New user questions!

robleong

Hi guys,

Hello! I have a few, perhaps dumb, questions as a new user! I have some hobby game programming experience and am at the moment trying to decide which programming SDK to use to develop mobile games, including looking at the 'beer' SDK. Questions:

1) I've just downloaded and installed the free version of Gideros. I'm trying to run some sample code but am unable to. I can select "Player", but the "Start" option seems to be grayed-out. Tried "Start Local Player", which was not grayed-out, but that just gives me some local IP info. Is there something stupid that I missed?

2) Also, I find that there is a constant split-second delay in response when I'm using the program/IDE. Is this to be expected? My machine is a standard Windows 7 AMD Phenom with 8 Gb of RAM using a 64-bit operating system.

3) What does "Gideros" stand for?

Thanks!

Robert

atilim

Hi Robert,

Welcome here

Recently, another user reported us that Gideros Studio has a lag problem on AMD 64 bit machines. Can you start the player by pressing button "Start Local Player" and wait some time until Start and Stop buttons become enabled? There is a possibility that the lag may disappear after Gideros Studio can connect to the Player successfully.

If you have another machine (e.g. with Intel processor), maybe you can try to run Gideros there.

Gideros is a lovely bay of the Black Sea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytorus_(ancient_settlement)

robleong

Wow, thanks for a quick response!

Yes, I have to wait a short while after pressing "Start Local Player" and then the Play button becomes available, and it then works! Thanks!

Strangely enough, after pressing "Start Local Player", the lag disappears, until that is reset.

One other question - has anyone written a book teaching Gideros programming?

Must visit Gideros some day!

avo

There is an ebook in progress here: http://giderosmobile.com/DevCenter/index.php/Ultimate_Guide_to_Gideros_Studio

It is not complete yet but the info that is there is pretty good. Besides that there are a few tutorials you can find on the forum here and a lot of sample code people have published.

robleong

Thanks, avo!

avo

No problem, and welcome! I think you will like it here.

I should also mention that searching the forum has worked out well for me so far when I get confused on something. Even though we don't have thousands of posts yet we are building up quite the knowledge base here.

robleong

I think I shall enjoy it here - thanks!

gorkem

Welcome robleong!

gorkem

@avo I might be changing the search model to benefit from google. Will see how it works.

robleong

Thanks, gorkem.

techdojo

Hi guys,

Hello! I have a few, perhaps dumb, questions as a new user! I have some hobby game programming experience and am at the moment trying to decide which programming SDK to use to develop mobile games, including looking at the 'beer' SDK. Questions:

Hi Robert,
There are plenty of people on this forum who've migrated from the "beer" SDK - what does that tell you...

Must visit Gideros some day!

Maybe Atlim and Gorkem should host a Gideros development conference there!

robleong

Thanks for your observation, techdojo!

However, can anyone enunciate what the main differences are between Gideros and the "beer" SDK, apart from the price? Guess this must be a common question here. For example, what I'm interested in is the implementation of the Lua language itself - how does it compare between the 2 SDKs? Is one easier for the beginner, more intuitive, more comprehensive, more commands available to do stuff, etc? Can we expect a 3D engine anytime soon? Thanks!

gorkem

Regarding the 3D engine: this is something that cannot happen quickly, as it needs big effort and I'm not sure we would go in that direction anytime soon. A 3D engine needs shadows, lighting, rendering, illumination, filters, together with several algorithms (eg collision) that should take the burden from developer's shoulders.

Regarding comparison: I do not think the differences are huge. Both platforms has its own unique characteristics. I have only seen a comparison coming from a developer who used both SDKs a few months ago. In fact I'd be interested to see a detailed comparison between Corona, Gideros Studio, Moai and (you name here), so we could know the differences.

techdojo

This is not a detailed comparison but just my own $0.02

1. As mentioned price (no need to go into that here as it's easily to see the differences).

2. Use of free version to actually produce app store ready apps (big plus to Gideros, nada to Corona) - can't actually see this as being a biggie, but if it helps to get people through the door then it's not a bad thing (plus IMHO as the only requirement for the free version being the Gideros splash screen then that actually seems WAAAY generous on behalf of Gideros to me)

3. Build server vs native project export - this is a no brainer and anyone who has ever waited 5 minutes + for a build from Corona that will run on native hardware will know what I mean

4. Build server vs local app player - Simulator Shimulator - run on native hardware baby!!!!! (see comments from above)

5. Plugin support vs err... - The problem with any closed system is that if it doesn't do what you want (or can't be coaxed into doing something similar) then your screwed. Answer - do it yourself (or get a lib from someone else) - problem solved. IMHO Native plugin support should be a requirement from day one (or soon as)

6. App speed - can't say as I've run too many comparisons here although lua.c is lua.c and the speed of the logic should be fairly identical - implementation of graphics calls however is a different matter and (and this should ONLY be taken as MY humble opinion and coloured with the fact that my Gideros app's are NOT as graphic intensive as my Corona one's) I believe currently Gideros has the edge.

