hallo all developers, please please please whatever game or app you are developing follow these two basic rules 1. if i am listening too music, do not silence it and make me listen to your in-app / game music, or if you do the first time give me an option to listen to my music, and not just an option of silence ! 2. Landscape mode - if used, please please make it that whichever way up my phone is that app screen flips ! For some reason the standard seems to be that my headphone socket is always in my hand ! Of course with some apps i turn my phone round, and great my headphone socket is at the top where it no longer bothers me. Some apps / games impliment this ....question WHY NOT ALL ? A personal request to the admins here - please make this a sticky
1) My game uses the AVAudioPlayer with aiff format files for my music and sound effects, but I can't seem to be able to play music from the library using these, even with my game music turned off. I have to turn ALL audio off in my app including sound effects before it will let me play my music from my library. Being new to developing, I am not sure how to enable my game to play library music AND my games sound effects together. Could another dev enlighten me? It would be nice for people to play their own music while playing my game. 2) I agree. My game is played in the landscape position, and it is just a quick one line code in each view controller to allow it to flip when you turn your device over. However, some developers have probably omitted this functionality as no doubt it slows the app down with it constantly checking to see which way the device is held.
I'd also like to know how to implement turning off the in-game music, while keeping sound effects and allowing music outside the app... I'm using the SoundEngine file in the CrashLanding app... but I have to turn off all audio to allow outside music... I'm thinking of switching to using AVAudioPlayer, but it seems to have the same problems?
Do you mean using AudioServicesCreateSystemSoundID.... perhaps using that for Sound Effects and AVAudioPlayer for music?
Actually making the app support both landscape-modes is easy as pie. Can't really see the necessity though. In some cases it could actually be a bad design decission: if tilting the phone away from you is used as an input method it could cause the image to switch position if you tilt too far. Personally I have a really hard time understanding why it is important to support this at all. As most games that don't support both landscape-directions seem to use the one where the home-button is to the right I think most people would figure it out? Supporting both options seems to me to be an option-for-the-sake-of-having-options...
It's got nothing to do with the Home button. Like the op said, the headphone socket is under his hand on the iPhone, making it awkward with headphones in. Whereas Touch owners are ok as the headphone socket is on the other side. Allowing auto-rotate allows for both Touch AND iPhone gamers to play in comfort.
Fair enough Barry. Although I can't personally see the airplug thing as a problem on my iPhone. If this is truly a widespread problem for people, then sure, supporting both orientations should probably be included. Unless the tilting scenario I outline above is used. I'm just naturally sceptical when people say always include "this and that feature". No feature should ever be included before the developer has gone trough the pro's and cons.
Agreed NickFalk. I can understand what you are saying when you think it may interfere with game controls with certain accelerometer controlled games. I have tried playing my game with headphones in, and tilting it so the headphone socket is under my left hand, and I can see what the op is on about (there are many others who would agree with him on his opinion). My game is not accelerometer controlled at all, so including the feature in my game is not a problem.
It also not that the controls change in any way, merely that the screen is flipped by 180 degrees, and ok if for some reason that is not possible because of the control system then dont do it. My point was more that the vast majority of games, would not have any difficulties in any form with their control systems if they flipped BUT they still dont it.
No problem soup. I'm not trying to start a controversy and agree that for most games your suggestions should be followed. I just feel that any game-designer (staying away from the term programmer intentionally) should take all this into consideration when making a game. I can certainly picture scenarios where even the in-game sound would be important to the gameplay. I think your ideas are generally sound (no pun intended), but that the decision should ultimately be left to the discretion of the people making the game.
i dont disagree with that, but i remain convinced at the moment that 90% of the games do not implement these 2 things not because of their own design integrety or memory restrictions but merely because they have not been thought about,and have not been taken into consideration, or just not thought important. If these 90% of games then did that i would not complain about the other 10%. i am trying not to name names here but you cannot tell me that any (just for example) word game lives from its in-game sound
Not at all Soup. I don't think we really disagree all that much. I more or less had a knee-jerk reaction as I found your original post coming across a bit too absolute in its suggestions.
yes well apologies for that, i'd just had a stream of games though that did it and was a bit irritated
Side note off topic sorta Use the friggen search button..... I hate it when the ear phone headjack is in my hand.........
and more to the point if i use "I hate it when the ear phone headjack is in my hand" as a search phrase only this thread turns up !
Back on topic, has any developer noticed any significant drop in framerate when the auto-rotation is inserted into their code?
