Apple must be catching up before the July 4th holiday, because they have unleashed a massive number of app updates today.
Here are a collection of notable ones. We haven't had a chance to try them all out yet, so are relying on the developer's notes.
Circuit Strike One ($0.99) - This zero-gravity shooter has received 19 fixes/improvements, many of which address the previously reported framerate drops and performance issues. It also allows users to individually reduce the visual effects to balance performance.
UniWar ($0.99) - One of the best turn-based strategy games just got better with a 3-minute "Quick Play" mode for online play, map fixes, campaign mode improvements, and many other fixes/adjustments.
Tyrian ($1.99) - Fixed the weapon upgrade issue found in the first version.
Isotope ($2.99) - 3.0 fixes that allow the game to run smoothly again in the latest iPhone update as well as a number of fixes and features.
Yesterday we pointed readers to Firemint's tech demo, which sprang from developer Rob Murray's desire to see just how far he could push the new iPhone 3GS hardware.
Murray created a test build of his studio's Real Racing [App Store], which normally features six cars on a track at the same time, and started adding cars in order to see when the new hardware would falter. He was able to push the game to 40 cars on-track at once without any perceptible loss in framerate. As he concluded, the results are fairly "mind blowing."
Pocket Gamer recently spoke with Murray, who shared his thoughts on what the more powerful iPhone 3GS means to iPhone developers, in general.
"To get value from your 3GS-specific investment you would want to feature and promote its benefits. However, when you do that, at the same time you can very easily give the non-3GS market false expectations," he says.
"So if you do differentiate the 3GS, you need to think carefully about how much noise to make about it. If you make too much noise it may backfire with negative user reviews from non-3GS customers, if you don't promote it at all then you haven't really gotten full value out of your investment."
Murray feels that the best overall strategy for developers is to focus on the lowest common denominator — the early iPhone platform devices — and let 3GS users enjoy the added smoothness that the device's beefier hardware brings. In fact, he feels that few games currently in the App Store are pushing even the earlier generation hardware.
"From what I have observed on the App Store, I don't think there are many apps that have pushed the limit of the existing hardware. For the vast majority of apps, there is little that they can do power-wise on the 3GS that they couldn't equally do on the prior models with just a little bit more care and optimisation."
With the base iPhone 3G selling at $99, Apple should be moving more of the lower-end devices than ever. And while the iPhone 3GS is indeed the new flagship of the iPhone family, it's higher-end specs are far from the "standard platform." It will be interesting to see how each developer approaches the problem of making all iPhone gamers happy with future releases.
See the Firemint 40-car Real Racing demo, if you missed it earlier.
In fact, Carmack said that they were hoping to release a new id title to the iPhone every 2-3 months for the next year. These titles will include a mix of their classic PC games such as Doom and Quake as well as newer mobile games including Wolfenstein RPG.
The complete list of titles and add-ons mentioned in the interview are listed here:
Doom Resurrection - Bluetooth Cooperative Multiplayer coming
Wi-Fi Multiplayer is currently working in Doom Classic (not yet released)
Doom Classic closing in on being ready for initial release
Plans for 3.0 support in Doom Classic with Bluetooth Multiplayer and downloadable content including Doom 2, Ultimate Doom, Final Doom, Master Levels
Considering competitive internet multiplayer in later update to Doom Classic
Planning Quake, Quake 2 for the iPhone and maybe all the way up to Quake Arena
Plans to do a Rage themed from-scratch iPhone title
Wolfenstein RPG ready to go but being held by EA due to concern about confusion with Wolfenstein Classic
Doom 2 RPG is in works for mobile and that will be ported to iPhone too
Very early talks about a modernized Doom ("Doom++") release with new levels and story
We had a sneak peek at the cooperative multiplayer of Doom Resurrection at WWDC which allowed two Bluetooth connected players to play simultaneously — each player with their own reticule on the other's screen.
The currently unavailable Wolfenstein RPG title was accidentally released in Japan for a brief period of time, and one site was able to get video of it before it was pulled. Carmack hopes that the game will be released soon, but the decision seems to be with EA.
Overall, Carmack is very excited about the iPhone, and clearly it shows given id's aggressive plans to launch a massive number of titles over the next year for the platform. Carmack said that while they'd had fun with traditional mobile games, he's "had a lot more fun on the iPhone".
We've included the full transcript after the jump and is certainly worth a read if you have any interest in these upcoming games.