7. Graphics - this is a tough one to call, the display hierarchy actually seems very similar, although texture atlas support is a LOT easier to implement in Gideros and Gideros DOES have native tilemap support. Vector (shape) support is sadly lacking in Corona and appears to be a LOT better in Gideros.

8. Company - again a tough one to call, Ansca has (to my knowledge) been about longer and has seen greater growth, they seemed to flourish from the ashes of GameSalad and initially were all "developer friendly" and active in the forums, then they seemed to get a lot of VC interest and money thrown at them and went more "corporate", more and more I see opinions of people who think that they now see developers more of a revenue stream rather than a community of friends.

Gideros on the other hand (and excuse me as I don't want to offend anyone or get myself banned from the forums) are (to my knowledge) still at the younger stage and (IMHO) are VERY developer friendly and I very much hope will be able to generate a sustainable and very profitable business whilst learning from "mistakes" and avoiding the potential pitfalls made by other similar companies (not just Ansca) but following their own path as a manufacturer of developer tools.

Remember this is just my $0.02 and based on the limited experience I have of both systems, any errors, inaccuracies or omissions are mine and mine alone.

Jon...

robleong

Thanks, Jon and Gorkem, for your elaborations here.

OZApps

@Jon/TechDojo,
Love your comparison, and you are absolutely correct on #8, funny that you mention ashes of GameSalad, it reminds me of Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, so many developers that came to C*SDK from GS (Game Salad) are now looking at GS (GiderosStudio)

One similarity between the two is that both are VC funded/backed and despite Gideros being the effort of a much smaller team of developers, they have manged to have faster turnaround and provide features. Plus the contact with the developers is not just on a talk-talk feel-good level, but on a technical know-how level. SO it is not about we are all seeing rainbows, double, triple, etc it is ok, here's a workaround on how to do this, or how to do that.

I am sure ti will be time that soon Atilim will have to hire someone to help with the forums and I hope we do not get cupcakes or fruits to do so.

gorkem

I love the helpful community here where Gideros veterans try to build a fruitful and strong communication environment. Developers are well aware of the fact that when Atilim cannot answer a question, there's something he's working on at the moment, and will return back soon.

PS: Some nice news: We're planning to open our middleware soon, under a different name and (preferably) an open license. You can think of it like Edgelib (http://www.edgelib.com/), but probably more open and extensible, and driven by community. It'll be then possible to write in C, C++ or Java, and compile it for Android/iOS.

ndoss

PS: Some nice news: We're planning to open our middleware soon, under a different name and (preferably) an open license. You can think of it like Edgelib (http://www.edgelib.com/), but probably more open and extensible, and driven by community. It'll be then possible to write in C, C++ or Java, and compile it for Android/iOS.

I travel for a week, then come back to find this buried in long line of comments in a P.S.! Tell us more!

gorkem

Currently only events, file system and textures are now part of Guppy Framework. We are trying to separate this layer from the Lua bridge so it becomes a low-level, generic interface to the hardware, so it can be extended to other operating systems as well. The reason it's buried in a PS is that there's slightly a bit more than gas and dust in our hands, but things are evolving slowly and we'll see the first results hopefully in ~2 months. Our TODO pipeline in the roadmap is almost full as you know, and we're focusing on the <100 feature requests sitting right there in the bugs list.

How was your travel? <:-P

ndoss

How was your travel?

Vacation @ Disneyworld ... I'm about as tired as I've ever been -- the wife kept us moving the whole time!

avo

I travel for a week, then come back to find this buried in long line of comments in a P.S.! Tell us more!

Isn't that the truth, Gorkem likes to drop bombs on us when we are least expecting it.
)

Michal

I would like to add one point: for me (as a linux user) Gideros Studio is the only practical way to develop a fully functional mobile application without much trouble from day one. No other SDK comes close.