20.02
ipod touch review
A while back, I wrote a post about surface normals in OpenGL ES. Yesterday on Twitter, there was some discussion about using the inverse square root function from Quake 3 to speed up the performance of iPhone OpenGL ES applications. Here is what that method looks like (converted to using GL and iPhone data types):static inline GLfloat InvSqrt(GLfloat x){ GLfloat xhalf = 0.5f * x; int i = *(int*)&x; // store floating-point bits in integer i = 0x5f3759d5 - (i >> 1); // initial guess for Newton's method x = *(GLfloat*)&i; // convert new bits into float x = x*(1.5f - xhalf*x*x); // One round of Newton's method return x;}The inverse square root can be used in several ways. Noel Llopis of Snappy Touch pointed out two uses for it on Twitter...
Selasa, 31 Maret 2009
Apple Packaging
My new laptop arrived. As usual, I'm impressed with Apple's machines and with their packaging. I normally wouldn't have bought a new computer for another six months or so, but I've been toying with the idea of getting a new one since the 17" MacBook Pro was announced at Macworld. It's a beautiful machine. I drooled over the few samples they had on the show floor and have had a severe case of technolust since then. The longer battery life is a great feature for me and I've been incredibly impressed with the unibody MacBook I bought for my wife a few months ago. I found out recently that Dave and I had actually earned some royalties in the fourth...
Senin, 30 Maret 2009
WWDC First Time Guide
Simon Wolf suggested via Twitter that I write up some info for first timers to WWDC. There are plenty of people who have been going longer. Heck, I can think of a few people I follow on Twitter who have been going since it was held in San Jose, and at least one who remembers when it was just called the Apple Spring Developers Conference. The event changes from year to year, and the only constants seem to be that the event gets bigger, and the bags get worse.So, I don't want to pass myself off as an expert here, at least relative to several others I can think of. But I can think of a few pointers that may help first-timers.Do not lose your badge. If you lose it, you are done. You will spend your time crying on the short steps in front of Moscone West while you watch everyone else go in to get...
WWDC Accommodations
Staying downtown in San Francisco is very expensive in the summertime. Bu, if you're going to WWDC, you really want to stay downtown. You do not want to be taking the BART in if you can help it, and you really don't want to be driving and and looking for parking.With the closest chain hotels — the full service Marriott and the W — averaging around a $400 daily rack rate, and the Courtyard on 2nd (about four blocks away) costing well over $200 a night, it can be hard to find a place to stay that won't knock the hell out of your travel budget.Here are a couple of hotels not run by Marriott, Hilton, or Starwood chains that are reasonable and seem to be well reviewed. They are both within a few blocks of Moscone West:The Hotel Palomar is a well-reviewed Kimpton hotel that's very close to Moscone...
Wavefront OBJ Loader Open Sourced to Google Code
I have made a minor update to the Wavefront OBJ Loader and released it on Google Code. You can find its new homepage right here.The UV texture mapping is still wonky - I haven't had time to look at that. After profiling, I realized I could save quite a bit of time by using sqrtf() instead of sqrt(), since OpenGL ES doesn't support GLDouble, there was no point in using the higher precision square root function.I also implemented, based on some tweets by Noel Llopis of Snappy Touch fame, a faster normalization function that utilizes the fast inverse square root optimization. This is an optional optimization based on a pre-compiler define.I really don't have any immediate plans to do much with this, but if anyone wants to work on it, I'm happy to add you as a project member. If you're interested...
Minggu, 29 Maret 2009
Apple Store LA Book Sighting
Here's a picture sent to Dave by Dave Wooldridge of Electric Butterfly. It's our book on the shelves of the Apple Store in Los Angeles at The Grove.Someday, I hope to see one of these in person. If not before June, I should be able to see it on the shelves of the Apple Store in San Francisco during the week of WWDC. Unfortunately, the closest Apple Store to my home is an hour away, and it's not one of the top fifty stores carrying the book n...
