Intersellar Flames Hits the Palm OS

Peace,
-Bartman007

But the Z will never gain ground until they fix that flimsy cradle. Feels like it's going to break off. Their Palm Desktop also clobbers the more "recent" TE/T3 desktop which is really sad.

The typical Zodiac user probably won't be using a cradle (cradles are most typically used in office environments).

That said, I have the cradle and it is actually pretty good. The Zodiac isn't perfect but among the things that need to be fixed the cradle ranks pretty low, IMHO.

-Kevin Crossman

Kudos to MW for the music engine. Ardiri was totally right when he said some good techno music really heightens the experience.
beleive it or not, thats MIDI being played back there - yes, even DOOM used midi; and, its not limiting as some people may say; you can do more with MIDI than you can with something like XM or MOD - hell, we can even use custom samples in our MIDI playback engine :)

we love to showcase our MIDI engine - it really makes a difference to any game. so, if you think a game needs better music - get them in touch with us. *g*

I wonder if the landscape HVGA would work on a TT3. Don't they use the same OS 5.2.1 API for HVGA? And Garmin? Hmm..
while we were not responsible for the main application development; i know for sure that landscape mode on the TT3 and Garmin are not optimized sufficiently to get decent playback. i believe the generic PalmOS version runs at 320x320 or 160x160 - depending on the device; no HVGA support; except on the Tapwave Zodiac itself (and, there is a special version for that)

---
Aaron Ardiri
PalmOS Certified Developer
aaron_ardiri@mobilewizardry.com
http://www.mobilewizardry.com/members/aaron_ardiri.php

there is an option to turn it down *g*

---
Aaron Ardiri
PalmOS Certified Developer
aaron_ardiri@mobilewizardry.com
http://www.mobilewizardry.com/members/aaron_ardiri.php

Again, think of the target market for the Zodiac. In this case, because their version of the Palm Deskop adds a considerable amount of functionality for their device I am okay with this (though I do understand your point). It'd be nice if they built in a "compatibility mode."

I find the cable connector fine. I locks in pretty good and I can even pick up the Zodiac by the cable.

-Kevin Crossman

Yeah, but not before you run it the first time!

Speaking of better music, maybe you should make an offer to the developers of Shatterd Worlds Space Combat. The intro music is ok, but it's just a short loop that gets repetitive. No music during gameplay, so I usually just run an MP3 in the background which can get annoying when you go between missions and have two tracks playing at the same time.

It's kind of an odd situation, as Interstellar Flames has the best music and more interesting graphics, but Space Combat has better gameplay and smoother framerates (related to the detail, of course). You can control your speed, manuever in any direction, lock targets, pick weapons, control shields and firepower, all while in the middle of a dogfight. In my opinion, this is much more interesting than just steering. Another oddity is that several devices have as many as nine controls on the keypad, but Flames ignores the whole collection, even at the menus.

Yeah, but your words weren't plagiarized like mine were! ;) Walkout!! WAALK-OUT!!

-Bosco
NX80v + Wifi + BT + T616

JLM

Errm, so what's with all the WAV data in the app then...? That sure ain't MIDI...

JLM

with the tungsten T, it has to run in low resolution mode which really bugs me. It is still a great game though, I suppose I will buy the next OS6 handheld if it is enough of a "revolution" for me. It would definately run wll then.

A Palm in one hand is worth 2 PocketPCs
: )
-Steve B.

You're right. There are a couple of small WAV samples we use as instruments on devices that don't have wavetable hardware. Hell, we could synthesize them on the fly, but this just sounds better. :)
For the software synth, we take a MIDI file then play the notes using these samples, much like a MOD/XM file. The only difference is the huge flexibility the MIDI format offers. MIDI isn't *THE* industry standard for nothing...
Ever heard a MOD/XM file with reverb/chorus/filters/unl.polyphony/panning effects ? Software Fidelity does it all :) You'll notice some subtle reverb and panning FX in IF.
Then, ofcourse there's the speed advantage of MIDI on devices with dedicated hardware.

Ivo Jager
Deity3D/Dolphin3D/Fidelity lead developer
www.mobilewizardry.com

Yeah but does Intersteller Flames use these? I mean - the game plays well on a T3 (its kind of crap on slower ARM devices like the T1, T2, and Zire71 - it drops to low-res) but that's at least in part because these devices don't have adequate dynamic ram. Would these guys do seperate code to use fathammer when its clear they already have there own engine? I doubt it - but maybe im wrong.