While we've been excited about the 3.0 release, a number of high profile games seem to still be having issues with the latest version of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch firmware. Forum user skamando and others have compiled a list of games with known issues under the latest firmware. Partial list here:
Toki Tori - Unstable Framerate (Fixable by turning off sound in game)
Underworlds - Sluggish performance (Turn Music Off to Fix)
Many developers have chimed in saying that patches have been submitted, but that Apple's approval process is backlogged even further than usual with the release of 3.0. One common theme seems to be that music or audio may be contributing to the problems due to a change in audio behavior in 3.0. So, if you are noticing problems turning off sound or music may be the first thing to try while you wait for the updates.
iPhone developer Ziconic has released a video that demonstrates usage of the digital compass in the new iPhone 3GS as a view control mechanism.
A prototype build of the developer's AirCoaster 3D [App Store], an app that allows users to design and ride 3D roller coasters on the iPhone and iPod touch, allows the user to move the iPhone about in order to change the viewpoint of the rider.
The compass-based view control is expected to arrive in a future update of the application. Ziconic also recently released a video comparing the 3D performance of the new iPhone 3GS to that of the iPhone 3G, using AirCoaster 3D as a benchmark.
The big industry news that came out today was the acquisition of id Software by ZeniMax Media. ZeniMax is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks who is notably responsible for Fallout 3. id Software, of course, has been responsible for the Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake franchises.
The press release insists that operations at id Software will continue as usual:
id Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack. No changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games. All the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles developing games at the studio.
The news likely doesn't directly impact the iPhone scene significantly but is notable as id's John Carmack has been a strong proponent of the iPhone platform for gaming. id Software had also worked on the upcoming iPhone-specific Doom Resurrection title alongside Escalation Studios. Meanwhile, ZeniMax has had it's hand in some early iPhone titles through it's mobile studio Vir2l.
Bethesda Softworks game director and executive producer Todd Howard admitted to Joystiq that they have been experimenting with versions of Fallout 3 for the iPhone.
"We've looked into those things, we just haven't found the thing that supports the brand well. I wouldn't be surprised if it does happen one day. The iPhone versions that we've designed and said 'Ehh, we don't think we're going to do that right now,' there are … there are a lot of them."
Howard also happens to be a big fan of the iPhone and revealed in an interview that he's addicted to his iPhone and gets a game for it every few days. In the interview, he even reveals that Touch Arcade is a website that he visits every day (Hi Todd.)
Australian company 22Moo announced today the development of "the world's first" iPhone OS 3.0 compatible game controller which will feature an 8-way D-pad with 6 buttons, incorporate a 2000mAh battery and support both Bluetooth and 30-pin dock connector connectivity. Specs include:
Dual connectivity - Connect with Bluetooth wirelessly OR use the 30-pin dock connector cable
2000mAh Lithium-ion Battery for additional power for your iPod touch / iPhone*
LED showing charging state and capacity
8-way D-Pad with 6 buttons
Bluetooth button for pairing and status
Built-in speakers, mic and 3.5 audio headphone jack
"Made for iPod" and "Works for iPhone" certification**
A price has not yet been set and is expected to be released in mid September 2009.
Given no actual product shot has been shown, it seems the device is still in pretty early development. They are even soliciting customer suggestions for pricing and interested developers are asked to sign up for future information about the GameBone Pro SDK. We're not holding our breath for this one, but it is the first of what we expect to be a number of other game accessory announcements.
We recently pointed readers to a performance comparison between the iPhone 3G S and the iPhone 3G carried out by Daniel Pasco of Black Pixel. The test application was a pre-release build of Plasma, an application Pasco's group is developing for Tap Tap Tap. The comparison showed a "starkly apparent" performance advantage to the new iPhone as compared to the 3G unit.
Tap Tap Tap has followed Pasco's post up with a video of Plasma in action, running side by side on the iPhone 3G S and 3G. The demonstration speaks rather strongly of the potential of Apple's new device.
As Tap Tap Tap concludes,
As the video shows, in our OpenGL ES testing, the 3GS is generally close to four times faster than the 3G. Results will vary depending on the application but this is remarkable to say the least.
Another impressive testament to the power of the iPhone 3G S comes from Ziconic, developer of the roller coaster simulator AirCoaster 3D [App Store]. See their 3G S vs. 3G comparison video.
Rather telling, indeed.
We realize, of course, that this is a game news and review site and that our repeated articles evaluating the performance of the iPhone 3G S may weight heavy on some readers, but we feel that the iPhone 3G S represents so notable a jump in hardware performance that its potential to game developers and gamers alike should not be understated.
And, while these performance benchmarks show the new device in a rather impressive light, it's not until developers begin to directly utilize the Open GL ES 2.0-compatible programmable pipeline of the iPhone 3G S that we will really begin to see the limts of the new hardware. And developers should be soundly motivated to make the new hardware dance — Apple has just announced that over 1 million iPhone 3G S units were sold during its opening weekend.
iPhone developer Manomio has been secretly working on a major App Store project for the past year that has just been completed, but may never see the light of day in its current form. Readers may remember Manomio as the developer behind the iPhone version of classic game Flashback. Manomio's slogan is "In Retro We Trust" and their mission statement is to bring classic game titles to the leading handheld devices such as the iPhone.
