Wow wow woow.... wow! This looks freakin' awesome! Will it run great on the 3G and iPod 2nd gen? If yes, too bad. I would like if the iDevice-devs would begin to make 3GS/iPod 3rd gen games now! The 3G and iPod 2nd gen is holding the development back! Give us BIGGER games, BIGGER worlds and stuff. Awesome graphics and so on. BUT, that ain't gonna happen on the 3G. Allright. i'll shut up for now.
Actually, I'm assuming that if they do it right (and aren't concerned about file size), devs could make versions that adapt to whichever hardware version it's on. So it would load higher res art for the 3GS, medium res art for the 3G, and lower res art for the older ones.
not everyone has a 3GS. personally, i'm waiting for the 2010 iPhone and until it comes out, or if there is one, i'll hold on to my 3G. So I hope the 3G version would be smooth in fps, etc
This game runs pretty smoothly on all iDevices. I can say that because I've played it on my first gen Iphone which would be the worst. There are two areas where it gets a little slow on that older phone, but we're working to sort that out. Plays awesome on a 3gs though. We put in the options to turn on and off shadows - which really increases the frame rate. Also playing with the fps slider gives you pretty good control over the framerate.
Actually, it would be the 1st "gen" touch, although it's only slightly worse than the original iPhone. So...please be sure to test it on the 1st "gen" iPod touch. And be sure to make sure to actually release it for ALL the devices in the platform, as too many devs accidentally (or deliberately in some cases) release games that are not compatible with 1st "gen" touch devices. Big mistake, as there are millions of 1st "gen" touch owners out there, after all. As much as I appreciate the options...I'd rather not have them. I've always felt that the graphical options for PC games were one of the reasons I never really liked them over home consoles. Plug and play endears itself to the masses, after all. And while the graphical settings give "choice" it also, IMHO...well...it feels kinda...cheap, like the developers didn't really optimize things and are instead leaving it up to the gamer. So...maybe that stuff can be hidden. Target whichever settings are best for whichever device (1st "gen" touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G, 2nd "gen" touch, iPhone 3GS/3rd "gen" touch) and have it handled automatically in the background when the game launches. And, again, please be sure to test with as many devices as possible, including the 1st "gen" touch, as that is the lowest common denominator.
BTW, if you're looking for a publisher, and Gameloft is open to publishing the game, I'd go with them. Yes, Chillingo is good, but they have a mass of product that often gets lost in the shuffle. ng-moco is high profile in terms of press coverage, but less so in terms of position in the app store marketplace. I have to figure that if money is an issue, then Gameloft would be the best bet as they have deeper pockets. They also have the name recognition in the App Store the other two do not, plus the games that they publish are "platform pushing/big budget" sorts of games with which Ravensword would fit quite nicely. Plus, as publisher, they may be able to lend some technical support (though probably in return for a bigger cut than if it were a straight publishing arrangement). If, by chance, you can get EA on board, then that's the only other publisher that can be as beneficial or moreso than Gameloft on this platform.
Something about this hits me wrong..While i will say having the game auto pick up on what itouch/iphone you are have and turning down/up graphics is a great idea. i would still love to have the options where i can go in and change some things around..I may not like the shadows and would like to have to option to turn them off and so on. So maybe they could do both. Auto and user control over how the game looks. Devs the game looks great and can't wait to play it!!
Adrenaline Golf does exactly that and seems to work pretty well. Considering the enormous variety of set ups in the PC gaming world, it would be impossible to dispense with performance/graphic options. Since Apple has now effectively tiered the iPlatform, it makes sense to provide setting options, though I agree that it's preferable to have a game auto-optimize (as many PC games already do).
I really like how he set up the options. Its kind of a look and see what this does. You play it according to your preference. If you want it to look gorgeous, lower the fps, turn shadows on and go to town! If you want best fps, turn it down, turn shadows off.
While a nice idea, the question is this: Do you want folks to pick up and play your game, or fiddle around with settings? You do it hidden, letting the game run whatever settings are optimized for the device automatically, then I think reviewers will give the game higher marks than the way it is now. I've seen reviews where the game's marks are lowered for leaving it completely up to the user. Perhaps if you really wish to included these options, you could the game auto optimized at the start so one can simply pick up and play on the device they own knowing the game is optimized for that device, but, if they wish to see higher settings, have that option for changing graphical settings available. Still gotta be optimized at runtime in the background at startup though, for whichever device is being used.
there are only 2 settings currently that control the frame rate. which is really simple to handle. I want to add one more to disable foliage and particles - that would really speed up certain areas.
Personally? I never turn the shadows on. It does add some nice depth - but I like the frame rate to be as fast as possible. I'll have shadows on for the video - but when I play it for testing, I like the shadows off.