Jumat, 27 Maret 2009
iDracula - Undead Awakening
iTunes LinkiDracula - Undead Awakening is a shooter game by Chillingo Ltd. $2.99This game by the creators of Orions: Legend of Wizards is one of my most played games. The great pick-up and play nature of this game provides fun for all people. This shooter game is fast paced super addictive. The great way the game is played means that you aren't button mashing a shoot button, just continuously giving your fingers a workout. The latest version of the game has provided alot more to do, with two new game modes, bumping it up to four, and the option to choose out of three landscapes with slightly different enemies instead of one. All of these updates...
Hero of Sparta
This is my first review that I did specifically for a different site, TheAppEra, so I thought I would share it with you who didn't see it. These reviews won't generally be put on this site as well I don’t think there are too many of these button smashing and mashing games on the app store, but this one definitely comes out trumps in my eyes. The amount of detail and great storyline provides a great experience.Hero of Sparta ($5.99)Fun gameplay, stunning Spartan lands, easy controls and the three difficulty levels makes it hard to resist yelling, “THIS . . . IS . . . SPARTAAA!” when killing some of the many enemies in this game.Unlike the other...
Rabu, 25 Maret 2009
Tweetie
iTunes LinkTweetie is a Twitter Client app by Atebits. $2.99As many of you may know I use Twitter quite alot and finding a decent Twitter app for the iDevice has been hard. I have had my fair share of apps such as Twitterific and Twitterfon, but Tweetie easy is a full bodylength in front of the rest. Tweetie completes its purpose of being a Twitter client extremely well, just looking at the different features on iTunes completes a list of 23. There are some things on Tweetie that you can't even do without alot of effort and knowledge on Twitter. Some notable features of Tweetie is the 255 character Direct Message limit compared to Twitter's 140,...
Selasa, 24 Maret 2009
GDC Coverage: Electronic Arts
This week will be having various posts about new or exciting previews and games that are announced at the GDC.Today we are featuring Electronic Arts Mobile who have announced 16 amazing iPhone games for 2009 as well as a new feature for one of their previously owned games.The list of announced games by Electronic Arts are:Tiger Woods PGA TOURThe Sims 3FIFANBA LiveMadden NFL FootballSpore CreaturesSSXMystery ManiaWolfenstein RPGAmerican IdolConnect 4BattleshipNeed for SpeedRISKMonopoly ClassicClueThe other big news by Electronic Arts is about their already released game Scrabble and Facebook. Here is the official press release:EA SCRABBLE NOW...
Preview: Marble Blast Mobile
GarageGames/iTorque Technology Presents:Marble Blast MobileMarble Blast Mobile transports your iPhone and iPod touch to a futuristic astrolab arena suspended high in the clouds. Race your marble through moving platforms and dangerous hazards, while collecting rare gems and power-up enhancements, in an effort to complete each course in record time. Play alone or compete head to head in a multiplayer mode race for the gems.Key Features• Marble Blast gameplay on iPhone & iPod Touch devices• 20 single-player levels to complete with and 10 multiplayer levels• Play multiplayer against 4-8 friends in head-to-head matches• Record best times and try...
Sabtu, 21 Maret 2009
Sway
iTunes LinkSway is a puzzle game by Illusion Labs. $4.99From the developers who brought us Touchgrind, we have again another excellent and original creation. Just recently there have been a few apps like this that are pushing what the iDevice can do as a gaming system. This game has the same basic principal as Touchgrind, with the controls being easy to understand, but hours to master and this is the case with Sway. Recently the game was updated to version 1.1 which provided players with 10 more levels and 3 more characters to play with. This bumps the total up to 25 levels and 10 characters to play with. This was a welcome sign as many people...