What Manomio has done is to create a fully licensed Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone that can play classic games and even run Commodore 64 BASIC. The full list of features are as follows:
Full speed, Commodore 64 emulator
SID sound emulation
Auto-save, to continue exactly where you left off
Realistic joystick and beautifully crafted C64 keyboard
Portrait and Landscape play
Vertical and Fullscreen gaming (auto rotate for iPod users)
Did I mention it was legally licensed?
Despite some initial work on the project last year, Manomio had originally decided to abandon the project for two main reasons. 1) a lack of licensing rights for the Commodore 64 and 2) the question of whether or not an emulator would be allowed in the App Store.
Manomio, however, ended up connecting with Kiloo Aps who happens to own the license for the Commodore 64 and ultimately managed to sign the proper deals with both Kiloo and Commodore Gaming.
Manomio then contacted Apple Europe in the UK and detailed what they were planning to accomplish and according to Manomio's CEO Brian Lyscarz, "Apple seemed really excited" and so he felt safe that they would sanction the final app. With that assurance in hand, Manomio proceeded to secure the necessary licensing from individual publishers and finalize work on this major project.
It all came to a head last week, however, when Manomio confidently submitted C64 for iPhone along with 3 individual gamepacks (officially licensed) to use along with the emulator. All seemed fine until Manomio received the dreaded App Store rejection email:
Thank you for submitting C64 1.0 to the App Store. We've reviewed C64 1.0 and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it violates the iPhone SDK Agreement; "3.3.2 An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple's Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s)."
As originally feared, Apple had rejected their app based on the SDK clause specifically prohibiting interpreted or executable code.
Even aside from Apple Europe's early assurance, Lyscarz pointed out to us that there are a number of apps in the App Store that do exactly the same thing from CHIP-8 emulators, programmable calculators and, of course, Frotz, a Z-machine interpreter. In fact, Sega's Golden Axe and Sonic iPhone games are nothing more than emulators packaged with the original game ROMs. Lyscarz is understandably frustrated with the process after having spent so much of his company's time and money into the project. Lyscarz continues to hope that C64 might still be approved in one form or another.
Here's a video of the game in action. Not all the games shown would be included in the initial launch, but Manomio hopes to eventually obtain licensing for these games as well.
So claims iPhone developer Daniel Pasco of Seattle-based Black Pixel, in reference to the performance of the new iPhone 3G S. Upon receiving the iPhone 3G S, Pasco wanted to put the device through its paces to see what kind of performance the unit's beefed up hardware delivers. He decided to run several different configurations of Plasma, a CPU-intensive application featuring particle animation that his company is developing for Tap Tap Tap.
For the test, he pitted the 3G S against the second generation iPod touch (the previous speed king of the iPhone family).
iPod Touch 2g:
CPU: Arm 6 running at 533 MHz
GPU: PowerVR MBX Lite
iPhone 3G S:
CPU: Arm 7 running at 600 MHz
GPU: PowerVR SGX
And the result? According to Pasco, the trend was "starkly apparent." The iPhone 3G S ran Plasma about twice as fast as the 2G iPod touch in every test. It's worth noting that the application is only running OpenGL ES 1.1 code and has not been modified to take advantage of any of the improvements in OpenGL ES 2.0, an API no previous member of the iPhone family can utilize.
Pasco also isolated the new device's Cortex A8 processor to assess its particular performance level as compared to the family's previous CPU.
The question of the CPU contribution to performance was nagging at me, so I dug up the C source code for the Scimark2 benchmark suite from NIST and put together a quick test application for the iPhone. Scimark2 is a set of numerically intensive tests including FFTs, successive over relaxation (SOR), Monte Carlo calculations, matrix multiplications and LU decomposition - calculations similar to the ones we do in our application.
I ran the test on the Touch and the 3gs with both small and large (cache-blowing) datasets to see how they compared.
And the results?
iPhone 3G S:
6.42 Mflops (small dataset)
5.86 Mflops (large dataset)
2g Touch:
5.21 Mflops (small dataset)
4.86 Mflops (large dataset)
In the CPU tests, the 3G S showed itself to be around 20% faster than the 2G touch. A notable improvement, but based on these tests, it would seem that the real benefit to game developers will come from the new unit's PowerVR SGX. Of course, the real test of the iPhone 3G S will come as games begin to support the Open GL ES 2.0 programmable pipeline.
Apple must be catching up before the July 4th holiday, because they have unleashed a massive number of app updates today. 
Yesterday we pointed readers 
The big industry news that came out today was the acquisition of 
Pasco also isolated the new device's Cortex A8 processor to assess its particular performance level as compared to the family's previous CPU.
