this game - lol) it's smooth and does what I expect it to. On my PCs, ADT-1, etc., there's always a minor lag that's just enough to throw timing off.
Mame for the most part on the PC has worked very well for fighting games. Chankast with MvsC2 was damn smooth for me. I'd love to see Android get to this level of emulation.
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Click to collapse
There are two types of lag that you'll have to deal with here: system timing and input lag.
System timing - Each emulator developer takes their own approach to this. For the SNES, for example, SNES9X and ZSNES took two different approaches. ZSNES made the system timing more consistent, while SNES9X attempts to emulate the system timing of the SNES to a fault. As a result, playing a game on SNES9X will more closely mirror the actual SNES than ZSNES will. Basically, if you're playing a game that requires timing, you'll have to completely relearn your timing on ZSNES, whereas SNES9X will require less (if any) adjustment.
As for Sega 8/16-bit systems and the 32X, you should ONLY be using Kega Fusion on the desktop. This emulator is made by the same guy who has been hired by Sega numerous times to help them port their "Ages" collections to various platforms. He has inside knowledge of the hardware which is why his emulation is so spot on. There should be no noticeable difference in timing between an actual SMS/Genesis/SegaCD/32X and Kega Fusion. Unfortunately, the emulators available for Android aren't based on Fusion.
Input lag - All monitors/HDTVs have a degree of input lag. If you're gaming at 60fps, you want input lag to be <16.67ms, or 1 frame. This ensure that your button response is never more than 1 frame off. NOTE: This has NOTHING to do with pixel response time advertised by LCD manufacturers. Do NOT confuse these two specs. Here's a database of PC monitors and their associated input lag - http://www.displaylag.com/display-database/
HDTVs have an inherently high input lag due to all of the processing that they attempt to do. If you're going to game on these HDTVs, you want to disable as much as possible by using any built-in game mode that the HDTV has. For example, I use a Samsung L46A650. I bought this HDTV in 2008 because, at the time, it had the best input lag control. To date, no HDTV has bested it, so I'm keeping it until it dies. If I use HDMI input 2, set the source to 1080p (possible with Xbox 360, not with PS3), and set it at PC mode, it acts as a PC monitor. Input lag is <16.67 ms in this mode. For other inputs, enabling game mode has an input lag of 16.67ms to 33.33ms (1-2 frames). VGA (Dreamcast) is <16.67ms. If you dare use standard or movie mode, input lag is 3-4 frames. And if you have component hookups (like my PS2) and forget to enable game mode, it's a horrid 4-6 frames worth of delay. Here's an AVS thread on it - http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...-results-your-lcd-display-here-reference.html
Bottom line is that you can greatly reduce the timing issues that you're having by ensuring that you're using the optimal emulator, and properly configuring your display.
^Thanks for all the detail man! I'm using a Samsung TV as well and had been using game mode for my ADT-1 input. Switching it from Game to PC, I saw a significant improvement in the input lag; however, I do see occasional screen hiccups (just a quick flash while navigating). The SNES games (Mario 3 in this case, for comparative purposes) plays almost flawless and as smooth as my SNES. Not perfect, but a helluva lot better than in game mode. It's comparable to my PC at this point, from the quick 10 minutes of testing I did.
Mi|enko said:
^Thanks for all the detail man! I'm using a Samsung TV as well and had been using game mode for my ADT-1 input. Switching it from Game to PC, I saw a significant improvement in the input lag; however, I do see occasional screen hiccups (just a quick flash while navigating). The SNES games (Mario 3 in this case, for comparative purposes) plays almost flawless and as smooth as my SNES. Not perfect, but a helluva lot better than in game mode. It's comparable to my PC at this point, from the quick 10 minutes of testing I did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad that you found it useful. I want to clarify something from my prior post that I was misleading on.
There are essentially 3 classes of "modern" emulators for the SNES, and there are many that fall in around or between these classes. For this example, I'm going to refer to Higan (formerly BSNES), SNES9X, and ZSNES.
Emulation is tricky. The more accurate you attempt to be, the higher the system specs that you need. Due to this, Higan stands alone as the most accurate emulator. It won't do any graphics filters. It won't speed up games. If a game had a scene with horrendous slowdown on a physical SNES, it will have the same horrendous slowdown on this emulator in the same spot. If you want to perfectly emulate an SNES, don't care about modernizing the graphics, and have the specs to run it (quad-core 3ghz+ Intel Core series CPU), then go for Higan. Note: There's no equivalent for Android, nor could there be at this point.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is ZNES (and there are far worse emulators, but I'm picking on them). Like all emulators not named Higan, this program takes shortcuts to mimic functionality. More shortcuts means better speed and lower system requirements, but also more compatibility issues. Try playing Earthworm Jim 2 and you won't hear most of the sound effects.
SNES9X is a compromise. It is far more accurate than ZSNES and therefore has higher system requirements. It takes more of a 95/5 approach. It won't have the accuracy as Higan, but it also won't have the slowdown found in Starefox to the degree that a real SNES or Higan would. It also allows you to enhance the graphics with filters and such. It's also ported to damn near every platform (including the Android TV app mentioned in the OP). It won't be exactly like playing on an actual SNES, but it will be closer than most emulators while offering enhancements, and consistency across multiple platforms.
I have installed these emulators and these are superb.
So admit it, scrolling isn't that smooth on this tablet in chrome, so why not use Samsung Internet, scrolling is amazing and it has nightmode. The scrolling performance of this tablet running the app has made me finally ditch my laptop. Tablet feels like an iPad now
Just download it off the Google play store, I used the beta version
also supports desktop mode