Sneezies Easter Edition
Sneezies Easter Edition's review is just the Sneezies review we did back in January but we have added some information and edited parts that have changed between versions. The game is basically the same so there is no real need to re-write the review. By looking at the length of the review you can tell how far I have come in how I write the reviews!iTunes LinkSneezies Easter Edition is a popping game by Chillingo Ltd. $0.99Sneezies Easter Edition is a cheap, fun game which can be played for a few minutes or a few hours. It is a special version of the original game, Sneezies, that has had a character and graphics makeover for the Easter theme....
iPingPong 3D
iTunes LinkiPingPong 3D is a Table Tennis game by Chillingo Ltd. $0.99iPingPong is the only Table Tennis game I have played on the iDevice, and by looking at the pictures on Table Tennis Star and Zen Table Tennis is the best in the way of camera angle for gameplay. For a start it is the only one that lets you play friends over a local WiFi, which I haven't had the chance to do. There are also many different game modes to play with such as Practice, Quick Match, Tournament and Multiplayer. There are 5 difficulty levels to play against in the Quick Match and these levels are used in the tournament mode. This game is a heap of fun and really surprised...
Senin, 16 Maret 2009
The Creeps
iTunes LinkThe Creeps is a tower defense game by Super Squawk Software. $0.99I am a big fan of Tower Defense games but only if they have alot of variety. The reason why I love Fieldrunners is because of its limitless possibilities when building your maps the way you want to. This game has the original path implemented into the game and you choose what to shoot with gameplay. What sets this apart from most of the tower defense games on the App Store however is the amount of variety in the game from the number of maps to the different guns and how they are put into the game. Each of the 16 unique paths that are on two different locations have only...
Sabtu, 14 Maret 2009
Baseball Superstars
iTunes LinkBaseball Superstars is a baseball game by Gamevil. $4.99Baseball Superstars is the first baseball game on the iDevice that has caught my attention. Apart from the SGN free game, iBaseball, there was really nothing any good in the baseball sector. This game still doesn't give the real MLB feel but is a very good cartoon version of the game. With Flick Baseball coming for probably $0.99 I am sure you are wondering why you shouldn't just wait for that? Well basically this game has weeks on end of playing to get through the finish it all as well as its very addicting gameplay. This game has 10 competitive teams to play with, 4 unique stadiums...
Jumat, 13 Maret 2009
5 Fingers Games Bundle
This is a special press release from Majic Jungle, the publisher of the 5 Fingers Games Bundle as well as our comment on it below-The 5 Fingers Games Bundle for iPhone - It's a stealFive Independent developers unleash a pioneering new concept for iPhone gaming. The 5 Fingers Games Bundle takes five of the most popular, and best selling iPhone games, and combines them into one great package.This is the first games bundle for the iPhone, but the real story here is the way in which it came about. In an increasingly competitive market, five different development teams have taken a break from fighting for a spot in the App Store Top 100 to create...
Kamis, 12 Maret 2009
Zenned Out Special: Zen Bound
iTunes LinkZen Bound is a rope and wood game by Chillingo Ltd. $4.99I never thought I would say this (At least before the release of Need For Speed) but wow. No words can describe how perfect this game is, but I will give it my best crack. This game has no flaws in it what so ever for a game with such simplicity. I was hoping this game wouldn't turn into an overrated game due to so much hype like I believe Rolando became, but this lived up to its expectation and easily surpassed it. Especially on the hand held devices there are really no games which would make you buy the console, like Halo does for the Xbox 360, but Zen Bound comes as close...
Rabu, 11 Maret 2009
Zenned Out Special: Zentomino
iTunes LinkZentomino is a Pentomino game by Little White Bear Studios. $1.99Zentomino is the latest addition to Little White Bear Studios Zen games. This game is a little bit more challenging and takes the form as another puzzle game called Pentomino. The aim of the game is to fill in the puzzles with a selection of the twelve, five square in area, pieces. This game is alot harder as unlike TanZen there isn't one set way to complete the game and not every piece is used. There are less puzzles in Zentomino, with only 144, but I am sure as with TanZen there are more to come in updates. The 144 puzzles will still take a long time to get through....
